Today Kolya turned 10 years old. Hopefully he had one of his best birthdays ever. It wasn't over the top, but not exactly an average day, either. I cooked breakfast for the kids this morning (a treat), then dropped all three off at the YMCA camp for the day. After work and camp, we went to Red Robin for dinner. Kolya was a good sport with the Happy Birthday routine! Kolya is an absolute treasure!
Felix is away on his summer National Guard duty, so I'm going to be a single mom for almost two weeks. The plan is to keep things strict and simple so that I don't lose my mind. Work is super-busy, our Ukraine Orphan Outreach summer camp kicks off in two weeks, the kids are needy. Hmmm...I might lose my mind!
I'm happy to report that Julia is really improving from her occupational therapy sessions. She goes once a week for one hour. The biggest improvement is in her speech. She is pronouncing things more clearly, and her vocabulary has noticably improved over the last few weeks. For the life of me I cannot figure out how sensory/tactile delays can affect speech - but it does. I have really enjoyed hearing what she has to say, especially now that she can express herself better in English. She has a great sense of humor. But we still have a way to go......
Nadia is attending a YMCA Leadership in Training camp this week. Today she said she had "fun" at camp - a huge step in the right direction. She was naturally apprehensive about the camp at first! Recently she told me that she misses her friends in Ukraine. I was so relieved that she will confide in me (is it confiding if I post it on the Internet?). Nadia is very strong and exceptionally resilient, but she needs to let down those barriers once in a while.
And then there is Buddy. Crazy Buddy. So much for the fence. He's busted.
