So, this is ds3 here, filling in for my mom. Ya know... my name really isn't ds3... but my mom doesn't want me using my real name on here... something about privacy and all that. It's too bad, 'cause I happen to like my name. When my brothers or my mom and dad ask me Where's (insert my name here)? I always point to myself. Then they ask where Mama is and I point to her, and then where Dada is and I point to him. Plus each brother too. Everyone seems to think it is really a great thing that I can do this... but come ON, they keep on asking me! Uh, ya know I told you where everyone is already.. and can't you see with your own eyes everyone sitting at the table??? Hmmm.... I don't know about the smarts in this family.
This week, I've really been giving my mom a fit. Yeah, it's usually over eating lunch, but sometimes it's breakfast too. She'll start feeding me, and then I'll just turn my head away and say "no". Sometimes I switch it up and cover my mouth and say "no" too. She tries to let me feed myself too, but I still say No. She was getting so frustrated with me... but all of a sudden in the last two days it's like it doesn't faze her. She just asks me if I'm all done, and then it's naptime. She kisses me goodnight and I lay down to sleep. Guess what? When I wake up and want a snack, you won't believe what she gives me. My lunch! I eat it for her then... She says I am in a better mood after my nap, and I guess I am hungry. She just shakes her head and has no idea why I do what I do... Doesn't she know I'm just trying to keep her guessing???
My brothers are always calling for my mom. They are like Mom, where is my belt? Mom, did you see my spelling book? Mom, can I have a snack? Mom, can we go outside? Mom, can we play wii? Mom, when is dad coming home? Mom, Mom, Mom..... I used to call her Mama... but now I see that her real name is "Mom". I call her that tons of times a day too.... Mom, Mom, Mom. Kind of like this: "Mom." hjjkdgjkh, oidkjhd hoidhiihdiu hdoi;kljhdy. She always says, Uh-huh or really when I talk to her. It's like she doesn't understand what I am saying. I couldn't BE any clearer!
Last Friday I had my first boo-boo. Poor mom had h-y-s-t-e-r-i-a. (That's what dad said). I like to run fast in the kitchen.... cause there is a great running lane there. But I ran fast and snuck around the island and ran into an open drawer. I cried so hard, and mom scooped me up faster than an eagle, and when she saw this big "goose egg" on my head, she cried too. (I don't know why they call it a goose egg, cause no goose laid an egg anywhere near me.) So, my mom just cried and dad put ice on it and I cried 'cause the ice was cold and my head hurt. But I'm getting better now. The bump is almost down and mom is pretty much recovered. (I'm still running though, which is pretty cool.)
Guess I better sign off. Dad says it's time for bath and bed.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Another Good Day....
I want to post some photos soon...maybe tonight... but for now I just have time to write that it's been a good day. Monday and Tuesday were incredibly long.... so this is a welcome relief!
Ds3 ate his breakfast and lunch well..... I don't know why, but that is always such a relief to me. He is doing the typical toddler stuff (one minute he likes something, the next minute he hates it). Just the typical stuff that my boys did too... but today breakfast and lunch were a breeze. He had eggs, cereal and a 1/2 an english muffin for breakfast with his juice. Lunch was 3 homemade meatballs, organic peach yogurt and applesauce. He LOVES my homemade meatballs which is a great thing, because everyone else does too. This will be a great staple to fall back on, and will help him with eating his textured table food.
Naptime today was great. He always wants me to sing to him, and he lets me hold his little hand now as I rock him in the cradle position. This is the hand that he sucks his fingers on to self- soothe. Each time I stop singing he looks at me and says "more". So, I sing again. Sometimes he wants his hand back, but today he fell asleep after about 25 minutes of singing/rocking. He fell asleep in my arms, while I held his hand. He startled himself when I stopped singing, looked at me groggily to see where exactly he was... and then snuggled back down into my arms to sleep some more. Oh, how I hated to finally put him in his crib! But, I had more schooling to do and some things to get ready for this evening... (me included).
So, there...that's my quick post on how our day went so far today. I'm off of here to get cleaned up... (me and the house.) :-)
Ds3 ate his breakfast and lunch well..... I don't know why, but that is always such a relief to me. He is doing the typical toddler stuff (one minute he likes something, the next minute he hates it). Just the typical stuff that my boys did too... but today breakfast and lunch were a breeze. He had eggs, cereal and a 1/2 an english muffin for breakfast with his juice. Lunch was 3 homemade meatballs, organic peach yogurt and applesauce. He LOVES my homemade meatballs which is a great thing, because everyone else does too. This will be a great staple to fall back on, and will help him with eating his textured table food.
