Birthday weekend...

There are 22-ish hours & counting until B's birthday party! C & I worked together last evening writing coded messages of many sorts (evil laugh). Today I went to the party store to get supplies- last year I just went with all black, but this time they had "super spy" themed stuff which I just couldn't resist. They even had fake mustaches, which will be fab because we're going to make the spy operatives put on disguises every time they leave spy base (B's room) to go on missions :) :) I am going to wander the house with a camera & laugh all afternoon! Although it hasn't been nearly as intense a process as last years' party, I think this years will be as much fun, if not more, because B has been involved with as much of the planning as possible. He even came up with the crucial point of the spy operation- he's going to disappear & the kids will have to find him (hee hee!). I arranged for him to sneak over to a neighbour's house during one of their "spy operations", & we'll have clues for finding him. It should be a blast :)

The timing couldn't be better, because we're finally seeing the results of raising B's zoloft dosage 2 1/2 weeks ago. He hasn't gotten stuck in days, nor has he been hitting his head on things. He's more focused in the morning getting ready for school & today he shocked me by getting dressed before I did! He's been doing well at school, too, although today was a trial because tomorrow & the birthday events are so close... B's been taking wonderful advantage of the taste of Spring we've been getting in the northeast US the past few days, too. He & dad got the bikes out on Wednesday & they were out riding for nearly an hour. B had trouble remembering what to do- he stopped riding about mid-last-summer, so hasn't been on his bike since July. C was worried that he'd outgrown his bike, but being bigger is actually making getting on & off much easier for him. He gave-up on it last summer because he fell off every time he dismounted & half the time he attempted to get on the bike. Motor-planning issues make it difficult for B to remember how to do physical things until he's done them many, many times. The fact that everything's coming together bike-wise is so heartening... because it turns out that he's gained 8 lbs. in the past 2 months :( ...even with adding twice-weekly swimming to our efforts to watch what he's eating (not that he overeats, just makeing sure he's eating healthy, non-fatty stuff...). I was so bummed when Dr. B, his psychiatrist, weighed him last Tuesday. I didn't want to talk about the weight gain in front of B, so C called her back & they talked about when we need to get worried about the rate of gain & what the alternatives are. We are committed to keeping him off anything that's more dangerous than seroquel, but she seemed to think that were other, relatively safe drug options to try, if necessary. But not until school is over!! The main thing right now is that he's enjoying life a lot more than he was, even a few days ago. This morning while I was brushing my teeth before school I heard him making troubled noises in his room & was able to talk him back to earth through the bathroom door, which was amazing. I had been worried that he might have trouble with the excitement of his birthday & party tomorrow, but I'm feeling much more confident now about his ability to cope. Hooray!

Sooo... think of us tomorrow afternoon, with 7 spy kids prowling the house for clues & spy gear (& their missing "chief" hee hee). We have a few adult friends coming over too, to join in the fun (plus the cake :) & keep us sane :) "See" you all when it's over!