Life Under the Big Sky

It's true what they say ... the sky really IS bigger here. It's very beautiful. Gorgeous view of the Bridger Mountains right from my front porch!

We're loving our new house, our new neighborhood and our new neighbors. Emilia is especially loving the 4 year old boy next door and the opportunity to play all the time! That is one thing she absolutely LOVES - being around other kids. It's still a struggle because she's still pretty social awkward, but she just LOVES them so!

We started school this Fall -- Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12:30-3:00. She is in a Special Ed Preschool classroom, and receives Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy. The education system here is different from the Midwest, so that took some getting use to from this mamí! On our first day of school Emilia was so excited to go by the "kids", and when she realized there were only 3 other kids in her classroom she was very disappointed. She kept asking me over and over where the other kids were!

Ryan has been really busy with work and we've just been taking our time to really get settled. We're finally pretty much set in our house, except the garage, which needs to happen soon since it's already started snowing here!

I've met some amazing Adoptive mamas since I've been here, and Emilia and I go to a mom's support/play group on Thursday mornings. We've had a hard time really getting to know people, so these ladies have been a huge blessing for us. What better group of people to get acquainted with??

We're just taking it one day at a time and working through our "stuff" as it comes. We have some really good days, and some not so good days. Recently, E is so proud to tell everyone we come into contact with that she is from Ecuador. I've been starting to talk a bit more about Ecuador because I want her story to be a part of our daily discussion. She doesn't really get what happened, and just looks and me kind of funny when I say: Remember when mamí and daddy came to Ecuador?
She doesn't remember. Or doesn't want to remember. Or has somehow blocked her memory. For now, we will just continue to tell her the story.

Road Trip to MT, 1,704 miles

After 3 1/2 really good years in Fond du Lac, it's time for a change. A couple months ago, Ryan accepted a job with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America as Director, Organizational Development. His territory would cover all of Montana and Wyoming. We were essentially given the opportunity to live anywhere in these two states. Can you imagine? Live anywhere you want in Wyoming or Montana ... And go!

After spending time with other DODs for BGCA, getting their opinions, and studying maps of MT and WY, we decided on Bozeman. It's the center of his work territory and it's pretty much one of the most beautiful places we've seen!

We were pretty lucky with the biggest chunk of our move. Last week movers came, packed up our house and loaded it on the semi the following day. We still had to be pretty organized because while most of our stuff is going into storage, we had to separate a small portion to be moved to our apartment since we don't close on our new house until mid-August. It was like packing for Ecuador all over again. It's hard to know what you'll need for two months! Or what you can do without!!

Since our house was loaded Thursday, Emilia and I went down to Kenosha to stay with family until Ryan finished his work-week. He flew into Milwaukee and we started our journey from there.

We spent out first night in Fairmont, MN. We got in late and left early so we didn't spend much time site seeing or doing anything fun.

Then we were on the road for three more days.

First mirror we saw in days ...

 

In Cody, WY we stopped at Sierra Trading Post outlet (never knew there was such a thing!). Unfortunately E and I spent 25 minutes sitting outside trying to recoup. Nearing the end of our trip, good behavior is a distant memory.

But we made it.

 

And this is where we'll be living for the next couple of months.

 

Bozeman!!

We're moving to Montana! We have spent the last couple of months planning, organizing, and pretty much going crazy! We are very excited about our upcoming move! But, moving to another state is a lot of work!! We've got just a couple weeks to go!

Meanwhile, Emilia continues to do well. We definitely have our ups and downs, but she continues to have good progression with her transition. This move, and the stress has been hard on her. She doesn't quite understand what's going, but is really excited to move to the montañas!

More adventures to come ...

Back to Work

A couple weeks ago I returned to work, and it’s been bittersweet. We were definitely in need of the income, but E just wasn’t ready. When I dropped her off at daycare that first day, every bit of emotion left her body. She stared with a blank look in her eye, and wouldn’t respond to anything I said to her. She wouldn’t hug or kiss me goodbye, and only slightly waved at the insistence of the day care staff member. That night Ryan picked her up and he said she was very weird and didn’t go to him right away. After he called her over, she did but with a very confused look on her face.

It was so hard to talk to her that night without feeling incredibly guilty. She was all choked up, and actually started stuttering (which she’s never done!). She kept asking if we are still a family ... and if I was her mamí ... and if Ryan was her papá ... if the puppies were hers … etc. It went on for a really long time, and took a lot of reassurance before she was able to finally go to bed. That night she was up 4 times, running into our room to make sure we were still there.

