Thanks to our friend who gave us all the stamps and ink! |
And now back to my life in India, rather than all about my
personal life:
As mentioned before, Grace Purple (my original girls) and I
have now moved into Faith Orange, and hence are no longer known by our former
name.
We still think our new apartment is AMAZING. The kids run around on the balcony from from
6-10 a.m. and 5-8 p.m., stopping only for breakfast, dinner, and the
toilet. Well, sometimes the toilet… The
apartment has tons of light, the sleeping situation is much more desirable, and
the kids actually roam around instead of mostly sitting on the floor of the
living room.a Since most people are
thoroughly confused about who is where, here is a little bit about these 6 girls
and how this move has affected them.
Heidi, age 4 ½: This
little chickadee is a new person, and has also become attached to me for the
first time since I started working with them in August. Since her
adenoid/tonsillectomy and hearing tubes, this kid has been laughing, smiling,
babbling, and sleeping soundly daily. That’s not at all what I remember of
Heidi from two months ago! She tells me full sentences about what is happening
and might be trying to tell me unintelligible stories sometimes. It’s cute, and
I’m so proud of her progress! For the last two or three days, she’s started
repeating me. I’d never even ask her to
“say sorry” or “please” or “thank you” before because I knew she’d just put her
head down, pout, and usually become antisocial for a minute or two. I still
can’t exactly understand these new words she is learning, BUT she’s trying, and
that’s what counts. I praise her each
and every time, and she just gives me this massive grin.
Angel, clinging to mama begging to not have to go back to tutoring class |
Angel, age 4: Angel is also becoming more independent, and
is finally getting some of the sensory input that she needs. She could swing for hours in the baby swing
if I let her. She runs up and down the balcony nonstop for ten minutes, about
five times a day. She really loathes sitting in tutoring and thinks it’s very
unfair when I’m sitting on the bed focusing on one of her sisters. BUT she has
learned to draw circles and T’s and X’s.
And today, she wrote the letter ‘a’ for the very first time! (Given, she
was just copying and following my step by step directions, but STILL! Haha, she
has also not had one accident since moving here—WE ARE FULLY POTTY TRAINED!!!
WOOT WOOT! I’m also noticing how ornery she is, and how all this space allows
her to sneak off and be a little naughty.
She’s officially becoming the queen of time outs facing the corner! J
Being with just these six has also reminded me how important
touch is. We lie together in the
mornings, we cuddle in the afternoons, usually two kids are in my arms during
nap time, and as many as possible are touching me/in my lap/holding my
hand/supporting themselves on my shoulder when we sit out on the balcony at
night. It’s beautiful, and it’s important for them to know they are loved. They
are really, truly loved.
...Haha, and just as I was ready to post this, about how peaceful and wonderful life has been here, we get a new girl, about age 10. As of now, she doesn't have an online name, but I'll tell you a bit about her. She's sensory seeking and I have a sense that the peace I was going to describe might be gone now :) BUT she's sweet and funny and definitely loveable, and we're going to have loads of fun, I can tell! The tricky part-she only speaks Hindi. I am the only person in my home who speaks Hindi. One would think that since I'm dating my former Hindi tutor, I'd be really good by now. But, well, my Hindi ain't so good. (Example A: while saree shopping in Delhi, I mixed Telugu in every sentence. Example B: my most popular Hindi sentence used in Delhi this March was "Sorry, Telugu aati hai, Hindi nahi aati kyunki mai Andhra Pradesh mein rehthi hun." Translation: Telugu is coming, Hindi's not coming because I live in AP.) Sooooo, you can pray for God-given language intervention, aka the gift of tongues? So far, I have been able to successfully verbally communicate about bathing, eating, and sleeping, but at some point disciplining and you know...other things...will have to be communicated, too.
Naomi was really excited to share her bed with someone her age tonight. I'm hoping the two of them will be able to hit it off and cause some mischief. Preferably after Carrie comes :) But now, they look pretty darn precious facing each other while sleeping, positioned exactly the same way. Welcome, meri chhoti bahin.
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