Leah and Aaron Update

I thought I might share what Leah and Aaron have been up to since we moved and how they are coping.  They have been more rambunctious than normal and I am attributing that to adjusting to a big move to a foreign country, being away from family and friends, and not having their toys.  (We are at Day 53 & counting without our stuff.  Day 58 if you want to count back to when they picked up our stuff in VA.)  At one point last month they were so bad with their behavior (which is very uncharacteristic for them) I had to consult my own "Super Nanny" (Aaron's godmother) and I had to put them in my own "behavior boot camp" where they had toys and privileges taken away as well as no trips to the playground or pool during that week.  That week happened to coincide with their yearly well visits to the doctor and she said the change in behavior is a typical reaction to a move like this and it could take up to two months for them to get back to "normal."  I am happy to announce they are behaving better --that week of "lock down" helped--but they are definitely not at normal yet.  I am hoping that once school starts, our stuff arrives, etc. that will help them adjust.  (BTW, for those of you keeping score at home Leah is now 44 inches tall and 38.5 lbs.  Aaron is 38.5 inches tall and 32 lbs.)  School and soccer start next week and there is a chance that our stuff could arrive in port and clear customs next week too. In the meantime we've been busy doing some normal summer vacation things. 

Leah's tooth/mouth is much better.  If you recall, we spent our 4th of July in the emergency clinic after Leah twirled her way to an up close and personal encounter with our loaner furniture.  She cut her chin, her lip and pushed her front tooth up a little.  There was a lot of swelling but since the bleeding had stopped on it's own, there wasn't much to do except wipe the tooth/gum with some medicine to prevent bacteria from forming since it would be painful for Leah to brush the injured area.

July 4

We went back a week later and it was so much better.  The swelling had almost completely disappeared.  The dentist said since the tooth had only been pushed up slightly and since it wasn't affecting her speech or eating they were just going to let it be.  Between the two visits they took so many x-rays.  The dentist concluded that he felt comfortable that the permanent tooth was not injured in the fall (by the impact of the baby tooth being pushed up).  I had never even thought of that possibility and although I know Leah is itching to loose some teeth and have the tooth fairy visit, I was glad she still only had baby teeth at that moment.

July 11 (Leah's hairstyling, not mine)

By the weekend of July 21 Matt and I could see that her front tooth was becoming discolored so I called on the following Monday and got her another dentist appointment.  I was afraid the tooth was finally showing signs of injury.  Leah was thrilled at the prospect of having her tooth pulled.  (I don't think she understands what that all entails.)  When we saw the dentist he felt the discoloration was from ruptured blood vessels inside the tooth and while unsightly was not a cause for concern.  Or a reason to remove the tooth (much to Leah's dismay).  So we have basically closed the chapter on that tooth and Leah is still eagerly awaiting her first loose tooth.

July 25

When not visiting the dentist, we keep busy doing more fun things.  Leah has gone to camp for three (non-consecutive) weeks.  Matt and I have mixed feelings about the camp because while they do really neat things, unique crafts and go on cool field trips, the administration/monitoring has been lacking.  If we were on a large installation like Norfolk I would not have sent her back after the first week but she has really enjoyed it.  She's made jewelry and musical instruments, had pool and water play days and has gone to the movies, bowling and to the aquarium.  One of the things that has made me upset with the camp is when I got a call one afternoon to give me "a heads-up that Leah had a friend cut her hair."  What?!?  Thankfully, it was not nearly as bad as I had envisioned.

Nice bangs!

The counselor had told me that Leah had "asked a friend to cut her hair to make it pretty."  (Ironically, Leah and I  just had our hair cut the previous week and she had told the stylist she wanted to grow out her bangs.)  While I was frustrated with Leah for that poor decision I wasn't mad at her--or the other kid who actually cut the hair.  I questioned the camp counselors on why they wouldn't monitor 6-yr-olds with scissors more carefully and I wrote as much on the incident report that I had to sign.  A bright spot in this debacle was that the mom of the child "stylist" had the child write us a note saying how sorry she was and that she will not do it again.  I just left Leah's hair as-is and we go this Friday for our regular haircut.  We'll see what it looks like after that.

Aaron went to camp for one week this summer.  It was a sports camp for one hour a day for four days.  It was for three-to-four year olds and each day was a different sport:  basketball, flag football, soccer and baseball.  It was a parent-and-tot camp with four circuits for each day's sport.  It was a weird flashback showing Aaron all the things my dad used to show me in our front yard like stepping with the opposite foot while throwing a ball, where to place your fingers on a football, how to get your body behind a ball when fielding a baseball, etc.  Not surprisingly, Aaron's best and favorite sport was soccer (and not to brag but he was clearly the best at dribbling the soccer ball).  His worst sport was basketball.  I was amazed, however, to find out how good he is at tee ball.  He is a switch hitter and a good fielder.  He throws good for a four-year-old but is still a little scared at times to catch the ball.  I asked him if he wanted to play t-ball in the Spring but he has said no. 

