Ben and Maddie are both now officially enrolled for Kindergarten in the fall. They'll be in the same class, and were both pretty excited to get a trip to the school. Our timing was great, as Cassies class was just lining up for lunch, and they thought it all the more cool that they got to see their big sister. Cassies teacher also made a point of coming to find us so that she could meet Ben, which was very sweet of her. We stopped by on the way out and said Hi to the Principal, and she confirmed that she had received approval to place Ben in kindergarten AND in the same class as Maddie.
That night it became obvious that Ben expected to be heading to school the next day. He got into bed no problems at all, and told his sisters "Benjamin sona (sleep) ....school!" ..... Yeah ..Uh-oh. I'd wrongly assumed that he would take a long while to settle in and that starting in the fall would be a great time for him. Not in his little complex mind. Luckily the next morning we didn't have any meltdowns, but it was easy to see he was confused as to why he wasn't getting to go too. Its only another 6-7wks until the end of the school year here, so I wasn't holding out too much hope of getting them into any preschools, but I figured it was worth a shot. My first phone call was to the pre-school that Molly had attended for a year before going to school, and they were prepared to work with us! I explained our circumstances and asked if there was any way at all they could slide the 2 youngest kids in for a couple of days a week between now and the end of the school year, and they will! We go up on Monday to meet the teacher (who is luckily the same lady who was there when Molly was there, and shes fabulous). I still haven't decided whether to send them 2 days or 3 days ... we'll wait and see how Monday goes. I'll take our Hindi cheat-sheet with us so we can leave a copy for the teacher. I'm not sure if Ben realises that school means that Mummy won't be staying with him, so we'll have to wait and see on that one too. As excited as he is at the prospect of going to school, I suspect he'll be sending me on my way with a wave and a "Bye!". Monday we're going just an hour and a half before school finishes for the day, so I'll be able to stay with them. On Wednesday (if Monday goes well), they'll do the full 9am-12pm.
He's definitely more ready for this whole school thing than I am. I was quite comfortable with the fact that we'd have a whole 5 months together before we got to deal with that. As with everything though, we're moving at his pace and this is what he wants to do. I worry about things like how hes going to tell me how his day was ... hows he going to defend himself if another kid picks on him, ... and a million other things. To this point our language differences havent been a huge issue, as he does an outstanding job of making himself understood. I guess I have to suck it up and find comfort in the fact that the preschool is only 5 minutes from the house, and I am 100% contactable via cellphone. I trust them to call me if ANYTHING happens with him, and I can be right there. I know this will be such an awesome thing for him ...their classes are super-small and their programme offers a great balance of socialisation and structure. We'll see how Monday goes.
As a side note, please light a candle and spare a thought for a very special friend of mine who lost her husband very suddenly yesterday to a heart attack. They were an amazingly special couple who shared the kind of love that so many people out there can only ever dream of having. I know her heart is shattered right now, and I cant even begin to imagine the overwhelming sadness she is experiencing.
Sometimes its very hard to make sense of this crazy life we're living.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Oh, there are RULES?
Sir Benjamin-Rashid has spent the last couple of days throwing his weight around the house (all 48lbs of it), as he tries to work out what does and doesn't work around here. He's been a full on bag of mischief, and sniffs and pouts when things don't go his way. On one hand I think its a good thing that he feels comfortable enough to push the limits ... the downside though is with the lack of communication discipline is a hard one. He's definitely taking turns pushing my buttons and also his Dads. I think he's looking for a much bigger reaction than he's actually getting, but I don't know if thats a good thing. I know all the experts and all the books say not to engage in power struggles, but I'm finding that with a 6yr old they're kinda hard to avoid. The fact that he's so smart adds to his mischief ... like tonight when I asked him to put his shoes away - I know he knows (and he knows that I know he knows) what shoes are, yet he made a big deal of picking up everything else he could find to pick up, while totally avoiding his shoes. Me standing there trying to look all staunch and serious while pointing to his shoes didnt phase him one bit. Realising he was out of stuff to pick up, he grabbed his shoes, threw them where the shoes go, and grinned at me.
