Thomas

we got Thomas in to see a Dr. yesterday, because his eczema is out of control this winter. His whole torso is covered front and back, and cuz it itches, he scratches, and has areas that have scabs that we have to cover with bandaids. Poor little guy. It is tough to see in this picture, I should have take one of his back, that is where he scratches the most.

We don't use harsh soaps, and we don't bathe him too much, just enuf. We also use my home made laundry soap, so theres no additives to irritate him. We are also being careful to watch for food allergies that could be triggering/inflaming.

I have used every lotion out there to slather him up for some relief. But he is sensitive to touch, and especially when I have to do his neck, he "wiggles" (to put it mildly).

It's like trying to catch a greased pig.

He thrashes and squeals and even runs away sometimes, and I can't get a hold of him to keep him still, cuz he is totally covered with lotion. Oh the fun.

We have found that Renew lotion from Melaleuca works better than anything else we have tried. I am glad that my sister sells Melaleuca products!

Anyway - so Tyson took him to the Dr. appointment yesterday. I went to Parent Teacher Conference at the same time. So we had a full day of Thomas stuff yesterday.

Since I didn't go to the appointment, I don't know exactly how it went. Tyson said the Dr. was great to listen to everything he had to say, and seemed super nice. Tyson warned him when he started to touch Thomas to check the sore spots out, that his neck is super sensitive, but the Dr. tried anyway. What he got was a little Thomas hurricane, and they had to get him to calm back down and try to sit still again.

After the $20 co-pay and what I am sure will be about another $50 for the rest of the visit, and the $4 tiny tube of steroid cream, we are still in the same place. he said all the stuff we are doing is great. There really isn't anything to do, but continue to slather him in lotion - the Dr. suggests 3 times a day (rofl - yeah right).

At Parent Teacher Conference, Ms. Karla had great things to say about how smart our little guy is. He has progressed considerably since the last eval. - academically at least and somewhat with working with peers (but we'll take anything).

Here's a quick list of the improvements he's made: he is holding his pencil correctly to write, writing his name is getting easier for him - he's always known the letters - they are just hard to write- especially left handed, he has learned how to make a pattern, he is starting to learn addition, a recent lesson about green monsters has helped him with his imagining and also drawing pictures. In his social skills, his teacher says he can work in groups on solving a problem, he has initiated play, and shared.

So that is what is new with our big boy.

At home he loves to play on the computer. His favorite game is on Playhouse Disney .com ~"Imagination movers - Idea box". he spends hours doing that. He also loves Word World on Pbskids .com.

In the play room his favorite thing to do is drawing on our big white boards. I love the things he comes up with to draw. Once he drew out all the things that we had seen when we drove down to see the Christmas lights display down in Willard Bay. He drew a bear climbing a tree to get the honey, and then the bee stopping the bear, cuz it is HIS honey. He drew funny monsters and faces for a while after the monster lesson at school. He has drawn a bowl of ABC's and 123's with meatballs (one of his favorite Chef Boyardee dinners). And he loves to write words too.

Thomas loves to help me with everything from cooking to getting Grayson's diaper when it's diaper change time. He is such a fun little guy.

We have an appointment on Feb 9. with a Dr. to observe his ADD. Hopefully it won't be like the last time I took him in - I'd had a dream several nights before that the Dr. would tell me he saw no signs of ADD - and that is what happened. Thomas got sick just before the appointment, and was totally lethargic. The Dr. said he didn't see any signs... I said "he is NOT himself" (DUH).

Better luck this time. And don't get me wrong, I don't WANT Thomas to be ADD - but I know he is, and we need to get some help. He will be starting Kindergarten in Sept. and we need to work on his attention or he will have trouble learning, and he will drive his teacher nuts.