I’ve only returned a few days a week, so she isn’t away from us that often, but every day there has had to be a lot of reassurance! Even this morning (3 weeks into it), she was begging me to stay home with her.

I have my thoughts on what she’s thinking, and I’m pretty sure I’m dead on with some of them. I just hate that she’s so confused. I hate that she thinks she might not be a part of the family because she has to go to daycare. I hate that she hates it when we (particularly me) go away.

Newness

E has experienced so many new things since coming home. Right off the bat was the snow. We had a snow storm the night we got home, and she and I had to go out and shovel 7 or so inches.

 

The next night was daddy/daughter date night at the Boys & Girls Club, and she got to see all of daddy's co-workers and the Club where he works!



The next morning ...

Over that first weekend, we also went sledding with friends, and she loved it!!! She went down the big hill with her new buddies right away and came running back up to go right back down again!

First haircut to try and even out the craziness!

Soccer at the YMCA on Saturday mornings with mamí ...

Grandma & Grandpa Scheel's cabin ...

 

Falling asleep on the way home from the cabin -- first time she "let" herself feel comfortable enough to fall asleep.

 

 

Writing thank you cards for all the wonderful gifts we've received!!

Making Rice Krispie treats with friends...

Play dates!!

 

Chihuahua Love!

She loves her perros...

 

 

We recently went to get her ears pierced. She has been asking for "aretes" since we were in Ecuador. I told her then, and many times after that it would hurt very bad. Still, she wanted them. When we got to Claire's I told her again it will hurt really bad. At this point Ryan was like, "Stop telling her that!" But I wanted to make sure that she was making an informed decision. She was a bit nervous, and yelled "OW!" when they pierced, but that was it! She was such a Rockstar! And she loves her earrings!

 

Easter, and the Easter Bunny was a hard concept to explain. At first she was weirded out that a "conejo" was at our house while we were sleeping. Then she kept asking when it was coming back. She instantly stated that she wanted presents, but wasn't that interested in finding Easter eggs. She emptied the candy out of her basket, gave Ryan and I each a few, put the rest on the counter and walked around all morning with her toys and coloring book in her basket.

¡Feliz día de Pascua!

 

 

Every day is a new experience for all of us.

She's funny.

And happy.

And loves deeply.

And for that we are grateful!!

Time Flies

Holy cow, time flies when you're having fun!! We've been home just over a month. We've taken this time to get adjusted to life. Every day we continue to grow together.

We've spent the last couple weeks trying to get things in order: doctor's appointment, school appointments, options for daycare, extra-curricular activities, etc. Lots of follow up stuff, and lots of waiting for people to call you back!

In the meantime, I've decided to take a leap of faith and start a home-based business with the hopes of bringing in a bit more income, as well as getting my butt out of the house and having some fun!! Please feel free to join my FB group and check out all the madness :)

Control

It seems as though we (E and I) are having a constant fight for "control". As I've mentioned in the past, I am a Control Freak. My control issues stem from unresolved issues as a child, I'm sure. But I also think it's very much a personality trait. It's difficult to place exactly when or why I have the constant need to control, but I do.

So does E.

So much so that she has to say she wants the milk before I put my hand on the jug and pour her a glass (or put it in her cereal). Most of her "control" issues though cannot be verbalized. We struggle daily working through these things. I've lost my temper. She's lost hers. She does not have the ability to communicate what she's thinking or feeling most of the time. She struggles with language and communication. Not to mention learning English is proving to be incredibly difficult. I continue to speak Spanish to her, because we're home together all day long, and if I didn't, we would get absolutely nothing accomplished.

I am a huge fan of Love & Logic, but it's hard to give your child choices and boundaries when they don't understand 75% of what you're saying, even if it is in their native language.

So -- We're pooped.

In other aspects, she's becoming an Rockstar. Bedtime issues have become quite infrequent. We've gotten into our routine, and she has adjusted incredibly well! She loves any kind of social interaction and absolutely loves it when we get together to play with other kids. She's elated when we run errands and get to stop at Daddy's work.

She has more energy than anyone I know, and every day I try my hardest to keep up!!   

Cambiar

Change

Change is good.

Change is different.

Different is good.

I'm still exhausted -- I wish that would change!

Life is different with a little person. I'm evolving. I've always been very set in my ways, very Type A personality. But this little person squirms her little self right in the middle of all of it!