Check out Aaron's stance!

This one is for you, Grandpa Loewus!

Not having a lot of stuff in the house gives you the freedom of moving mattresses around so periodically I've let Leah and Aaron have "slumber parties" and we had one movie night.

Zzzzzzzzzzz

 

Bolt & Super Rhino are so AWESOME! 

 

Then there is the requisite swimming & playground plus since it's been so brutally hot we've even gone bowling a few times at the bowling alley on base. 

Aaron really enjoyed his first time bowling.

 

For kids they have bumpers and guides (plus light-weight balls)

 

We did our back-to-school shopping online not long after we got here.  The "pickin's are slim" here at the Sasebo Navy Exchange (NEX).  Luckily, Old Navy, Land's End and Zappo's all deliver to FPO boxes so Leah is all set.  (Aaron's shopping comes courtesy of the Kevin/Lukas/Jack collection.)

Leah and Aaron are rocking the new Vans!

Last Saturday the BHR FRG (Family Readiness Group) sponsored a Back-to-School Splash Party.  There were wading pools, a slip-and-slide, a water table and a sprinkler.  There were also Popsicles and water balloons.  Leah had a ball!  Aaron had fun but he struggled when people would squirt him with a squirt gun or another little boy would take a car he felt was his.  There were goody bags of school supplies for school-aged kids and coloring books and sand toys for preschool-aged kids.  Not many people showed up relative to the size of Matt's ship but I think it was just enough kids.  It was controlled chaos as it was.

Leah was in and out of everything.

 

Aaron spent the majority of his time at the water table.

 

Mmmm, Popsicles!

 

Leah and Aaron were very pleased with their goodies.

 

 

I am currently looking at the options for Aaron's schooling,  They do not have a preschool here on base and I do not think that sending him to the "Caterpillar Room" at the base Child Development Center aka day care, is the best way to prepare him for kindergarten next year.  What the do have here is called Sure Start and it is the military version of Head Start, the pre-K program for low income families.  I wouldn't expect us to qualify as we are in the third tier of eligible people but I applied anyway as many people have told me they might not have enough applicants.  It would be convenient as it would be at Leah's school and the same hours but I am unsure what the academic level would be and would Aaron be bored if he already knew everything the kids were learning. If Aaron gets into/attends Sure Start it begins mid-September.  Another option I am investigating is Japanese preschool.  There is a school liaison officer here on base and she is going to take me on a due diligence trip to check one out near Hario where the principal and some of the teachers speak English.  It would still be a Japanese language-first class but at least some people would be able to understand Aaron.  It sounds really awesome and I think it would be a fantastic opportunity for Aaron but I am worried it might be a little too intense for him to go from 9-12 two mornings a week to a full day, wearing a uniform and riding a bus five days a week.  Apparently, Japanese students from Kindergarten and higher go to school six days a week year-round.  There is also a group that is trying to form a parent-led preschool here but I don't know if I want to go that route.  My goal is to get Aaron to learn how to sit at a desk, not scream when someone takes a toy from him and to learn how to take instruction from someone other than me.  If it were up to Aaron he would just hang out with me everyday and in some ways, I'm fine with that.  When Leah's not around he's easy to deal with and a good helper.  I can home school him on the finer points of cleaning the house. (Ha! Ha!)

I did start Leah and Aaron on an allowance last week--$3 a week for each.  They were thrilled to get their cold, hard, cash and I was proud that they didn't want to just run right out and spend it.  This week, however, Leah learned the painful lesson of budgeting and saving when on Tuesday we had to go to the NEX and the kids decided they wanted to spend their money and buy a toy.  While they have the $1 aisle at Target there is no such thing here.  Leah was devastated that not only could she not find a "girlie" toy for $3 or less but Aaron bought a Matchbox car so he got something special and she didn't.  I tried to explain that she was learning about real life, how you have to save money for what you want to buy.  She cried her eyes out at the check-out counter, on the way across the street to the uniform shop where we had to pick up two of her dresses that had been altered and all the way back to the car.  She finally calmed down on the way home while eating a snack.  I'll be interested to see how she does this Friday when she gets paid again if she's going to want to run out and spend her $6 (total) right them or if she will wait.  I told Matt it's better she learns this lesson at 6 rather than at 26.

That is about it.  I have stayed busy keeping up with Leah and Aaron and regular household things.  Once our stuff arrives I will be crazy-busy unpacking.  I will be coaching Leah's soccer team this Fall and I think I will be helping with Aaron's.  Leah's is only a 5 v 5 game with no goalkeepers and no score is kept with practices twice a week plus a Saturday game so it should be easy.  Aaron's is only one day a week.  It's more like his Soccer Tots + scrimmage at the end (but unfortunately no Gerald, our awesome Soccer Tots coach).  I am also chairing the Christmas Tree decorating committee for the BHR FRG.  I figured these two things would keep me busy and allow me to meet people without stretching me too thin.  At least I hope so!