Him and Georgia also got into it tonight big time, and we bordered on another huge meltdown. She was on the computer and he was smacking the keyboard really hard and totally ignoring her as she was asking him over and over to stop. In the end she pushed the laptop away from him and he threw a fit that saw him slide off the chair and under the table. He proceeded to cry and sob, and it was a lucky distraction that saved us from another crying marathon. The distraction came in the form of a book from his Aussie Auntie Michelle in Florida that is just too cute! After he'd settled down we read it another 3 times, and then all was fine in his world. His latest is that when he gets upset he tries to make himself gag, and has thrown up a couple of times over the last couple of days. I'm 100% sure its an attention-grabber for him, as we've made it to the bathroom every time, and in between his crying episodes (and he only cries when things aren't going his way), hes not one bit sick. I'm definitely putting this at the top of the list as far as things I hope he ceases to do very soon. Everything else I can deal with, but I hate puke with a passion. I'm not a puker, and seeing someone else do it has me gagging too. With his crying episode tonight he started pushing out the gagging sound and a VERY firm No made him stop it. By all means, puke if you are sick, but don't just puke because you can. NOT cool at all.
I had a long and lovely conversation with the principal at the school he'll be attending in the fall. I was pretty concerned about this this chat was going to go, as I'd previously came to blows with a receptionist who was adamant that because of his age he'd have to go into first grade. I'd tried to explain to her that while he's 6yrs old on paper, that emotionally and physically he's a lot younger than 6. Luckily the principal completely agreed with my logic and is happy for him to start kindergarten in the fall. She's also cool with my request to have him and Maddie in the same class. Given the abandonment issues he has going on, I believe it will be hugely reassuring for him to be able to see his sister there in the same class. Add to that, that half a day is plenty long enough for him to be away from me, and volunteering is even easier with both kids in the same class!! He's keen to start school, but I'm not sure that he realises yet that school means being away from home for a few hours a day.
He has another loose tooth, and with the way he's been wiggling at it I'm sure the tooth fairy will be paying us another visit very soon. This time its one of his top ones, and I'm sure that cute smile of his will be even cuter. He went with his Dad today to the Barbers, but refused a haircut, so we'll try that again another day. At this stage I just want to get it tidied up around the edges until its long enough to cut it into something cute. He's still sporting what I affectionately refer to as the "orphan hairdo". All the kids had their hair cut the same way, even the younger girls.
All things considered, he's adjusting to his new life really really well. He definitely brings that "boy" energy to the house, and every day his English gets better and better (even if sometimes he'd like to pretend like its not). Vijay was very accurate in his description of him, as he absolutely sniffs and pouts when things aren't going his way ....
I do believe he gets that off me.
Him and Georgia also got into it tonight big time, and we bordered on another huge meltdown. She was on the computer and he was smacking the keyboard really hard and totally ignoring her as she was asking him over and over to stop. In the end she pushed the laptop away from him and he threw a fit that saw him slide off the chair and under the table. He proceeded to cry and sob, and it was a lucky distraction that saved us from another crying marathon. The distraction came in the form of a book from his Aussie Auntie Michelle in Florida that is just too cute! After he'd settled down we read it another 3 times, and then all was fine in his world. His latest is that when he gets upset he tries to make himself gag, and has thrown up a couple of times over the last couple of days. I'm 100% sure its an attention-grabber for him, as we've made it to the bathroom every time, and in between his crying episodes (and he only cries when things aren't going his way), hes not one bit sick. I'm definitely putting this at the top of the list as far as things I hope he ceases to do very soon. Everything else I can deal with, but I hate puke with a passion. I'm not a puker, and seeing someone else do it has me gagging too. With his crying episode tonight he started pushing out the gagging sound and a VERY firm No made him stop it. By all means, puke if you are sick, but don't just puke because you can. NOT cool at all.