Naptime today was great. He always wants me to sing to him, and he lets me hold his little hand now as I rock him in the cradle position. This is the hand that he sucks his fingers on to self- soothe. Each time I stop singing he looks at me and says "more". So, I sing again. Sometimes he wants his hand back, but today he fell asleep after about 25 minutes of singing/rocking. He fell asleep in my arms, while I held his hand. He startled himself when I stopped singing, looked at me groggily to see where exactly he was... and then snuggled back down into my arms to sleep some more. Oh, how I hated to finally put him in his crib! But, I had more schooling to do and some things to get ready for this evening... (me included).
So, there...that's my quick post on how our day went so far today. I'm off of here to get cleaned up... (me and the house.) :-)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Static Electricity
This is how we started off one of our school days last week. See that striped blanket?
This is what happens when you take a break and play hide under the blanket with your boys!
And this is what your 2 year old's hair looks like after hiding many times under a blanket.... static electricity anyone???? LOL!
He always has this expression for a photo ..it is HARD to catch his smile...... trust me he was having a blast! Naturally we did a quick internet study on what else??? Static Electricity.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Picture Post....
This is what some of our days look like here at our house. We homeschool, so you'll find ds3 with us wherever we are in the house. Sometimes we're in the living room, sometimes the kitchen or dining room, sometimes the playroom, and yes we have even been known to use the actual homeschooling room from time to time. Here are some photos of ds3 with his older brothers, who just love him so much!
This one is in the actual schoolroom...
A little math and a little scribbling.....
Reading time.... Baby Einstein Farm animals
Coming down for yum-yums... all smiles!
Lunch time!
Reading a story before dinner....
Okay, I can read it myself now....
End of day snuggling on the big comfy chair watching what else? Baby Einstein Farm Animals!
A quick story....
I just have to share about my time with our little guy last evening. Ds3 has this thing which I mentioned earlier of going into his pretend world and not letting the rest of the world in. We really have to model interactive play, because it doesn't come naturally to him.
Anyway, we have a play kitchen set in our playroom. Ds3 liked to open the door and get behind the little door (between the door and the wall.) It was like his hiding place. Now normally this would be a very normal childlike behavior... creating a little house for yourself to play in. But I noticed with ds3, he would hide in there and not let anyone else into that pretend world. If I tried to approach him he would get angry at me.... and that was when he would lash out. We ended up pushing the kitchen set against the wall to avert the situation.
So, having solved that problem with the kitchen center, I saw the same behavior last evening with the play laundry center. He figured out how to move it over and open the door to create a hiding spot for himself. He would go into his pretend world and and I could see the difference in him. It's kind of hard to describe. When I came over to interact he got mad again and yelled and turned away to face the wall. He did not want to interact. He was m-a-d. When I continued to try to interact and hold his hand he pulled it away and started to cry hard...tantrum like. I very sweetly asked him "Can mama play in your house too?" "Mama would like to play with you too." He was still facing sort of away from me, and I was right up close to him speaking softly in his ear. Then I swear he surprised the heck out of me.
I promise you I was sooo expecting a smack from the little guy. He whipped around and raised both arms and threw them around my neck and just wept in my arms! Oh my goodness, I was stunned!
I just hugged him and comforted him and let him know that mama loves him and would love to play with him. I was just so surprised at how he threw himself in my arms.... my poor little guy. As he calmed down, I asked him if he wanted to get a toy to play with mama..... he answered "Da". And so we went to get a toy or two to play with together.
I shared with Chris what had happened and he said, "The poor guy was probably surprised to find that someone loves him enough to want to play with him." Perhaps he is right.... I am just hoping that it's sinking in...how much we love him!
Anyway, we have a play kitchen set in our playroom. Ds3 liked to open the door and get behind the little door (between the door and the wall.) It was like his hiding place. Now normally this would be a very normal childlike behavior... creating a little house for yourself to play in. But I noticed with ds3, he would hide in there and not let anyone else into that pretend world. If I tried to approach him he would get angry at me.... and that was when he would lash out. We ended up pushing the kitchen set against the wall to avert the situation.
