Ella chose this wacky combo:
And Emilia wanted a dress, so we took the rare opportunity to have her wear her Austrian Dirndl. It's actually a very beautiful, rich purple, but showing up as blue here in the photo.
Leap Day Sisters:
Monday, February 29, 2016
Leap Day
Happy Leap Day, everyone. The girls' school is doing a silly outfit day, so we had a lot of fun this morning.
Ella chose this wacky combo:
And Emilia wanted a dress, so we took the rare opportunity to have her wear her Austrian Dirndl. It's actually a very beautiful, rich purple, but showing up as blue here in the photo.
Leap Day Sisters:
Ella chose this wacky combo:
And Emilia wanted a dress, so we took the rare opportunity to have her wear her Austrian Dirndl. It's actually a very beautiful, rich purple, but showing up as blue here in the photo.
Leap Day Sisters:
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Can She Talk?
In recent weeks I have been getting questions from strangers about whether or not Emilia can talk. I guess she finally looks physically big enough that people wonder about her speech. The short answer is yes, she can talk.
The long answer is much more complicated. Emilia has severe apraxia of speech which was not properly diagnosed and subsequently treated with the right therapy until she was three and a half years old (spring 2013). Effectively, the development of her expressive speech did not begin until she was of preschool age. Couple this fact with her spending the first 25 months of her life in a language-deprived orphanage setting, having to learn a new language, and her continuing brave battle with apraxia, and it should not come as a surprise that Emilia is still delayed in her ability to speak and understand English. We, as her parents, as well as her speech therapist believe that her language overall is now somewhere between the 36-48 months level of human development. This means that she has made typically paced language progress over the last three years with the main difference between her and her same age peers being her delayed starting point at 3.5 years old.
Emilia speaks most and best in environments where she feels safe and comfortable: at home, in her therapy sessions, and at school. She becomes quieter when out and about at stores, playgrounds, medical offices, or in large groups. She has an easier time communicating with adults who will make the effort to understand her which is not always the case with other children.
Emilia typically speaks in sentences that are three to eight words long. Much depends on the number of syllables she is trying to string together and how difficult each individual word is for her to pronounce. When Emilia uses big words like rhinoceros, magnitude and indigo (which she does), she uses them singly because it takes her great effort to express them without trying to add anything else. When the words are shorter, you might hear her say things like: I want hummus, I want to walk on the snow, it's so cold outside - brrrr, it's Rex's toy - don't touch.
Emilia understands and expresses many concepts in her unique way. Here are some examples.
What does an airplane do?
Airplane up and down. Clouds. Fly. Little bumpy. Sit in seat.
What happened at the dentist?
Dentist lie down, say ahhh. Buzzzzz. Loud. No ouchie. All finished.
Emilia easily learns new words, even in other languages. It took us several days to figure out, for example, that she had picked up the Russian words for yellow, blue and red from some youtube cartoons (she loves watching videos in other languages). She has little exchanges in German over the phone with my mom and knows at least a few words in Armenian, too.
Emilia knows by name all of her family members, including extended, classmates, teachers, therapists and friends. She uses greetings, she labels, she answers yes or no. She uses nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and prepositions. She follows directions. She initiates conversations. She laughs out loud. She sings and has memorized countless songs, movies and cartoon episodes. She reads sight words.
Yes, Emilia talks. She does not speak like most other 6 year olds, but she is doing the very best she can with the cards she has been dealt and we're so proud of her.
The long answer is much more complicated. Emilia has severe apraxia of speech which was not properly diagnosed and subsequently treated with the right therapy until she was three and a half years old (spring 2013). Effectively, the development of her expressive speech did not begin until she was of preschool age. Couple this fact with her spending the first 25 months of her life in a language-deprived orphanage setting, having to learn a new language, and her continuing brave battle with apraxia, and it should not come as a surprise that Emilia is still delayed in her ability to speak and understand English. We, as her parents, as well as her speech therapist believe that her language overall is now somewhere between the 36-48 months level of human development. This means that she has made typically paced language progress over the last three years with the main difference between her and her same age peers being her delayed starting point at 3.5 years old.
Emilia speaks most and best in environments where she feels safe and comfortable: at home, in her therapy sessions, and at school. She becomes quieter when out and about at stores, playgrounds, medical offices, or in large groups. She has an easier time communicating with adults who will make the effort to understand her which is not always the case with other children.