I had a long and lovely conversation with the principal at the school he'll be attending in the fall. I was pretty concerned about this this chat was going to go, as I'd previously came to blows with a receptionist who was adamant that because of his age he'd have to go into first grade. I'd tried to explain to her that while he's 6yrs old on paper, that emotionally and physically he's a lot younger than 6. Luckily the principal completely agreed with my logic and is happy for him to start kindergarten in the fall. She's also cool with my request to have him and Maddie in the same class. Given the abandonment issues he has going on, I believe it will be hugely reassuring for him to be able to see his sister there in the same class. Add to that, that half a day is plenty long enough for him to be away from me, and volunteering is even easier with both kids in the same class!! He's keen to start school, but I'm not sure that he realises yet that school means being away from home for a few hours a day.
He has another loose tooth, and with the way he's been wiggling at it I'm sure the tooth fairy will be paying us another visit very soon. This time its one of his top ones, and I'm sure that cute smile of his will be even cuter. He went with his Dad today to the Barbers, but refused a haircut, so we'll try that again another day. At this stage I just want to get it tidied up around the edges until its long enough to cut it into something cute. He's still sporting what I affectionately refer to as the "orphan hairdo". All the kids had their hair cut the same way, even the younger girls.
All things considered, he's adjusting to his new life really really well. He definitely brings that "boy" energy to the house, and every day his English gets better and better (even if sometimes he'd like to pretend like its not). Vijay was very accurate in his description of him, as he absolutely sniffs and pouts when things aren't going his way ....
I do believe he gets that off me.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Tooth Fairy AND a Birthday Party!
This kid is a sponge. It only took once for him to "let one rip" and for me to point at him and say "You farted", and now anytime anyone lets one go, he's right on it with an enthusiastic "YOU FARTED" at the top of his lungs. Even if we all know full well that it came out of him, he'll argue the point just because he can!
Earlier this week Ben lost a tooth! As best I can tell this is the 3rd tooth he's lost, but quite possibly the first time the tooth fairy has ever visited. It had been very wiggly for a couple of days and Nani got the honour of hauling it out. He ran to the mirror to check out his new smile, but then wanted to throw the tooth down the drain! We showed him how to put it in a glass on the window sill and tried to explain that the tooth fairy would bring money. I don't think he fully grasped it, but was pretty stunned to see cash in the glass that had contained his tooth when he got up in the morning. He loved the cash so much he ran up to Nani and tried to convince her to pull out another one. Gotta love that logic. He's definitely a smart one!
His greencard arrived in the mail this week, so he's all legal! Next step is finalising the adoption here in our state. It was kinda heartbreaking to look at the photo on his card .... he's changed so much in just 3 short weeks!
Ben's 6th birthday is tomorrow, so we celebrated today. He's had the swing of singing Happy Brithday for a few days, but I don't think he realised that today would be the day we had his party. Because he still gets overwhelmed with big groups of people we kept it really small with just family. He loved his Spiderman cake, and it was pretty cute to watch him trying to work out what to do with the candles. Once he grasped that he was to blow them out he was all huge smiles as everyone clapped and cheered. Once the cake and icecream were done, he thought the party was all done and went happily back outside to play. When we were ready to do pressies he opened the first one and just wanted to leave it at that. It was a Spiderman mask and other cool toys all in one box. He wanted that box opened immediately, while I tried to convince him to go ahead and open the next one. He was like no way .. I want to keep this one! It took a bit to convince him that they were ALL for him, but once that penny dropped it was the fastest gift opening I've ever seen. He went from one bag to the next and kept saying over and over "Oh, wow ...Oh wowww....OH WOW". I really do think he's had the best day ever, and was still singing "Happy Birthday to me" when it was time for bed tonight.
Now when I tell him "I love you", he replies with "I love you very much". He's just such a sweet and affectionate little boy ... loves his kisses and cuddles, and is working out that even the most minor of injuries will score you some attention when you let out a loud "Ow!". He's also mastered the art of telling on his sisters... Every little thing that happens he's saying "Mummy" ... followed by a long story in Hindi. If I repeat what I think has happened in English, he gives his head the cutest little Indian head-bob, and says "Ha", then its back off to play happily.
