Chit chat

PJ and I were on a bike ride yesterday.  She was telling me a little about school, who she plays with, what they play, that she really does know what the teacher is saying to her.

Then she asked, “Why did you send me there?”

My response was, “We felt it was the best gift we could ever give you, the gift of a second language.”

She said nothing for a long time.  As a matter of fact, I think she’s still thinking about it.

School lunch

KP and I swung by school to have lunch with PJ today. 

I thought it would be a good idea.  I thought it would be fun.  I thought she would enjoy having us there sharing a meal with her new classmates.

I was wrong.  She was not ready for home to collide with school.

There were A LOT of tears and carrying-on when we tried to leave. 

Really…there is nothing more heart wrenching than turning away from your child when all they really want is you.

Our little pioneer

Last night we got to visit PJ’s new school.  We saw her new classrooms, met her new teachers, checked out her table and all the wonderful things that the teachers have put up on the walls.

To be honest, my heart started beating a lot faster when we walked in and everything was in Chinese.  The teachers spoke to the kids only in Chinese.  And then they spoke to us with VERY thick accents.   I still don’t know how to pronounce her teacher’s names.

At one point, PJ walked up to me with a book in hand and asked me to read it to her, I opened it up and realized I couldn’t.  I DON’T KNOW CHINESE. 

Of course having all the Chinese in the room should have been a “no brainer”.  What was I expecting?  But seeing it written, being surrounded by the unfamiliar shapes and sounds caught me a little off guard. 

I am nervous for her, for her long days, for her experience, for her new friends, for her different school, her different bus, the distance she must travel, the things she will know that I will not and can not help her with and for everything else that I can’t think here to mention.

But what I know is this…she will embrace this wonderful experience with everything shes got, make it her own and amaze us all.

Daddy’s little girl

I love this photo.

She’s amazing

This is PJ riding her bike from our house to the near-by lake (about 1 1/2 miles each way).  She learned to ride her bike with no training wheels a day ago.  She just decided it was time.  And now…there’s no stopping her.

Sunning turtle

Duped

This is PJ right before she was to get her 5 year shots.

In my mind I was going to take the picture as she was getting her shot, just like I did with her brother a few years back. However her strength, screaming, determination and stubbornness won out. My hands needed to be holding her arms down and not holding my camera up.

The terror started to creep in as the nurse walked in. PJ was prepared for A shot, not THREE. Once she saw the three needles she came unglued. The nurse tried really hard to talk her off the ledge, to give her a choice of helping or being held down by outside help. After several tries at rationalizing with her I looked at the nurse and above the shrieking mouthed, “she is beyond reason.”

I physically got in to help try and pry her hands away from her long sleeves and she wouldn’t budge. She just kept screaming and crying. As I was trying to restrain her I noticed that she was wearing a skirt, a short skirt, a skirt that showed us her whole thigh. I looked at the nurse and motioned down to her thigh with my eyes. She looked at me, nodded and went straight in on both legs. She never knew what hit her, until it hit her.

The downfall to our little tale…even though she got her shots yesterday she is now one experience smarter and will never let those nurses snow her like that again.

Keep’n it real

After we came home from the park last night I made all three kids take their clothes off at the back door and run straight away to the tub. Before they had a chance to get in, PJ noticed that the two little neighbor boys were on their way over and started yelling “T and JC are coming over, T and JC are coming over!”

As she was yelling, she ran through the house and right to the back door to great them. Naked in all her glory, she flung open the door, stepped outside, put her hands on her hips, pushed her right hip out and said, “Do you want to come in and meet my new fish Cherry?”

5th year photo project

So here we go…another kid of mine has turned five. That means another year of daily photos, this time for Miss Thang.

I’m proud of myself for getting it organized early and God bless flickr! PJ’s will be done the day she turns six. CT’s is still undone. All the pictures are taken, just not digitally organized.

I seriously slacked on my picture taking last year; my camera seemed to only be invited to high priority events. I’m looking forward to viewing daily life through the lens again.

F-I-V-E

Dear PJ,
Today you are five. It’s so hard to believe how much bigger, older and more mature you have become just over this past year. You have blossomed. You are finding your stride.

What I love about you is that you know exactly what you want and then you set out to get it, no matter how outlandish it may seem. You, as I said last year, are strong in will and spirit. If you are to get knocked down, it takes a mighty hurricane. This is an attribute that is difficult to parent but I know it will serve you so well some day.

Over the past few months a very tender side of you has emerged. You enjoy caring for things, feeding things, making things grow. You enjoy seeing how your efforts affect things. This new phase is really fun to watch, I wonder to what heights you will take it and how it will mold you as an adult.

You are an amazing little lady. You my darling, keep me on my toes, keep me learning, keep me wondering and keep me watching in amazement.

Happy Birthday PJ.

I love you so,

Mom