Thanks for the Comments!
I love to receive comments to my writing--both on the blog and privately. It's good to know that thumb-sucking doesn't always hurt the child's teeth. And using a pacifier is a great suggestion! Thumb-sucking is pretty engrained for Kola. He's actually raised a callous on his thumb that's 1/4 inch high.
One of our older kids sucked her thumb until she turned eight. For her birthday, I went to Marshall Fields (in the good old days) and bought her some very beautiful confirmation gloves--white with embroidery. She was so excited to wear them every night that she wasn't tempted to pull them off to suck her thumb. And besides, as she told me, turning eight years old was a milestone and she felt she was too old to suck her thumb any more. It worked, sort of, since the thumb-sucking stopped and the nail-biting began!
I would appreciate other suggestions for helping the child stop their thumb-sucking. It's good to tuck ideas away for a future date.
Competing Needs
Our three-bedroom house has a parents' bedroom, a girls' bedroom, and a boys' bedroom. That means the four boys occupy two bunkbeds in rather close quarters. Kola's rocking shakes the bed, waking up Adam, and the sound of his movements can sometimes disturb David and Paul in the other bed. Last Saturday morning, Kola was singing as well, which created quite an uproar.
I've been putting Kola to bed with the choice of singing or rocking, but not both, and he has always chosen rocking. The literature says that his rocking should gradually cease, but in six months it's remained steady. Sometimes he'll stop if I lay my hand on his shoulder or back, or rock with him, but it doesn't always work.
Jonathan and I decided that his learning curve should accelerate due to last weekends problems. He isn't the only child in our house. On Monday night, when he started rocking, I immediately stopped him. His movement transferred to his legs, which rhythmically pounded the bed until I told him to be still. He was very restless, constantly changing positions. "Mama, only five more minutes?" He was asking when I would leave so he could rock.
When it became clear that I would neither leave nor allow him any loud rhythmic motion, he became angry: "Mama, you're not nice anymore! I don't like you!" He started pounding his head with his fist, in rhythm, of course. When I stopped him, he became even more angry. "Paul, Adam, and David are not here! Why can't I rock?"
A six-year-old doesn't understand the concept of learning something for another time(i.e., later in the night or the next morning). Way over an hour had passed since he had gone to bed. I tried to think of something to tell him. "Kola, why don't you try sucking your thumb?"
Success! My exhausted child fell asleep within minutes. I felt better that something could soothe him.
The next day, I asked our dentist at what age children should stop thumbsucking. She told me that after three years of age, thumb sucking can lead to future orthodontic bills.
Now it's the parent who's unable to forego short-term gratification (peace in the house) for a long-term need (avoiding large future bills).
Snoozeum
Last Friday night, David and I camped out together next to a toy factory. His Cub Scout troop participated in an educational program at the Museum of Science and Industry where hundreds of children ages 7 through 12 spend the night at the museum.
We arrived after the museum closed (about 7:30 pm) and dropped off our luggage and sleeping bags near the toy factory (a robotics facility for making tops). David collected directions for the scavenger hunt, and off we went touring submarines, making slime, and observing model trains. It was a great opportunity for some one-on-one time together.
At 11:00 pm, the exhibits closed and we settled down for the night. The museum never gets very dark, due to their security lighting, but they gave out sleep masks and enforced quiet time. We had been warned that our wake-up call would be the foghorn from the coal mine exhibit, but I opened my eyes to the much more pleasant voice of David's scout master. It was early, however (6:00 am), and we headed to the museum cafe for a continental breakfast to fortify us for the rest of our day--a few hours of Ukrainian school and then opening day for Little League.
Play Ball!
Opening ceremonies this morning marked the official start of our Little League season. Sarah, David, and Kola signed up this year, and they all stood at attention for the national anthem, first pitch, announcements, thank yous, and concluding "Play ball!"
Then Kola took part in his first game. As I watched, I remembered David's first season of T-ball three years ago. The five-, six-, and seven-year olds provide endless entertainment as they learn the game. David spent less time handling the baseball than he did playing with the dirt in the outfield. Today I saw Kola doing the same thing, with the added twist of throwing the dirt.
Unlike in my day (ancient history, I know), T-ball teams today are co-ed. It took me by surprise, however, to see girls wearing pink pants or skirts for the game. Rachel and Sarah, however, assure me that these skirts are actually skorts and therefore acceptable for play.
In Kola's first time at bat, he gave the ball a good whack, and it soared off the T toward the shortstop. He grinned and carefully watched it, oblivious to everyone yelling at him to run. The coach finally got his attention and persuaded him to run to first base. When the next player hit the ball, it rolled toward the second baseman, right where Kola needed to run. As Kola passed the ball, he saw that it needed to be fielded, and he almost picked it up to throw to first base. The coach advised him strongly to keep running, and he made it to second base.
At his second time at bat, he advanced to first base without as much trouble. Then I saw him conferring with the coach and miming the shape of the baseball diamond with his hands. After that, Kola ran in the correct direction, although he still needs work knowing when to run.
T-ball is designed so that every child succeeds and is praised. It's a great learning experience for the kids, and I appreciate the time and energy the coaches give to make it all work.
The Last Day
The first year or so that the five kids were here, we'd go on outings and they would find an amazing amount of money that people had dropped or left behind. For example, they'd look under the mats at each McDonald Playplace we visited and find coins. Eventually some of their friends would even give them coins, knowing that they were collecting them.
Jonathan and I learned quickly to keep their money in our own room so it wouldn't disappear. The voluminous number of coins was becoming unwieldy, so we gave each child bills for them and used the nickels, dimes, and quarters for offering at church and milk money at school.