I managed a few photos of him enjoying his day today ..... He's truly our little super-hero!
Earlier this week Ben lost a tooth! As best I can tell this is the 3rd tooth he's lost, but quite possibly the first time the tooth fairy has ever visited. It had been very wiggly for a couple of days and Nani got the honour of hauling it out. He ran to the mirror to check out his new smile, but then wanted to throw the tooth down the drain! We showed him how to put it in a glass on the window sill and tried to explain that the tooth fairy would bring money. I don't think he fully grasped it, but was pretty stunned to see cash in the glass that had contained his tooth when he got up in the morning. He loved the cash so much he ran up to Nani and tried to convince her to pull out another one. Gotta love that logic. He's definitely a smart one!
His greencard arrived in the mail this week, so he's all legal! Next step is finalising the adoption here in our state. It was kinda heartbreaking to look at the photo on his card .... he's changed so much in just 3 short weeks!
Ben's 6th birthday is tomorrow, so we celebrated today. He's had the swing of singing Happy Brithday for a few days, but I don't think he realised that today would be the day we had his party. Because he still gets overwhelmed with big groups of people we kept it really small with just family. He loved his Spiderman cake, and it was pretty cute to watch him trying to work out what to do with the candles. Once he grasped that he was to blow them out he was all huge smiles as everyone clapped and cheered. Once the cake and icecream were done, he thought the party was all done and went happily back outside to play. When we were ready to do pressies he opened the first one and just wanted to leave it at that. It was a Spiderman mask and other cool toys all in one box. He wanted that box opened immediately, while I tried to convince him to go ahead and open the next one. He was like no way .. I want to keep this one! It took a bit to convince him that they were ALL for him, but once that penny dropped it was the fastest gift opening I've ever seen. He went from one bag to the next and kept saying over and over "Oh, wow ...Oh wowww....OH WOW". I really do think he's had the best day ever, and was still singing "Happy Birthday to me" when it was time for bed tonight.
Now when I tell him "I love you", he replies with "I love you very much". He's just such a sweet and affectionate little boy ... loves his kisses and cuddles, and is working out that even the most minor of injuries will score you some attention when you let out a loud "Ow!". He's also mastered the art of telling on his sisters... Every little thing that happens he's saying "Mummy" ... followed by a long story in Hindi. If I repeat what I think has happened in English, he gives his head the cutest little Indian head-bob, and says "Ha", then its back off to play happily.
I managed a few photos of him enjoying his day today ..... He's truly our little super-hero!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
A.W.O.L
Not Ben ..... the fish.
At least, 2 are AWOL and one is DOA. I'm not sure what he did with them, or how I'm supposed to explain it to his sisters, but seriously, we are minus 3 fish. I swear the cat has been grinning. I'm seriously thinking he fed them to the cat (not counting the one that tried to run and ended up shrivelled on the carpet) .... thats what I'm telling myself anyway... lets blame the cat. Its better than thinking he may have ate them himself or worse yet, stashed them somewhere. My Mum asked tonight how am I planning on explaining to him that we don't mess with the fish. Honestly ... I have NO clue. The survivor was a baby one, so I can only assume he didnt see it. We'll rename that one Lucky.
Anyway, moving on....
We had our first trip to the Doctors yesterday and he's put on 7lbs in the 2wks we've been home! He's had a cough that we've been worried about, but the good news is his chest is clear and they're putting it down to allergies. We'll see how the medicine does. The doctor was a really positive experience which was a good thing. I told him the day before that he needed to go to the Dr and he freaked, so yesterday I told him we were going to the store and we detoured. He now loves the Dr, thanks to the ball and the toy airplane they sent him home with. I have some very real concerns about his hearing (which I was hoping was a wax build-up) ...his ears are clear, so a hearing test will be in the near future.
Today we hung pretty close to the house. He took a trip with Papa in the car and saw Papas work (the police department), and then came home via Fred Meyer where he scored a new DVD featuring his favourite super-heroes.
Its been another great couple of days ....
Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, we found my phone!!! I'll be calling T-mobile tomorrow and reinstating my service! I feel like a turd, as my phone is also my phonebook, so without it I'm kinda screwed. I've missed a very special birthday, and all sorts of other good stuff (but its ok, cause they know I love them heaps, right? :o) ... ) Unlike the fish, I'm not AWOL ... just outta touch.
At least, 2 are AWOL and one is DOA. I'm not sure what he did with them, or how I'm supposed to explain it to his sisters, but seriously, we are minus 3 fish. I swear the cat has been grinning. I'm seriously thinking he fed them to the cat (not counting the one that tried to run and ended up shrivelled on the carpet) .... thats what I'm telling myself anyway... lets blame the cat. Its better than thinking he may have ate them himself or worse yet, stashed them somewhere. My Mum asked tonight how am I planning on explaining to him that we don't mess with the fish. Honestly ... I have NO clue. The survivor was a baby one, so I can only assume he didnt see it. We'll rename that one Lucky.
Anyway, moving on....
We had our first trip to the Doctors yesterday and he's put on 7lbs in the 2wks we've been home! He's had a cough that we've been worried about, but the good news is his chest is clear and they're putting it down to allergies. We'll see how the medicine does. The doctor was a really positive experience which was a good thing. I told him the day before that he needed to go to the Dr and he freaked, so yesterday I told him we were going to the store and we detoured. He now loves the Dr, thanks to the ball and the toy airplane they sent him home with. I have some very real concerns about his hearing (which I was hoping was a wax build-up) ...his ears are clear, so a hearing test will be in the near future.
Today we hung pretty close to the house. He took a trip with Papa in the car and saw Papas work (the police department), and then came home via Fred Meyer where he scored a new DVD featuring his favourite super-heroes.
Its been another great couple of days ....
Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, we found my phone!!! I'll be calling T-mobile tomorrow and reinstating my service! I feel like a turd, as my phone is also my phonebook, so without it I'm kinda screwed. I've missed a very special birthday, and all sorts of other good stuff (but its ok, cause they know I love them heaps, right? :o) ... ) Unlike the fish, I'm not AWOL ... just outta touch.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Where did this week go?
Benjamin-Rashid continues to astound us with the way he is settling in. Its so hard to believe that it was only 2 wks yesterday that we touched down on American soil ...it really does feel like he's been here so much longer.
Of course (yet again) I've left it days since updating his diary, so now I get to play catch-up! I really do need to make it point to put some time aside each day to do this, espescially as so much has been happening with him.
This week saw a mixture of meltdowns and smiles. The worst meltdown to this point came earlier in the week after a trip to Costco. He wasn't in the best mood before going ... he's had this thing about taking trips (even short ones) in the car. I dont know if its the fear of not coming back home again, or just that he dislikes the car. Once we're in and rolling he's completely fine ... its been getting him IN the car thats the challenge. Anyway, we branched out to Costco and by the time we got there he was happy. He loved sampling the different foods along the way and attracted a LOT of attention by randomly yelling out "I LOVE YOU" at the top of his lungs. As one lady walked past and said "how do you ask him to be quiet when he' telling you that?". Of course everytime he said it he flashed me a million dollar smile!
The first sign of the day going downhill was when we came across an Indian lady who was demonstrating food at the store. She talked with him first in English and he totally ignored her. Then she commented on my jewellery (I have a ring and a pair of earrings which are very Indian) ... I told her that we'd just come back from India, and then she asked if Ben spoke Hindi, to which I replied yes. At this stage I was thinking he was going to LOVE this. At last, after ten days of being surrounded by English, here was someone who spoke his language. WRONG. He completely ignored her. Would not answer her questions and would hardly look at her. She was very sweet and very understanding. Realising that there was no way he was going to be drawn into talking with her, we moved on (and she suggested that next time we were in the store we keep an eye out for her in case he wanted to chat). After we got past her, he proudly started spouting off the days of the week in English. I had no idea he knew them and had believed to that point that I knew all the english words that he knew. I praised him and told him how smart he was, and his reply was to start running thru all the months of the year in English. I guess at this point in his transition, Hindi is just not what he wants to be hearing.
