Today was better than yesterday.. but only just. I’m trying to get our little boy used to some sort of routine in the day, hoping that it will help him sleep better. He doesn’t like to sleep during the day, and recently has been pretty sleep deprived because of it, constantly yawning and in a nasty mood for most of the day (except morning, after a good night’s rest).

While today wasn’t all fun and games, there were some highlights:

• The Little Bug tried out his new hand-made trousers that Rachel and I put together the other day. He loved them! The fit isn’t quite right, but I didn’t really expect our first attempt to be perfect.
• He walked across the room (with some upper body support help from me) until we hit the wall, then was turned around and walked back!
• He had some more fun rolling from belly to back. (Yesterday he pitched head first over the boppy pillow he was propped on, and proceeded to try rolling off the bed. Got pretty close, but I was watching so it didn’t work!)
• He is so close to doing the motions needed for crawling!! I am hoping it was just a fluke (I seriously don’t want a crawling baby to chase after yet) but his leg movements were VERY convincing. His legs were crawling, but his arms and chest stayed put. It was so funny!

The not-so-highlights of today included:

• His refusal to sleep more than 30 or 40 minutes at a time for his naps before waking up upset. Like, really upset, not just the “cry for a bit and go back to sleep” upset. The “screaming bloody murder roll-himself-onto-his-back and FREAK OUT” upset.
• He was super gassy and uncomfortable most of the day.

Well lets hope that our days get progressively better. Eventually he’ll get used to a routine… (sigh)

We received a voicemail on our phone today from the lady at the social security office, saying that they had (finally) “verified” our son’s birth with the county, and that we’d be receiving his card in two weeks. Praise Jesus! One piece of paperwork down, several more to go…

When we applied for our son’s social security card back in December, we never thought it would take THIS LONG to get it! Yet here we are, still waiting.

I just got off the phone with someone at the social security office where we applied for it, and she said just the same thing that was said to Tim when he tried calling about it two weeks ago. It has not been processed, and is in the system as being one that “cannot be processed.” She had no other information and gave me the name and extension of the person who is in charge of the application so I could ask her what is going on. However, just as what happened to Tim when he tried, I was transferred to the other person and immediately hit voicemail. Tim left our name and number when he called, and we never heard back, so I’m not too optimistic about it.. but I did the same, because what else can you do?

At least this time I have a name and extension to continue calling until we get an answer. I didn’t think that having our baby at a birthing center instead of a hospital would cause this much of a hassle with getting his social security card! They are supposed to be able to process applications for babies even if they’re done out of hospital. I am more than a little annoyed that it has been this long without them so much as notifying us about the supposed problem with his paperwork, which is STILL a mystery because the agent won’t pick up her phone.

This whole thing is even more annoying because we can’t apply for a passport before having his social security card, thanks to some new law as of three years ago. So here we are, stuck waiting on a number.

In general I am overly optimistic about how much time it will take to get things done. I know that last year I was thinking we’d have applied for our visas by this time, never once imagining we would still not even have his passport. *sigh*

God knows the timing of everything. I just need to keep remembering its all in His hands.

Tim tried going back to work on Tuesday to see how well his ankle would do without being elevated, but it was too much. He was in a lot of pain by the afternoon, and is back to working from home for at least the rest of this week.

Tim is now able to “walk” on his feet without pain! He hobbles around pretty slowly, with an interesting limp that is most reminiscent of a zombie walk (bwaiiiins!), but we are very encouraged that he has at least this much pain-free motion with his bad ankle.

Continue to pray for a full recovery!! We go back to the doctor on Thursday for some x-rays to see how well it is healing. He is still having trouble getting comfortable at night because he is so sore; we are hoping that the rest he is able to get is enough to help with the healing process, even if he doesn’t feel rested. (But, it is hard to ever feel rested with a new baby! :))

Again, thanks for the prayers and we will continue to update with new information on his progress and our anticipated return to Spain.