Fostering The Love In Kansas

Growth is normal in everything.  I know my knowledge grows constantly, along with my waistline and love of salty foods. With Little Man, the growth is hard to measure sometimes.  I see where he has grown physically. Growth is still growth That's 4 inches in 18 months.  So there is growth with him.  I see that physically. What can't be seen physically is the emotional and intellectual growth that I see in him all the time.  No exaggeration, it's daily.  His list of likes and dislikes grows.  His vocabulary is growing.  His attitude is growing. And just when I think we take some steps back in behaviors, he has a day where he opens doors for people, he says Please and Thank You, and he says he loves me every chance he gets.  This, by far, out weighs the days he is loud, out of control, and downright angry.  Those days I don't see the growth. I also know that my love for him grows by leaps and bounds daily.  I don't remember a time before him,

Here is what I have learned from being a foster mom for 575 days (roughly 19 months): Boys bring farts, boogers, and indescribable smells. And I wouldn't want it any other way. I've decided I'm a boy mom. I used to shy away from being called a mom because I didn't feel like a true mom. And while that still nags at the back of my mind, I am a mom to this boy who won't stop calling me mom! I don't remember a time where I wasn't thinking about Little Man. His smells (when he's clean he smells like maple syrup), the sound of his laugh, the way he walks, and the way he snuggles with me every morning. I have come to realize that I NEED to be a mother. I cannot be childless in the future. My overprotectiveness of Little Man MAY be a tad overbearing and I need to let him make mistakes. In other words, I need to learn to chill out on these kindergarten girls that think they know my kiddo and can boss him around.

I've been looking forward to this week.  Mostly because I signed Little Man up for camp at our local zoo.  The same zoo we go to almost every weekend in the summer and he's almost on first name basis with most of the staff because he's got some kind of power over people. I'm not sure they are ready for him, though. I mean, he won't be difficult(ish). It's just that he feels things need to be done in a certain timeframe, way, and with a certain attention to detail.  My biggest example is how he likes to tell me how I'm driving the wrong way to our destination like he's driven it a million times. But, I'm also afraid it won't keep his attention long enough and he'll get bored which also equals him getting in trouble.  I know they are prepared for kids and behaviors but I worry. Of course, this morning was like every other morning where I have to bribe, beg, and then finally physically remove him from bed...but the difference was that I ac