So, having solved that problem with the kitchen center, I saw the same behavior last evening with the play laundry center. He figured out how to move it over and open the door to create a hiding spot for himself. He would go into his pretend world and and I could see the difference in him. It's kind of hard to describe. When I came over to interact he got mad again and yelled and turned away to face the wall. He did not want to interact. He was m-a-d. When I continued to try to interact and hold his hand he pulled it away and started to cry hard...tantrum like. I very sweetly asked him "Can mama play in your house too?" "Mama would like to play with you too." He was still facing sort of away from me, and I was right up close to him speaking softly in his ear. Then I swear he surprised the heck out of me.
I promise you I was sooo expecting a smack from the little guy. He whipped around and raised both arms and threw them around my neck and just wept in my arms! Oh my goodness, I was stunned!
I just hugged him and comforted him and let him know that mama loves him and would love to play with him. I was just so surprised at how he threw himself in my arms.... my poor little guy. As he calmed down, I asked him if he wanted to get a toy to play with mama..... he answered "Da". And so we went to get a toy or two to play with together.
I shared with Chris what had happened and he said, "The poor guy was probably surprised to find that someone loves him enough to want to play with him." Perhaps he is right.... I am just hoping that it's sinking in...how much we love him!
Monday, February 2, 2009
A really good day!
Today has been a really good day... not necessarily because ds3 hasn't had any meltdowns.... he has. It's just that he's handling them better. They are just two year old tantrums.... and not anger directed toward me. I'm grateful for that.
A few things I am noticing regarding our attachment:
Snuggling
Ds3 woke earlier and was crying for me. Usually he sleeps almost an hour later, and we typically head down for breakfast then. But it was too early for that nonsense (the breakfast, not the crying).... so I hugged him and picked him up and carried him into our bed. Chris was already gone for the morning, and so ds3 and I just slept a little (hardly) and woke up gradually. When my other two were little they would come and hop on our bed for some mommy snuggle time in the mornings. I've noticed ds3 is starting to understand what snuggling means. He's definitely more relaxed and will lay his head on my shoulder or let me hold his little hand. He hasn't got the concept yet....but I see vast improvement from when we first got home.
Babbling/Words
He's also babbling SO much more. I know the babbling is pre-speech... and his is just going, going, going. He had one Russian word when he came home from the orphanage and now he can say about 15. Some on his own and some that he repeats. I have a feeling we'll see another little spurt of words in a few more weeks.
Interaction
I am also pleased with the babbling because he's not only talking...but talking to us. It's encouraging in the area of interaction! Ds3 is really good at pretending. I think it was his way of survival in the orphanage, he would go into his own world... and many times people wouldn't intrude. I'm thinking the caregivers had their hands full with about 1o other children, many younger than him. So when we first got home if I was let's say, focusing on the older two and some schoolwork....ds3 would be playing something pretend. Often I would go up to him and just kneel down on his level and ask what he was doing? Just in a sweet voice, almost like can I play too? What I would typically get was an angry babble, and a smack in the face or a spit, (one of the two). He just did not like people intruding upon his world. I think for him, his pretend world, was one way he was able to be in control. I'm reading a lot about the adopted child's need to feel in control because he has never had an adult that he could rely on to meet his needs. I'll share what I'm learning in another post sometime.....
Anyway, early last week when I would approach ds3 in the same manner, he would actually try to include me a little bit in his world. He'd just hand me the pretend item and go on his way. In order to break that control nature I would pretend with him a little bit and then redirect him to a toy we could play with together. Always with lots of eye contact with him, in order to build the level of trust.
Today, ds3 took that interaction a step further...and this is where the babbling comes in. As he was playing today, he would occasionally come and get me and as we walked together he was babbling to me all the time. He'd look at me and make hand motions like I completely understood what he was saying! lol! I just kept on saying, "Oh really?" "Oh my goodness. then what?" "What did you say next?" When he motioned with his hands around his waist, I just asked, "Are you gonna put a belt around it?" He shook his head and said.... "Da". lol!
I'm so hoping we are turning a corner in regards to attachment. I know we have a long way to go...but today has been really encouraging.
A few things I am noticing regarding our attachment:
Snuggling
Ds3 woke earlier and was crying for me. Usually he sleeps almost an hour later, and we typically head down for breakfast then. But it was too early for that nonsense (the breakfast, not the crying).... so I hugged him and picked him up and carried him into our bed. Chris was already gone for the morning, and so ds3 and I just slept a little (hardly) and woke up gradually. When my other two were little they would come and hop on our bed for some mommy snuggle time in the mornings. I've noticed ds3 is starting to understand what snuggling means. He's definitely more relaxed and will lay his head on my shoulder or let me hold his little hand. He hasn't got the concept yet....but I see vast improvement from when we first got home.
