Four Months

I was too busy griping last night to realize what I should have posted was Wen's four month update. Pair that with the fact that I didn't fully believe Jack's complaints about his stomach and sent him to school yesterday where he puked in the classroom (he made it to the toilet, luckily) and that makes yesterday a Stellar Mom Day for me!

While I type, she and Paxten are colouring. That's an area of weakness as she mostly still scribbles, but she has learned how to draw circles. She just corrected me that her sheet of Crayola Colour Explosion 'paper' is not really paper, the construction paper is. Pointing to the black sheet "this one no paper, Momma" then pointing to the construction paper "This one paper." Excuse me. And now she just told Rookie "Rookie! You go outside in minute!" she's doing so well. She had a blast at Christmas and LOVED opening presents. The present opening was well set up by Tink's bday in early December - Wen couldn't understand why SHE wasnt' getting any presents, and I think she was shocked when she got to open her share over Christmas. Christmas Eve the kids get to open one present, which is disappointingly pjs to wear that night. I was rummaging under the tree to find the right packages and she started stomping her feet and whining. I looked at her and asked what was wrong and she stomped her foot firmly as she demanded "PRESENT!" I thought we were in BIG trouble! In fact, she was very good the next morning, and actually kept asking me if she could open each tissue wrapped gift in her sock, then neatly piling them beside her on the floor (as opposed to PJ who threw every present in any direction in her haste to open the next, you'd think a bomb went off in her sock spraying gifts all over the floor).

She's getting along better with everyone, less biting and more age appropriate fighting and whining. She doesn't like to share, preferring to stash things away in bags, suitcases, pockets... this hoarding is typical of a kid who had no personal possessions for the first 2.5 years of her life.

We've had appointments with doctors, dentists, Early Intervention workers... and everyone is pleased with how she's thriving. As I've mentioned, she has some dental surgery in her future, and needs to have MMR and varcella immunizations done. Later in the month, we're meeting with a psychologist that has experience with attachment and bonding. I'm not terribly concerned, but I want someone who knows to tell me she's doing okay in a better safe than sorry approach in case I'm naive and optomistic in my perspectives. She still has teary times, where she cries for reasons I can't determine. One afternoon over Christmas she threw a complete screaming and crying fit when I asked her to "say thank you to Poppa John" for lunch, something she had done easily many times before. I have no idea why she reacted that way. It's happened before for reasons I can't see - I certainly know tantrums and drama are part of a 2 year old girl's life (seen it first hand from another resident Drama Queen), but the qualities of these tantrums are different.

In general she's a happy, healthy, loving, funny, sweet little girl. I am very suspicious of her global delay diagnosis, I think she's doing way too well to have any cognitive delay... can someone with poor intelligence speak sentences within four months of being exposed to a new language? I don't think so. We are so happy she was found for us, she fits in perfectly with us and we can't imagine life without her in it. It's definitely a miracle!

N