Thursday, January 24, 2008

January 2008 Written Update

I love getting these updates from the O about the kids, it helps to get to "know" them & make me feel like their Mom. We are getting so close to picking them up & I am getting beyond excited. I have never met or held my kids so the thought of getting to meet them has me on the edge of my seat. Laur

C - aged 4 1/2 years - January 2008 update

The Lion Room kids have been really busy these past few months. Many of the other kids have taken trips to Port au Prince for medical and INS appointments. The kids love to talk about going in airplanes and ask almost everyday where they are going to, it is so cute to hear them repeat their State or talk about Canada. They also love to ask what their new adoptive surnames are and think they are really funny when they try to say them.

The Lion kids loved the Christmas season, they were so excited to decorate Christmas cookies and especially to lick all the frosting off them. Each child received a Christmas gift too and they’ve all been keeping busy playing with them, they mostly got trucks, balls, dolls and there were even a few toy lawn mowers. Their other favourite Christmas thing is the Baby Einstein Christmas movie; all the kids just love it. In one part of the movie Santa and Mrs. Claus are dancing and the kids love to imitate them, bending their knees and wiggling their hips, they are so funny.

Someone very kindly donated some great hair care products for our girls so Katie has been busy washing all the girls’ hair and giving them deep cleansing treatments. We are now spraying the girls’ hair everyday with a special protective mist that helps to prevent breakage; the girls’ hair is already noticeably softer. We were blessed to have a dentist come and stay with us for a few days recently. He examined all the children’s teeth and was really impressed with them, brushing every night has really helped keep them in good shape.

C is as cute and fun as ever. She loves to feel special and get to play in the volunteer house or take a walk. Someone recently donated a toy kitchen for us and all the kids love it. C is so funny when she comes over and plays with it, she’s like a little mommy and makes sure to serve up lots of food. Sometimes her food combinations are a little interesting, she’ll throw all the toy food she can find into a saucepan and serve it up to whoever is near her! She really enjoys exploring (just like her brother) and likes that the kitchen has little drawers and presses where she can hide smaller toys, it’s interesting looking in them when she leaves, it’s amazing how much she can fit into a little space. She was so excited when you sent new clothes for her with E; she enjoys having her photo taken, especially if she gets to do it with D, so the new clothes were a great excuse for an extra photo session. She has been wearing the green dress a lot, I think that one is her favourite and it fits the best. She can be a bit of a tomboy when she wants and likes to get rough with all those boys outside, she’s definitely able to stand up for herself but she also has a very soft side. C is such a sweetheart, she’s a true little girl at heart and likes to play with dolls and help with babies. Sometimes I’ll watch her trying to push smaller kids in the swings, she’s very sweet.

One of her Christmas gifts was a baby doll and she was so excited to get it. She was really careful with her baby, making sure to hold her properly and feed her her bottle. After a little while she asked Katie if she could put some water in her baby’s bottle to feed her, Katie told her that she could in a little while when everyone else was finished opening their gifts. A few minutes later Katie saw C get up and leave, when she asked where she was going C replied ‘m gen pipi’ (I need to go potty). It wasn’t long before C came back with her baby’s bottle full of water; she’s one smart cookie and will try to figure out a way to get what she wants. You should have seen her face when her baby started to go potty though, she was so surprised she wasn’t sure what to do with her, thankfully there was a volunteer on hand to give show C her baby’s potty and diapers so she could take good care of her.

She also got some hair clips and it wasn’t long before she had all of them on her head. She likes to look pretty, she gets excited when she puts on nice clothes and has her hair done, especially if it means that she gets to go somewhere (usually on a walk or to church). C loved all the gifts that you sent for her, she had a lot of fun with Ms. Potato Head, changing all the accessories and even putting the glasses on herself. She was so excited to get more books, she LOVES to read. She has been sharing her My Little Pony with the other girls outside and everyone has been dancing to her new music. Lately she has been asking when she can go to Port au Prince, she really wants to go in an airplane I hope and pray that she can go home in one soon. C can get really dry skin on her legs so every evening I put lotion on them, I love doing it because as soon as I’ve finished putting it on her legs I get to tell her I love her and she always says it back ‘m renmen ou’ and bends over to give me a kiss, she’s a sweetheart. C currently weighs 31 pounds 3 ounces.

D aged 2 1/2 years - January 2008 Update

The Elephant Room has changed in the past few months as the kids had a goodbye party for x who went home to her adoptive family. They welcomed some new recruits when y and z joined them from the Boat Room as o moved outside with the older kids. The Elephant kids seem to be keeping busier and are a hard bunch to keep up with; they are always running around the hallway or trying to help in the depot or laundry room (any where they know they shouldn’t be!). We’ve had some new nannies working with in the Elephant Room recently and the kids all love them, their favourite is Bouta who likes to have them sing and dance in the hallway in the evenings. They look so cute dancing in their jammies and usually end up falling over laughing as they think they are so silly.

They loved the Christmas season and really enjoyed opening their Christmas gifts. They’ve been having lots of fun playing with dolls, trucks, balls, musical instruments and other fun toys.

D has been doing great; he hasn’t changed his habits (insert here - he is still a monster hahaha ;) ) in the past two months so he is still keeping us all very busy and on our toes. His favourite spot is the depot, as soon as the door is open to get supplies D runs in and hides in the back or tries to climb on boxes! He has a great sense of balance though and I’ve yet to see him fall, he also likes to climb on the cribs in his room, especially if he is being chased. Some evenings when the kids are in their jammies I like to go in the Elephant Room and get everybody moving. D loves to do jumping jacks with me; he is really good at it too. Often when he sees me during the day he’ll run over and start jumping clapping his hands above his head or out in front of his tummy. D loves to be chased, he tries to hide from me behind the pillars in the dining room but usually giggles loudly so I know where to look for him. Once he sees me coming after him he takes off, boy is he fast, he’ll run all the way down the hall and wait for me at the gate, I love to catch him and tickle him all over, he’s got such a great hearty laugh.

D loved opening all his Christmas gifts; he received two balls and a little safari truck. He loves chasing the balls up and down the hallway and trying to catch them before anyone else. He really likes his truck too, I was surprised that it kept him busy for so long, he sat and played independently with it for along time, moving the little animals in and out of it and pushing it back and forth. He was so excited to come over to the volunteer house and open the Christmas gifts you sent for him, he loves to be in our house especially with his sister. He had so much fun playing with Mr. Potato Head and liked to rearrange his face, he was able to repeat the body parts after I said them for him in English. He also loves his books and new music, he really enjoys dancing. D looks adorable in his new jammies, he’s so short so the elastic on the legs worked really well as he doesn’t trip over in them.

D isn’t always the best at listening to his teacher in school yet, when he doesn’t do what she tells him he always stares up at her with his big puppy dog eyes and smiles, those big bright eyes will take him far, he is so cute but you can just tell by them when he’s about to get into trouble.
D has been healthy this month and currently weighs 26 pounds 3 ounces.

1 comment:

Kathy Cassel said...

Wow. You get great updates. We occasionally get a height and weight.