Emilia typically speaks in sentences that are three to eight words long. Much depends on the number of syllables she is trying to string together and how difficult each individual word is for her to pronounce. When Emilia uses big words like rhinoceros, magnitude and indigo (which she does), she uses them singly because it takes her great effort to express them without trying to add anything else. When the words are shorter, you might hear her say things like: I want hummus, I want to walk on the snow, it's so cold outside - brrrr, it's Rex's toy - don't touch.
Emilia understands and expresses many concepts in her unique way. Here are some examples.
What does an airplane do?
Airplane up and down. Clouds. Fly. Little bumpy. Sit in seat.
What happened at the dentist?
Dentist lie down, say ahhh. Buzzzzz. Loud. No ouchie. All finished.
Emilia easily learns new words, even in other languages. It took us several days to figure out, for example, that she had picked up the Russian words for yellow, blue and red from some youtube cartoons (she loves watching videos in other languages). She has little exchanges in German over the phone with my mom and knows at least a few words in Armenian, too.
Emilia knows by name all of her family members, including extended, classmates, teachers, therapists and friends. She uses greetings, she labels, she answers yes or no. She uses nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and prepositions. She follows directions. She initiates conversations. She laughs out loud. She sings and has memorized countless songs, movies and cartoon episodes. She reads sight words.
Yes, Emilia talks. She does not speak like most other 6 year olds, but she is doing the very best she can with the cards she has been dealt and we're so proud of her.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
1000 Posts
This entry is my 1000th post to our family blog. One thousand times I have shared with the world and recorded for our children something about our life over the last six plus years. To commemorate the occasion, I am going to open up the blog to reader questions for the next 24 hours. I might not answer them all, but you can ask if you wish.
Unknown asks: How did you end up in the US?
Answer: I did a high school exchange year and met my future husband there. I came back to the US to be with him and attend college after finishing high school in Germany. The rest is history.
Unknown asks: How did you end up in the US?
Answer: I did a high school exchange year and met my future husband there. I came back to the US to be with him and attend college after finishing high school in Germany. The rest is history.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
February So Far
Since I have nothing more fascinating to share, here are some random snippets from our month so far.
Craig entered the weight loss challenge at work after New Year's. It runs until early April and his weight loss goal was 15 pounds. He's lost 13 already and is feeling great.
Our family was invited to celebrate the birthday of one of Rex's friends at Pump It Up. Ella made the most of it by doing lots of flips on the bungy as well as climbing to the very top of the rock-climbing wall without assistance. We were so impressed with her physical strength and determination.
We had to make 34 Valentine's for the girls. Total cost was about three bucks with some cute red and white orb mints and red, sparkly gift tags I snagged among post-Christmas sales.
Ella also had to make a Valentine's box for herself. She is pretty much in love with her final product.
Craig was the Mystery Reader in Emilia's class on Chinese New Year. In addition to the book he read to the students, we also prepared an easy craft for everyone to do.
We had a largely failed early Valentine's celebration at home. But, the cake was delicious. Finally found a dairy-free frosting recipe that sets up like I want for a cake.
Rex is learning to receptively identify letters. His first one is X and he has many talented teachers and cheerleaders to help him.
Emilia had her annual check-up with cardiology and her heart is a-okay. Woo-hoo!
We are in the midst of IEP/504 season for our family. We are pretty sure we have Rex's next placement figured out and are thrilled with all the services the school district is giving him via his IEP, but there are a few factors yet that might affect our decision. Still negotiating with the school about Ella and pretty sure we'll happily have Emilia take another stab at K in the full-day classroom next school year.
We had some mild days and Rex was able to take his new trike for a spin. To say he loves riding it would be an understatement at this point.
How's your February so far?
Craig entered the weight loss challenge at work after New Year's. It runs until early April and his weight loss goal was 15 pounds. He's lost 13 already and is feeling great.
Our family was invited to celebrate the birthday of one of Rex's friends at Pump It Up. Ella made the most of it by doing lots of flips on the bungy as well as climbing to the very top of the rock-climbing wall without assistance. We were so impressed with her physical strength and determination.
We had to make 34 Valentine's for the girls. Total cost was about three bucks with some cute red and white orb mints and red, sparkly gift tags I snagged among post-Christmas sales.
Ella also had to make a Valentine's box for herself. She is pretty much in love with her final product.
Craig was the Mystery Reader in Emilia's class on Chinese New Year. In addition to the book he read to the students, we also prepared an easy craft for everyone to do.
We had a largely failed early Valentine's celebration at home. But, the cake was delicious. Finally found a dairy-free frosting recipe that sets up like I want for a cake.
Rex is learning to receptively identify letters. His first one is X and he has many talented teachers and cheerleaders to help him.