The major meltdown came once we were home. Georgia was babysitting for friends that night, and they came to pick her up. He got SO upset, and nothing would make it any better. I dont know if he thought she was going away for good, or if he was just feeling sad ... (this is definitely where the language barrier makes life hard). For four hours he sobbed .. really heart-wrenching body-wracking sobs. Eventually he fell asleep on me, only to wake up and cry some more. I felt totally useless as nothing I could say or do would help him feel better. Once he was feeling better, he decided that he wanted ice cream, and has been happy ever since. He's definitely better for having gotten it all off his chest ... I'm not sure what triggered it, the Indian lady at the store, or Georgia leaving in a car .. but either way, it happened and it probably needed to happen. The only thing I have to say about it is that he is so entitled to these meltdowns. In his place I wouldnt be doing half as well.
Friday we ventured out to the zoo. To avoid another meltdown about going in the car, I pulled up the Oregon zoo website and showed it to him before we left. He was very excited!! I call him my "monkey boy", and he saw a picture of a baby monkey with its mother and happily announced that it was "Mummy, and Benjamin-Rashid"!! At the zoo he had so much fun. He loved the polar bears and the giraffes, but was all about the tigers and of course the ellie-phants. All things considered it was a VERY good day!
Today of course was Easter. I dont think he had any real concept of the Easter bunny, but boy did he enjoy his treats!! This little guy has the ultimate sweet tooth! We headed off to Grandma and Grandpas house for Easter dinner where we discovered he does not like turkey. I can only assume he expected it to taste like chicken, but he screwed his little nose up and that was the end of that! He was completely on show-off mode, and run on a sugar high for most of the day. He loved the Easter egg hunt and didn't even need to be shown what to do. He even grazed his knee running thru bushes to beat all the girls to the eggs. As soon as we were back inside he was trying to give away all his goodies to the adults. He is so incredibly giving, and hates the thought of anyone going without .. whether its cereal at breakfast (I dont eat breakky, which concerns him), thru to choccy and candy from his Easter basket. There were so many people there today, and he did so well! He really was all about his Grandpa today, which was just awesome. Grandpa has only ever had grandaughters until now and it really was a mutal love-fest.
Well, this post is turning into a novel, so I'm going to quickly highlight some of this weeks milestones and high points before signing off ...
*Pefected G'day Mate with a true-blue Aussie accent ... (thanks Nani ..aka Trish)
*Has decided that territorial is a good thing, and proudly announces "Melee Mummy" when he giving me snuggles.
*Has worked out the whole "brother/sister" thing, and knows that he is the "brother".
*Got anxious waiting to go to Grandpas house, and called every guy he saw with grey hair "Grandpa" ..including the neighbours father in law where he helped himself to their Easter lilly and was waiting to be invited inside"
*Found new English phrases including "knock it off" (said to Georgia when she was making him crazy this morning), as well as "Monkey boy", "My Mummy", and of course, the all famous "NO".
*Received the coolest book from Aussie Auntie Natasha. (thank you Natasha, you are TOO sweet and we BOTH adore the book!)
And most importantly ...... he really seemed to turn a corner as far as feeling loved and secure here with us at home. He's starting to realise that this is FOREVER. Hes letting me see his owies, and hes spontaneously giving lots of kisses and loves.
The best part of all is to see his face light up when I hold him tight, kiss his gorgeous face and tell him so very proudly.....Melee Benjamin Rashid!!!
Mine .... forever.
And I feel so lucky. He is a dream come true and more. This precious little boy is mine all mine, forever and ever, and I cannot wait to see what every tomorrow brings with him. He deserves all the love in the world, and yet he gives more love than anyone could ever imagine could come out of his little body.
I knew I loved him before I even laid eyes on him .... and even though I would never have thought it possible, everyday he finds a way to show me how to love him even more.
How lucky am I?
Of course (yet again) I've left it days since updating his diary, so now I get to play catch-up! I really do need to make it point to put some time aside each day to do this, espescially as so much has been happening with him.
