I keep meaning to sit down and blog about Thanksgiving.
But to tell you the truth, it's been hard the last 6 days.
We are in the midst of our rough period that occurs each month with Danil like clockwork.
I know by now, I should be able to deal. I should expect it and prepare. But each month, my hope says "Maybe this month it won't happen."
I have to admit with each month, his behaviour during this period improves from the last month.
This month he is Mr. Impossible to Please. He whines about everything and he "knows" everything. It gets old really fast. I try, I really try to look at it all in perspective. He's been through so much . . .oh the stories he could tell.
The other day, I needed to take Danil to the hospital for some routine blood work. He asked me when we pulled into the hospital parking lot if I was going to leave him there. You see, the last time Danil saw his Ukrainian family was when he was handed over to a Doctor and he remembers it clearly. I have not doubt it was done out of love and for his safety.
"Absolutely not Danil, I will not leave you here or anywhere."
I explained to him that everywhere he goes, I go. I would not and will not ever leave him.
Perspective, there it goes again.
It seems to me that right before this period HITS, we get really close.
You know, those times when you say to yourself "This is soooo easy." He loves me so much. He's so happy here. He's fitting right in and is coming along so well.
Then, WHAM! It leaves you saying "What in the world just happened?"
Then you say "Aha, Oh . . . Oh no." Brace yourself.
Don't get me wrong, he doesn't turn into a evil monster with fangs. He's just different. Off. A little less likable (in my Jane Austin's best impersonation). But I still love him very much.
Okay, enough of that . . . .It's starting to sound like I'm whining too. If you haven't got to know me by now, just know that I'm not one to keep my feelings hidden. I do have a filter but I'm not one to keep it in a black box where no one can see. . .like it's a secret. It's out here. This is me. This is who I am.
On to the "Lots of First" part of this post.
Danil experienced his first Thanksgiving! He actually had 3. This is what happens when you get adopted into a big family.
Danil was not thrilled when I explained what we do on Thanksgiving. Can you guess why? Yep, food. His idea of getting together just to eat was not appealing. There goes his love/hate relationship with food.
On Thanksgiving day, we wrote what we were thankful for.
Danil did well at all 3 celebrations. They were not on the same day and spaced a few days apart. Two of the celebrations were had at our family member's homes. He seemed to like playing with his cousins. Danil loves the smaller cousins and the alot older cousins. Sorry for the ones in between. He ate well. He played well. A successful Thanksgiving I would say.
Yesterday, Danil experienced his first American Snowfall. I know it's probably just like a Ukrainian Snowfall but I thought we would celebrate it anyways. After running to the store to equip Danil with snow pants and snow boots, the boys were eager to get outside and play. The snow was so wet but they didn't care. It was great for snowballs and fort building. One thing Danil did say is that we put our snow pants on backwards here. The zipper goes in the back. Hmmmm, that's a new one for me.
More good news, Danil's behavior is improving so much at school. We haven't had a red card in almost a month. Yay! The last time he got a red card was right after Halloween. Our rule with candy, is that if you come home with a green card, you get 3 pieces. A yellow card means no candy. And a red card . . . well this cruel mommy warned him that if a red card came home, I would eat 3 pieces of his candy. Wouldn't you know it, he came home with a red card. So like a responsible parent, I had to follow through (I say that to make my self feel better about what I did). So, I grabbed his bag of candy and pulled out 3 of my favorite candies. Let the screaming and crying begin. I sat next to him, ate it and threw a few "yums" in there. But no red cards since. Now I don't know if the resonated with him or if he just finally understands what it takes to get a green card. But I'll take it either way and the candy was delicious.
We've got a few more first on the horizon with Christmas. The day after Christmas is Danil's birthday. And boy is he EXCITED. So I better get planning because this boy is ready for his 1st birthday party. He tells anyone who will listen that he is going to be 6 years old after Christmas.
Hold on to your Santa hats and Birthday hats this is going to be a fun ride.
Bless him, you know as soon as his heart says I am here for good and they really love me that his head tells him to stop feeling that way. So glad each month it gets better, there will be a day when he will just know and it will all be gone.
Thanks for the update,
Posted by: Rochelle Cannon | Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 04:45 PM
Love this! And I'm totally cracking up about the candy part! LOVE IT!! You guys are precious and so is Danil!
Love, Allison
Posted by: allison | Thursday, December 01, 2011 at 02:25 PM
I'm putting that candy "punishment" in my file folder of good parenting notes!! I think that is GREAT!!! :-) Thank you for sharing your creative ideas.
-Lacy B.
Posted by: Lacy | Sunday, December 04, 2011 at 05:56 PM
I like the photos, Danil is very cute!
Posted by: Mike | Sunday, January 05, 2014 at 04:41 AM