Friday, February 26, 2010

The Power of Communication

This afternoon, when I was at work, I received a phone call from Ethan's school. Anytime I see that phone number my heart skips a beat but then I remembered that Ethan was already home with Marc and Katie. I answered the call to find it was the mischief man's teacher calling to make sure she followed through on a promise that she made to him earlier.

Today, the children were given granola bars that our son absolutely loved; so much in fact that he began to grill Miss Mary as to where she purchased them. She said he was absolutely adamant that she call me and tell me where I could find them in Publix (our local grocery store)! She told him which aisle that the bars could be found (the cereal aisle) and then she placed the call to me so she could tell me the brand and flavor. We laughed about our very funny little guy that has come so far; not only with his verbal skills but also with his desire for anything edible these days.

Our little boy, who basically interrogated his teacher about the granola bars, is the same child that suffered from such bad oral aversion just over two years ago that he would not eat any solids and was on a mixture of formula, Ensure and mushy cereal mixed in his bottle at the age of two and a half! He went through some intensive therapy for quite awhile after coming home and has turned into a pretty darn good eater. He does not willingly eat his veggies but there is not much else that he will not eat with great gusto and we use our powers of persuasion to get the veggies in too.

We finished up the conversation with Miss Mary, sharing a few more anecdotes about E. We then happily ended our conversation by sharing our joy over how far our little guy has come.

When I called home and told Marc the story he told me that Ethan had been telling him all about where to find the granola bars ever since he got home!

Of course, on the way home I stopped at Publix and scouted out the granola bars based on Miss Mary's description. When I arrived home and pulled them out of the bag, my sons happy response was proof positive that I listened to his teacher very well and Ethan's happy smile was my "A" for effort!

5 comments:

Tammie said...

Now that's cool! Miss Mary sounds like a wonderful teacher who believes in following through on her promises.

Now I know that I can bribe Ethan as well as his friend Erin. Those granola bars are her breakfast on most mornings. As you know she's still a horrible eater, so getting her to eat one of this makes me happy.

Love Letters To China said...

He is so adorable! I'm so glad he's eating with gusto now. One would never know that little boy was ever in such dire need for nutrition just 2 1/2 years ago. He looks like he has been healthy and loved forever. He has two wonderful parents... that's for sure!

Hugs...

Michelle said...

Lori - that is to funny. Glad you were able to find the bars and that Ethan enjoys them so! He has grown so much in so many ways.

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

That is such a cute story!! It is so great to hear how he has progressed in two years. Sounds like it was a long and hard road, but it definitely paid off!

I bet he was so happy to see that you brought home the Granola Bars!!

Enjoy your weekend:)

Lisa

Vivian M said...

I had a hard time believing he had an oral aversion and did not eat, because when I met him he "took" all my Girl Scout cookies, lol.
I am so glad he knows what he likes and that he is eating much better than when he first came home. He really has come such a long way thanks to his loving family!