This week saw a mixture of meltdowns and smiles. The worst meltdown to this point came earlier in the week after a trip to Costco. He wasn't in the best mood before going ... he's had this thing about taking trips (even short ones) in the car. I dont know if its the fear of not coming back home again, or just that he dislikes the car. Once we're in and rolling he's completely fine ... its been getting him IN the car thats the challenge. Anyway, we branched out to Costco and by the time we got there he was happy. He loved sampling the different foods along the way and attracted a LOT of attention by randomly yelling out "I LOVE YOU" at the top of his lungs. As one lady walked past and said "how do you ask him to be quiet when he' telling you that?". Of course everytime he said it he flashed me a million dollar smile!
The first sign of the day going downhill was when we came across an Indian lady who was demonstrating food at the store. She talked with him first in English and he totally ignored her. Then she commented on my jewellery (I have a ring and a pair of earrings which are very Indian) ... I told her that we'd just come back from India, and then she asked if Ben spoke Hindi, to which I replied yes. At this stage I was thinking he was going to LOVE this. At last, after ten days of being surrounded by English, here was someone who spoke his language. WRONG. He completely ignored her. Would not answer her questions and would hardly look at her. She was very sweet and very understanding. Realising that there was no way he was going to be drawn into talking with her, we moved on (and she suggested that next time we were in the store we keep an eye out for her in case he wanted to chat). After we got past her, he proudly started spouting off the days of the week in English. I had no idea he knew them and had believed to that point that I knew all the english words that he knew. I praised him and told him how smart he was, and his reply was to start running thru all the months of the year in English. I guess at this point in his transition, Hindi is just not what he wants to be hearing.
The major meltdown came once we were home. Georgia was babysitting for friends that night, and they came to pick her up. He got SO upset, and nothing would make it any better. I dont know if he thought she was going away for good, or if he was just feeling sad ... (this is definitely where the language barrier makes life hard). For four hours he sobbed .. really heart-wrenching body-wracking sobs. Eventually he fell asleep on me, only to wake up and cry some more. I felt totally useless as nothing I could say or do would help him feel better. Once he was feeling better, he decided that he wanted ice cream, and has been happy ever since. He's definitely better for having gotten it all off his chest ... I'm not sure what triggered it, the Indian lady at the store, or Georgia leaving in a car .. but either way, it happened and it probably needed to happen. The only thing I have to say about it is that he is so entitled to these meltdowns. In his place I wouldnt be doing half as well.
Friday we ventured out to the zoo. To avoid another meltdown about going in the car, I pulled up the Oregon zoo website and showed it to him before we left. He was very excited!! I call him my "monkey boy", and he saw a picture of a baby monkey with its mother and happily announced that it was "Mummy, and Benjamin-Rashid"!! At the zoo he had so much fun. He loved the polar bears and the giraffes, but was all about the tigers and of course the ellie-phants. All things considered it was a VERY good day!
Today of course was Easter. I dont think he had any real concept of the Easter bunny, but boy did he enjoy his treats!! This little guy has the ultimate sweet tooth! We headed off to Grandma and Grandpas house for Easter dinner where we discovered he does not like turkey. I can only assume he expected it to taste like chicken, but he screwed his little nose up and that was the end of that! He was completely on show-off mode, and run on a sugar high for most of the day. He loved the Easter egg hunt and didn't even need to be shown what to do. He even grazed his knee running thru bushes to beat all the girls to the eggs. As soon as we were back inside he was trying to give away all his goodies to the adults. He is so incredibly giving, and hates the thought of anyone going without .. whether its cereal at breakfast (I dont eat breakky, which concerns him), thru to choccy and candy from his Easter basket. There were so many people there today, and he did so well! He really was all about his Grandpa today, which was just awesome. Grandpa has only ever had grandaughters until now and it really was a mutal love-fest.
Well, this post is turning into a novel, so I'm going to quickly highlight some of this weeks milestones and high points before signing off ...
