I cannot even fathom how the years have flown as fast as they have. One minute I was nursing my beautiful baby boy and the next I was walking him to his class on the first day of kindergarten! It is so cliche to say but they REALLY DO grow up so fast!!
Elliot is really enjoying kindergarten. The first couple of days he shed some tears, as I expected. But now he jumps out of my car every morning like champ. His best friend Aislee is in his class and I think this has really helped him to adjust.
One of my biggest fears of sending him to school was how others would react to his port wine stain. In preschool it wasn't AS scary because he was only around kids his age. However, since our kids attend a charter school he is surrounded by all ages of students. I asked him after his first week of school if anyone had asked what his birthmark was, and he said "just Emma's friend Teagan on the bus" and that was it. He is lucky to have his own little group of supporters at school. Not only does he have his siblings, but also my best friends (Alisha) 3 kids and all of our neighbors.
Elliot will be having another full strength treatment in December. We had considered stopping at the doctors request, however after a summer full of LOTS of outdoor time and not enough sunblock it seems that the mark is beginning to darken again. When we lived at the apartments I was diligent in applying sunscreen almost every single time we walked out the door. That's because going outside was a process that involved me ALWAYS. Now that we have our own house and yard the kids are in and out constantly from the moment the sun rises. This has caused frequent sun exposure without proper sunscreen way too often. I have decided to put a small shelf by the front door to hold the sunscreen products and hats...with a sign to help Elliot remember that we HAVE to put it on before walking out.
That's all of the update I have for now. I really appreciate all of the followers that his blog has gained since it started, and I truly hope that our journey has helped even one person who was given this path in life.
xoxo
Jena