Ryan and I have always run 5 minutes late ... now when we run 5 minutes late, it turns into 15 minutes because of that little person. (We're gonna have to work on that!)

We've been in need of groceries for days. I finally gave in and took the little person to the grocery store. She did great, although she wanted all the cookies ... that's normal for a 4-year old, right? It was freezing cold out, so when we got to the car, I put her in her carseat and started the car right away. I unloaded the groceries into the trunk, and then realized my mistake. Our car was parked half a parking lot away from the place where you bring your cart. My car was started with a little girl in it ... what to do? Next time I'll have to think ahead!

Loving her new hat from a friend!
 

Celebrating a friend's birthday!



HOME!!

Our time in Ecuador was bittersweet. We absolutely loved it there, but hated our living conditions. It is so difficult to live out of a hotel room, especially when introducing a new child into your family and trying to establish rules and boundaries. We are also incredibly grateful for the amount of time we did get to spend with her before coming home, but once again it was in the confinement of a hotel room and multiple public settings. I had planned to stay in Ecuador for 8 weeks. Our in-country staff was so amazing though, they got everything done for us in 5 weeks. Which was good, because by that point I was going stir-crazy. Ryan had to leave after 4 weeks, so that left just E and I for that last week. We had only the one appointment, so we spent the rest of the time ordering room service, swimming in the pool, and just playing.

We finally arrived home at 2:30 a.m. on February 21st. Emilia and I had an incredibly long trip home -- 25 hours to be exact. When we got here she was so excited to see her house and her clothes and her toys ... Bedtime was kind of a distant joke. She finally went down close to 4:00 a.m., but was up bright and chipper by 7:00. Every day since we've had her, she wakes up between 7:00 and 7:30, no matter what time she goes to bed. The time change has also done nothing to her.

We're taking our time getting settled and organized (although this part is driving me crazy). Remember my post about being a control freak? It's kicking in full force since we've been home. Everything is so unorganized, and really there's just no time to do it. Does the exhaustion ever go away? I'm having a hard time deciding what to do when she goes down for a nap ... I should sleep because I'm tired (exhausted really), but right now it is the only time I can get anything done.

We've had lots of firsts already. Every day is a new adventure, and we are so blessed with our little monkey!!

More Fun Facts

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I signed up to do an Independent Study on Latino Culture to incorporate with our stay in Ecuador. I've had to keep a journal for each week here about my experiences. While so much of our time has solely been about Emilia, we've definitely learned some interesting things about Ecuador. I wrote a Fun Facts post back in August -- this is my very own version, in no particular order:

*In most public bathrooms they do not have toilet paper. About 50% don't have toilet seats either. This is problematic when you have a 4-year old who "needs" to use the bathroom often.

*Men do not have facial hair (we did meet one who did have a short beard, but the next time we saw him it was gone).

*Baldness also seems not to exist.

*Public buses will stop for nearly anyone who flags them down, even if they are not at a posted bus stop. But if you want on, you better be prepared to take a running jump for it!

*Nobody has change. Anywhere. Even if you are in a store, or at the mall, they likely will not be able to break your $20 bill. Also, if your total is $2.99, they call it $3.

*When shopping, prices already include the tax (12%). Something that rings up on the cash register as $2.99 is posted as $3 and the sales clerk charges you $3 (see above).

*Roadside crews use machetes to cut down the weeds. Big, huge machetes.

*All of the mannequins and models are blonde hair and blue eyed. Even the majority of the babies and barbies sold in stores here are blonde. I was extremely disappointed when shopping for a dolls.

*There is no point to having lines in Ecuador, because people don't bother to respect them and just walk right in front of you. Nobody makes a fuss about it though, because everyone does it.

*While they use US currency, it seems as though there aren't any $1 bills in circulation. Whenever you get change that requires $1 bills, you instead receive $1 coins.

Speaking of learning, we're not the only ones!! This is a video of E. So you understand, she is one of the fastest, messiest eaters. Ever. So we've been working on slowing down and chewing our food. Of course when I decided to start this I couldn't remember the Spanish word for chew, so I just said chew. E thought I was saying choo, as in choo-choo train. So now, when she eats, she says "choo ... choo ..." and does the motion with her hand as you see below :)

 

 

 

I've also started with some simple sign language ... so far "please" and "thank you". I only used the Spanish por favor, and gracias, but she must have heard me say thank you, and started saying it herself!!

 

Every day is a new adventure!!