Playing Outside

Yesterday was such a beautiful day. The weather was perfect for eating outdoors. So that's just what we did. Lela made "porotos granados" and we had lunch out on the back porch.

The little ones loved being outside all day. They played on the hamock to the point that I had to take it down because they were so excited that we had to save their little heads from hitting the floor a couple of times.

They played with bubbles and really had a wonderful day at lela's house.

At night as I was getting the girls to lay down (for the third time) Bianca looked straight at me and said Te Amo. Totally made my night. this is not the first time she has said those words. It is the first time she says this without me saying it first, and pretty much begging for her to say it back.
I don't know wether or not she knows exactly what she is saying, and it doesn't really matter because she said it to make me happy. She said it because she loves me.
Have a beautiful, loving weekend.

Its been a while

Just a "short" update:
My trip to Chile was great. The wedding was beautiful. There was nonstop dancing until 5 AM, only because they kicked everybody out at that time.
The rest of the trip was very relaxing. Just what I needed.
While I was gone, the kids did very well with daddy and Gina. They were happy to get mama back too.

Ethan is doing great in school. He does his homework without any major complaints and learns his vocabulary words quite fast. He seems to be 'getting' the whole reading thing lately.

Fifi has given us all a big surprise because she will be reevaluated in order to place her in another class, because the teacher feels she is ready for the next level. We do not know where she will be placed. We do know that it will be another school, so we will have to deal with the schedules again. We have been reading up and the next level would mean a classroom with a few normal children as well as autistic ones, where they will focus on social skills and communication. We are so berry proud of her.
The meeting is November 21st

Bibi is doing great. she continues to show progress. The teacher believes she will benefit from this class until the end of the year. She did say that she will probably be going into another class for the next school year. Which is very encouraging because at the beggining of the year she thought the girls were going to be with her for both Prek years.

Hallooween came and went and it kind of got away from us. I have not been able to post the pictures because as I was getting ready to do it my camera ran out of batteries AND of course I cannot find the charger. Just one of those things where I know I put it away some where all nice and comfy, and now its just waiting for me to remember where. As soon as I do, I will post the pictures. I will say that they are not great pictures. The girls were going to be Cinderella (B) and Snow White(F), but when it came time to put the costumes on they did not tolereate them, so instead they were pirates again. The benefits of having children who grow mostly tall and not wide. Ethan was Diego. He was a very good Diego and was saving animals all over the place. He even had his little baby jaguar. We did not go TT because there didn't seem to be much going on out there. The girls were not in a good place and mama was alone with them, and that's just not enough hands when little pirates are having fits. It was so dead that we had only one "kid" who was about my hight, come to the house at about 8 when I was getting ready to put everybody down. Ethan took it very well and he is already planning next year's costume. For now he has decided to be Tom and Jerry. I know its a year away but this kid does not change his mind very easily about his costumes. He takes it very seriously.
In the meantime I leave you with this, Dan and I were leaves for a halloween party. So if you just have to see somebody dressed up, here we are. I think we are just as cute as the kids.

Weekend

The Z kids were visiting for the weekend


Ethan and I made cupcakes for chilean independance day. We made the little flags ourselves too. He made this snowman cupcake because yes there are so many snowmen in Chile on September 18th. Lela made empanadas. So so good.



Stashi got an accupuncture treatment which apparently was a bit uncomfortable. It did help with her cold though.
I think she enjoyed looking like a unicorn for a few minutes.

Still Here

It’s been a long time since I sat down to write on this little blog.
We got back from vacation, and haven’t had much down time since. It’s a good thing we were able to have a little time off before the insanity began.
The kiddies started school. The girls had their EEG’s that same week. We had Ethan transferred to the girl’s school. Dan started school yesterday, so now coming home at 8:30 is the “early” night.
We are settling into some sort of schedule now, and the kids have been wonderful through all the changes.
Ethan really liked his first school and was not sure about having to switch, but he has adjusted very well and I think this school is a little better for him. The class is smaller, and the teacher seems to be more experienced.
He gets a weekly homework package that he has to bring back on Fridays. He does most of his week’s homework on Monday so he doesn’t have to do any more homework during the week. He’s a mart little guy.
The girls are doing so well. Their teacher is great, she has two autistic kids of her own (which is the reason for her becoming a special ed teacher) and she loves her job. She loves all the kids in the class and it really shows. We get little reports back every day, which makes me very happy. They look something like this:
My appetite today was: Good/Fair/Poor {except for the first day, which was fair} its always Good.
During rest time I slept: Yes/No. This one is always No. But now they are laying down the whole 30 min.
My mood today was: Happy/Playful/Cooperative/Tired/Fussy/Sad/Uncooperative. This one is always Happy and Playful. The first couple of days they got a Sad and an Uncooperative. Understandable I think.

I am now preparing myself for my trip to Chile. I’m having a lot of trouble with leaving everybody for 2 weeks. October 5th to the 17th. Dan will be going to school during the day, while the kids are in school. Then we are having my “aunt” who’s not really my aunt but my second cousin I think, she is my dad’s cousin’s wife. She will stay with the kids while Dan goes out to see some patients. Sounds like we have it all figured out doesn't it?
Gina, my “aunt cousin” is great, she has 5 kids so she knows a little something about kids. She also has a little 6 year old, Gisel, so Ethan will have someone to play with. Gisel’s best friend is autistic so they also know a little something about dealing with the girls. She will be coming over during the next weeks so the kids will get used to her, and she can see the kids “in action”.
I’m sure there is a lot more to tell but right now I just want to get something out there.
I have been updating the pictures, so even if there is nothing new on this site you can always check the flickr site.