Four Months Home

Last time I posted, it had been two months since Kattiana has been home. I blinked, and we've reached month four. I think we've jammed 12 months worth of growth, experiences, activities, and challenges into those two months. 

Justin returned to work a month ago, and I'll be honest, it has been difficult for me. Stay at home parenting is not for the faint of heart, and while I knew it was not my calling to do full-time/forever with Eisley during her infancy, I find it to be even more challenging in some ways with a busy toddler. I have been working to carve out a routine for K and I, and I'm incredibly grateful for the family activities offered around the city.  Through these activities, and playing together at home, we've seen tremendous growth in K over the short time she's been settling in, and every day is truly a wonder. I thought it might be fun to share some of those observations here!

Play

• Story Time
  K and I have begun attending story time at our local libraries one or two times a week, and I've seen amazing growth in her ability to focus, listen, and join in on a group activity. The kid's librarian at one of the local branches does a particularly great job programming the half hour full of fun and education. We go over a letter of the day, sing fun and recognizable songs, and read three books centered around the theme of the day. K has begun to sit down and pay attention (at least for a minute at a time), and participates heartily in the singing and dancing. Unfortunately, the attendance is not very diverse, so I'm exploring options outside of our community as well.
• Play Time/School Practice
  After a lot of research, we've landed on a preschool that we'd like K to attend when I return to work in the Winter (we're wait-listed), and serendipitously, I discovered that they have a  free 2-hour playtime twice a week. Here, she is able to play with myriad toys and other kids in a classroom-like atmosphere, listen to a story, and share in a small snack. It's a bit exhausting, to be honest, as it often means spending an hour discussing why it's important to take turns playing with the baby stroller, counting how many more minutes until it's time to give another kid a chance to play with the the baby stroller, and then calming her as she follows the other kid playing with said baby stroller around the room moaning that it's her turn. But, it's been great practice in playing kindly with others and trying new toys. (Seriously, though, this place has every type of toy and activity, and she hones in on ONE for pretty much the whole day. Ah well.)
• Legos and puzzles
  As Kattiana has continued to parrot everything Eisley does, she has begun to enjoy a couple of E's favorites: legos and puzzles. Through this, her dexterity has improved so much, and I'm so proud to see her persist at finding the right place for the letters, numbers, or jigsaw pieces she's playing with. If you know E, you know that she can whip out a puzzle in minutes flat, and we really enjoy them as a family, so it's thrilling that this is something K is getting into too, and the girls even occasionally do them together.
• Colors and lettersK has recently begun to nail her colors, and proudly points to various items and shout their color. (She also really likes to tell me when the stoplights are red or green and yell for me to GO NOW! even when the light is not green. Impatience must run in the family?)
  She is also starting to recognize some letters, which was unexpected and exciting. It started with the letter E, and everywhere we went, she would spot an "E" on a sign or picture and holler "E FOR EISLEY!" Now, she is also hunting for "K for mine!" (and sadly, beginning to realize the the vowel E is found much more easily than the consonant K). She hasn't had much interest  in the handwriting department yet, but we know that recognizing letters is the start of this. She also loves to paint and color for longer stretches of time, holding the brush and crayons correctly, which will be the building blocks of writing in the future.
  
  These little spikes of growth have been so much fun to witness and foster, and we think this may be a sign that our attachment and bonding is continuing to strengthen. In learning about attachment, we knew that her brain wouldn't even be ready to open up to learning until she had begun to settle comfortably into a place of safety, with a comfortable foundation to build from. She is a wonder!

Music 

• Music has continued to be a big source of entertainment and happiness for K, and she has an uncanny memory for lyrics and tunes. When she hears a song she likes she hollers "What is that music?!" until I confirm the artist and song title. Then, she'll affirm her appreciation with "Ooh, this one good one". She also requests songs constantly throughout the day, usually by reciting a line or singing a few lyrics. Common requests these days: "Ooh ah ooh ah?" (Ed Sheeran: Shape of You); "Bom de dom?" (Lizzo: Truth Hurts); "Whoruntduhworldgirls?" (Beyonce: Who Run the World - Girls); "Bad Guy!" (Billie Eilish: Bad Guy). She also loves Heart, Sleater Kinney, and Joan Jett. Perhaps not the most kid-friendly array of music, but she's got good taste.
  
