Division and Multiplication

 

 
September.  Fall.  School.

yippee!

I have to say, I was ready in many ways for school to start this year.  Not that I am prepared for the afternoon/evening craziness of trying to figure out how to fit all our various activities, homework and dinner and an 8:00 p.m. bedtime (kids catch the bus at 7:00 a.m.) into a few short hours (the kids get off the bus at 4:40)...but I am VERY ready for the kids to have something and someone else occupy their time for a while! (0;

The munchkins were ready as well--except Rodas, who knows that school means the loss of constant playmates and especially her favorite being in the whole world, big sister.  Her closeness to her sister, almost to the exclusion of anyone else at times, was actually a bit of a project this summer though it is going to be a very long work in progress.  Her dependence and blind devotion to her sister is understandable--Tsegereda has been the ONLY constant in Rodas' short life.  As far as the little one can remember, Tse has been there.  Everyone else, including her biological parents and siblings, have flitted through her life, not staying long.  For all her life, Tsegereda has been there...helping her, taking care of her, playing with her, loving her.  She has actually now spent almost as much of her life with us as she spent in Ethiopia, but that stability seems to not have sunken in yet, as her security blanket remains her sister.

We didn't want to disturb that safety line through the initial transition into our family, but now that we're over two years in, we felt it was time to help her expand her trust to the rest of the family--especially Wyatt and Noah.  Under the guise of trying to reduce squabbling and tears that invariably happens when all four jump on the trampoline together, the kids were only allowed this summer to jump two at a time, and in brother-sister pairs.  Heehee.  Squabbling did lessen quite a bit, but an even greater reward was the fact that Rodas found fun in brothers.  She's known it before--she plays wonderfully (or awfully) with Noah when no one else is around, but will immediately drop everything and follow Tse when she enters the room.  Noah and Wyatt were also called upon more this summer to help Rodas get ready for bed--which the boys actually took in stride and with pride and did awesome at!  Made me regret not asking them to help more before this.  Rodas was not so thrilled at Noah's tooth-brushing expertise, but, well, it's a start.

My parents also stepped in to help, performing a two-fold triumph of giving Noah some badly-needed sole attention away from his attention-stealing younger sister and also separating the girls. Noah and Tsegereda stayed with Nana and PopPop for four days, after which I traded kids and my parents got Wyatt and Rodas.  The effect on Noah was wonderful and he responded by being a truly great kid for my parents.  While they were gone, Wyatt grudgingly slept in Tse's bed to comfort Rodas and the two played fairly well for the time.  While I wasn't sure Rodas would be able to say "hello" and "good-bye" again to her sister in one day, the "honor" of having it be her turn to stay at Nana's won out and she did it.   My parents were awesome, keeping the kids busy playing, working, eating ice cream and exploring the Grand Lake area.  Rodas had a ball and survived being without her sister for longer than she ever has before.

Did it have an effect?  Yes, but it is only evident in little things.  Where before she would only ask Tsegereda if she remembered some funny instance that happened to them, just yesterday in the car out popped, "Wyatt, did you remember when we were at Nana and PopPops and you snored so loud I didn't sleep good all night?"

It was little, but it was big.  It was a shared memory phrased in a way that had only previously included Tsegereda.  Sure, Rodas has lots of memories with the boys by now, and she talks about them sometimes...but when she said that sentence in the car it struck me because of how she said it.  She'll find her big brothers and realize they're not going away and in doing so, help them find a little sister that loves them too.  A simple matter of division and multiplication! (0;

Here's some photo highlights from the past month, including the awesome awards all the kiddos earned at the Moffat County Fair:

Noah's First Place Knex designs.

Noah and his Reserve Champion crayon drawing.  

Wy and his Reserve Champion Legos.  He won First Place for an Original Lego design as well.

Wyatt's Second Place painting.

Wyatt's Grand Champion pumpkin!  No matter that it was the ONLY pumpkin entered, it still was a beauty--a white-orange hybrid.

Tse's beautiful watercolor painting of our favorite hot air balloon, Flowers.

Tse won First Place for a pretty bracelet she made.

Tse and Rodas both won ribbons for jewelry, hanging on the wire rack behind them.

Grand Champion Rodas!  She drew a picture of her and Tse and two hot air ballons.

Wyatt was nominated for a youth reader award by the Hayden Public Library.
He won a $50 gift card  to a local bookstore!  Way to go, kiddo!

Tse in the Denver Zoo aviary.

Feeding pretty birds at the zoo!

Riding the carousel at the Denver Zoo.  Yeehaw!

Wy and Ry getting eaten by brass snake at the Denver Zoo.
Ouch.

Bakin' with Nana!

Nana and PopPop's backyard.  Cool.

Think we have hard ground?

Mid-August greenhouse bounty.

Colt on my b-day present.

Colt OFF my b-day present.

Taking a turn on my b-day present.  Pretty cool paddleboard!
Her name is pumpkin (she's bright orange on top).

Colt and Wyatt participating in Colt's Jane Fonda Triathlon for work.
Lycra and spandex were required...and worn.

Our antelope buck...not as frequent a visitor, but still around!

Late-August bounty from the greenhouse.

Outdoor garden pumpkin...going to be a big one!

Last day at the pool!

Tse mastering the paddleboard.

Too close for comfort!  Mom decided that if you aren't playing well together then you get to be stuck together, holding hands, until you can!  It was really fun when Rodas had to go to the bathroom!  Heehee. (0;