Update!

Ok, some updated information on Caden and Cole. Sorry for the lack of posting, but I can honestly say that I have never been more exhausted in my life!

Things are going really, really well for the most part. The whole family is adjusting to a WHOLE new schedule. We went from two teenagers that are rarely home, finally having a date night once a week, with lots of alone time to not one extra second in the world to do anything. I am just now finding out how to shower/bath daily and there have been many pajama days that regular clothes just never made it to our bodies. BUT that is ok. Cole is such a good kid. He is very nervous and you can tell that he has been *disciplined* many times with many different methods. I swear he knows exactly what you are saying. He truly tries to do everything that you ask him to do. He is signing "more", "thank you", "thirsty", "hungry", and "potty". Granted he has never ASKED to go to the potty, but he will use the potty if you take him frequently. He wasn't a fan of the bathtub at first, but is now coming around. He has been to the pediatrician and cardiologist and has a clean bill of health, thus far. He has an opthamologist and urologist appointment next week and we should be almost done with doctor's appointments. His gut is much better, only pooping a couple times a day, but this boy can EAT. He weighs 30 lbs. and eats like a grown man! I have never seen anything like it. I am torn between letting him have all that he wants and what I deem a "safe" amount and we haven't quite got that down yet and we have had a couple of "eat til you puke" moments, which scared the little guy to death. He doesn't play well with others:( He kind of growls at them and he HATED Caden at first, but now he will just randomly come up and kiss him and pat on him. He also had an incident with our little dog. Let me preface this with my dog, Troy, is very sick (lung cancer) and is on high dose steroids right now. Cole has been really rough with the poor little guy several times, then put him in a choke hold and picked him up by the neck. Well, Troy had had enough and almost bit Cole's lip off. It was awful, but Cole learned to leave him alone. Both of them were quite pitiful after the incident. Cole sleeps so good. I let them both hang out with me in my bed for about 30 minutes before they go off to their rooms and when they are "soothing" themselves to sleep, it breaks my heart. You can really see how independent they are and how they have had to count on themselves for any and everything. They both will let us rock them and love on them, but sometimes Cole just "checks out". When he had to have blood drawn, he fought and screamed for about 15 seconds and then he just went limp and literally just checked out. His eyes were blank and he was sucking on his tongue and he was gone. It was so pitiful. It took the rest of the afternoon to fully get him back and it was just heart breaking. I know he thinks we were being mean to him and I guess that was his coping mechanism. I hope we can work it out were he feels free to express himself without fear of punishment. His little body (including his buttocks) are scarred and you can tell that he has been punished quite a bit. It is hard to correct him when he just checks out like that. I would love any advice that you veterans have out there for this.

I will update on Caden (aka "Bucket") soon....

Stephanie