On Monday morning, Jeff and I heard Henry singing the Harold the Helicopter song from the Thomas & Friends series. He was so very cute.
Henry and Miss R's classmates had changed to some extent. Four children from Miss R's class moved up a level. Some of Henry's classmates moved as well. Consequently, Henry no longer looks like he is the smallest kid in his class. Miss Lulu is still Henry's teacher. It looks like Miss Stephanie is teaching a different class now. And Miss Diana, who worked in several classrooms but only in Henry's class in the afternoons, is now with his class all day. Both Miss Lulu and Miss Diana are Spanish speakers. Miss Lulu has a bit of an accent, so I'm guessing that English might actually be her second language (very good second language). I've noticed them talking to some of the kids in Spanish. I'm hoping that means that they spend some time teaching the kids a little Spanish. It is supposedly part of the curriculum, but we haven't noticed Henry saying any words in Spanish yet. Miss Diana reported that they didn't do potty training today b/c they were just trying to get the new kids used to the routine. In the younger room, the lunch and nap times are earlier, so the move was a bit of an adjustment for them. She said that Henry did well with the switch of having new kids in class. He clearly knows the routine, which is helpful (e.g., when to go to the table for snack, to head right to the sink after they've been outside b/c they always wash their hands after they've played outside, etc.).
Miss R's class has several new faces. She no longer looks like the smallest one in the class, but she is still very much on the small side. Very petite and well below the 5th percentile on height. Perhaps she'll be a gymnast. I've been asked by strangers if she is about 1 years old. They look surprised when I say that she is 22 months. I'm obviously no child development expert, but her skills strike me as age appropriate at this time. Her verbal skills have come a long way since living with us. Her fine motor skills have always been very good. Her gross motor skills seem pretty good now. I was concerned about her trunk strength, but I think that's coming along nicely. She can even jump off the ground with both feet. She's been singing a lot lately. I suspect that daycare has brought some of that out in her.
When I went to pick up the kids at 4PM, Henry was painting and doing a very nice job too. We then went over to see Miss R. Henry made a bee line for the toys. Miss R headed right for me and gave me a huge hug. She's awesome at making me feel like she missed me. In comparison, Henry gives me a smile, but I don't necessarily get the impression that he's thought a lot about us during the day. He of course continues to make me feel guilty when I drop him off in the morning, but I'm pretty sure that it is a big con.
Alison, our family specialist from A Place To Call Home, visited at 5PM for our monthly home visit. She was going to meet us at their school, but she had an emergency meeting. Maybe next month we'll fit it in. She said that her director has heard that Children's Learning Adventure is excellent. Apparently, its reputation is spreading. Glad that we got into the school before its reputation made it impossible to get in. I overheard the front desk staff member tell a caller that there are waiting lists now.
Alison didn't really have any information on the case. I did the updating for her. I told her that I got a hold of the lawyer last week. He forgot that Miss R had been assigned to him as he was originally brought onto the case to represent one of Miss R's teenage siblings who is deaf; the lawyer knows some sign language. He was assigned as Miss R's lawyer at the first hearing when it became clear that there was a potential conflict of interests for Miss R's first lawyer who was representing Miss R's other sibling who wants to return home (i.e., the lawyer felt uncomfortable arguing for the teenager to return home, while trying to figure out Miss R's best interest, which may not be to return home). We didn't attend the second hearing b/c CPS didn't respond to our calls requesting that they tell us when the second hearing was to be held. If Miss R's lawyer didn't remember that he'd been assigned to her case, that meant that she didn't have representation in court, which is frustrating. At least it was very early in the case when not much had happened. It just seems like Miss R is treated as an afterthought in meetings and hearings too. We understand the her much older siblings have some special needs and also have voices as they are almost nearing adulthood (meaning that age of 18). But we want the system to pay attention to her needs too. We are working as her advocates, but we technically don't have a role as "deciders" in this process. We want those that do have that role to pay close attention to the files. I hope that we've gotten the ball rolling by talking to her lawyer who said that he'd visit us next week before the dependency hearing.
A lot of people ask me how are we going to handle it if Miss R returns to her bio family. Honestly, I try very hard not to think about it. I mean, I do think about it, but I try not to. She feels like she is a part of our family through and through. I love her. Jeff loves her. Henry love her. So, I try to focus on the present. I think that I'd go crazy if I thought too much about a future that may or may not happen.
Henry was talkative around Alison. Jeff said that my father had asked him Saturday if Henry ever stopped talking. Jeff's answer: "No." Jeff said that he was pretty sure that the trait didn't come from his side of the family.
Miss R and I showed Alison how we play ring-around-the-rosie. Miss R was very into a pair of sunglasses that Jeff's aunt had given her. She played with them for an hour and wore them throughout our house.
We made dinner, which the kids pretty much rejected. Miss R ate all of the corn out of the calabacitas that I made. She had some grilled cheese. The soup was a bust. The kids had a bath. And then it was bedtime. It took them about an hour to settle down.
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