Since my last post we have attended family functions, had family and friends stay with us, celebrated Kyla's 4th birthday with 2 parties in one day, and the biggest change for me was my return to work. Me going to work has been a huge adjustment for all of us. When I come home, both girls screaming and wanting to be hugged. Troy is doing pretty good, and was home with the girls for 2 days while I was away for work. I think that they have gotten into a nice groove.
When I am not around Lucy is fine, but the moment I come home I have to manage giving the girls equal attention. At the end of the day when both of the girls are tired it's tough. Lucy does not want to share me with Kyla or her dad. The pushing, yelling, tears and anger often happens between the girls when Kyla wants to be held or hugged and Lucy wants the same. Of course the challenges for Kyla getting used to having a sibling in the house is hard on her. Lucy needed a ton of love and attention right at the beginning and now the attention needs to be balanced. So only 5% of the time you have to keep a close eye on Lucy as she tries to hurt her sister, and Kyla will retaliate. I would say that most of the time the girls get along well and show the love with hugs and kisses with each other. Kyla takes her sister's hand and guides her along and teaches her things. When they are sweet together it melts your heart. Most people say this is normal behaviour between siblings, which may be true, but the adjustment and how they came together for both the girls is not normal so it's important to remember that.
Lucy is doing well. She is still a great eater but does not eat as much as the first 7 weeks, it's almost as if she had to catch up and get used to having lots of food around. She stops eating when she is full now. Lucy loves milk "ilk" and asks for it all day. She takes you to the fridge if you don't get it. I am sure she has gained weight and gotten taller. Need to measure this so I can compare to her measurements that were done in Bejing over 2 months ago.
Lucy is staring to say a few more words, she definitely understands a lot of what we are saying but still uses her facial expressions to let us know how she is feeling. We actually don't have big concerns about her speech development yet as she is so happy and active. Her huge facial expressions are awesome. I think she has managed to use this as a way of communicating for a long time. Lucy is doing pretty good considering she is learning English and it's not even been 3 months yet.
The area where we live has an amazing Community program that we have been taking advantage of. I met a comunity nurse who has helped us set up a few programs and she is a great resource for finding a family doctor and dentist in the area. The girls already had their first dentist appointment and Lucy got caught up on vaccinations. Her poor little arms, they did 5 shots in one day. Brave girl. We still need to make an appointment for a full medical check-up, recommended as one of the first things you do when you get back.
Lucy has been going swimming twice a week and is busy with taking her sister to pre-school 3 times a week. We took our first trip to Victoria for 1 night and then Troy took the girls up island for a few days while I headed back to work. They had fun visiting family and meeting Troy's sister's family. We are blessed with lots of cousin's for the girls.
It's hard so hard to believe that Lucy has only been in our family for less than 3 months. It just feels like she has been with us forever. We are so in love with this little person and she is still so sweet and loving. She is cuddly, loves kisses, hugs and affection. We are lucky that she has accepted us as her family.
When I am not around Lucy is fine, but the moment I come home I have to manage giving the girls equal attention. At the end of the day when both of the girls are tired it's tough. Lucy does not want to share me with Kyla or her dad. The pushing, yelling, tears and anger often happens between the girls when Kyla wants to be held or hugged and Lucy wants the same. Of course the challenges for Kyla getting used to having a sibling in the house is hard on her. Lucy needed a ton of love and attention right at the beginning and now the attention needs to be balanced. So only 5% of the time you have to keep a close eye on Lucy as she tries to hurt her sister, and Kyla will retaliate. I would say that most of the time the girls get along well and show the love with hugs and kisses with each other. Kyla takes her sister's hand and guides her along and teaches her things. When they are sweet together it melts your heart. Most people say this is normal behaviour between siblings, which may be true, but the adjustment and how they came together for both the girls is not normal so it's important to remember that.
Lucy is doing well. She is still a great eater but does not eat as much as the first 7 weeks, it's almost as if she had to catch up and get used to having lots of food around. She stops eating when she is full now. Lucy loves milk "ilk" and asks for it all day. She takes you to the fridge if you don't get it. I am sure she has gained weight and gotten taller. Need to measure this so I can compare to her measurements that were done in Bejing over 2 months ago.
Lucy is staring to say a few more words, she definitely understands a lot of what we are saying but still uses her facial expressions to let us know how she is feeling. We actually don't have big concerns about her speech development yet as she is so happy and active. Her huge facial expressions are awesome. I think she has managed to use this as a way of communicating for a long time. Lucy is doing pretty good considering she is learning English and it's not even been 3 months yet.
The area where we live has an amazing Community program that we have been taking advantage of. I met a comunity nurse who has helped us set up a few programs and she is a great resource for finding a family doctor and dentist in the area. The girls already had their first dentist appointment and Lucy got caught up on vaccinations. Her poor little arms, they did 5 shots in one day. Brave girl. We still need to make an appointment for a full medical check-up, recommended as one of the first things you do when you get back.
Lucy has been going swimming twice a week and is busy with taking her sister to pre-school 3 times a week. We took our first trip to Victoria for 1 night and then Troy took the girls up island for a few days while I headed back to work. They had fun visiting family and meeting Troy's sister's family. We are blessed with lots of cousin's for the girls.
It's hard so hard to believe that Lucy has only been in our family for less than 3 months. It just feels like she has been with us forever. We are so in love with this little person and she is still so sweet and loving. She is cuddly, loves kisses, hugs and affection. We are lucky that she has accepted us as her family.
