WHO sucked all the happy from the room??

I don't know who did it, but they need to bring it back right now. James has been just awful this morning. I do not usually use those words to describe my sweet baby boy BUT today I do. He woke up screaming this morning after not going to sleep until almost 11pm, and then he refused to eat. That has been par for the course here at the house. If you have been reading my blog very long you know that eating has always been a struggle for James. He likes to live on the edge of the growth chart to give me something else to worry about ;-)

But today he took an extra dose of unhappy and then proceeded to share the "love" with everyone he came in contact with. Normally people that meet James talk about how he is the SWEETEST child on the planet. Always has a smile on his face and is always laughing. Not today though! We walked over to therapy camp after a few time-outs along the way for hitting. Therapy actually started well. He did great during the heat and massage portion ( I would too) But as soon as he was asked to do any stretches or work it was over. The pt was great with him. She was firm but not overly so. We both tried to distract him and make it as fun as we could but after he reached out and bit the pt I knew nothing was going to work except a nap.

He got a few timeouts and they even tried to change therapist to see if he would respond better. He bit that one too :-( I was SOOOOO mortified! Those of you that know me know that a ill mannered child is probably one of my biggest pet peeves. I have seen what happens to children that are not given limits and the types of adults they turn into. That will NOT be my son. I know he wont be perfect but being polite and well mannered is not a choice in my home. So when times like these come up and I have to put actions to my words it is hard.

I now realize why my mother used to say "This hurts me more than it does you" she wasn't talking about the physical pain but the emotional toll it takes on a parent to want your child to behave and when they don't ,how emotionally it is painful to have to correct them. I "want" to just give in and just let him get what he wants and be happy in that moment, but at what cost to his future. I try to keep that in mind. God has given me and Josh the responsibility of raising not the child James but the man of God Christ wants him to be. And I try to take that seriously.

So even though therapy was pretty much a complete bust, they gave us this cane to practice with this afternoon. I plan on do that after James' nap. Then it will be EARLY bedtime for grouchy pants!!