2 Years of Sully

Leigh Ann
Sep 30, 2020
8 min read

My not so despicable boy,

Two?? Really? This is the part of your update that I list all of the cliches about time being a thief and all that Jazz. The world wasn’t lying about all of those sayings.

Honestly, all of the feelings I have toward you turning two are the same as every other update: you’re growing fast, and I’m seesawing between heartbreak and celebration at all you’re learning and doing. Something about two magnifies those feelings, though. I definitely can no longer call you a baby, and you look more like a boy than that wrinkly newborn baby I brought home from the hospital. Sully, you are more of everything than I ever thought someone your age could be: smart, brave, discerning, perceptive, loving. I just never imagined a boy so small holding all of those big attributes. Dad and I are unbelievably proud of you and all that you are; it wouldn’t matter to us if you still didn’t walk or took years longer to potty train. You are loved unconditionally!

Watching you grow is truly a privilege. Every day is a sweet little gift wrapped up in Sully paper, given to me by God. Never ever do I want to take my days with you for granted, and God may be tired of hearing me whisper “thank you for my boy” eight million times a day. You are a treat and a treasure, and God has big plans for you for His glory.

Growth:

In some ways, I feel like parenting just began. Before, it was mostly taking care of your physical needs, but now you have big feelings and opinions. I certainly want you to have and assert both, so we all three are working together on showing you how to express feelings and what you can do if you’re upset. You do great with a timer to transition activities; telling an activity bye and “be right back” helps too. The three of us are a team, and we’re growing closer together. I’m proud of our little bond and pray it continues to strengthen.

A few things you've learned recently: your colors; letters O,D,M,E,L,S; some shapes, numbers 1-3.

You’re still in 18 month size, but your shirts are starting to get a tad short. I’m not sure how much you weight or how tall you are, but your next appointment is soon.

Movement:

Since our last update, you learned to walk! You were crawling everywhere, but at your 18 month check up, your doctor referred you to physical therapy. At 19 months, we both got to take you to your appointment, a blessing in Covid. One quick look over from the doctor, and she held up a toy and asked you to walk. Wouldn’t you know it!! You did! It was the wildest thing! From there you just took off! For a few days we had to remind you to walk instead of crawl, and now you’re a pro! We are so proud of you! It’s opened up so many doors for you and your independence.

Potty Training:

Next to walking, the biggest change in the last six months has been potty training! You started telling me when you went, so we jumped on the chance to help you learn while you were communicating that to us. Dad and I carved out a few days when we knew we’d be at home and prepared the best we could. Going into it, our only expectation was that we were starting and would keep helping you until you got it. It only took a few days though! Before we started, we talked a lot about where “tee tee” goes and how everyone can use the toilet. I prepped a sensory bin, books, toys, and games so that we could camp out in the bathroom without really having to leave. We also grabbed a stuffed animal because you really take to an activity when your furry friends help out. At 21 months, you are (daytime) potty trained. Woo hoo!

Food:

As I’m writing this, I realize just how much has happened in 6 months! In May, you participated in a baked milk challenge at Children’s Hospital with your allergist. The gist of the process was that I brought in a batch of muffins made with milk (but no egg!), and they slowly gave it to you to eat with highly supervised care. That was the first time you ever directly consumed dairy; before it was only through my milk. It was terrifying listening to them prep me on their protocol if you were to have a reaction to the muffin. The varying stages of intervention were all scary, but hearing her explain how they press the giant red button and the emergency department comes running put me in a puddle. We gave it to God and all three traveled to Birmingham, only spending a night in the hotel thanks to Covid. The next morning, Dad couldn’t come with us so he dropped us off, and we began the process. Your nurse, Lacey was unbelievably sweet and even recognized us from our adoption posts! We brought lots of activities and there was aTV to entertain you too since we were there for 4 hours. They started by giving you an eighth of muffin, checking your vitals, wait twenty minutes and then increase the “dose” of muffin each time. You rocked it! You didn’t ask to run around or try to get into things; you let her take your temp and blood pressure and stick your toe with the monitor each time. I literally could not have asked for a better appointment, and to our delight, your body passed the challenge. What that means now is that you can have homemade goods with milk baked in as long as each serving doesn’t have more than 1/6 cup of milk in it along with being baked for a minimum of 30 minutes. It also means that you can have processed foods with milk as the third ingredient or farther down as long as there is no cheese coating. Unfortunately, we figured out that last part the hard way. We so very carefully read all labels before giving you anything, even if its a food you’ve had before. The Annie’s cheddar puffs were fine as far as ingredients go, but the outer cheese coating was too much. I sent them with you to eat in the truck as you and Dad ran some errands. Your doctor said that sneezing was one of two major signs that we should watch for for anaphylaxis. On the way home, Dad called to tell me that you looked okay but were sneezing. Instantly, my mom senses went off, and I packed a bag of toys and snacks for you in case we had to go to the ER. My instincts were right, and we ended up taking you. Thankfully, it was early enough in Covid that Dad and I could both go with you, and thankfully again, you only ended up needing an antihistamine. We weren’t willing to chance it, though, and have no regrets taking you based on all we learned at your last appointment. God has big plans for you and has protected you time and time again!

