Wordless Wednesday

The verdict is in and....

WE ARE DONE...with swim lessons that is. I have decided to listen to my mommy instincts on this one. It is not in anyway productive for us to both go to something we hate. It is not good for Mommy and Kiya bonding time.

She liked the songs, being tossed in the air, splashing in the water and believe it or not sticking her whole head under water. Yes she is quite the daredevil. She hated the structure, the "jumping" in, the life vests and I am pretty sure she wasn't a fan of the teacher either.

Kiya wanted to just sit and splash and play in the water. We have a kiddie pool at home and that is how we will spend the warm days of summer.

I think she was just too young for that kind of structure. I don't want her to hate water and that is my fear that forcing her to be miserable will result in her not liking the water at all. So we aren't going to ruin a good thing.

I guess part of me thought this might happen. Kiya is an independent girl. She likes what she likes, how she likes it and there isn't much that can change that. I signed up because she loved water so much...oh well we will wait until she is closer to 3 likely to try again.

We did sign her up for another 2 weeks in the middle of July but will not be attending those either. We paid in advance and there is no refund but my quality alone time with Kiya is more important than the $60 we paid for lessons. We can spend that time doing things she loves and strengthening our Mommy/daughter bond. Life is way too short and Kiya is growing up way too fast. I want both of us to enjoy our time together.

Pictures

Here is some proof that Miss Kiya doesn't hate water. She just hates swim lessons. That water was FREEZING cold and when we first put her in she was not happy. We took her out to just play with the water and then after awhile we put her back in and she loved it. Cold water or not the kid loved being in the pool. So much so that when we took her out because she was shivering so much she got very mad.

Nothing is better than watching Kiya smile and laugh. Only to be beat maybe by her new found singing abilities. She has always been a singer but now that she knows a lot more words it is even cuter. For example, she still loves Ring Around Rosie and can now sing the Ashes Ashes we all fall down part. However when Kiya sings it, it sounds like "Asses, Asses, all all DOWN." Yes my daughter says ass instead of ash. Too cute. And she usually screams down. Truly nothing better. Our goal is to get it on tape which is challenging as Kiya is fascinated with all things electronic and either stops what she is doing or makes a grab for whatever it is you have.

We will try though as it is just too funny. I will also try to post some video from Kiya's first wagon ride. She LOVES the wagon. Being the daredevil that she is, the faster the better and lots of laughs and screaming of "weeeee" were to be heard throughout the neighborhood. Totally adorable.

The drama that is swim lessons

I have reported on this blog before how much Kiya loves water. I have also reported that she is quite the daredevil. So based on these two things, I assumed she would LOVE swim lessons. The jury is still out on that but the last couple of days haven't been stellar.

There are some unusual circumstances that haven't helped. Kiya was sick. I think I saw a two year old molar popping in. Monday the water was FREEZING. Tuesday classes were cancelled due to rain. Wednesday the sun was in her face. I know drama.

Kiya does well for maybe the first 15 minutes of the 30 minute class. Then it is time to practice jumping in. I thought my crazy climber would LOVE this part. Well, she HATES it. She tries to climb out and crawl away. From there on out the class is ruined.

At some points she is just fine. She likes the songs and bouncing in the water. Then she will get mad and grab on and suck her thumb. That is a whole other post about the thumb sucking....

The locker room situation is less than ideal. There is no changing table or really adequate place to change the little ones. The first day was pure chaos. I spent $1.00 tyring to figure out the locker. I forgot to shower before getting in the pool. Our clothes got all wet. Yes the clothes we were supposed to change into after class. It was awful.

Day 2 was better. I have settled for changing Kiya on a bench like the other moms do. It is a little awkward. The benches aren't very wide. I have figured out the lockers and the showers. The showers are WAY too hot for a little one though.

I am hoping the weather will hold up and we can go the rest of this week and then next week also. I have learned a few things for next time too. First, we are looking for indoor swim lessons. Second, Daddy may have to start going with as this Mama is not a fan of water and sticking her face in water. I don't want Kiya to pick up on my fears. Third, we aren't doing swim lessons every day. It is just too tough on everyone. Once or twice a week would be better.

We are definitely on for lessons today so fingers crossed that we make a little more progress today. I think part of the issue is Miss Independent doesn't like being restrained and she has to stay with mommy the whole time. Wish us luck.

What lies ahead

I as a general rule try not to think too far in advance, I used to and that wasn't so healthy for me. This time though I kind of need to think ahead. There is a lot of stuff swirling around and I honestly am not sure how it will all play out.

Work: Any regular readers of this blog (do I have those?) know that I HATE my job. I didn't want to go back after my maternity leave, etc etc. However, I do get paid pretty well and we have health insurance through my work. I have flexible hours and can make my own schedule, yeah I know I shouldn't complain. Well, on Friday I was informed that at any time in the next 14-16 months, I will be out of a job and thus lose our health insurance. I can't really go in to details. All I know is I could be out of work in 3 months or 16 months...kind of hard to plan for that.