  

Personality

• K has never met a dog she doesn't like and immediately launches herself at them with her hand outstretched, asking "pet gentle??" She is still full of energy, busy, and highly social, and loves being out and about and adores playing with other kids. Over the last couple of months, we've really seen Kattiana's agency/independence, kindness, and humor flourish. "I can do myself, mama.", she emphatically tells me, as she pulls her shoes onto the wrong feet (eh, whatevs), or pours her own cereal, the bowl overflowing onto the counter. Adorably, she'll also be helpful and grab my protein bar and put it in my purse before we leave the house, telling me it's "mama snack for later". She is often doing a silly dance and making funny sounds in her car seat, or tossing around made-up words with Eisley and bursting into giggles. When she's annoyed with one of us, she'll look us dead in the eye and say "you not funny". This only makes us laugh, which of course fuels her annoyance.

Language

• Kattiana's English is continuing to come along, slowly and methodically. Her comprehension is still outpacing her verbal skills, but we feel good about her progress. After discussing it with her doctor, we may still seek a speech evaluation through the school district in the coming months, because we've gotten the impression that her Kreyol was not strong to begin with, but she is learning and progressing, if even in minute ways. 
• We've begun to hear K use full sentences for ordinary daily interactions - hooray! ("Poppy upstairs now?" "Mama, snack now please?" "Oh! Phone ringing! Answer!") Recently she's begun pretending to converse with us, sometimes out of the blue, and sometimes to "join" conversations already in progress. At top speed and high volume, she strings together words and phrases she knows. For example: "I'M GUNNEE GYMNASTICS, AND DEN HEATING, AND DEN *garbled gibberish*, SO SOCCER GIRL SPIT ARM, SO MOMMY WATER BE RIGHT BACK". It's pretty much the cutest thing you've ever seen, particularly how proud she is to be taking part.
• She is a big repeater. I think this is good for her language development, but it can be a bit crazy-making. At a friend's house recently, I accidentally put my foot into a small ant nest, and before I knew it, my foot was engulfed in tiny (harmless) ants. I tried my best to remain calm, kicked off my shoes and bolted for the house to take off my socks and pants and dance around like a maniac while knocking them off of me. K thoroughly appreciated my hilarious performance, and since then has constantly repeated the phrase "Mama, feet, ants, AH!", followed by peals of giggles.
• She *might* also have a fondness for repeating some of the, ehem, more crude words that, ehem, sometimes slip out of my mouth. This is a trait that Eisley didn't really pick up, so I'm learning to temper my language a bit more (face-palm).

Sleep

• SHE IS NAPPING! Like, almost every day, for an hour to 90 minutes, and some days she tells me she is tired and ready to lay down. If you've been reading along since Kattiana came home, you might recall that we have had a lot of challenges around sleep. We had so much difficulty with getting her calm and down for a nap in her first two months home, that I honestly thought she just wouldn't nap. But, as life has begun to settle into a rhythm, we have been able to more easily incorporate this into a daily routine, and it is wonderful. It feels a bit nostalgic, as I again center our days around being home in time to lay her down in the afternoon. I am incredibly grateful to get just a bit of time to myself in the afternoon to refresh, do some writing or adulting, or even watch some TV. And nothing beats the sweet snuggles when she wakes up refreshed and happy. Getting her to sleep at night is still a long process, but we'll take the wins where we can get them!

Pictures and Videos!

I caught K "reading" aloud to herself from one of her favorite books: Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Celebrating Eisley's 5th birthday! 

Demonstrating her independence

Painting with sister

A trip to the children's museum in Olympia

More painting time

First time puddle jumping! (in the middle of summer. because we've broken the earth.)

I call this the "McKayla Maroney is not impressed face" (Google it). But, apparently this is the face I make when I'm trying to gently deliver disappointing news to the girls.

Practicing holding scissors

Reading in Sissy's bed

At Alki Beach, walking into the ocean for the first time. She was tentative at first, and then couldn't get enough of it. Sometimes I forget that there are still so many "firsts" for K to experience!