Little Stars & Preschool

We had the app Fun Mandarin by innokidz when we went to China an in those first hours we played the sing along to try an distract the kids.  Boy did we have a surprise when they began singing along!  It was so fun.  Now they will run around the house and sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Mandarin and even little man has begun to learn some of it.  I jsut had to video them before they forgot it!

On the home front.  I knew I was in a bad place last week with Cav.  So I downloaded the book (I knew I didn't have time for mailing from Amazon) THe Connected Child.  It has been a lifesend and I would recommend it for everyone.  

The kids had their child find eval this morning and despite the fact that FeiFei doesn't speak the language or has issues with self care due to her dwarfism she was determined to be up to par and will not qualify for preschool.  I would have to say that this is due to a fabulous foster mom and Half the Sky program.  

Cav will have another evaluation on the 20th but we are pretty sure he will qualify for special ed.  I think that there is a smart little guy in there, he just is so lacking in his experiences that with a little intervention he will be caught up by kindergarten.  In addition, I am at a total loss over his hands.  This was NOT something that was disclosed on any of his reports.  We would have made a different decision on our medical coverage in November if we had known.  We are fortunate to have great coverage EXCEPT for therapy which is only 20 visits (combined specialties) a year.  His hands look like 5 fingers instead of 4 and a thumb.  He appears not to have a pincer grasp.  In his own resiliant way he has figured out how to use them for most things, but I can see where he will have issues in school with writing, cutting etc.  

Lastly, our new social worker came for the 1 month visit report.  She was awesome, and actually said things looked much better than she expected LOL!  THankfully, the kids were pretty good, and she was able to give me some pointers on working with Cav and his fighting and hitting of the other kids.  I DO have to say though that looking back even a week ago, this little man has come a long way!

We also learned today that he HAS to have a nap!

My baby is a Kindergartener!

A new outfit picked out by little man

Overjoyed little boy who is now going to school with the BIG kids!

Obligatory pictures with the princess (cuz big brother still had the day off!)

Which hand for the pledge?

Off I go (poor mom missed a pick of the kiss!)

 Going into my class and unpacking my bag!

Telling me all about his friends, the classroom, and their first project The Kissing Hand!

Only 3 hours of Kindergarten but a gigantic step from baby to boyhood!

First let me say it was kind of a strange day!  My sweet little man started Kindergarten today.  I stood in the cafetorium with about a thousand other people and watched as my little angel, the one who I have spent countless hours worrying about, traveling across the country for a diagnosis, and fretting over every bit of his well being.  BUT today he entered Kindergarten and walked off with is friends turning to blow me a sweet little kiss.  Normally I think I would have stood there with the other mothers and balled, but I also realized that although he is my baby, I have two others coming.  Soon, my baby will actually be our middle child.  So I sent him with all my love, my admiration for his incredible spirit and prayers that he wouldn't say anything so inappropriate that he got to meet the new principal before he had the chance to charm her!  Is that so weird!

Postcards from Holland

I was thrilled to find the entry of Postcards from Holland on the blog below. It has been a very interesting time of reflection. Not only did we lose our beloved social worker (previous post) but our little man will be five . . . YES 5 next week! We found out about his dwarfism 5 hours before he was born. Welcome to Holland has been a fabulous poem for us. Now five years later I still sometimes feel the heartache of his diagnosis, especially on his painful days. But how much have we grown, as a mom, as a family. Most importantly, without his diagnosis, we would NEVER have found us on the journey to our other 2 children.

If 5 years ago today - while I was still pregnant with all 5lb 11 oz of him, that THIS was where our journey would take us, I would have laughed. In addition, our relationship with God is SOOO much stronger and brighter. It is amazing and we feel so blessed, all due to a tiny little one born to us the beginning of August.


Postcards from Holland

It has been a fabulous ride!