Emilia had her annual check-up with cardiology and her heart is a-okay. Woo-hoo!
We are in the midst of IEP/504 season for our family. We are pretty sure we have Rex's next placement figured out and are thrilled with all the services the school district is giving him via his IEP, but there are a few factors yet that might affect our decision. Still negotiating with the school about Ella and pretty sure we'll happily have Emilia take another stab at K in the full-day classroom next school year.
We had some mild days and Rex was able to take his new trike for a spin. To say he loves riding it would be an understatement at this point.
How's your February so far?
Monday, February 8, 2016
Use It Up January
Each January, I try to prepare our meals with ingredients we already have at home and keep our weekly grocery bill as low as possible for a family of five with varied dietary restrictions and preferences. Here's my chronicle of this year's Use It Up January which doesn't include every drop of oil or pinch of salt used, but outlines the broad strokes. Please note that we eat primarily vegetarian here and that much of what others would consider side dishes are main meals to us.
Week 1 - 01/02 through 01/08
Dinner menu: curry, pizza (free coupon) and homemade for Rex and Emilia, dinner salad, Tex-Mex bean soup, roasted vegetables with herbs, artichoke bake, leftovers (subbed with roasted chicken and biscuits)
Already at home for all meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks): onions, canned beans, artichokes, cream cheese, breakfast/snack bars, juices, DFGF breads, ground beef, bread, tater tots, wraps, cereal, milk, flour, sugar, butter/oil, almond pudding, DFGF cookies
Buy: produce, coconut milk, deli meat and cheese, hummus, chips and crackers, yogurt, canned tomatoes, eggs, applesauce
Grocery bill for the week: $77.60
Week 2 - 01/09- 01/15
Dinner menu: sausage and pepper hoagies, orzo veggie soup with chicken, dinner salad, walnut cheddar burgers, crepes, steamed veggies with couscous, dinner out parents (date night - thank you, Special Olympics - cost not included in total) and cold finger foods for the kids
Already at home for all meals/snacks: orzo, walnuts, cheddar, eggs, flour, couscous, fresh and frozen veggies, breakfast/snack bars, juices, tater tots, wraps, cereal, sugar, butter/oil, juices
Buy: produce, sausages, bread, chicken, milk, coconut milk and coconut yogurt, yogurt, orange juice, hummus, cereal, applesauce, tortilla chips, GFDF bread and waffles, deli meat
Grocery bill for the week : $98.77
I spent more this week than I intended because there were so many clearance deals on foods that we eat a lot, like tortilla chips and organic cereal. I could also not pass up the organic whole chicken for $7.00 when both of my girls love roasted chicken. We had roasted chicken and biscuits for dinner on 1/8 (I grocery shop on Thursdays) instead of leftovers and used the remaining chicken for sandwiches and soup.
Week 3 - 01/16 - 01/22
Dinner menu: noodle soup, hamburgers, dinner salad, vegetable casserole, spaghetti, potato cakes, leftovers
Already at home for all meals/snacks: carrots, canned tomatoes, ground beef, stuffing, yogurt, juice, cereal, milk, GFDF waffles
Buy: lots of produce, pasta, pasta sauce, orange juice, potato chips, coconut milk, bacon, GFDF pudding, bread and cookies, olive oil, applesauce, bread, eggs, hummus, breakfast bars
Grocery bill for the week: $145.90
The fridge and the pantry started looking a bit low this week, so I had to buy more than in weeks one and two. Plus my grocery store seemed determined to sabotage my spending. This week they had organic bread on clearance which I promptly purchased and stuck into my freezer. I also made an adjustment to the menu midweek: due to an unexpected snow day, I did not prepare the potato cakes, but just got some soup from the freezer and heated it up.
Week 4 - 01/23- 01/30
Dinner menu: quiche, potato cakes, dinner salad, lentil burgers with butternut squash fries, steamed veggies with a side, manicotti, pumpkin tomato soup, leftovers
Already at home for all the meals and snacks: pancake mix, eggs, coconut milk, cereal, breakfast/snack bars, bread, butternut squash, DFGF waffles, wraps, ricotta, stuffing, lentils, rice/orzo, DFGF pudding and waffles, pumpkin puree
Buy: produce, yogurt, DF yogurt, sour cream, deli meat/cheese, manicotti shells, marinara, herbs, cream cheese, GFDF bread, hummus, yogurt, orange juice, shredded cheese, potato chips
Grocery bill for the week: $126.40
Our grocery total for the month was $448.67 which comes to about $15 a day or $3 per day per person. It's pretty impressive for me to see it broken down this way because we ate well, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, a meat dish once a week, many gluten/dairy free products as well as organics. I should probably do the Use It Up more often, maybe not for four weeks in a row, but possibly one week a month.
