"So cute!" "So little!" -pumpkin patch
On Tuesday I took William on his preschool's field trip to the pumpkin patch. Big Sister tagged along. This picture pretty much sums up the outing:
As we loaded up ourselves in the car to go to our respective preschools, Avi kept saying as casually as possible, "I love pumpkin patches." So I caught the hint and called ahead to William's preschool to verify that there was room for her to tag along. :)
Avi had an awesome time for most of it -- the hay ride, the pumpkins so big that Mommy had to carry them (basketball-size!). We also went through the corn maze, which was arduous, particularly for me as I had to carry William to prevent him from falling a million times and us getting left behind to be lost in the maze.
The most notable thing about the event for me, though, was that it was the first time I saw firsthand on a large-group scale what people's reactions to William are.
William's preschool has two locations, and both were at the field trip. A couple teachers from the other school saw him standing there, looking perhaps even smaller as he clung to his little "teddy bear" (little black bear toy), while I tried to convince him to wear his special field trip t-shirt (which he ultimately never did).
"Oh, he's from the other preschool! He's two already?" (Their minimum age.)
"Two and a half!" I said proudly, opting not to label him.
"Wow! He's so little! He's so cute!"
Later, another parent came up and said hi to William. She turned to me and said how much she loves William, and that she talks to William every time she picks up her own child. I don't know if that's related because he's a sweetie and a lot of people I've already come across think he's so wonderful. But I know he gets a lot more attention because he is so small but talks so well in his cute little voice.)
William introduced me to his best friend Maddox ("Maddox is so funny!"). I told Maddox how much William likes him and talks about him. Maddox, a full head taller than William, just smiled and patted William on the head.
They're little things, and these observations don't capture the essence of the attention he got at the pumpkin patch. His dwarfism isn't obvious yet, but it will be soon as the height difference between him and his peers continues to grow and as his slow, uneven growth makes his different proportions more plain to a casual observer. He's gotten attention for his small size for at least a year now, but now that I know that his small stature is permanent and I'm learning more about what life is like for people with dwarfism as they grow up, I'm noticing more and they are leaving a greater mark in my mind.
Like when he was playing at the bounce house at church recently and the mother of an obviously much younger child told her, "Watch out for the baby." I'm starting to really pray for resilience for my boy. I know this "baby" stuff will continue for a loooooong time and when he no longer likes to be a baby his feelings will get hurt. :(
As we loaded up ourselves in the car to go to our respective preschools, Avi kept saying as casually as possible, "I love pumpkin patches." So I caught the hint and called ahead to William's preschool to verify that there was room for her to tag along. :)
Avi had an awesome time for most of it -- the hay ride, the pumpkins so big that Mommy had to carry them (basketball-size!). We also went through the corn maze, which was arduous, particularly for me as I had to carry William to prevent him from falling a million times and us getting left behind to be lost in the maze.
The most notable thing about the event for me, though, was that it was the first time I saw firsthand on a large-group scale what people's reactions to William are.
William's preschool has two locations, and both were at the field trip. A couple teachers from the other school saw him standing there, looking perhaps even smaller as he clung to his little "teddy bear" (little black bear toy), while I tried to convince him to wear his special field trip t-shirt (which he ultimately never did).
"Oh, he's from the other preschool! He's two already?" (Their minimum age.)
"Two and a half!" I said proudly, opting not to label him.
"Wow! He's so little! He's so cute!"
Later, another parent came up and said hi to William. She turned to me and said how much she loves William, and that she talks to William every time she picks up her own child. I don't know if that's related because he's a sweetie and a lot of people I've already come across think he's so wonderful. But I know he gets a lot more attention because he is so small but talks so well in his cute little voice.)
William introduced me to his best friend Maddox ("Maddox is so funny!"). I told Maddox how much William likes him and talks about him. Maddox, a full head taller than William, just smiled and patted William on the head.
They're little things, and these observations don't capture the essence of the attention he got at the pumpkin patch. His dwarfism isn't obvious yet, but it will be soon as the height difference between him and his peers continues to grow and as his slow, uneven growth makes his different proportions more plain to a casual observer. He's gotten attention for his small size for at least a year now, but now that I know that his small stature is permanent and I'm learning more about what life is like for people with dwarfism as they grow up, I'm noticing more and they are leaving a greater mark in my mind.
Like when he was playing at the bounce house at church recently and the mother of an obviously much younger child told her, "Watch out for the baby." I'm starting to really pray for resilience for my boy. I know this "baby" stuff will continue for a loooooong time and when he no longer likes to be a baby his feelings will get hurt. :(