D and I have been having visits since the end of November. He is a very charming little boy if he wants to be and definately quite outgoing. Very very little awareness of stranger danger, understandable since he's had to completely trust one stranger after another in his life. It's a little disconcerting, though, to have a kid his age constantly greeting everybody that walks by or going to someone else's table at Burger King and sitting down to chat. A toddler maybe, but an almost 8 yr old? I'm sure there's some big developmental explanation that somebody could write a case study about, but he's certainly a friendly guy.
We haven't had any problems yet, but we don't get to spend more than 6 hrs at a time together. We've mostly just been hanging out, getting used to being in this house with these dogs and this mom. I keep wondering when this big temper tantrum or wild outburst is going to happen, but I don't see any sign of it. Of course, I have been pretty easygoing too, so far. We're still in a little bit of a guest/host relationship, but I don't think in an uncomfortable way. When he says "going to your house" I always reply with a "going to our house". Saturday, we talked about how my family would be related to him when I'm his mom. Another Grandma (foster mom is "Grandma"), Grandpa, and aunts. He was interested in meeting the aunts, and we had already planned to celebrate all 4 family February birthdays next visit. He can meet them then.
Miles and Duncan are still pretty intimidating to him. They are just big and wild and so excited to see him. We have a routine when we get home - he runs around to the front door, and I go in the back and let out the dogs, and then let him in. They are catching on, though. It's gonna get harder and harder to get them to go outside when they can hear him running down the driveway. We need lots of work on dog etiquette. Always have, but now moreso. Of course it probably doesn't help that he runs to the treats every time he walks in. Is he trying to bribe them into calming down? I guess that's something we can work on together.
Things are progressing anyways, and I got a call today to come in to the agency to sign subsidy papers. I'm sure that one of these days, I will wish that I could ship him off to his other house, but for now, I am feeling as impatient as ever.