Week 1 - 01/02 through 01/08
Dinner menu: curry, pizza (free coupon) and homemade for Rex and Emilia, dinner salad, Tex-Mex bean soup, roasted vegetables with herbs, artichoke bake, leftovers (subbed with roasted chicken and biscuits)
Already at home for all meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks): onions, canned beans, artichokes, cream cheese, breakfast/snack bars, juices, DFGF breads, ground beef, bread, tater tots, wraps, cereal, milk, flour, sugar, butter/oil, almond pudding, DFGF cookies
Buy: produce, coconut milk, deli meat and cheese, hummus, chips and crackers, yogurt, canned tomatoes, eggs, applesauce
Grocery bill for the week: $77.60
Week 2 - 01/09- 01/15
Dinner menu: sausage and pepper hoagies, orzo veggie soup with chicken, dinner salad, walnut cheddar burgers, crepes, steamed veggies with couscous, dinner out parents (date night - thank you, Special Olympics - cost not included in total) and cold finger foods for the kids
Already at home for all meals/snacks: orzo, walnuts, cheddar, eggs, flour, couscous, fresh and frozen veggies, breakfast/snack bars, juices, tater tots, wraps, cereal, sugar, butter/oil, juices
Buy: produce, sausages, bread, chicken, milk, coconut milk and coconut yogurt, yogurt, orange juice, hummus, cereal, applesauce, tortilla chips, GFDF bread and waffles, deli meat
Grocery bill for the week : $98.77
I spent more this week than I intended because there were so many clearance deals on foods that we eat a lot, like tortilla chips and organic cereal. I could also not pass up the organic whole chicken for $7.00 when both of my girls love roasted chicken. We had roasted chicken and biscuits for dinner on 1/8 (I grocery shop on Thursdays) instead of leftovers and used the remaining chicken for sandwiches and soup.
Week 3 - 01/16 - 01/22
Dinner menu: noodle soup, hamburgers, dinner salad, vegetable casserole, spaghetti, potato cakes, leftovers
Already at home for all meals/snacks: carrots, canned tomatoes, ground beef, stuffing, yogurt, juice, cereal, milk, GFDF waffles
Buy: lots of produce, pasta, pasta sauce, orange juice, potato chips, coconut milk, bacon, GFDF pudding, bread and cookies, olive oil, applesauce, bread, eggs, hummus, breakfast bars
Grocery bill for the week: $145.90
The fridge and the pantry started looking a bit low this week, so I had to buy more than in weeks one and two. Plus my grocery store seemed determined to sabotage my spending. This week they had organic bread on clearance which I promptly purchased and stuck into my freezer. I also made an adjustment to the menu midweek: due to an unexpected snow day, I did not prepare the potato cakes, but just got some soup from the freezer and heated it up.
Week 4 - 01/23- 01/30
Dinner menu: quiche, potato cakes, dinner salad, lentil burgers with butternut squash fries, steamed veggies with a side, manicotti, pumpkin tomato soup, leftovers
Already at home for all the meals and snacks: pancake mix, eggs, coconut milk, cereal, breakfast/snack bars, bread, butternut squash, DFGF waffles, wraps, ricotta, stuffing, lentils, rice/orzo, DFGF pudding and waffles, pumpkin puree
Buy: produce, yogurt, DF yogurt, sour cream, deli meat/cheese, manicotti shells, marinara, herbs, cream cheese, GFDF bread, hummus, yogurt, orange juice, shredded cheese, potato chips
Grocery bill for the week: $126.40
Our grocery total for the month was $448.67 which comes to about $15 a day or $3 per day per person. It's pretty impressive for me to see it broken down this way because we ate well, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, a meat dish once a week, many gluten/dairy free products as well as organics. I should probably do the Use It Up more often, maybe not for four weeks in a row, but possibly one week a month.
Friday, February 5, 2016
Picture Of The Day
Ella has made great progress in preparing her homework with little to no help. Here's what she did this morning.
 |
| Ella said, "Miss McLaughlin isn't even going to believe I did this, my handwriting looks so grown up." |
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
100th Day
Today is the 100th day of the school year for the girls. The first graders were encouraged to dress up like they're 100 years old. Of course, Ella was so excited about the opportunity that we had to make it happen. We bought her dress, purse and scarf for less than $8.00 at a thrift shop (I just had to shorten the bottom of the dress by half) and a four dollar can of silver hairspray completed the look.
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