There is a lot happening over here, so I am going to sandwich several posts into one long post, follow up to come soon.
Firstly, and here I am speaking in broad strokes and simply here, because our family decided to let the rest be part of our family story: We said goodbye to my amazing granddad this month. He passed at home surrounded by family praying and giving God thanks for his life. We miss him very much, but are grateful knowing he was completely restored and with Jesus just in time for his next wedding anniversary. We had an amazing summer as a family together that we were not expected to have! I know it was a special gift that I was able to see one of my children get to know and love my wonderful grandfather. Precious, precious gift.
Vivienne started mother's day out in September, and it's been going well. Actually....she did sit- yes sit- on a child on day two, but now we know that in addition to the traditional preschool rules...we also do not sit on our friends! But overall, so far so good. She enjoys school and cried last week when she was too sick to go. It's hard that she has things she wants to say that she can't, that she may try to speak up for herself and not be able to communicate successfully. Unfortunately that belief that being around other kids helps with speech is not always true. You'd be surprised how often I hear that...I just want to say "You understand she knows how words sound....this is physical, like muscles, surgery....don't you?" BUT we have seen a marked increase in her negotiating skills! :-) If she wants something, she wants "five" of it...and if she isn't sure if she's going to be allowed to have something, she'll ask for "one" or "yiyo" (little)...and then if we decide she can have it, as the item is being delivered.... "four? five?" "Five ice cream!" Funny girl.
She is also now tall enough to see over the tops of counters and strategically important shelves in our refrigerator. This is... hmm....an interesting development for a very independently minded child! Yesterday she decided to make eggs. Mind you, she had just been offered eggs and had insisted "no no no"....Child waited until I walked into the living room, then proceed to make herself a plate. She came into the living room carefully carrying six pretty brown eggs on her kitty cat plate. Raw of course. Of course we talked about mama holds the eggs, let's go make some eggs. I took a couple eggs and started cooking. But the floor felt wet....and sticky. And when I went for a rag, I felt it again in front of the refrigerator- oh yes. Apparently those six eggs were the lucky ones! Vivi had pulled some eggs out of the fridge, dropped one (or two), and tried to clean them up- she had thrown away the shells and even the yolks. That clear egg white gave her away!
Oh, and then there was the day she decided she wanted more chocolate milk (chocolate was purchased because she was one sick baby). She had been given "one" chocolate milk under our new, Vivi-established quantity language. Now, it speaks to our concept of size development that she plotted her course in advance, recognizing that one cup would not be enough to contain the remaining milk in the quart jug she intended to drain. So she got out a second cup (we do open cup drinking at home- SLP mommy). Then apparently helped herself to the chocolate milk stored at the top of the refrigerator, unscrewed the top, poured the milk to the top of one glass, poured it to the top of the other glass....but there was still milk in the jug. And we all know the container being poured from must always be emptied. It's a rule or something. So...she just kept pouring. All this of course happened very quickly, during a time when coincidentally (or not) both mama and daddy had our hands full. As she's saying "oh no, oh no," I'm catching milk in a toy tub and Bear is running for the towels, we're sopping it up...and Vivi is firmly scolding the milk for getting away from her like that.
Yes, we are working on appropriate refrigerator use! But listen, I see it as surely there are gourmet meals in our future with such a chef in our kitchen...ya think?!
Let's see, what else...Using about three words and a ton of gestures, she asked me the other night whether the beans we were eating were the same as the beans in her bean bag. She was pretty concerned about that....
Ah, and lastly! During Vivienne's adoption we were over half way through the process (matched or just before) when we began telling others we were adopting, and this time we announced it in the very beginning of the process, so we are asked much more often how things are going and "how soon." Well, our timeline has been pretty textbook, and I am happy to say we are right on schedule. Nobody worry- God has this! It may seem longer if you've been following along since the start of this adoption at the end of January/beginning of February this year. A medical needs adoption from China typically takes maybe 12-15 months start to homecoming, although timeline shift all that time, and we are at 8 months, all is well...moreover, this is God's plan, God's time...as with any child's entrance into a family. And having witnessed the perfection of His timing in bringing our daughter to us....how can I worry?
Our prayers are as always for our child in China to be receiving love and the medical care needed, for our process to be guided by the Lord, for my sweet girl's speech, and for Bear and I as we make big decisions for our family. Thank you for following this small blog- we love having you walk with us!
