1. Just because I want to remember how hilarious she was at two-and-a-half....
Hannah: I have a sister in Kazadom
Me (thinking to myself, OMG, she is having a traumatic repressed memory, here we go...)
Hannah: Her name is Rapunzel and she lives in a shoe.
Hannah (at the zoo): What do bears eat?
Me: I think mostly meat.
Hannah: Oh. I thought dey eated Oatmeal Creme Pies!
So, whoever invented daily savings time DEFINITELY was not a parent. It is 9:30 at night as I write this and Hannah is still wide awake enjoying the evening with me...
Me: Why don't you ever sleep? What is wrong with you?
Hannah: Hmmm. I guess I am a yittle bit crazy.
2. One of my new friend's in the AP world is almost on her way to pick up her own daughter after a looooong wait and roller coaster adoption journey. She had a "virtual" shower and everyone was asked to send her one sentence of advice, a quick reflection on motherhood. Sort of a "What I Wish I Had Known" kinda thing. I sat down to try to write it about 20 times, but it's so hard to put into one sentence how much you learn in those first few weeks and months of motherhood. I considered several...You will make mistakes...it's okay to want a break...even though she's adopted she will have your eyes...nobody really knows what they are doing...This too shall pass...But I finally decided on the old standby...SLEEP NOW.
3. We did get some great news last month that I forgot to post. We had our LAST visit with the orthopaedic surgeon. He declared Hannah's foot 100% healed and she will need "no further interventions." Amazima! So grateful to her doctor at Dayton Children's hospital. As we were walking out of the Ortho's office, and saying goodbye for the last time, Hannah jumped off the three foot exam table and proceded to race down the hall in her socks, crashing into a rack of books. Somehow that goodbye wasn't too hard to say, as for some reason I have confidence we WILL see Dr. Albert again...
4. I just want to say for the millionth time how my I love my adoptive mom friends. I was lucky enough to spend time down in Florida with one of them and our kids last month. The nice thing about hanging out with some of the other adoptive families I know is that there’s so much less explaining and apologizing to do. They get it. We get that our kids didn’t have parents for a while at a crucial time in their development. It has repercussions. We’re working it out. We’re healing. We’re doing great, actually. But our version of doing great looks different that it does for kids who have had a typical attachment cycle in the first three years of life. I will say this ~ I almost cried at how far our kids have come in the past 9 months. I marvel at the resilience of their joyful hearts.
5. This has been a month of mostly fun, with a long trip to Florida to see family and lots of play time with friends. Hannah also got her acceptance letter (whew) for registration at Colonial Schools in September. While I feel confident she will be academically ready, I'm still not sure it will be the right fit for her emotionally. And so, we manage to steal a few moments here and there to work on our very modified version of a homeschool preschool program. Here is a snippet of what we have been working on...
Science ~ Hannah is very interested in animals right now, so during our last trip to the library, we checked out some preschool books on the life cycle of a frog. We were also able to find some cards for matching young/adult animals (puppy-dog, kitten-cat, etc.) I try to do lots of "hands-on" science projects with her. For instance, at the museum last week, we looked at different kinds of shells, watched a short video on seasons, and introduced the water cycle. After her swim class last week, we stayed late at the pool to "experiment" with different items to test whether they sink or float. We also went on a hike this weekend with some friends to see how maple syrup is made.
Math ~ Aside from counting, we are also practicing one to one correspondence with cards and objects. For instance, she matches the number 3 with the picture of THREE ducks.
Prereading/Language/Phonics ~We continue with our weekly sight words, as well as matching pictures with words. We are also working on identifying beginning sounds in words. In regard to receptive language, we are looking at associations (things that belong together), and sequencing a story. In the coming weeks, I will be introducing game-playing (we are starting with Memory), not only for social pragmatics and rule following but also for visual discrimination skills.
Geography/Culture ~ Hannah can name her address, including city, state, country. We are currently looking at maps and globes. I also found a great video that introduces the flags to kids.
The Arts ~ Hannah got a keyboard for Christmas, and we will soon be starting an introduction to the notes. We also work on different art mediums, including drawing, painting, pottery, stamping etc. She can copy and recall from memory many different letters, shapes, figures, etc.
Gross Motor ~ We continue with swimming and gymnastics, with a switch to soccer and tennis in the Spring.
Acts of Kindness/Etiquette ~We are working on saying "Hello" and "Goodbye" to others without having to be reminded. We are working on the concept of "giving" by giving away old toys and clothes to a local mission.
Here is the month in pictures....
Fun at the park...
.
Playing on the beach in Florida (visiting family)
With Great Grandpa
One of the things we did while down South was go on one of those tourist-trap yacht cruise tours through the Intercoastal to view the "Homes of the Stars." I was a little in awe of the amazing "beach cottages" as they were called (one had six kitchens and a glass elevator). A little depressing to come back to our toy-strewn, two bedroom condo with six people milling around in it. But, as my very wise aunt said "Some of these people are so poor, all they have is money!"
And I thought to myself...I would rather have THIS....
before I think of THIS...
instead of THIS....
XOXO, Erin
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3 comments:
Amen sister. No greater riches and no greater joy!
Ditto from your Kaz friends in Wa State!
That's great that you are capturing the funny things that Hannah says. I wish I could do better at that because Miras says the funniest things too. fortunately it gets even better as they get a little older and start mispronouncing big words, etc. I just wish Irina was verbal (though she's made great progress). Not only to be able to converse and capture the funny things she says (she is quite the jokester - even in her non-verbal state!) - but to be able to teach her more of the concepts that you are focusing on with Hannie. Not that we haven't been doing so - Irina especially loves to 'experiment' with where magnets will stick or what floats and what sinks - but it is hard when the child can't confirm that she 'gets' the concept. Like counting, she will "mm" "mm" "mm" and touch things like she is counting them but can't pronounce 1 2 3 so I don't really know whether she gets it or not. In any case, it sounds like you are really on top of her home "curriculum"! And it looks like you've been having great month too - love the photos. How do you find the time to do all of this and work too???? p.s. congrats on the last ortho appt. - must be a great feeling to be done with that Dr.!
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