Four Feet More

Dear Vika,

Today you turn nine years old.  This birthday officially marks your entry into tweenhood (God help us).  But those of us who know you personally know that you've been a pre-teen since the age of 4!  Don’t worry.  We all think your mature attitude is part of your charm.  When it’s not driving us crazy.  

Actually, it's his 3 front teeth. They've been gone for ages, and we'd ll really like them to start coming in now. So Santa, if you've got any pull with the Tooth Fairy, could you put in a good word for Eamon, please?

My kids have matching grins. On Sunday Eamon lost a second front tooth, evening-up the Tooth Fairy count. Now he and Vika are missing both their two front teeth, and the two teeth on either side of their bottom front teeth (they already have their grown-up teeth in the bottom front). Unfortunately, Eamon keeps sticking his tongue through the gap, so this is the best photo I could get.

Maybe if they stay like this through October, we can paint their faces orange and have "kid o' lanterns" instead of Jack o' lanterns for Halloween?

A few weeks ago, Eamon reached a major milestone in his short life: he graduated from preschool. Now, I know some preschools have their kids wear caps and gowns, and they give the occasion an atmosphere of importance seen at high school and college graduations. In fact, one family I know had a graduation party for their 5-year old, renting a hall, hiring a caterer, and inviting 200 people.

Well, this may come as a surprise, but we didn't take Eamon's preschool graduation quite so seriously. Luckily, neither did his preschool. They called it a "crossing the bridge" ceremony rather than a graduation, and the only attire stipulation was that the kids dress in their favorite outfit.

For Eamon, this meant his Darth Vader costume.

He was actually looking pretty fierce, until his teachers gave him a gold top hat to wear during the ceremony. It was all a bit Sith Lord meets "A Chorus Line," but Eamon was happy, and it provided us with good blackmail photographs for his teen years. :)

Eamon lost his second tooth yesterday, thereby making a double-wide gap in his bottom teeth. He was very excited about the impending tooth fairy visit and insisted that we read "The Night Before the Tooth Fairy" (we were supposed to read this book when he lost his first tooth, but were out late that evening and didn't have time). All day, Eamon kept reminding me about the book, and when bedtime came and we settled in to read it, he was beaming.

After the story, we placed his tooth carefully in his special "Tooth Fairy" pillow and put him to bed. Then Jeff and I watched a "Daily Show," talked bit, and went to bed. Without checking the pillow.

This morning, around 7 am Jeff wakes me up and says, "Jen! Did the Tooth Fairy come?" I snapped out of my grogginess in a panic and gasped, "No!" Thus began "Operation Tooth Fairy." Jeff crept downstairs to get the dollar and snuck into Eamon's room to do the exchange. I listened quietly without moving lest I wake the boy up. Jeff returned a while later, looking a bit agitated and asked, "Did you put the tooth in the pillow?! I can't find it!" He went back into the room again, I heard a bit of scuffling, and then he came back, shoving the tooth pillow at me. Eamon's tooth had lodged itself into the bottom point of the star pocket on front. I dug the tooth out, Jeff stuffed in the dollar, and quietly put the pillow back in Eamon's room.

Then, we waited. Last time, Eamon woke up at 6:30 am to check out his loot. This time, fortunately, he slept a bit later. Finally, around 7:30 am, he came running into our room yelling "YAY!" and waving his dollar in the air.

Whew. Disaster averted. No thanks to the dang Tooth Fairy. Slacker.

School is out, and Vika's year with the Teacher-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named (TWSNBN) is finally over. Thank God. The teacher's end-of-the-year activities did nothing to further endear her to me. First of all, the school had a "Field Day," in which Vika's class did not take part. Other first grade classes participated, but her class spent the day indoors, doing math worksheets. The kids were not being punished or anything, TWSNBN simply didn't want to do Field Day. Vika was kind of bummed about it.

She was further disappointed when she gave TWSNBN a card that she had labored over for an hour. She drew a picture of her and TWSNBN with extra care, and wrote a nice thank you note, making sure to spell all the words correctly. She then wrapped it up with a ribbon and brought it to school. She saw other kids give TWSNBN their gifts, and each of them received a "Thank You" card from TWSNBN in return. When Vika gave her the gift she had made, TWSNBN did not give her a thank you card. Vika asked why, and TWSNBN said that she only gives cards for gifts from the store. Vika was extremely saddened by this, and came home from school in a bit of a funk.

All year Vika has been feeling that she is a bad reader and that she's not smart in school. This is the impression TWSNBN gave me as well during our meetings. However, when Vika reads at home, she seems to do pretty well. Sure, her fluency could be better, but she didn't seem too far out of the normal range for a first grader. However, based on what she is seeing and hearing in school, Vika's been under the impression that she should be reading chapter books. In first grade. So, it seems that TWSNBN's perception of normal may be a bit skewed.