Here is what makes it even more interesting...

Adoption: We have been waiting almost 7 months for our son. We expect to be waiting at least another 12-14 months or so could be longer than that. The plan was after we travelled to bring him home, I would no longer work outside the home. I would be a SAHM as the cost of daycare would be more than I would bring home at my current job.

Health insurance: I am CLUELESS about how to obtain private health insurance. We have some obstacles facing us in that department. I don't really know how the new healthcare laws will affect us. They in theory would make it easier for us but I am not sure the pieces we are concerned about will be in effect in time to benefit us. We have some pre-exsisting condition issues for my hubby and for Kiya. That could pose a very expensive problem.

So what to do? That is a very good question. I feel like we have limited options.

Ride it out: This is my ideal choice. We find no sub leasers for the business and can just ride out the lease. This gets me VERY close to being united with my son at which time I was going to stop working anyway.

Find a new job: I could start the job search process. ICK! I am not excited about that prospect and I know in my head that I will likely be at that job for maybe 2 years. I am checking a few ideal places for some ideal jobs to see if they may pop up between now and then but for now I am not committed to job searching.

Find health insurance: The ideal here would be for my husband's company to offer health insurance. If you see pigs flying, then that might actually happen. Otherwise not likely. So on to private insurance...UGHHH. I was dreading dealing with that a year and half from now but so soon.

The worst part is I have no idea when I could lose my job. I know it will be gone by October of 2011 but it could be gone much sooner than that. How do you plan for this? I have no idea. Right now I am in denial that I will have to get another job. I am holding on to the riding it out option and our adoption not taking more than another 14 months or so for referral anyway. Am I crazy, maybe? Could it work this way? Yes. Could it all come crashing down on me in the next 3 months? Yup.

Wish me luck. The road ahead is looking a little bumpy.

18 month check up

We had Kiya's 18 month check up today. Here are the numbers:

Weight: 25lbs (60th percentile)
Height: 32.5 (65th percentile)
Head circumference: 75th percentile

Kiya gained 2.5lbs in the last 3 months and grew another 1/2 inch. She is getting so big. Our doctor was quite pleased with how she is growing considering about 13 months ago she only registered for height on the CDC charts and that was only in the 10th percentile.

Here are the highlights:

Walking: Our doctor is not at all concerned that Kiya isn't walking yet. She saw her walk holding on barely to one of my hands and thinks she is doing just great and could walk any day. She is impressed with her crawling and climbing skills. She said that since Kiya is pulling up on everything and taking such good solid steps when holding on that she is ready and soon we will have a walker.

Back: She does think that Kiya's rib cage sticks out a little farther on the right side of her back which could be an indication of a curvature of her spine. She has referred us to a Pediatric Ortho doctor for an evaluation. She said that it likely happened in utero or due to a traumatic birth since there hasn't been any trauma here. My heart stopped for a second and I thought about Zinash and got a little teary eyed to think about her and the painful birth she described.

Talking: The doctor was quite impressed with Kiya's verbal skills. She can say upwards of 20 words. She can make 5 different animal noises and knows her body parts. She can also do some of her numbers and she is starting to say two and three words together. Her current favorite two word combos are: all right, all done, fall down, no way, hi Kiya, hi Daddy, hi Mama, Miss Staycee (her teacher), hot dog, bath time and she tried to say Princess Baby one of her favorite books :) She still loves to sing and will now sing the ABC song with you. She doesn't get all of the letters right but is getting more and more of them. She can also say the "now I know my ABC's" part pretty well. She also understands most of what people say to her which is great.

Fine Motor: The doctor was thrilled that she was drinking from a straw, could scribble with a crayon, use a fork and a spoon properly and Kiya even handed the doctor the most minuscule piece of fuzz off the carpet. Kiya can also stack some blocks and she LOVES to empty containers and then refill them with stuff.

On the forms we had to fill out Kiya scored highest in fine motor skills and problem solving skills. She is such a smart kid. Sometimes I think she is just too smart for her own good. Obviously, gross motor was the lowest but given where we were with that a year ago, Kiya is doing just great.

As for my guesses, I thought she would weigh maybe 24lbs and be about 33 inches long. So height I was close and she was little wiggly for that so who knows and weight just wow. I can't believe she is 25lbs.

Sebastian is 10!

So Mr. Sebastian turned 10 today. I can hardly believe. He was my first baby. He truly is the greatest dog. He was house trained in two weeks. He never destroyed a shoe or piece of furniture. He did and still does love to eat dryer sheets and kleenex.

He has seen me through some tough times. He is truly the best companion. When he was a puppy he would sleep on my chest. When I have a bad day, he is always extra sweet and cuddly. He knows when I am crying even if he can't see it and he comes to sit with me.

Here are some pictures through the years. They are out of order but he is still just as cute even in his old age.