the first day of school is just around the corner, and Holly is so excited. Im not sure how much of the whole school experience she really grasps, but, the fact that she gets to pick out her school supplies is very much a concept she understands.
She has made it clear that a Spongbob back pack is required, as are Spongebob shoes.
Her language aquisition is nothing short of amazing. Nothing gets past this kid, especially when it comes to going anywhere with Mommy. She loves to go shopping, and has, for the most part, opted out of riding in the seat of the shopping cart. She also knows that a treat is possible at the end of the trip, as long as she behaves herself and asks nicely.
The meltdowns are gone, and she has become a very affectionate child. She likes to give hugs and tell us she loves us, which just melts my heart. She does have one funny quirk, well, not funny if you're on the receiving end. She seems to have a limit to the number of people that can, on any given day, be part of her circle of trust. It's usually one of the older girls, she will act like she doesn't like them anymore. It can really hurt their feelings, and I tolerated it for a while thinking she was just having to get used to so many people in her formerly very small circle. Then she decided that Katie's friend Chad was in and Katie was out. Well, that was that. I stood her in front of Katie, and explained that she should not say mean things to her, she is her sister, and she loves her. I told her that when she says mean things it hurts Katie's feelings, and she needs to say she's sorry. It took just a few minutes to get the idea across, but, she soon apologized to Katie and we haven't had it happen since, but, only time will tell.
Holly has a tendency to be a tom boy and avoids all things girly, much to my chagrine. We took Myleigh to pick out her Baptism dress, and Holly was with us. While Myleigh played dress up, trying on dress after dress, Holly was bored and not too happy to be surrounded by lace and ruffles. I tried to convince her to choose a dress for herself, and she just snarled at me. I would pick up a dress and say, what about this, and she would just snarl or say "Can't want it" Which means in Holly speak "I don't want it".
Myleigh chose her dress, finally, and we were getting ready to pay for it, when Holly figured out that she wasn't getting anything. In her panic, she agreed to find a dress, and she made a beeline for a school girl uniform style red plaid dress. It was definitely her.
Next spring I plan to sign both girls up for soft ball. Holly will be an absolutely perfect fit for it, and Myleigh has wanted to play softball for a couple of years now. When I mentioned it to Holly she seemed to understand what I was talking about, so, Im wondering if she was exposed to it in China. I guess we'll see. I taught my older kids how to play, so, Ill be working on that with Holly and Myleigh.
Ah kids - got to love them - it's a rule! ;) Chase will do that to Braelyn occasionally - and while it's getting to be less and less - it's still a go button he knows he can push....our adopted kids are great at reading what they can do to control their world! Still - they're cool in the extreme!
ReplyDeletehugs - aus and co.
Oh I know it. Kids are smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. It doesn't take them long to figure out their world and it's a big priority, I think for any kid but especially kids who are adopted, to figure out the things they can control and the things they can't, and then work it.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have so little in your life that you could control for so long, you get a lot of satisfaction out of what control you gain in your new life.
Ah ,well, it's a good sign too, as I know she is strong willed enough to take on this new world, and flourish, as long as we're careful not to stifle her while we still teach her discipline and how to treat others.