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Homebodies and Heads

We are still here. Sorry for the long pauses between posts, we have been totally and utterly consumed with moving and making house. Justin has reminded me several times that moving is right up near the top of the list of the most stressful things. There is something deeply unsettling when your home comes down around your ears in boxes. Things are just things, but even little man will tell you, things help make a place "home," instead of just a house. Walking through our old and now empty cabin feels strange and impersonal, while our new home, now slowly emerging from boxes and bins, feels more familier though we have only lived here a couple days so far. The transition hasn't been all roses however, between bouts of a renegade stomach bug that cycled through all of us, at times, it has seemed downright hellish. Leo also, seemed to react to the vibe in the air and rebeled in the only way he could. By blackmailing me to stay right next to him at his beck and call. Usually, litte man's personality is pretty easy going. I'll be the first to say that in the regular baby stuff department, he is perfect. But this past couple weeks he has turned into a hollering, demanding, mom-controlling-freak! It was a little shocking! I underestimated how much "home" really means to him, and how freaked out he really was by all the unsettling activity around him. Once I resigned myself to getting things done during naps, he was much happier. Today he even spent time playing by himself in another room! This is huge people. Just huge. I mean it was so bad at the new house, that Leo perked up to a doctors appointment as an excuse to get away from it all... Speaking of which, he saw his neurosurgeon and plastic surgeon for a post op visit on Tuesday. Apparently, little man's head is healing great, and the forehead is retaining its new shape nicely. Apparently in some cases the foreheads drop back to their old places, if not enough care was given to over-compensation during surgery. Although Leo still looks a bit like a grouchy footballer, the idea is that as he grows, his head will smooth out and his brow will soften. And if the droopy skin around his eyes doesn't tighten up in the next year, he will be the youngest patient to get an eyebrow tuck! Also they said that when he turns six they want to smooth out the slight imperfections of his skull. That is a fairly simple surgery, nothing like what he had before. And we don't have to think about it for a nice long time. He is still on track for eye surgery on July 12th. So as usual, Leo makes us pause in our expectations, and shows us what really matters. A snuggle matters more then getting a box unpacked, and though things do help make a home, it's the vibe in the air that makes it or breaks it. Little man is dialed in, and there is no fooling him. Thank goodness the Leo gauge is showing more peace and less angst so I guess we won't be moving right back to the cabin after all!

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