home, sweet home

We did it. We arrived home around 9:30 or so tonight. Lars was so sweet & so happy to be home--he could hardly contain himself. Grins from ear to ear, head thrown way back & excitement from head to toe. It was a joyful homecoming.

Larsy did great with Grandma & Jean while the moms were at his IEP meeting. When we arrived, he was asleep on Jean's lap. After he woke I sang him a going home song, and after about the fourth time through it looked like a little light bulb lit in his head, and he understood what I meant. He became very animated & excited, and pretty much remained that way through the packing & exiting scene. He was thrilled to have both his hands free, to be out of the room, in the lobby, outside, in his car seat- it was all just perfectly delightful and enthusiasm reigned.

Larsy had many, many cuddles and a much-needed and deeply-appreciated bath, climbed into his jammies, and snuggled off to sleep. Joa was happy to have his baby brother home, and wasted little time falling asleep himself.

Yesterday Joa expressed teary fears that Lars will "just scream all day like before he went to the hospital." Yeah, it's a concern. We are going to help him with ideas of what he can do when this happens, and are looking into a great lead from a friend for an ongoing sibling group at children's. He thought that sounded like "a great idea."

Joa also held some concern about his dear Denise, who had surgery on her shoulder today. He was much relieved to hear when she was home & resting comfortably. He spent a bunch of great time today with cousin Jean & continues to be just tickled that Grandma came all the way out from California to be with him while his brother was in the hospital. I haven't dared to break the news that she'll be leaving Monday.

And then there are the rats.

Joa's great disappearance into cable tv while he visited the hospital has further reinforced our resolve that this will remain a TV-free house. He watched some program on animal planet about rats, and he's now terrified that rats can "blow up your house" and he insists he learned that when you're in the city, you're "never farther than 15 feet from a rat." And he has all sorts of odd information about skulls in a church basement, hanging from a ceiling, and the plague. We haven't been able to sort it out. I'm certain we can live well without it, though.

We were again blessed with dear friends & comfort food: Abigail & Lily brought mac n cheese & their mama's brownies, and wonderful apples for me. Mmmmm. This was their second visit, and Lars screamed through it, as well as the first. Luckily they see him at Perkins when he's not screaming, too. The girls made him a cool tactile picture, and so did Chase. The laptop camera makes everything a mirror image, so reading's hard, but here they are:
I have much to say about today's IEP meeting, but I'm not going to publish it here... One just never knows who is reading what.

Some happy Lars after we told him he got to leave the hospital photos:


It's fantastic to have him home again. Tomorrow he gets to see Alice & Meredith & Sue. He also receives his new wheelchair tomorrow. Big day.

Welcome home, Larsman. Welcome home.