Wow! It's only 9am?

My day started at 4 am when my back/hip woke me. Then Dan got up and then I heard a thump upstairs. I zipped up there in hopes of getting A to the bathroom before he had an accident, but I was too late. I am not sure if he is afraid to come downstairs or if he is just not waking up. In Estonia, he got up every morning between 3-5 am to use the bathroom. He went all by himself, and then would go straight back to bed and to sleep. Anyway, he woke up around 5 in a huge puddle again which meant that we had to do the screaming shower again.

Since the dogs came home yesterday, Andreas has spent most of his time in a state of panic. If he could have sat on my head he would. All he wanted was to be as far away from the dogs as possible. By 5am, he was back in full swing. Dan held him in a chair and tried to help him calm down. It wasn't working. He was screaming, kicking and thrashing in panic. I had no idea what to do, so I went with my gut reaction. I picked up Kody, our 6yr.-old cocker spaniel and plunked him in the chair beside Andreas. Andreas fought harder, but Kody just sat there very calmly. After a few seconds, A started to calm down. Then I made him touch Kody. At first he pushed Kody away, but after a few more seconds, he began to pet the dog. Kody was amazing! He was so calm and gentle. It took probably 1/2 an hour, but finally, A was calm. He still wanted to get away from the Kody, so we let him. He RAN into the kitchen, right into Shyla, our 6 mos. old puppy. Can you hear the screaming? He freaked all over again. Shyla surprised us by sitting quietly at his feet. He had already backed himself into a corner, so there was no escape. He slowly calmed down. Then, Shyla licked his hand. I thought the screaming was starting again, but instead, it was squeals. He loved it! Within a few minutes, he was playing fetch with her.:)

I wish I could say that he is over his fear of dogs, but that would not be true. He still screams if one of the dogs move too quickly or bark. He is able to be in the same room with the dogs without panic, though. Once again, he has amazed me with how quickly he can overcome his fears. I cannot even begin to imagine what a nightmare this has been for him. He is so resilient.

So, by 7 am, A was calm, clean, fed and sleepy. Dad took Connor to band, and I pulled out one of my favorite picture books. A curled up with me on the couch, and SAT and LISTENED to the ENTIRE book! He loved it! I LOVED it!!! (My favorite part of being a mom) Then we snuggled up and watched Blues Clues. I don't care if it isn't age appropriate, Andreas enjoyed it! I think I might have enjoyed it even more. :) Now it is 9:30 and I feel like I have already done a day's work.:) I'm off to do schoolwork with the kids.