December ended with Christmas with our family.....well, this year has actually been different than past years. Early in the summer my mom and dad separated, they still see each other frequently and care for each other, but it just was no longer healthy for them to reside together. Because of this the holidays were odd for me.....Maria commented on it too, but she was still happy. Christmas Eve my brother, his kids, my parents and my family gathered together to open some gifts and have a nice lunch together. Afterward the girls and I went to my mom's home to spend the night and celebrate Christmas Day together. We started a new tradition of new pjs on Christmas Eve for the girls. Ella was also excited that grandma got her a super soft fuzzy blanket (she had been stealing the soft Sherpa blankets Maria and I have prior to this). Christmas Day brought fun items to play with....Ella loved the magna doodle I got her and Maria was super excited about the Nike Fuelband (only fitness watch we have found that works for people who use wheelchairs). My grand parents came by for a short time too. Grandpa (who turns 90 next month) said the highlights were Ella sitting on his lap and Maria playing cards with him. Overall it was a good day and we loved making memories together. Also during break Ella had her first of four post placement visits/reports. We met with our homestudy social worker and talked about what had been happening and where Ella was. Everyone agrees, Ella is a fairly typical 3 yr old.....some delay in her speech but it is hard to tell if that is due to still learning English or due to being in an orphanage. Afterward we ended up meeting Maria's friend and went climbing. Climbing continues to be one of Maria's favorite things to do.
Since break ended Maria has had 2 archery competitions. She continues to increase her score each competition. The most recent competition she scored 201 out of 300. She was happy, but still wanted to score higher. She is enjoying her new bow and archery equipment she got for Christmas. Maria has also ended her first semester in 8th grade.....gotta brag she had all A's! She is doing wonderfully. In fact she is only going to ELL every other day and I have a feeling she really doesn't need that support, but we will wait and see how she does on her ELL testing this spring. She is also starting to think about high school.....they have met with some of the high school counselors and have already selected courses for next year (not sure I'm ready to have a high school student). With going to high school I have had to do some research regarding courses required to enter the university we think Maria will want to go to. Most state universities require foreign language to me take for 2-4 years in high school....with Maria still learning English, I have wondered if adding yet another language is good for her. I'm researching different possibilities to see what can be done so that she is able to strengthen her Bulgarian and if at all possible use that as her foreign language requirement. Maria has mixed feelings about high school and growing up......she is looking forward to the fun classes and events with her friends, but she isn't ready to leave home yet and doesn't want to get older. We work through these moments when they happen.
Ella continues to do well at her preschool/daycare. They started attempting to potty train her, but she isn't having much success yet. She is saying more and more words all the time. She does not like snow at all, but will play in it if she has to. She continues to be quite stubborn about not using her weaker hand (which I suspect will be a life long issue for her). I am trying to encourage her to use it with highly motivated games and activities. We got some fun magnets that she and Maria are both very interested in, but she has to use her weaker hand with them. She isn't fond of that and if my back is turned will attempt to use her stronger hand. I'm anxious for summer to come when I can really focus on a few things she needs to work on and be consistent with them. Her current daycare is very consistent but I also haven't asked them to attempt to make her use the weaker hand. I do know it will come with time and at some point she will understand the need to use it. Ella has also moved into a big girl bed! She does like it! She has also decided that grandma is a favorite person. She still prefers Maria and myself, but grandma is up there.....probably because grandma lets her eat non-stop and gives into her every demand. Ella is quite busy and into everything, like typical 3 year olds. I'm also working with her on getting out of bed when she wakes up and coming to get me. Her typical behavior is to whine, cry and scream until I come in. Now I can call her name and tell her to come to me....this is helping because she isn't crying as long and is less likely to wake up Maria. Overall it is working well.