Boo-Boos:

Ugh! I hate that I have added this section, but this is real life. Not long after you turned 18 months, we transitioned you into a booster seat at the table. It improved our life so much because we all sit at the table and can reach and see each other easier, and using just a regular chair at the bar area clears up space to walk in the kitchen. You really took to the seat and never tried to get out or do anything crazy, but one day, I had my back to you washing off a dish, and I heard a loud crash. When I turned around, you, strapped in the barstool booster seat, straight back on the ground in the chair. Your dad was in the next room, and I simply yelled his name, and he knew. At first, you didn’t even cry; you were so shocked. Then when you did start crying, you didn’t stop for a while. I also couldn’t stop crying and just felt helpless watching you be scared and possibly hurt. We watched you for a few minutes, and as time passed, you started dry heaving and got really pale. I honestly thought you were going to pass out, so within seconds, we were in the car on the way to the hospital. Dad drove us there like a champion NASCAR driver, and I sat in the back trying to keep you awake (because that’s what I had always heard). I prayed and prayed out loud over you and kept a cold water on your face to keep you awake. By this point in the pandemic, they would only allow one of us back. I was such a wreck, crying, worried, that we decided Dad would take you. Boy, you were so brave! They checked you out, monitored you for a couple of hours, and even let you take a nap. All that time, I walked the parking lot praying Psalm 91 over you. Not being there with you while not knowing if you had something wrong from your fall was, by far, the hardest thing I’ve done as a parent. How thankful I am that Cody is so present and strong and calm in our lives! You were okay, not needing any scans because you woke up from your nap with more color and talking to the nurses. As soon as we got home, Dad added bracket braces to the back, so it’s physically impossible for you to flip the chair. That night, we had to wake you every 2 hours to make sure you were responsive and okay. We were exhausted the next day, but made the best of it with snuggles and a movie on the couch.

Family Updates:

-Adoption Announcement: Since your last update, we officially announced that we are hoping to adopt! We started the process in January but were home study approved in April. I know you will be a sweet big brother; you love your animals and Sheldon so much, and I’m sure it will be the same. We are praying the right situation comes along soon!

-School: Dad finished grad school! He started school when you were just a few months old, and this summer, he finished officially! We are so proud of how hard he worked without sacrificing time with us; Dad is the ultimate juggler at all tasks! Since he couldn’t travel to Texas to graduate due to Covid, you and I threw him a graduation at home. It was fun!

-Family: Covid took a lot opportunities to spend time with others, and while it was nice to spend so much time with just the three of us, we welcomed getting to see people again. We finally got to see our families!

-Quarantine: Buddy, I won’t go into all that Covid is and has caused, but I will say that we made the best of it. It was a blessing to slow down and spend so much quality time together. While the pandemic brought many hard things, it also brought some of the best days as a family of three.

-Tree Tots & Library: Oh, my goodness! What a blessing Tree Tots was (and is because it just started back)! It is a program through the Nature Preserve where we have a themed class with singing, books, a hike, and exploring. You got braver and braver every week, and it made my heart so happy for you! You’ve also become obsessed with the library; my teacher heart is thrilled! You say “library” in the cutest way and love sitting in my lap and reading book after book. Putting the books in the return bin is one of your favorites, and story time is a bonus some of our days there, too!