Last weekend we went to visit Papa (we only got to see Mama briefly before she flew out Saturday morning to spend 3 weeks up north) and it left me feeling very heavy hearted. I have been quite rational about our move, explaining to others how "yes, I'll miss my family but I'll come every year to see them, it won't be that bad" - I was obviously not ready to feel, until now... Papa just looks tired and older every time I see him - which is to be expected and shouldn't be alarming. I wonder if he's going to be ok... His relationship with Manav is very special. Manav said he wanted to sleep with his Nana the whole weekend and they did sleep together, it was very nice :) I could tell Papa felt very special to know that Manav wanted to sleep with him. They hung out in the backyard and Papa watched Manav do a puzzle all by himself and kept saying how smart he is. One thing that is hard for Papa to see, is Manav falling. He gets very concerned and is nearly in tears every time Manav falls or cries. We are much more immune to it, but Papa seems to become more sensitive over time rather then less... But this week has been remarkable for Manav! He has really hit some very significant milestones.
This week Manav is truly, officially potty trained! He is doing pee-pee and poo-poo in the big toilet with a pink Dora supported toilet seat cover and he is so proud of himself. His diaper is consistently dry in the mornings when he wakes up. I think next week he will go to school in underwear and no more pull ups! Even Kitty, his OT at CCS is so impressed with how fast he was potty trained. I'm afraid we're going to have to buy him the guitar set we promised him. I suggested a marching band drum that he can wear and he gave me a weird look and said, "no mama, the drum set with the cymbal" geez, with the cymbal?! Another very significant milestone Manav hit yesterday was riding the big slide down by himself, and enjoying it! I did sit behind him, but we were a couple feet apart and I was not offering any support. He really did go down all by himself, and he enjoyed it so much he wanted to do it more! I thought I would never hear those words from him. It was so wonderful that he felt confident and safe riding down the slide. Manav is able to get in and out of the car and his carseat without any help. I've noticed that he can take his AFO braces and shoes off by himself. And, for the very first time on Monday, he walked all the way from the car to the front door wearing his backpack! He has not been able to do that at all because the backpack causes him to lose his balance. It wasn't very full with a fairly empty lunchbox and juice cup, but it was huge for him, and he was so so proud of himself that it made my heart swell. These are the things that I was trying to share with Papa over email so that he knows how significant these accomplishments are for Manav.
Leaving LA on Sunday was tough. I was in a funk that day not knowing why until Satish pointed out that this will be our roadtrip to LA. That just triggered the tears for me. I think leaving Papa alone was also really tough. Manav was quite upset when leaving saying that he wanted to stay with Nana and refusing to say bye to him. It made Papa sad and it made me sad too. I rarely cry in front of Papa, and I didn't want him to see me upset. Kids are so honest and candid - it is quite refreshing to express genuine raw emotions. Here I am trying to hide my heavy heart while Manav is just screaming, "No, I don't want to go, I want to stay here with Nana." How the heck is this child going to say bye when we leave for Nepal?
Other than that, we're indulging in park playdates, dinners with friends, and low key weekends close to "home"...
Here's Manav riding the pink pony at Montclair Park with some of his best buddies Simon and Zoe.
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