The pennies, however, were so heavy that I could hardly lift the container. I took them to the bank to convert them to bills, and the teller refused to take them. "Too damaged for us to use," she told me.
Since Christmas, I've been sending pennies to school for Sarah and David's milk money. That's 35 pennies per child per day. It's now April 24, and today I finally used the last penny!
Still European
Spring has finally arrived in Chicago! Lots of things are blooming, and the temperature is comfortably mild.
Kola stepped outside this morning on his way to school, and told me:
"Mama, it's warm outside today--about 22."
That's 22 degrees Celsius, or 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Obama Flag
Kola arrived in the U.S. in early October, and his first weeks here were filled with election ads on TV, election discussion around the supper table, and election assignments at school. In addition, the excitement in Chicago was palpable, especially during Obama's acceptance speech in Grant Park. Kola has no idea that "Obama" is an unusual and historic name.
My sister Anne and her children visited us during the long weekend of the inauguration. She works on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and her offices and her children's daycare center closed for the inauguration. Kola invited his two young cousins to watch the inauguration with him in the cafeteria of his elementary school. The entire student body waited expectantly as the large TV screen displayed various dignitaries entering the stage on the U.S. Capitol steps. After what seemed like an eternity, Obama himself finally appeared. The children watching the television erupted in shouts and applause, and two African-American boys leaped proudly to their feet. Anne told me later that it brought tears to her eyes. The TV camera moved from Obama to the immense crowd on the Mall, who were also cheering wildly. What an experience! I wondered what Obama himself felt at that moment.
The election and inauguration events were draped in images of the U.S. flag, and Kola now refers to any U.S. flag he sees as an "Obama flag." He also knows that Obama lives in the main city of the U.S., just as President Viktor Yushchenko lives in Ukraine's capitol city Kyiv. When Kola asks us where his Aunt Anne and her family live, we tell him "Obama's city."
This morning at 3:00 am, Jonathan drove Paul, Adam, and their fellow classmates to O'Hare Airport for an early flight to Washington, D.C. The seventh and eighth graders at Grace are touring our capitol as their capstone field trip. Kola asked at breakfast how many nights his brothers would be away. (Time is measured in sleeping units!) He then asked me:
Kola: "Mama, where are Paul and Adam going?"
Mama: "Washington, D.C."
Kola: "Oh, they'll see Anne and Obama!"
Those Gambling Church Workers
The staff at Trinity weighed in this week, and unfortunately, I earned the pig. We all had the goal of losing five pounds during the last month. I reduced by only one pound instead of five, and everyone else lost more than I did. So, I added $20 to the piggy bank ($5 for each pound not lost) and moved it to my desk, where it will sit for four weeks. Supposedly, the pig generates post-it notes to me throughout the month, with witty and/or cutting sayings about my dieting woes.
Another idea has surfaced for the dispersal of the money next December. Throughout the year, each person who makes their goal earns a lottery ticket. For every pound lost beyond their goal, they can get more tickets. In December, a winning ticket is drawn from the pool, and that person collects the piggy-bank money as a bonus.
As nice as that carrot sounds, I'm just working to lose something! It should be easier this month without the stress of Holy Week and Easter services.
Happy Easter
He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Alleluia!
That Time of Year
We planted seeds in the little starter containers available at Walmart. Most of them sprouted, except for Kola's, which he had covered with so much dirt it overflowed. Yesterday, I added some new seeds to his containers.
Paul has prepared the plot outside, turning the soil and setting up fencing to keep the rabbits away. He knows a lot about plants and gardening, much more than I do.
That Time of Year
Our pediatrician says that early spring is his busiest season, and if our household is typical, I agree with him. Today's count is four--two with sinus infections and two others with strep throat. Luckily only the kids with strep throat stayed home.
I should be buying stock in echinacea and Airborne.
That Time of Year
This afternoon includes the first Little League practice of the season.
That Time of Year
Tax Day always lands close to Easter. I ordinarily request an extension, but this year Walther Lutheran High School needs our tax return to determine financial aid for Paul next year. Walther's deadline is April 15.
Our tax accountant has never done our taxes this early and didn't budget time for them. It's up to me now. Our return this year is more complicated than normal because of the tax implications of international adoption.
That Time of Year
Next week is Holy Week.
Birthday!
March 29, 2006Kola's birthday fell on a Wednesday this year. Because of after-school activities and Lenten services, the only time that all of us were together was before school. So we had birthday cake for breakfast! It was very emotional. The children were excited to be singing and eating cake, but when an innocent joke was taken wrong, one of them burst out crying. It was clear that underneath the birthday excitement was a great deal of grief and frustration.
March 29, 2007 blog postToday is Kola's fourth birthday. It is important for our children that we mark such an important day, and we've planned a birthday celebration after school. We'll sing "Happy Birthday" to him and all blow out the candles on his cake.
Hopefully, next year at this time we can celebrate WITH Mikola.
March 29, 2008 blog postYesterday was Mikola's 5th birthday. Last year at this time, we thought he would be with us now. God, please grant us patience.
We will celebrate on Monday, when Ruslan returns from his trip to Texas. It will be the third time that our family will celebrate his birthday, but it's been longer for our five children. They last saw Kola when he was one year old--still a babe in arms.
We think about him a lot and pray for him every day.
March 29, 2009Kola is HERE with us for his birthday! What joy!!
It's also interesting to watch him experience an American birthday for the first time. During coffee hour at church last Sunday, the entire group in the fellowship hall sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He looked shocked, even a little apprehensive, to have so many people singing just to him. Pastor leaned over to me and whispered, "Wonder what he thinks about these American customs!"