Babbling/Words
He's also babbling SO much more. I know the babbling is pre-speech... and his is just going, going, going. He had one Russian word when he came home from the orphanage and now he can say about 15. Some on his own and some that he repeats. I have a feeling we'll see another little spurt of words in a few more weeks.
Interaction
I am also pleased with the babbling because he's not only talking...but talking to us. It's encouraging in the area of interaction! Ds3 is really good at pretending. I think it was his way of survival in the orphanage, he would go into his own world... and many times people wouldn't intrude. I'm thinking the caregivers had their hands full with about 1o other children, many younger than him. So when we first got home if I was let's say, focusing on the older two and some schoolwork....ds3 would be playing something pretend. Often I would go up to him and just kneel down on his level and ask what he was doing? Just in a sweet voice, almost like can I play too? What I would typically get was an angry babble, and a smack in the face or a spit, (one of the two). He just did not like people intruding upon his world. I think for him, his pretend world, was one way he was able to be in control. I'm reading a lot about the adopted child's need to feel in control because he has never had an adult that he could rely on to meet his needs. I'll share what I'm learning in another post sometime.....
Anyway, early last week when I would approach ds3 in the same manner, he would actually try to include me a little bit in his world. He'd just hand me the pretend item and go on his way. In order to break that control nature I would pretend with him a little bit and then redirect him to a toy we could play with together. Always with lots of eye contact with him, in order to build the level of trust.
Today, ds3 took that interaction a step further...and this is where the babbling comes in. As he was playing today, he would occasionally come and get me and as we walked together he was babbling to me all the time. He'd look at me and make hand motions like I completely understood what he was saying! lol! I just kept on saying, "Oh really?" "Oh my goodness. then what?" "What did you say next?" When he motioned with his hands around his waist, I just asked, "Are you gonna put a belt around it?" He shook his head and said.... "Da". lol!
I'm so hoping we are turning a corner in regards to attachment. I know we have a long way to go...but today has been really encouraging.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Video Camera Update
Do you remember this post here that talked about ds3's snapping his fingers to Frank Sinatra? I mentioned how I have to get Chris to put a new tape in the video camera, right? So I can start video taping ds3 and all his cuteness!
Update: The video camera is now broken! UGH! Seriously, Chris took it to a repair place and they want to charge almost $200 to fix it. Ummm... no thank you. Then he took the whole thing apart practically to try and fix it.... no dice. It's really broken, and we don't have a clue why.
So, guess what is one my short list to purchase pretty darn fast?
You got it.......
A new camcorder.
Hopefully one that is on sale at Circuit City's liquidation. And hopefully one that will last!
Update: The video camera is now broken! UGH! Seriously, Chris took it to a repair place and they want to charge almost $200 to fix it. Ummm... no thank you. Then he took the whole thing apart practically to try and fix it.... no dice. It's really broken, and we don't have a clue why.
So, guess what is one my short list to purchase pretty darn fast?
You got it.......
A new camcorder.
Hopefully one that is on sale at Circuit City's liquidation. And hopefully one that will last!
Goodbye Cable
It is with a bit of regret that we say goodbye to our extended cable TV viewing. Being a sports oriented family we will miss ESPN very much. I will miss a few other stations like HGTV, and the Food Network. But, we're trying to cut some costs and this is one that must go.
The benefits aren't purely monetary...though $40 extra dollars a month will be helpful. I'm really looking forward to saying goodbye to some of the trash that is out there. I'll appreciate not having the arguments with my older boys on what they can and cannot watch. With only 12 channels to choose from their choices will be limited. I'm also looking forward to having the TV off and my family doing more fun activities either around the dining room table, or outside when the weather gets warmer.
Honestly, I don't think we are really going to miss it..... :-)
The benefits aren't purely monetary...though $40 extra dollars a month will be helpful. I'm really looking forward to saying goodbye to some of the trash that is out there. I'll appreciate not having the arguments with my older boys on what they can and cannot watch. With only 12 channels to choose from their choices will be limited. I'm also looking forward to having the TV off and my family doing more fun activities either around the dining room table, or outside when the weather gets warmer.
Honestly, I don't think we are really going to miss it..... :-)
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