Something is Changing

Today I could tell that something is changing.

I got the kids together and made new growth marks on our old piece of trim that I have used for years.

Larissa has grown almost 6 inches in the last year.  Anthony a little less.  Michelle about 3 inches and Emma just a little over an inch.  All the kids studied the stick to see who they are taller than now.  Larissa is taller than Joselin but not Sarah yet.  Emma is just a tad shorter than where Michelle was last year.  Anthony has overtaken Sarah and Joselin.  Michelle is now as tall as Anthony was in 2009.

There are over 10 years of height measurements on that stick.  There are pre-adoptive names on the stick.  Anthony was once Lewis.  Larissa was once Lewisa.  Jason and Tasha are on the stick.  I am on the stick.  The kids love comparing their heights with each other and to see how close they come to me.  There is a lot of history on that piece of stick.

Emma and Michelle loved seeing that they now have history on the stick, they have several ticks on there.  Funny how one little stick can hold so much history and memories.


John and I got together and discussed how to deal with Emma's dog issue.  She came in with scratches from a friends dog.  She has this bad habit of teasing dogs into scratching and biting her and then she hits and kicks them back.  What if she does that to the wrong dog?  Obviously keeping her away from the dog isn't working because there are plenty of other dogs out there to do this with.  So we decided that we would implement supervised visitations.  Emma is allowed to be in the room with the dog as long as there is someone to supervise.  We are trying to get her to learn how to appropriately interact with the dog.  We have talked and talked about it but she goes back to her old habit.  I am not sure how and why this habit started but it can be a huge problem for her one day.  George has been allowed in only one room of the house and this will continue.  We can't supervise if he is wandering around the house.  At this time the only time he leaves the florida room is at night when I take him to my room for bed (or when he goes outside).


Later in the afternoon Emma was sitting on the floor about 5 feet from George watching TV.  I was sitting on the couch feeding the baby trying to stay awake.  Emma looked up at me and asked me if I was mad at her.  Very odd, she has never asked me that before.  She has never cared.  I told her that I wasn't, I was just tired and I had a tired expression on my face.

I looked at her and realized that she has not had a major tantrum since I told her that she was stuck.  She has not screamed that she wants a new family since I told her that she was stuck.   It has been more than a month, a long time for her.  Furthermore my Junior Mints are still sitting on my desk.  Scavenging has definitely decreased.  Eating meals with the family has increased.



We went to Chick fil A for a nutritious supper (mainly because I didn't have anything to cook because I have been avoiding the grocery store).  The kids got ice cream cones and I get my usual chocolate shake.

(The kids were discussing the 5 second rule here.  Emma dropped a fry.  Even though her siblings encouraged her to eat the fry because of the 5 second rule, Emma chose not to.  She is not a big fry eater anyways.)

When we got home I had my shake cup sitting on my desk with only the melted whip cream left.  Emma came up and asked for it!  I was shocked.  She doesn't typically ask for my food.  We have told her repeatedly to ask and you may just receive but she never seemed to grasp that concept.  To ask for my item was never attempted.  I told her that she could have it and she drank every last drop.  She looked so proud of that cup.

A little while later she came up behind me and pulled my hair into a pony tail.  Just a quick tail and then she ran away.  I was shocked.  All the kids like to play with my hair but she has never done so.  This was the first time she had approached and touched me in that way.  She comes for hugs when everyone else does but it is always in a way the seems like it is expected.  This wasn't expected.

I can feel the growth.  Little by little she is growing.  She is also growing in age.  We always said that she acted like a 3 year old.  This summer she has moved up to a 6 year old. 

I almost worry about school starting.  I hope that it doesn't slow down what progress she is making.  I think that I will start the year by making her lunches.  I implemented this last year to show her that I will provide.  I didn't want her meals coming from the cafeteria.  I didn't realize how important this had become to her until one day I didn't prepare lunch for her.  When I told her that she could eat in the cafeteria that day she was upset so I made one quickly.

Top of my back to school list is to talk with her teacher.  She needs to continue to attach with me, not her teacher.