Which is my lame excuse for the lack of blogging. May kept us occupied - we were finishing our homeschool year with the bigger kids and watching in amazement as Asa's English exploded. By the end of the month, school was over and we had an incredibly verbal little three year old... it was the perfect time for a week long vacation in Orlando.
[asa, as we were packing for the trip]
We explained to Asa that we'd be going on a trip and that we'd come back home when it was over. He went with me to drop Henry the Dog off at the doggie hotel and seemed to understand that it was a temporary arrangement. He pointed at his canine buddy and said,
"Henry, stay here. We be back laaaaater."
[walking and sweating in magic kingdom]
Asa already had a little bit of exposure to Disney World. My birthday was in late April and Jim, being the thoughtful hubby he is, got our family annual Disney passes as my gift. We had done a few day trips to Epcot to go on the
"Big ball ride" and Magic Kingdom
to see
"Dickey Mouse" (???) but we were really excited about one full week at a condo only three minutes from the parks. We went to all four parks; Asa saw his first real zoo-type animals in Animal Kingdom
and learned about the afternoon summer downpours at Hollywood Studios.
[asa loves buzz]Our condo had a few fun swimming pools in which we passed a lot of the time, too. We've been teaching Asa how to swim here at home and people at the pools were shocked by how well such a tiny little guy swims underwater. He's our tadpole!
[matching suits for the boys... of course]
[asa dives right in... with mommy nearby]
We all had such a nice time and it was a great way to start the summer. Asa loved the
"becation" and I think it was a really good opportunity to teach permanence. His family stayed together even though we weren't in a familiar environment, our home was here and the same when we returned and, as promised, Henry Dog was happily reunited with us.
[konked out in his king size bed at the condo]We've experienced so much with Asa in his three months here at home. I'll definitely be discussing all the highs (many) and lows (a few) in a future post.
[asa, as we were packing for the trip]
[walking and sweating in magic kingdom]
[asa loves buzz]
[matching suits for the boys... of course]
[konked out in his king size bed at the condo]
9 of your thoughts:
Beth he is getting so big!!!
Did he actually like the Big Ball ride? I find that to be a very disappointing ride. I find the kids in front of the TV to be a little disturbing and poltergeist-like.
Can't wait to go to Disney with you guys in a few months!!!
awww, good to hear from you! Sounds like amazing good times!
I miss Disney. Three years ago we got FL resident passes but haven't been back since they expired.
I'm glad he did well. I've heard some people say you shouldn't do anything extra like that the first year and others like Asa do fine with it. Any thoughts on that?
Loved this post and appreciated your experience/thoughts on permanence.
Melissa - he LOVES the big ball right (Spaceship Earth) and asks to go on it. They updated it recently but I do remember from before... and it's still a little creepy. But I have to admit that I just enjoy the a/c and have been known to nap while riding on it. ;o)
Kathy, I'm glad you brought that up. Before Asa came home, we had every intention of laying low, staying at home and "cocooning" for as long as necessary. We have been following his cues as to how much he can handle. Thank goodness, he doesn't seem to become easily overstimulated and he really enjoys taking part in outings & activities. One area in which we are being very cautious, though, is his interaction with strangers (and even friends). He doesn't understand certain boundaries yet and has tried to hug & kiss people he doesn't know. Because of this, we keep him with us at all times... he stays with us during worship service and our Sunday school class instead of going to his own class because I don't think he is ready for other caregivers. We won't be leaving him with anyone outside of immediate family for a very long time. So I think (hope) that the variation of a vacation - as long as he sees that our family stay together - will just solidify his understanding of our bond. Hope that makes sense. ;o)
Awesome to hear from you again, Beth. I appreciate your insight to how this is working out for your family. Those of still waiting do the whole 'imagining' what we will or won't do or how it will or won't be and I'm glad to hear how it is turning out for y'all.
Great pics! He's so cute!
He is so dark on that white pillow! Looks like Becation was a great time for everyone! Glad you could all get away together and just be a family having a fun time together.
What a beautiful face, with so much expression (I love the expression with the matching bathing suits).
Your face tells it all, you are head over heels in love.
How wonderful is our God!
Kimmie
mama to 7
one homemade and 6 adopted
What a fun post! So sweet to see all the learning and growing that happens in such a SHORT period of time! Asa is obviously a treasure, and I am so happy to see him fit in so naturally with your family. I totally get you on the people boundaries thing... We have the exact same problem here. Just wrote a post about it yesterday. I am really glad he seemed to grasp permanence vs. temporary because of your becation. Don't our kids have the BEST accents?!
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