Happy Birthday Ricardo

Happy Birthday Ricardo!!! On January 15, Ricardo had his seventh birthday.  We kept the event low key as there has been so much going on with Christmas and I just feel that he was overwhelmed.  He really doesn't have any friends at school yet so we invited a little girl who lives next to my parents who he has played with a few times.  We had a cake, balloons and some gifts and the little party lasted about 1 hour.  He was very happy with the party.  My Mother made pizza which he loves and then the cake finished it off.

Ricardo and his cake

Ricardo also received a bike just after New Years.  He had never been on a bike before but he was so happy to get a bike that he didn't want to wait for the rain to stop so he practised under the back deck.  He fell off a few times because he kept turning the bike so sharply that the training wheels couldn't help.  We have gone onto the road a few times and he did well on the down hill but the slight uphill grade back to our house was a little tough.  The weather won't be good here for a while but he will get lots of practice during the spring and summer and I am sure the training wheels won't stay on long.

Christmas and New Year

It has been a very busy few weeks.  We spent Christmas at my parents and my sister also came.  We didn't do anything special on Christmas Eve, just sat around talking.  The kids went to bed early as they were worried Santa would come before they were in bed.  I am not sure what Ricardo was expecting but he did pick up on Ali's excitement.

To my surprise, the kids slept until 7:30 Christmas morning.  I was sure they would be up early but both kids really need a lot of sleep.  The kids opened their stockings and we had breakfast before letting them open the gifts.  Even though we tried to keep control by only giving them one gift at a time, they still tore through them quickly.  Ricardo was excited by everything he got.  Then the rest of the day was spent playing with toys.  I spent most of the day in bed with the flu as did my mother.  My sister cooked Christmas Dinner.

Here are a few pictures.  They aren't great due to the speed at which the kids were running around.

Ricardo with some of his gifts

Opening his pirate ship

Building a course for marbles

Ali working in her fashion book

We spent a few more days at my parents and then Ali and I headed home for two days.  Ricardo stayed with my parents for the first time which he enjoyed.  My Mother took him for a walk up the mountain which he loved.  Ali went to a sleep over with 15 other girls which gave me one night to myself which was bliss.

New Years was uneventful as I fell asleep at 10:30 on the couch and missed it all.  My parents live across the street from the beach where they hold the Polar Bear swim.  After much pondering, Ali decided she would take the plunge.  My mother also went in but I decided that I would rather stay warm.  Ali went to the beach in her house coat with her bathing suit underneath.  She went in right up to her neck but afterwards she said that she now knows what it would be like to live in a freezer.  She stated several times that she would not do the Polar Bear swim again.

Ali before the Polar Bear Swim

After the swim and shivering cold

We headed home after the swim and had a visit from the social worker.  The social worker's mother lives in the same town as me so she lines up visits with me to coincide with visits to her mother.  She asked me a lot of question about how Ricardo was doing and how we were doing as a family.  She also talked to the kids.  There really wasn't much to it and she was gone in an hour.

Now the kids are back and school and things will hopefully get back to normal.  Ricardo needs a long spell of normal weekly routine.  He was unsettled last week with yet another change.  There shouldn't be anything now for a while expect for his birthday which I am going to keep low key.

Christmas is Coming

Dressed for the Concert

The last few weeks have been very busy getting ready for Christmas.  Last week the kids were busy at school with Christmas events.  The highlight was the Christmas Concerts.  There were two, one for the English program and one for the French Immersion program so I got to see two concerts.  Ricardo's Concert was first.  As you can see from the photo below, Ricardo did not enjoy the Christmas Concert.  In fact, the whole last week of school was highly stressful for him.    I think it was the constant practising of the song and then every day there was some event at school.  There was just no routine and he was stressed out about the whole thing.  I now regret putting him into school before the holidays.  I didn't realize that they would spend over a week celebrating Christmas.  It was just too much for him.

On stage

Singing the Christmas Song

Ali's concert was the next day.  I actually saw Ali in both concerts as she is in the choir.  Ali enjoyed doing her song.  However, most of Ali's week was normal I guess because she is in a higher grade.  They made cookies one day and that was it.

There was also a Christmas store at school.  People donated items and the kids could go in and buy a gift for a family member.  I spent the day at the school wrapping gifts the kids had bought for their family.  It was so cute seeing what they had bought their parents.  I was there when Ricardo came in and helped him shop since he didn't understand what he was supposed to do.

My sister also visited last week.  She had not met Ricardo yet as she doesn't often get weekends off.  She stayed 4 days and we visited the Milner Gardens Christmas light display.  We also went to a Christmas Play which Ricardo really enjoyed.  Ricardo really likes Tia Jackie as they both like the colour Orange.

Now that school is over, Ricardo is doing much better and he is looking forward to Santa coming.  Although, I don't think he really knows what that means and, since he is only speaking a tiny bit of English, I can't get an answer from him about what happened in Honduras.  I am sure he will enjoy Christmas Day.  Merry Christmas!

At Milner Gardens with Tia Jackie

Visiting with Santa

Ricardo and Ali

School

Ricardo has now completed two full weeks of school.  The first week was just for 2.5 hours a day so he could get used to the class.  We went in on Monday at 11:45, just in time to eat lunch with the other students.  When we arrived the class was in the gym so we had the room to ourselves.  We found a coat hook with Ricardo's name above it and a chair for him.  Then the class arrived.  The teacher had told the class that Ricardo was coming and that they all had to help him learn English.   I stayed and just watched.  The teaching assisant spent alot of time with Ricardo leading him around when they had story time and then centres.  He was happy to be there but did not interact with the other kids.  At recess, he stood alone for a long time and then a little girl came and led him around the playground.  Just before the end of the day the English as a Second language teacher came and found me and walked to her office and discussed Ricardo and she gave me another Education website for Ricardo.  At the end of the day, Ricardo was smiling so I guess he enjoyed it.

