In all honesty, yesterday was the hardest day yet despite the pictures below. Of course I don't capture the meltdowns and the grieving. He was being the meanest to me thus far and actually slapped me twice. You can imagine how this feels after wanting him in my arms for so long. It is very obvious he is still being so loyal to his foster mom and refuses to show me any affection for that would be replacing her. He had the toughest grieving time last night and cried himself to sleep after about 30 minutes. It was heartbreaking to watch.
We re-grouped and decided Grant and I needed one-on-one time today to get to know each other and bond so Cody and Auden left at 9am and didn't come back until he was asleep for naptime. Cody and Auden had an awesome bike ride along the river this morning so that was enjoyable for both of them. It went better than I expected this morning with Grant. He cried for 5 minutes at the door when they left but I took the position of ignoring him and started to play with all the toys and waited for him to come to me. Before I knew it we were doing wind-up toys together, I built a ramp for the monster trucks, we made drums out of pots and pans, we played with beach balls and balloons, went down to the playroom, and took a walk around the block where I let him get on higher steps and jump off of them while holding my hand. He didn't try to pull away from my hand once, this was major progress and he had fun jumping off of the things I allowed him to. It was an exhausting morning because he doesn't stop moving and I was pulling out every trick in the book to make him laugh and smile to win him over but it was definitely worth it. Our afternoon and evening with Cody and Auden went substantially better and he came to me to do things and give him food/drinks before going to Cody like he typically would. So, I think we did the right thing and we probably have to continue with the one-on-one time. Auden is still getting the most affection, Grant tries to snuggle and hug and kiss him so much that we have to tell Auden to keep loving him back (usually he's in the middle of something or feels smothered, haha) because it is very good for Grant. Cody still gets kisses and hugs. He is not there yet with me but as long as he is not screeching at me when I touch him or trying to hit me a lot, I think I can hang in there.
He is a fun, loving, goofy 2 year old with a great personality but he is definitely head-strong. We hope his behavior of hitting and throwing toys when he is frustrated is just a grieving issue and not something we will have to deal with in the long-term. We are definitely not used to that because Auden was as gentle as a toddler could be to others. It's hard because you don't know what is stemming from the trama he just experienced or just his personality. One thing is for sure, he is a little parrot and repeating everything! He has so many English words already and tries to repeat everything I say...it is really unreal for only 4 full days with him. We hope how quickly he is picking up the language will help with his behavior that is probably a lot due to frustration of lack of understanding us and we understanding him.
Big hugs for big brother in the park!
Getting him used to the water is still an issue...everyday we are trying to make baby steps to get him closer to wanting to join us in the pool. The toys definitely helped but this boy is very adamant about not going in the pool.
Sure looks like an angel while sleeping:-) Thank goodness for the yellow doggy that is his favorite sleepy toy. It is definitely his comfort when he is sad and grieving.
Today batman and superman had a good afternoon together!
Cute video during yogurt time! Love it on his nose!
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