*Pefected G'day Mate with a true-blue Aussie accent ... (thanks Nani ..aka Trish)
*Has decided that territorial is a good thing, and proudly announces "Melee Mummy" when he giving me snuggles.
*Has worked out the whole "brother/sister" thing, and knows that he is the "brother".
*Got anxious waiting to go to Grandpas house, and called every guy he saw with grey hair "Grandpa" ..including the neighbours father in law where he helped himself to their Easter lilly and was waiting to be invited inside"
*Found new English phrases including "knock it off" (said to Georgia when she was making him crazy this morning), as well as "Monkey boy", "My Mummy", and of course, the all famous "NO".
*Received the coolest book from Aussie Auntie Natasha. (thank you Natasha, you are TOO sweet and we BOTH adore the book!)
And most importantly ...... he really seemed to turn a corner as far as feeling loved and secure here with us at home. He's starting to realise that this is FOREVER. Hes letting me see his owies, and hes spontaneously giving lots of kisses and loves.
The best part of all is to see his face light up when I hold him tight, kiss his gorgeous face and tell him so very proudly.....Melee Benjamin Rashid!!!
Mine .... forever.
And I feel so lucky. He is a dream come true and more. This precious little boy is mine all mine, forever and ever, and I cannot wait to see what every tomorrow brings with him. He deserves all the love in the world, and yet he gives more love than anyone could ever imagine could come out of his little body.
I knew I loved him before I even laid eyes on him .... and even though I would never have thought it possible, everyday he finds a way to show me how to love him even more.
How lucky am I?
Monday, April 02, 2007
A quick catch-up!
I know I havent done much in the way of posting this week, but we've been keeping busy!! To look at Benjamin-Rashid now, you'd think he had been here forever. He's been fishing (and caught one!) ..it was catch and release ..but you'd never know it to see the fingernail prints he left in that fish ....No fear at all.
After trying out Maddies bike and not crashing too badly, he yesterday got one of his own. He is very proud of his "cycle" and the royal blue crash-hat complete with flames that came with it. He motors up and down the street and tells everyone he meets that its HIS cycle!
Today we hit the park and it was too funny. It didnt take long (only one fall) for him to grasp the concept of holding on while on the swing. As reluctant as I was, he wanted to go higher and higher! He climbed high and slid down both poles, and then we went and kicked the ball around for a while, where his treadless shoes saw him slip and slide all over the grass. He should have been exhausted by the time we got home ...but no ... not to exhausted to cycle!
We've had only two minor meltdowns all week. His English is astounding me daily and the way that we understand each other and manage to communicate would make it hard for most people to believe we don't speak the same language. It really does feel like we've been home so much longer than a week. I'm thinking he was as ready for his family as we were for him!
This is DEFINTELY love!!
After trying out Maddies bike and not crashing too badly, he yesterday got one of his own. He is very proud of his "cycle" and the royal blue crash-hat complete with flames that came with it. He motors up and down the street and tells everyone he meets that its HIS cycle!
Today we hit the park and it was too funny. It didnt take long (only one fall) for him to grasp the concept of holding on while on the swing. As reluctant as I was, he wanted to go higher and higher! He climbed high and slid down both poles, and then we went and kicked the ball around for a while, where his treadless shoes saw him slip and slide all over the grass. He should have been exhausted by the time we got home ...but no ... not to exhausted to cycle!
We've had only two minor meltdowns all week. His English is astounding me daily and the way that we understand each other and manage to communicate would make it hard for most people to believe we don't speak the same language. It really does feel like we've been home so much longer than a week. I'm thinking he was as ready for his family as we were for him!
This is DEFINTELY love!!
There has to be an easier way down!
On top of the rails with Maddie and Cassie. Luckily Trisha demonstrated the "easy" way down (she just wishes the rails were a little wider). Ben gives it a go .... (and he got stuck too!)
First week home
"Superman" complete with jacket and XXXX cap ready to help Dad in the back yard. ... Deciding that "baby bottle pops" taste good ... Snuggle time with Cassie on the couch. Life is good!
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