4 months ago today Danil and I stepped off the plane. We had very few words to communicate with each other.
Today, Danil speaks English.
He is starting to speak in complete sentences and can communicate just about everything. The other day he told us "I don't speak Russian because I talk like you."
He is doing well in school. He recently got assigned an ESL instructor so I have a feeling his vocabulary will start to increase. He has almost mastered his alphabet. He can also count to 100 with some help.
I'm starting to find more things that Danil will eat. If I haven't said it before, Danil is SUPER picky. His favorite foods are hot dogs, chicken nuggets, french fries, macaroni and cheese, salami, corn beef, string cheese, colby jack cheese, munster cheese, pepperoni, cheese pizza, kiwi, strawberries, yogurt, buffalo wing pretzels, cheetos, meatballs, fish sticks, jello, peanut butter and jelly and ham. It has taken many tears and numerous trips to the trashcan (because he had worked himself up so much he would vomit) to compile this list. But finally we are getting there and meal time is becoming less frustrating.
Many times in the beginning Danil would throw a fit when he would see me cooking. He would come in the kitchen and begin to look and FREAK OUT! Panic, fear and defience would take over. Now Danil doesn't make to much of a deal out of my time in the kitchen. A few times he will come in and ask "What are you making?" "Do I have to?" "Do I like it?" And my answer of "It's okay Danil, you will like it, it will be okay" is enough for him.
As far a behavior goes, Danil still has his good days and his bad day like most children. I have found a link between Danil's food consumption and his behavior. I've been trying to figure out how to monitor his food consumption at school. Danil must be told to eat or he will simply not eat all of his food. When Danil doesn't eat his lunch, he usually comes home with a red card. Danil completely understands the consequences of a red card but he just simply looses control. His least favorite consequence is sitting at the kitchen table and going to bed early. When I threaten with these consequences, the bad behavior usually stops.
The period of behavior pattern we have experienced every month is starting to get shorter. This month his anger seemed to be directed at me. This was very hard for me. I just wanted him to stop and throw his arms around me and say "I love you" but it wasn't going to happen. It lasted a few days and that was long enough for me.
I will end this post with a little interview with Danil about his favorite things about his family.
What your favorite thing about Abbey? "How she helps me practice piano."
What your favorite thing about Daddy? "Daddy helping me work on house and how to shave."
What your favorite thing about Mommy? "I like help me know how things work, I like everything about you, I love you so much (with a little giggle)"
What your favorite thing about Grant? "He plays with me and shares his toys."
What your favorite thing about Jasper (our dog)? "Jasper licks me.
What your favorite thing about the Kitty? "I can pet her."
His favorite thing to do . . .make funny faces for the camera.
Happy 4 months. So thankful for the awesome growth he has had since being home. What an amazing journey.
Posted by: Rochelle Cannon | Wednesday, November 09, 2011 at 04:50 AM
He is so precious. Thank you for sharing this journey with us!
Posted by: Amber | Wednesday, November 09, 2011 at 09:21 AM