I just want to give a little shout out today to chocolate cake. Adam and I had some Betty Crocker for breakfast–it was one of those mornings. My tummy is paying for it now, but it was good while it lasted. And we have sunshine, finally. The past week has been utterly gloomy, which I am not complaining about, being a Northwest girl and all. And I will soon have more sunshine than I can handle back in Las Vegas. However, the drenching rain does make it more difficult to enjoy the playground. We might actually do some sightseeing today since Adam leaves us on Wednesday. He really wants to get to Monserrate before leaving.
Uncle Brian flies in from Utah tonight for a week to help out. And Auntie Jena flies in from Las Vegas on Thursday…she’s planning on staying till the end. Grandma and Grandpa Penning made it back to Washington State safe and sound. They are sorely missed by the kids and by us. These kids are so loved…it’s ridiculous. 🙂 We have our three week anniversary as a family tomorrow. I am so grateful that Adam was able to extend his trip by a week (thanks, Jim). The kids have benefited greatly. The last part of our stay here will be much smoother because of his extra time.
We had a couple of firsts last night. I had the three oldest in the cocina eating. I promised them some soda pop with dinner earlier in the day so they were asking for it. As I was pouring their drinks, Danny asked how to say gaseosa in English. I looked up and they were all three staring at me. I explained to them that it could be soda pop or just soda or just pop. They settled on pop because it sounds like papas, which they are used to saying. I said that’s great (especially since it’s pop in Washington). We have been working on some common food words like juice, milk, and water. They are all starting to understand that they have to accompany the Spanish word with the English word, if they want the item. It is awesome to see their progress–not just in vocabulary, but in the understanding of how things work.
And again, this morning I said, “I know” in Spanish and Danny asked how to say it in English. He and Ezzy went around saying, “I know, I know.” It was really adorable. Adam used, “I don’t care” in Spanish yesterday when they said they were hungry. It was awesome! They all just looked at him, and couldn’t believe he would say that. But when we hear, “tengo hambre” 20 times a day when they already get five meals…it’s really annoying. Of course, I remember always telling my mom I was hungry. I’ve just started saying, “sorry, you’ll have to wait.” They get the picture. 🙂
The other first has to do with going home. The three oldest were chatting about grandma and missing her (they had just waved to her over Skype and they were so excited about it). Then their conversation shifted to uncle Brian coming and airplanes and traveling. I was enjoying listening to them talk to each other. Well, I could tell they were talking about Las Vegas, but I wasn’t sure what they were saying. Finally, Danny asked me how many days until we get to go to Las Vegas. I showed them the makeshift calendar I had made, and pointed to the important days. I showed them when daddy was leaving and then when we might leave. I told them maybe 15 days or so. They seemed satisfied, and went on talking about airplanes.
That made my heart sing because I see them taking more interest in going home. It is becoming a little more real to them as they meet family members, and as things get closer. Ezzy wanted to see pictures of her room yesterday. That’s the first time any of them have asked unsolicited. So times like last night make me feel that the children are starting to believe that we are a forever family. They are becoming more and more comfortable with looking to the future with us. It makes me very happy. It also makes me seem like more of a mother rather than a caretaker.
I am so glad that you wont have to be all alone, even if I am not the one who gets to come! ;)We will send some chick flicks with Jena!
I wish you all were here in the sunshine! I can’t wait for them to see their rooms and their toys and home. What a great day that will be!
We wished that your family could have been at our party on Saturday! We missed you!
Those are some great firsts and big steps forward. Mmmm I do love chocolate cake for breakfast. Dan and I had delicious pumpkin cheesecake today. I’m so ready for fall. Thanks for keeping the blog updated, it would make me CRAZY to not hear from you.