I love this!

I was just over at my friend Lisa's blog, and noticed a quote she has.

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break."

-Ancient Chinese Belief


I love this, because I really do feel that Michael was my son from his very first breath.  I don't know how to explain it.  I didn't know him then, but felt him in my heart.  

Still Growing Like a Weed

Last week Michael was playing around when he turned suddenly to run and ran right into the door.  He caught the corner of his eye on the doorknob.  He is fine...cried for a minute, but was feeling much better after hugs and kisses.  Then today, I was scrolling through a bunch of pictures on my phone when I noticed something...

 

These were taken his first week home.  Look how tiny he was!!  That doorknob is way above his head.  And so I took another picture of him just a few minutes ago when we went up to his room for books and bedtime.  I wanted to go back and compare the new pic with the old in relation to the doorknob.

So now Michael has been home for 14 months, and he is 3 years and 4 months old.  He is in the 50th percentile.  He has grown 7 inches and gained 9 lbs.  Awesome!!

Haircut

Michael has very curly hair, and I love his little curls.  But it doesn't grown longer as much as get bigger.  His hair expands until it's a giant mop like this.  And as much as I love those curls, he needs it shorter for this hot weather.

  So today was haircut day.  The clippers tickle, so there is a lot of squirming and laughing.  And he really doesn't like to sit still for too long.  It's a challenge.  Corey did the cutting.  At one point, Michael moved suddenly, the clippers made a sort of noise and Corey's eyes got big.  Michael had leaned into the clippers cutting way shorter that he was trying to.  Not good.  So now on one side, he looks a bit like he was attacked by a weed wacker.

Here's how it went....

 

Me and My Bike

And it all happened in under 15 minutes!

I only work a couple days a week now, so I can spend more time at home with Michael.  On days that it's just the two of us, we ease into our day.  It is our tradition to sit in a big chair together in our jammies first thing in the morning.  I drink my coffee, and he drinks his o.j. from a sippy cup, as we watch Curious George.  Michael loves "the monkey" as he calls him.  After that, I make him breakfast, and make sure he has eaten and is all set before heading off to take a shower.  I make sure he has juice, a DVD is playing, everything he can hurt himself with is put away, and those extra locks we had to install on all the out doors are locked.  One time, before these locks were installed I went to the bathroom and returned to find him in the garage with all 3 cats...so we re-evaluated our child proofing.

This morning I left him laying on the couch watching episode #2 of Curious George, and he assured me he didn't need anything.  I told him I'd be back in 10 minutes, and if he needed anything to come to the bathroom and get me.

When I got out of the shower, I walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom to find Michael standing...pantsless....holding his fingers in his ears.  That's what he does when he knows trouble is looming on the horizon.  I'm not sure why.  We hardly ever even yell.  But there he was in the bedroom standing like that and on the ground in front of him was a gallon container of juice.  He was holding his fingers in his ears because the cats were in the bedroom.  We close the door to the bedroom to keep the cats from furring up the place.  So as I shoo the cats out of the room we have a conversation.

"Sweetie, where are your pants?"  A fair question I think.  I'm not even going to ask about the juice.
"All wet," he says.
"Did you have an accident?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, but where are the pants?"
"Laundry."

As I walk to the laundry room where I assume he left his pants, I pass the kitchen with the refrigerator door wide open.  Michael had generously restocked the fridge with ALL our bottled water.  The entire bottom shelf was nothing but bottled water.  I choose to ignore this.

I got the laundry room and the dryer was still going like I had left it...but now his pee soaked pants were spinning with all the clean clothes.  He had also fed the cats....A LOT.  And spilled a bit...okay, a lot of that too.

I love how much he wants to help.  He got his own juice refill, fed the cats, restocked the fridge, and was trying to dry his pants.  At times like this I try to see the positives of what he was trying to do.  It also helps to go to my happy place and chant my happy place mantra "puppy dogs and ice cream...puppy dogs and ice cream."

Pre-school

This morning I went to visit the preschool Michael will begin attending in the Fall.  He will be in the 3 year old class.  I wanted to see it in action, and they said I could come sit-in during "circle time".  When I walked into the classroom, they were doing the alphabet.  The teacher would say a letter, and the sound the letter makes.  Then the kids would say words that start with that letter.  After that they updated their calendar by having a cute little girl come up to the front and stick the number 4 in the proper place on the May calendar.  She didn't really know where to put the number and the teacher had to guide her.  Everyone clapped for her.  Then we said the Pledge of Allegiance and sung Our Country 'tis of Thee.  They all knew every word.  Another little girl stood up on a chair and held the flag high while we did this.  All the kids watched to make sure I participated.  On Fridays they do "show and tell", and since they had been discussing "transportation", everyone brought up magazine pictures of various types of transportation...trucks, tractors, a dog (lol), lots of pics of Lightning McQueen, etc.  After circle time, they all headed to tables for snacks, and I had a minute to talk to the teachers.

I'll be honest.  I'm REALLY nervous about my baby starting preschool.  I know I'm being stupid, but he's already heading off into the world...a world that can be mean.  He will start on September 5th.  He will probably love it, and I will probably cry.

When the teacher walked up to me, she asked what I thought.  I said, "I don't know if he's ready for this."  I told her that Michael had lived his first 2 years in an orphanage in Russia, so his verbal skills were far behind the kids I had just observed.  I also said that these kids sat in their spots for 15 minutes, and Michael may not be too good at that sitting thing.  She assured me that they had worked up to this all year.  That the kids couldn't do this in the beginning either.  She also said that this class I had watched was mostly girls.  The class had 10 kids, only 2 of which were boys.  Both of the boys were more fidgety and had to be reminded to sit or listen a few times.  She said that they play it by ear in each class, and since girls can sit longer, this class tends to sit more and do quieter things.  Michael's class may not be like this.  All the kids were SO much more verbal than Michael.  They asked questions and could carry on conversations that I understood.  Although I understand what Michael says, others probably would not understand it all.  The pediatrician says that is normal for kids who acquire multiple languages very young, and he no longer qualifies for speech because he tests too high.  But I'm still afraid of how he'll do come this Fall.  He doesn't know the entire alphabet, and he can't say the Pledge.  He doesn't even speak in complete sentences.

My parents watched Michael while I visited the school.  They asked how it went, and I started to cry.  I'm stupid, I know.  He is behind, although has made AMAZING strides in his short year in the U.S.  They reminded me that these kids were almost 4, and kids learn so fast.  My Dad said that being a parent is tough because you have to let them go out there and maybe get hurt.  He said I would be doing him a dis-service to hold him back.  My Mom said she felt the same way when I started school, and that I am normal to be nervous.  I do think it will be good for him.  I want him to make friends, and learn how to do all the things those kids were doing.  It's 3 days a week from 9a to noon.

The class is held at a beautiful old church.  The teachers are wonderful.  I was so impressed with the class...the kids, the room, the little outdoor playground.  All the kids were sweet and polite.  One little girl was painfully shy, and had to be coaxed up front for show and tell.  She hadn't brought anything to show, and the other girls had given her some of their pictures so she wouldn't be left out.  I thought that was really nice.

I could really use some words of encouragement or help, here.  If ANYONE has adopted a toddler, please let me know how preschool was for them.  Were they behind when they started?  How was it?  Anything would be appreciated!  

Oh, and btw, since today is May 4th...May the 4th be with you!  I'm a dork, what can I say!  



  

Happy Easter!