With My Frappuccino in Hand....

Would you believe that I’m actually out at Starbucks, BY MYSELF with my computer, drinking a Frappuccino, finally updating this poor neglected blog? I can’t believe it either. Jamal pushed me out the front door (more like into the elevator), insisting I take a "me time" evening. How amazing is he? ;)

Before I begin, I’d like to issue an official apology to my regular readers! Those of you who I see on a weekly, if not daily, basis have naturally remained updated on the goings-on in our family. However, if we rely on this online venue to keep connected, then I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long. I have, however, been regularly checking my personal and online emails in case someone was REALLY trying to contact me. Some of you have asked for my email, but I get my email through my husband’s practice; for this reason, I don’t give out my personal email as it would be too exposing. However, if you make an account on hellorazzi.com I can email you through that site, or if you have a blog of your own, just leave the address in a comment to me (I won’t post it if you’d rather I not). I’ll be sure to come by and visit!

Here goes:

I would put high on the list an adoption update, but there’s not really an update to give. Everything is still going as planned as far as that goes, and we plan to welcome Karmello and Kaydence by Thanksgiving. I suppose I may have a few stories to share from our visits, though. I'm also in the process of planning a homecoming party for them, which I suppose could be thought of as the parallel to a baby shower. However, I'd like them to be here for the celebration, of course, since they are the reason we'd be celebrating anyway! Kimora and Kariah are already so tight with Karmello; it's very exciting to see their relationships develop. Little baby Kaydence already calls me mommy....except it's more like "MO..meeeeeee" with the first syllable very loud and high-pitched and the second syllable lower and strung out. She shrieks and claps when she sees our family coming to visit her and her brother. Unbelievably cute!!

The item next on the list for updating is Kimora's preschool experience.

September

2- This day was described in my first post about Kimora and her preschool. Blah...'nuf said.

4- This day was described as a "Tuesday repeat"

9- This was the first day that Kimora went to school armed with the "Mommy Comes Back" song and photo of our family. These things seemed to increase her security...she seemed less anxious. Before leaving this day, I stayed a little bit again to help her get accustomed. Another tearful goodbye, but the teachers report was promising: she calmed down after about 45 minutes. I saw that Kimora had been kissing the family photo I gave her because it had a bunch of little lip prints on it.

11- It was suggested that I spray some of my perfume on Kimora's wrist so that she could smell it and feel close to me during her school day. On this day I tried that; I could tell she felt very special wearing mommy's special Baby Phat perfume.

16- Kimora continued to take the photo with her to school and wear some of my perfume. I never asked her if she sang the song I taught her, but her teachers said that they indeed heard her singing a song about Mommy, whether or not it was the exact one I intended :). Today she cried for about 45 minutes to an hour after I left (not ideal, but hey, we have to take the small victories).

18- This day we were swarmed at the door by a bunch of preschoolers, all anxious to get Kimora's attention and play with her. "Wow, my baby's popular," I couldn't help but think. Kimora seemed happy to see her little buddies, but that didn't quite override her desire to cling tightly to my leg. The teachers said that today she cried about a half our after I left.

23- I don't remember much distinct about this day....much the same as the last day, I think.

25- This day the teachers gave me a report saying that they are very impressed with Kimora's knowledge of numbers and the alphabet. Apparently they had no idea of Kimora's capabilities because she hadn't said much to them until today. They were also teaching the class numbers 1-10 in Spanish, and Kimora corrected them on their pronounciation. LOL! I can just see her doing that. "No, not 'trace'...it's 'tres!'" You know, with the tongue-rolling "r" and no dipthong on the vowel ;).

30- Kimora's teacher's rave reviews on her academic abilities seemed to coincide with Kimora's excitement about learning at school. Today she took me by her desk to show me (once again!) her nametag where she "sits and does her homeworks." How adorable is that??!!

October

2- Today was the day that Kimora hit the only-crying-for-fifteen-minutes-after-mommy-leaves benchmark. She also came home from school excited about their upcoming fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch. She also begins talking to me about specific friends by name: Amani, Kaneisha, and Isaiah.

7- Kimora continues to spend a lot of time at the art station. It never fails, there's always at least one picture of she and I together...everyday. Her teachers say that Kimora is always saying "My Mommy...." this and "My Mommy...." that. "My Mommy is coming to get me after snack." "My Mommy's favorite color is pink." They ask her, "What's YOUR favorite color, Kimora?" She says, "I like ALL the colors, but my Mommy....."

9- And...this was yesterday. It was another typically tearful goodbye, but she calmed down very shortly after I left. I'm so proud of her! Her teachers continue to be floored by her literary abilities. She did her little, "Cap. C-A-P spells Cap" thing today while writing the letters as she spells. Yes, my little 3.5 year-old...that floors us all!

So there you go! Kimora preschool update! She's come leaps and bounds if you ask me. It still is difficult to leave her as she's tearful, but I find relief in the fact that she's no longer sad the whole morning. This coming Tuesday is the field trip to the pumpkin patch, and I'm going with! :)