My sister-in-law, J, is a 2nd grade teacher in a high-performing school district nearby. She offered to test Vika's reading to see what kind of work we should do over the summer to get her ready for 2nd grade. On Monday she did several tests, and the results were a bit surprising. Vika is reading at a beginning 2nd grade level. She's right on track to start school in the Fall! All TWSNBN's concerns about her being behind were basically a load of crap.

Vika was giddy when she heard her test results. She was so happy to learn that she is a "smart reader," and was very excited to read during the summer. So, this week, we've been doing the "Hooked on Phonics" program which a friend gave to me, and Vikas' been reading voraciously. On Tuesday alone she read 7 mini-chapter books! All it took was for her to see herself as normal and on-track academically to get her enthused about learning again.

As J and I left her classroom, I said, "Oh, how I hate TWSNBN." She looked at me, nodded and said, "I hate her too." :)

Eamon lost his first tooth this weekend! He casually mentioned to me on Thursday morning that he had to be careful when he ate because he had a loose tooth. I asked to feel it, thinking it would be as well rooted as ever, but to my surprise, the tooth was so loose that it was practically falling out of his head! What a difference from Vika, who, let's face it, can be a bit dramatic at times. With her first loose tooth, we had to endure weeks of her wiggling the thing (she began as soon as she detected the slightest bit of movement), asking when it would come out, and speculating on how much money the tooth fairy would leave her (for the record, it's $2 for the first tooth, $1 for every tooth thereafter).

Finally, the tooth became so loose that it was time to pull it out. Jeff attached a hemostat to the tooth, placed Eamon's fingers around it, and asked him to push the clamp away from his mouth. That way Eames was in control and could stop if he got scared or it hurt. Well, he pushed really hard and just yanked the thing out like a champ! Then, he saw the blood... His little face went pale, and his legs began shaking. He walked around for the next 5 minutes with his mouth held rigidly open (if he closed it, he might taste blood) and gauze squeezed between his teeth. I guess he has a bit of the drama queen (drama king?) in him as well.

Here he is, the gap-toothed version of my son. Since the boy is incapable of smiling normally or standing still for a picture, this is the best I could get:

....the toothless version of Vika:


2 bottom teeth gone in less than 2 weeks. I guess she's officially a kid now.

Rhonda and Suzanne may be on to something with their "Boot Camp" and "Listening Camp" ideas. For some reason, the kids have been really difficult lately. Vika has been outright refusing to do the things we ask of her - even something as simple as "Please get dressed." There is no reason to resist, yet she is picking fights all the time. In fact, currently she is up stairs, opening her bedroom door repeatedly. The rule in our house is doors closed at bedtime - the local firefighters told us this was safer than leaving them open. This rule has been in place for a while, but tonight she is choosing to fight it.

Eamon, on the other hand, has become much more whiney and aggressive. Asking him to clean his room will result in a drop-to-the-floor screaming and kicking fit that lasts a good 10 minutes. When it's not driving me crazy, it's actually a bit amusing.

But the behavior of both Vika and Eamon is getting to a point where it is hurting the family. Rhonda was correct when she said that because our kids have taken such huge steps forward in their development, when they take a step backwards (as all kids do), it is huge as well. So, tomorrow, both Vika and Eamon will go into "Listening Camp." It should be interesting. Vika's a very strong, stubborn little girl, who is also very smart. A daunting combination to take on as a parent. After a tantrum or two, I expect that Eamon will do fine. In general, he wants to please and do things that help people. We'll see how they both react to the camp, and hope that their behavior shows some improvement after a day of "listening practice" and doing things "to help the family."

Wish us luck. I have a feeling we're going to need it.

As many of you who have adopted internationally know, kids who have been institutionalized tend to have developmental delays. But generally, they catch up once placed in a loving, nurturing home.

Knowing this, Jeff and I have made it a practice to measure the kids at least once a month, just to keep track of their growth. Here are their measurements from when they joined our family in December, 2005:

Eamon: (age 3 years, 2 months) 35.25 inches tall
Vika: (age 4 years, 5 months) 40.25 inches tall

Here are their measurements from April 26, 2007:

Eamon: (age 4 years, 6 months) 41 inches tall
Vika: (age 5 years, 9 months) 43.25 inches tall

Eamon has grown nearly 6 inches in the last year and a half! And Vika has grown 3 inches. Unfortunately, since we do not have a scale, I don't know their current weight (note to self - buy a scale), but I can tell they've put on some lbs because it is harder for me to pick them up. Clearly, if I want the kids to stay small, I need to cut back on their rations. :)

Here's pictures of them then and now, so you can see the difference.* It is amazing how fast they grow!




* My kids have this thing where they like to pose all serious. As if they are little Russian models or something.