Lately Bug has been on a Daddy kick. He only wants his Da. They are two peas in a pod. I swear I cloned my husband to make Bug. He was sad when I told him today was a Momma/Bug day. He went with me to a quick Doctor appointment to fix my back. After, I soothed the toddler beast with a Smoozie aka Jamba Juice. It had to be a red one so I chose a "Strawberries Wild" and asked for two small cups. He loved it. You would have sworn he was a grown up the way he sat at the bar. He thought it was funny that the drink had "tiny balls" aka strawberry seeds.
The Smoozie, as he calls it, was just to tide him over until we met up with his Da for lunch. I had planned for something awesome and healthy but it's Bug's day and he wanted French Fries and Ranch. He saw a Carls Jr. and decided he needed to eat at the star so we went. It was ok and he ate pretty well so I won't complain too much. I just needed him to be in a good mood for the rest of our day.
I had taken today off several weeks ago so Bug could partake in an infant and childhood development study at the UCSD Autism Center of Excellence. The studies he partook in dealt with eye tracking, cognitive and communication exercises, and a blood sample to look at DNA, RNA and enzymes for possible markers to early diagnose autism. It was a fascinating and long afternoon for him and he did such a good job. I am thankful that through the diagnostics it was confirmed that Bug is not on the spectrum and is an incredibly bright, good natured little guy. I had no doubts about any of this but it's always nice to have it confirmed by science. I am also thankful we had the opportunity to give back to the world by being a part of such groundbreaking research. I hope that his afternoon leads to great things like early intervention and treatment for children who are at risk of being diagnosed with autism.
Before we went to the study we took an impromptu trip to the beach. We could see where the ocean met the sky on our way to the study and since we were early I decided it would be a treat to run to the beach and play in the sand. Bug was more than happy to see the waves and feel the crisp air on his face as he ran in circles to see how our footprints dented the sand. He climbed up sand embankments and stood tall overlooking the ocean and threw sand at momma, watching how the breeze picked up the grains and let them fall. He got to hold a kelp the size of his head. He got to adventure with his momma.
I like to hold on to these moments wih the hope that he will look lovingly on our alone time together; relish the times we spent adventuring and being impulsive. Life happens too quickly and the day to day things are just mundane and sometimes I feel detached. I am thankful for the opportunity to do something small and special like break out of our routine and spend the day with my boy. He's growing so quickly that I need to be more present and take these little opportunities more often. I'm thankful for it all.
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