Groundhog Day

Things are going pretty well at home.  Juan Manuel and Santiago went yesterday for early childhood screening at the school.  We were able to arrange for a Spanish interpreter to be present during the testing.  On our way into the school, both boys said they were afraid of the big boys, and afraid that the big boys would hit them.  Poor little guys!  I reassured them that the "big boys" have different playground time than the smaller children.

Once we were in the school, Juan Manuel was totally in his element.  He was hamming it up with the teachers, peaking in every classroom, touching everything.  I think he was practically ready to push the teacher out of the way and teach the class himself!  He has been asking every day when he can go to school (usually the first thing he says in the morning when he wakes up).  Today we made a calendar for him so that he can cross off the days and count how many days until he can go to school.  The school has Spring break next week, so he can't start until the following Monday.  I think that he is becoming very bored at home, even though we try to do all kinds of activities with the kids, it's just not the same as being with his amiguitos in the class room.

Santiago was very afraid during the testing, and hid from the teachers and would barely complete the test.  He talks about going to school, and loves to play with other kids, but I just don't know that he's ready for the changes yet.  There are multiple different options, and we are leaning towards a stay-and-play program where the parents stay in the same room while the kids play, then the parents go into the next room for a little while, then everyone is reunited again.  We'll see, but if Santi isn't ready for school yet this year, we will just wait until next year.

The kids have been going on long walks with us (and Ruby) in the woods, and have become real explorers.  They love looking for animal tracks, although usually they just find their own boot tracks or Ruby's tracks.

Christian hasn't fallen on his head for 4 or 5 days!!  We aren't sure if he is getting better at navigating, or if we've just had a lucky streak, but his head wounds are starting to heal, and he sure is cute when he isn't totally banged up!  He continues to babble, and the other night was making chicken sounds when he was toddling around the house.  Christian loves being in the kitchen, and will sit quietly in his high-chair while I cook (he even fell asleep there the other day).  He knows where the animal crackers are in the pantry, and he stands on the ground and points to them all of the time.  He is going to be my little pal in the kitchen.

Tonight Tom and Yvonne treated our family to the fish dinner at our church - thank you, Tom and Yvonne!  The boys put away a ton of fish!!  We kept thinking that they would be full, but they kept on eating and eating and eating.  It was fun to get out of the house with the kids, and they did great.  We think that they must have been a little bit frightened of the new experience, because they were awfully quiet the entire time.

Santiago continues to come out of his shell more and more, and we once again are seeing the loving little boy that we knew from Colombia.  It was really difficult to see him withdraw when we first came home, but he is more than making up for it now.  He has started giving us kisses, and he comes up and kisses us all the time now.  He is a little cuddle-bug, and will lay in my lap and stare into my eyes.  Oh, and can this kid dance!!  When we put on music, he tears up the floor, and he has got rhythym and all of the moves.  Where does a 4 year old learn to dance like that?!  It is fun to watch him go to town.

Jason goes back to work on Monday, and my mom is coming back to help with the transition.  While we have really enjoyed all being together as a family these past weeks, it will be good to get into a routine of "real life".  The kids had started asking a few days ago if Papa ever has to go to work, so even they have realized that this hasn't been the "normal" way of life.  I will sure miss having Jason at home to help and tag-team, but am soooooo grateful that my mom will be here once again to lend a hand.  We'll see how it all goes, and it will probably be tough at first, but hopefully we'll all get in the swing of things.

Jason and I have joked that we feel like we are in the movie, Groundhog Day, and every day is exactly the same as the day before.  We watched Shrek 3 the other night, and laughed our heads off when Shrek was going through a similar experience.  The kids kept looking at us like we were crazy and asking what was so funny...nothing, boys!  An exciting day around here entails a trip to the grocery store for milk, or changing from Choco Krispies to Fruit Loops for breakfast.  But, the kids seem to be doing very well with the mundane, even if it is psychologically challenging for Jason and I.  So, we stick with what works, and continue to keep things as low-key as possible for now.