The Joy of Swings and Baths

Have you ever had one of those huge, defining moments in your life happen and everyone around you just kept on going with life like nothing happened? Well I had two of those moments go by recently:

Mr Boy has always been a slightly timid guy, but mostly because of the first 6 months of his life, 3 of those were in the hospital and the 3 months after that were spent in and out of the hospital for stays or visits multiple times a week.  This would make any smart kid realize that anything and anyone outside of home or mom & dad = very bad news. So I determined that Mr Boy was just fabulously smart to come to the conclusion that he should be seriously guarded and freaked outside of our arms. Thus the prospect of putting Mr Boy in a fun, fabulous, exhilarating baby swing at the park was a big mistake. He has always hated the sight of swings, probably likening them to torture devices, after all he's been through. So, you'll understand when I tell you that two weeks ago, when Mr Boy happily allowed me to put him in the park swing, that I was flabbergasted to say the least. And do you want to know what everyone else around us at the park did??? A whole lotta nothing! They kept on as if there was nothing special going on here at all, while I wanted to break out in song and dance and become the star of my own musical entitled, "Mr Boy Swings!" But there was no applause. So Mr Boy, David and I reveled in our victory to the sounds of Mr Boy's giggles, which is better than any musical I've ever heard.

The second moment like this came this past week as well, when I tried to put Mr Boy in the bath tub. We have not given Mr Boy a real bath or put him in water (aside from the 2 times I tried when he was first home from the hospital) up until last week. The water created too many sensory issues. So, after weeks of water table fun and getting him to play in the tub when it was dry, the day came last week when i got in my bathing suit, filled the tub with water and hopped in. I put Mr Boy in my lap, and he played timidly, yet happily for 45 minutes before we got out due to my numb legs and achey bottom. I looked around, but there were certainly no news crews documenting this monumental occasion. So we carried on anyway and have spent almost an hour in the tub every day since. Mr Boy still won't let me move him from my lap, but I am sure one day soon he will venture from my lap and play independently. Either way, we are just so thankful for these little blessings.

It's so fun to see Mr Boy at peace enough to let his guard down and enjoy the small things in life.

Mr Boy picked up his bottle and monkey and climbed into our friend Tina's arms...
Tina has officially entered Mr Boy's circle of trust along with only mommy and daddy.
Tina didn't want to move a muscle for fear of ruining the moment. lol.