Friday, March 14, 2008

I'm feeling much better, thank you

I caught a nice little cold that's kept me feeling less than 100% for the past week or so. Last weekend was really the worst, and I'm just so happy it wasn't the flu since we've had several friends come down with that. Here's the week in recap:

My mom was up last weekend which was an incredible blessing since I was not in top form to be watching the boys. At least this way there was another pair of eyes on them and I didn't feel like I needed to be quite so focused, which was great since my head was really fuzzy. My mom put the boys to bed Thursday night as Mark and I had a band concert. With the way that went, we won't be having anyone else put them to bed for awhile. :) It went fine, and they were asleep by the time we got home, but I think my mom was questioning her sanity in volunteering to put them to bed. :) :) The funny part is the next night Mark and I put them to bed, and as usual, they went to bed and were completely quiet. That wasn't exactly the experience my mom had, but she did a great job and I think if she had to do it again she'd have them out in 10 minutes.

I can't tell you much about the rest of the weekend or the first of the week because it's all a little blurry. ;) The boys were in school again this week, although Dima's going to think school is only every once in a while. He went one day last week, then 2 days off, then 2 days on, then 2 days off, then 4 days on, and he was off today for conferences. Next week is spring break and he's off the Monday after that for Easter. The conference with Dima's teacher went well and we were able to discuss a few questions she had as well as talk about where she thinks he'll be for next year. All of us feel at this point that he will not be ready for KG in the fall. If that's the case, he and Zhenya will be in the AE (pre-K) class next fall. We'll see how the summer goes and reevaluate before school starts. Right now I'm very happy we have the boys in school. Their English is improving and Dima now knows several more letters of the alphabet. Yes, he would have learned them at home, but at school he is getting a lot more repetition and focused learning as well as peers who encourage him. He really likes his classmates and on Friday I heard about Isaac for about an hour (I still don't know why he was talking about Isaac, but Isaac certainly did something noteworthy!).

It would be really nice not to need to tell people that the boys are adopted and just let them have the same expectations for them as other kids their age. But because of the language barrier, it becomes necessary to explain. Consequently, both of the boys' teachers have been going too easy on them with what they require them to do. We've talked with both of their teachers now and I hope that they will begin expecting the same things of the boys as they do the other students.

I have a few other things I want to share in posts but it just hasn't happened yet! :) I'll try to get to them this weekend (and yes, I know you're all rolling your eyes!). :) :)

4 comments:

Tami said...

Isn't it unbelievable how much there is to know before going to kindergarten? As amazing as these kids are at learning so much in a short period of time, there is still so much left to learn.
Good job of letting the teachers know your expectations. You're right, when people learn about where the kids are from, they tend to go a little easy on them as far as expectations. It would be so much easier to not have to tell anyone about the adoption, unfortunately the need to tell them doesn't go away.
Almost nine years after bringing Q-ball home from Russia, the conversation is still coming up. Some 'leftover' difficulties tend not to show up until later in their school experience and in order to correctly diagnose the problems, we felt like we needed to share his history with his teachers. I hope someday it won't be necessary.

Tonya said...

Sounds like things are becoming more "normal" by the day...an exhausted grandma is par for the course:):):).

Anonymous said...

Glad you're feeling better! I missed your posts. You may be surprised at how quickly Dima excels once he is a little more comfortable. Sounds like they are both doing great and you sound like a seasoned parent advocating for them!

Becky

Nataliya said...

Courtney, you asked about UA Consulate registration. Here is a page with all the registration info:
http://www.mfa.gov.ua/usa/en/publication/content/7146.htm

This page has a link to the registration form, as well as the link to the list of all the Consulates - you need to send the paperwork to the Consulate that has jurisdiction in your state.