Re: Tender Hearts Adoption Center! Updates
in reply to a message by Lala
Estela Vitoria Age 4
Stela is adjusting marvellously. She quickly caught on to Spanish because of its similarity to her native Portuguese, and we are teaching her English. She's learning very rapidly! She attends a preschool in a nearby city with a high Latino population, so she is making lots of Spanish/English speaking friends! She loves to eat carrots and was so excited to see her first snow! She will sit and watch the snow fall for hours. She adores our pet cat. "Cat" was her first word in English! (Right after "water" and "potty", but she understood those from our time at the adoption agency.) She loves her brothers and sister very much!
Carlos Emilio wheelchair bound Age 3
Carlos is also catching on to English quickly. He loves his new wheelchair, and zooms around the basketball court at the nearby park. He's made a new friend! Katie Harrison is 3 1/2 and has spina bifida. She lives not too far from us and is wheelchair bound also. Mrs. Harrison works with wheelchair bound patients as a therapist, and she's taught them several games they can play together. Carlos is at the Harrison's as much as he is home! Katie helps him learn English, and he teaches her Spanish (all in a very indirect, three-year-old manner). He is very mature for his age, and will be four in a few weeks!
Ancelto Jao Age 2
AJ is a hyperactive "terrible two". He climbs into everything. His favorite word is "no" and his second favorite word is "yo!" (we're trying to teach him to say "me"). He can speak short sentences and can say his name, age, and the names of all those in his family. He goes with Stela to preschool and plays in the nursery with some other Latino two-year-olds, so he has made a couple of friends.
Eulalia Isabela Age 1
Lalie spent most of her time at hte Brazilian orphanage in a crib, and she's making up for lost time! She learned to walk the first day we got home, and hasn't stopped since! AJ taught her to climb out of her crib, and we are seriously thinking about putting a lid on it!! :P She is friends with Hannah Harrison, Katie's sister, and with another 1-year-old at Stela's school. She is having hte time of her life!
We also adopted another child, 6-year-old Gabriel Ramon, from anoter adoption agency that needed a home for him. He enjoys being "big brother", and spends a lot of time with Stela. Carlos's wheels kind of scare him, but he is very polite and tries not to let it show. He has a fairly good grasp on hte English language, but he goes to kindergarden at Stela's preschool. Next year we plan to move both of them to school closer to home. (It's a thirty-minute drive one way!)
Thank you, Tender Hearts Adoption Center, for four of our five beautiful children! :)
Stela is adjusting marvellously. She quickly caught on to Spanish because of its similarity to her native Portuguese, and we are teaching her English. She's learning very rapidly! She attends a preschool in a nearby city with a high Latino population, so she is making lots of Spanish/English speaking friends! She loves to eat carrots and was so excited to see her first snow! She will sit and watch the snow fall for hours. She adores our pet cat. "Cat" was her first word in English! (Right after "water" and "potty", but she understood those from our time at the adoption agency.) She loves her brothers and sister very much!
Carlos Emilio wheelchair bound Age 3
Carlos is also catching on to English quickly. He loves his new wheelchair, and zooms around the basketball court at the nearby park. He's made a new friend! Katie Harrison is 3 1/2 and has spina bifida. She lives not too far from us and is wheelchair bound also. Mrs. Harrison works with wheelchair bound patients as a therapist, and she's taught them several games they can play together. Carlos is at the Harrison's as much as he is home! Katie helps him learn English, and he teaches her Spanish (all in a very indirect, three-year-old manner). He is very mature for his age, and will be four in a few weeks!
Ancelto Jao Age 2
AJ is a hyperactive "terrible two". He climbs into everything. His favorite word is "no" and his second favorite word is "yo!" (we're trying to teach him to say "me"). He can speak short sentences and can say his name, age, and the names of all those in his family. He goes with Stela to preschool and plays in the nursery with some other Latino two-year-olds, so he has made a couple of friends.
Eulalia Isabela Age 1
Lalie spent most of her time at hte Brazilian orphanage in a crib, and she's making up for lost time! She learned to walk the first day we got home, and hasn't stopped since! AJ taught her to climb out of her crib, and we are seriously thinking about putting a lid on it!! :P She is friends with Hannah Harrison, Katie's sister, and with another 1-year-old at Stela's school. She is having hte time of her life!
We also adopted another child, 6-year-old Gabriel Ramon, from anoter adoption agency that needed a home for him. He enjoys being "big brother", and spends a lot of time with Stela. Carlos's wheels kind of scare him, but he is very polite and tries not to let it show. He has a fairly good grasp on hte English language, but he goes to kindergarden at Stela's preschool. Next year we plan to move both of them to school closer to home. (It's a thirty-minute drive one way!)
Thank you, Tender Hearts Adoption Center, for four of our five beautiful children! :)