She Speaks

It was like the floodgates opened. Abby had tubes put in her ears in mid May due to chronic ear infections. The day after the surgery, Abby really started talking quite a bit. It could have been a coincidence, however, she had so much fluid built up in her ears and had developed a resistance to most antibiotics, that she probably felt like she was under water most of the time. She had a hearing test which was normal except she had some temporary hearing loss which Dr. B expected would be corrected by the surgery.

I should have had the surgery a few months before, however, better late than never. We arrived at the surgery center before 5 AM, Abby was prepped, and we waited for her turn with Dr. B and his team. The pediatric surgery center was first class all the way, and Abby's surgery went off without a hitch. I waited in the waiting room, and before I could even figure out which magazine to read, Dr. B opened the door and told me everything went great, and she would in the recovery room in 5 minutes. The entire time she actually spent in the surgery room was under 20 minutes. Abby came out a little groggy but in a good mood. The nurse took her vitals, gave her some juice, and we were on our way back home by mid morning. Abby did check off another first on her list - First Vomit. No need for details here except to say it was no big deal since she hadn't eaten in about 16 hours. The anesthesia clearly got to her. Other than being a wee bit startled, Abby handled it all with aplomb. It has been smooth sailing for 2 months now with no illnesses or ear infections at all.

Abby went back to school the next day, and a few weeks later at the beginning of June, Abby got moved up into the Early Preschool I classroom. I thought they didn't move her until she turned 2, but the director told me that Abby was "bored" (aka tearing up the joint) and needed more stimulation. Her new class is a lot different with much more structure. I have gone to Abby's school for lunch a few times and watched how the teachers interact with the kids. There are about 14 kids ages 18 months to 2.5 years in her class. Abby truly loves school. She loves playing outside, water play days, movie days, and drawing/coloring especially. She has gotten a few gold stars from her teachers because she is one of the best at putting toys away and cleaning up after meals, painting, etc. Actually, Abby will pick up every piece of trash in her path. I should get her on the payroll at the Parks Department because every time we go to a playground, she must pick up every piece of trash, no matter how small, and throw it away. The hygiene issue aside, it is hard to discourage a born environmentalist!!!

Abby has about 30 words in her vocabulary now. Her favorite words are shoes, baseball, momma, and outside. Her first official sentence with a subject and a verb came on 6/13 when she said "I poo poo!". Ok, maybe not Shakespeare but music to a mother's ears nonetheless. I love that she loves shoes and baseball since they are two of my favorite things as well. She doesn't sit still for much, but she will actually sit still and watch baseball with me. I love it! I can't wait until she is a little older to actually take her to a baseball game in person. They have a great double AA baseball team that plays a few miles from my house, and the experience is extremely kid friendly. We will be regulars at these games next spring/summer.

Abby is still taking music classes every weekend. She really likes it but is much more participatory at home than in class. I think the music teacher freaks her out with her theatrics, but she is a great teacher, and Abby is still benefiting from the class quite a bit. She loves playing the drums and the free dance period especially. We'll probably take a break for a few semesters and sign up for some Little Gym classes. Abby is all about climbing these days. She climbs anything and everything. I wish I was taller because I am like her own personal jungle gym. One of the other kids in her class started climbing on me last week, and Abby did NOT approve. Abby kept pulling the little girls hands off me until she got the message. Kind of ironic because Abby sat on someone last week in an attempt to "play" and promptly got bit by the kid. This is Abby's 5th time to get bit in school (she has not bitten anyone so far). No excuse for the biting, but Abby shouldn't have been sitting on the little girl either and not letting her get up. Can't overreact to these things becuase I know the odds are one day, Abby could be the "biter", and I would want understanding not scorn if that happens.

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, Chevrolet, and Abby

All American. As American as baseball and apple pie. She is in good company there :) It took almost a year and turned out to be more challenging then many of the parts of the adoption process, but Abby became an American citizen via a swearing in ceremony on 4/15/09. Tax Day. More fitting than you know because I was truly excited to get Abby's U.S. Citizenship declared, celebrated and documented so that I could rush over to the Social Security office, get her a SS #, file my taxes, and collect a sizable tax refund. Task complete. SS # and refund in hand within two months. Massive overspending on items we probably don't need has been underway since!

The citizenship ceremony was nice for anyone other than a parent of a toddler. Seriously, 5 hours in a government office (albeit a nice, new, well lit airy one) is no fun with a toddler. There is nothing to do and for some reason, the security guards had a problem with Abby playing with the metal detector and conveyor belt. Imagine that! The ceremony is held on a semi-regular basis for children of U.S. citizens. The majority of the several hundred kids there were teenagers who had their cell phones to keep them busy while they waited. My mom, Michele, Abby and I arrived early, checked in with Homeland Security official, and then waited and waited until all the people who were scheduled to show up did in fact show up - hence the 5 hour process. The paperwork said she became a citizen almost a year prior when she was officially readopted in Texas, but without the official certificate and ceremony, we really had no proof. You just can't ask why with some of these procedures. They are simply to be endured so you can cross the finish line and get the US Citizenship.

Abby after finishing initial check in paperwork

Getting Abby her US Citizenship was a relief. It was truly the final piece ensuring Abby has all the same rights and privileges under the law that I do as an American. I have read too many horror stories of children adopted from other countries whose citizenship status was pending for years and years. Some of these children were not able to get driver's licenses or get financial aid to go to college plus the current political climate at the time made me a bit uneasy anyway. I have seen first hand through this process how non American citizens can be treated, even little babies, and it struck me as wrong on so many levels. I have a new found sympathy on a human level for those trying to better their lives who seek employment in the U.S.

Once we checked in, we went into the "ceremony room" where there were two areas - one for those getting citizenship and one for the friends and family there for support. I left my mom and Michele and went and sat on the chairs with the small plastic American flags and copies of the U.S. Constitution. Abby didn't show a lot of interest in what the Founding Fathers had to say or write, but the plastic flags sure seemed mighty tasty to her. I tried bribing her with every snack I packed in my bag, but she wanted to take all the flags off the chair. The "take the flag, hide the flag, retrieve the flag, put the flag back on the chair" game grew tiresome quickly. I was ready to get on with the show.

Finally, an authority type figure explained how we were to take an oath, recite some non objectionable statements and then wait for our name to be called when our certificate was ready. I raised my right hand, took the oath on behalf of Abby and waited patiently. A short time later, the certificate was delivered, and we were free to leave. Michele took a few pictures of us from the cheap seats where she and my mom were sitting, and my mom spent the time getting to know the life stories of the other families who were also waiting that morning. Abby behaved well but was not overly interested in the proceedings. A cute older boy (about 5) kept staring at Abby playing flirty flirty with her. It was cute. Abby played hard to get (good move, Abs). If she was older, this would have been much more meaningful ceremony. But, honestly, it was only because her paperwork in Guatemala was approved so quickly (prior to my first visit to Guatemala) that dictated the type of immigrant visa she traveled home with. Given all the troubles we could have had, waiting for the US Citizenship was really nothing in the scheme of things.

Abby and I taking the Oath

Photo Ops with Flag and Statute of Liberty

Abby at the Park - Her American moments. Well not distinctly American, but because I mentioned baseball earlier, and she has a baseball cap on in these pics, I am putting them here. Deal.