Kitties, houses & colds, oh my!

It's been a busy month since we've started daycare and I started back to work... Maddie is settling in pretty well to daycare. I have learned that you need to be much more direct with daycare (at least ours) and I realize how little most people know about children coming from institutionalized settings. I shouldn't be surprised, I didn't know much either before I started the whole process, but when you spend so much time focused in learning about something, it becomes so ingrained that you begin to forget that everyone is not as in tune with the same stuff that you are.

So earlier this week at daycare one of the two teachers said to me, "Maddie doesn't like to stay on her cot if she wakes up early from nap." Okay let's review first off- she is 13 months old. they have them in cots. Just putting that out there. Maybe that's normal, but it was surprising to me when we started that she would be napping on a cot. So back to this conversation: She doesn't like staying on her cot. Here goes the rest: "We encourage the kids to stay on their cots if they wake up and read books or play quietly. (Uh....Maddie LOVES books, but she again is 13 months and if I'm not reading it with her, it will last about a minute and a half. Are there other 13 month olds who are reading?)

At this point I tried to explain to the teacher, "Well, one thing to consider is that she spent the first 9 1/2 months of her life in an orphanage. And there is a very good chance that she likely spent 20-22 hours of every day in a crib. So if she's awake and she is able, she is not going to want to stay confined to a cot." The teacher just looked at me and said "oh."

The point is, I'm not making excuses for my child. She will need to learn to follow rules and listen to teachers, but at the same time, some of the rules need to be held in context. While some 1 year olds may happily sit on a cot, a child who has "new freedom" may not. And that is not a lesson to be learned in just a few weeks, but probably over a few months. There are two teachers in her classroom right now. They are both nice, they are both good, but one is definitely better at listening than the other. So for now, when I hear things like this, I try to gently explain why she might be having certain reactions. The "less good" teacher has mentioned on numerous occasions about Maddie crying out in her sleep and that it wakes the other kids. Really? What can I possibly do about this? I'm sorry the other kids are being woken up. I know there are days they wake her up. But the crying out in her sleep, more than anything I want this to subside, so how is fussing about it to me helping any of us? It's not, it's just that it's inconveniencing her. She has also complained a couple times that she takes too long to take her bottle. I think that complaint comes from me being one of the two parents whose children needs their bottle held for them. The other little one just doesn't hold her bottle, and I was clear from the first day that I did not want her holding her own bottle. I don't think that this teacher really truly understands the reason (her bio baby who goes to this daycare and gets to breastfeed all day long will CERTAINLY hold his own bottle when he is old enough...), but I think the other teacher does.

I'm learning quickly that I need to be the strongest advocate for my child. So this means slowly educating them on adoption specific information that they previously have not had exposure to. The learning curve was steep, but things are getting easier.

On the flip side, we are into our 4th week of daycare and our 3rd week being sick. Maddie has the nose that won't stop and a cough that sounds wretched, but we now have meds for it, and I went today to the Dr and found out I have bronchitis, AGAIN.

Now, the reason there are no photos in this post is another excitement in our lives.... I was checking one last thing the other night on the computer when one of our Kitties jumped up on the table (a forbidden thing anyway!) and knocked my glass of wine right onto the Keyboard! Yikes! computer seems to work, keyboard has some keys that work and some that don't. However, all of my photos are on my laptop, so I don't currently have any access to them.

In other Kitty news, we had to find a new home for Josie. He was already considerably stressed about going and staying with Jeremy and his kitties at his house when I was in China, but add to it the kitties coming back to his house afterwards, a brand new screaming baby, and random realtors & clients dropping by to look at the house. All in all, it was not a happy time for him. He'd lost 3 lbs since February, was not taking care of himself, and started spraying. No one was happy, least of all him. The vet advised finding a new home for him. So, we found a family who took him to their parents in Washington. they are in their 60's, retired, the youngest grandchild is 7 or 8, and they don't visit often, and the couple occasionally heads out of town on weekends, and there are no other animals. Just exactly Josie's cup of tea. but, I do miss him. He was my sweet sweet kitty, and I'm sure by now he is getting back to his sweet (albeit LOUD!) self again, and taking full reign of the house.

And finally, No, we still do not have offers on either house. Two houses listed now for 8 weeks and no offers. It's getting frustrating as we approach the wedding. I worry that we'll have ample guest accomodations for the wedding. No, in theory that's not a bad thing, but it would mean houses still on the market, and that IS a bad thing. Not sure what to do next, but Sunday is an open house at Jeremy's, so hopefully it will draw some people.

Duck Conversations

This is an almost every bath ritual. Give Maddie two ducks on the side of the bathtub and we get Duck Conversations. It's pretty funny to watch, but I think she's catching on now that we keep offering her ducks...she is keenly aware when she is performing for fun or for an audience, and she will stop immediately if she knows there is an audience! (Usually video cameras as well!)

More Photos

More cute Maddie pics...


Maddie turned 1 a few weeks ago. We had a pretty low key family party on her birthday, and a small party with friends the weekend after. We had a fun time in a local park with a few friends- Maddie was not so into eating cupcakes but watching the other kids eat theirs!

Mostly she just enjoyed the crackers!

Michelle, Liana and Skye very MUCh enjoyed the cupcakes! I'm sure in another year or two Maddie will learn to appreciate them as much as the big girls!
Did you know that these foam letters that stick to bathtub walls can also stick to babies? Quite interesting really. Jeremy and I are continually sticking letters on Maddie in the tub and making up new acronyms. It keeps us laughing and becuase we're laughing, so is Maddie most of the time!

I have a bunch more photos, I will try to get them posted soon! I'm now back at work so time is even more limited than it was before!