The second day I stayed for a shorter time and then the third and fourth day I left after 10 minutes.  Friday was a PD day so no school.  The teacher said that he did well on his own and that they were working with pictures with the word beneath to teach him English.  They had a card for chair and shoes and other items he would use in the classroom.  They also had a strip of pictures showing the morning routine - hang up coat, put on inside shoes, go to chair -  so he could learn the routine and the words to go with it.  The teacher said that he was very good at watching the other students to see what he was supposed to do.

Last week Ricardo went to school for the full day.  I didn't even go in the class but waited outside with him until the teacher came to let them into the classroom.  After his first full day he said "Fun, fun".  There were no problems the rest of the week and he was happy at the end of each day.

He really likes to get his stuff prepared for school each day and loves his homework.  The first day he had homework, he wanted to start it in the car.  I hope he maintains this enthusiasum.  He has a few more weeks before the Christmas break.  I am looking forward to seeing him in the Christmas Concert.  

Canadian Citizenship

Last week, I received Ricardo's Canadian Citizenship certificate in the mail.  This was the last big thing to happen for this adoption.  I have always felt that once I had this document, I would be finished.  The only thing left to do is to apply for BC Medical, since I needed the Citizenship card for this.  I have the form all filled out and will be taking it in this week.  Then I can get a passport and that will be the end of the paperwork.  Except post placement reports of course but I see those as something separate and not part of the completing the adoption.

The best news is that I got all my documents back.  When I was in Guatemala, the immigration officer took all the original adoption documents including Ricardo's birth certificate.  I was worried I wouldn't get these back but they were all there in the envelope.  That was a relief because getting a new birth certificate costs $200 US and I doubt I would be able to get the new copies of the adoption documents.

When I showed Ricardo his certificate he said "Beautiful".  The blue document below contains the signature that took us so long to get.

A visit to the school

On Friday, after Ricardo played in the snow, we headed to see the prinicpal at his school. I had made an appointment so I could discuss Ricardo and his needs so he could make a successful integration into his new school.   The principal has known for a long time that Ricardo was coming and had been thinking about what was best and after our discussion she suggested that he should start in kindergarten. She felt that he would be overwhelmed in a grade 1 class and that in kindergarten they are learning the basics like numbers and days of the week which would be good for him learning English. The kindergarten teacher is one of the best teachers in the school and very experienced with the primary grades. The prinicpal also felt that kindergarten would be good because of this lack of confidence with other kids and his inexperience with things. The kindergarten room and curriculum also centres around play which is excellent for language development. She also added that we would assessment him in a few months and we could move him to grade one at that time. It will easier to move Ricardo up a grade then to put him in grade 1 and then have to move him back down if it proves too much. If he stays in kindergarten all year, they will then also look at putting him in a split class next year (grade 1/2) so he can gradually move to grade two if that is what is needed. The kindergarten class also has a learning assistant so there are two adults in the room which means that Ricardo can get some one on one attention.

Before the meeting, I had thought he would go into grade 1 but honestly, I was worried about how he was going to fit in.  He is shy of kids his age but will play with younger kids.  I think that kindergarten will be a better fit for him.  Plus, the school will keep reviewing him and will move him up if they feel he is ready.  I would rather that he feel comfortable then overwhelmed.

We also discussed the English As a Second Language support. Our school does have some but it would be maybe an hour or two per week. And this would continue for five years.

After our discussion we headed to see the classroom. The students were in the gym so we could walk around the room. It was colourful, and full of different play areas. Ricardo's face just lit up. The principal saw this and said, "He will be very comfortable in this room. It it much better for him at this time to be in a room like this."

Then we headed to the gym. The kids were dancing with coloured scrafs and Ricardo was given one so he could join in. He was nervous (because now there were other children) but he followed along. Then we met his teacher, Mrs. D, that's what all the kids call her, and we arranged to start Ricardo on Monday. She felt that afternoon would be best as it is more play based after lunch and this would make an easy start for him. I am going to stay in the class with him for the first few days.  The teacher is also teaching some Spanish in the class so that will make him feel comfortable.

And what did Ricardo think? Well, a few weeks ago when I mentioned that he would go to school in a month, he said, "NO! Six months." He didn't want to go. But we have spent some time at the school when we pick up Ali, getting him used to the space. On Friday when we came back from the school, he ran to his room and grabbed his backpack. I had given him a small bag of popcorn for a snack. Instead of eating it, he put it in the bag and said that it was for school and then he placed the bag where Ali puts her school bag each day. He talked about going to school all weekend and the last thing he said tonight before going to sleep was "School tomorrow!" so I guess he is ready to go.

First Snow!!!

Yippee! Snow!!  Ricardo experienced his first snow fall today.  We woke to a few centimetres on the ground.  After we took Ali to school he took his first steps in the snow.  He just stood there for a while and then finally decided to touch it.  He didn't want gloves on.  After these photos were taken he changed his mind and wanted gloves.  He said "Frio!!!"  (cold).


First Touch of snow



First Snowball

He then spent an hour outside before we had to go out.  It was really wet snow so he was soaked and cold when he came in (I need to get him some snow pants).  And he didn't want to go back out for a while.  But by afternoon, after we walked to the mail box, he was ready to play in the snow again and he is still out there.  He keeps saying "Snow is funny!" Which is his way of saying that snow is FUN.  

Chasing Daisy

 

Daisy

 

Enjoying his first snow