A Few Firsts

Last weekend when we were running errands we bought Cara a life jacket at Costco. We told her she will wear it when we go boating this summer. She's pretty excited about the idea of going boating, even though she has no idea what that is. Hey, if you get to wear a swimsuit and this super-cool life jacket it must be fun, right? She wants to wear it now, even though the highs are in the mid-40's right now where we live.

She's ready! I think after one toe-dip in the river this May/June she might not think boating is so great after all.

Whenever she sits like this she says, "This is how you sit in preschool." At least she's got that part down. Now if we could only conquer potty training.

This week we've had three major firsts. First of all, Cara has been sleeping in her own bed instead of between J and me. She has to lay between us for a few minutes with the light on and get a few snuggles. Then she wants to review what will happen the next day, which is very important for her. Cara needs to know exactly how the day will go in order to relax enough to fall asleep. Then she says, "I'm ready," gives her hugs and kisses and has daddy put her in her bed and tuck her in. She whimpers off and on during the night in her own bed, which breaks my heart, but night terrors have subsided for the time being and she does seem to get a better night's sleep, which leads to "first" number two.

Cara has not thrown a crying fit for a week when we've gotten her up in the morning. For the past 4 months she cries when we wake her up and pretty much whines and cries the whole time we get her ready in the morning. It's super annoying; expecially when we are all trying to get to work and school. She hasn't cried or whined this whole week. I'm going to attribute it to the fact that she gets a better night's sleep in her own bed. I know I do.

On to the last and possibly the best "first" of the week. She actually cried when she got hurt. This may seem like a silly first, but many orphanage kids don't cry when they get hurt. They've learned that no one will come help you or comfort you, so what's the use. It's awful! Cara has banged her head around and smashed fingers and never whimpered or shed a tear. We've been working hard on comforting her and showing her that her family will take care of her if she gets hurt, but she still acts like it's no big deal. On Monday, B went to buckle her in her carseat and accidently pinched the inside of her leg as he was buckling her in and she cried! B felt terrible and it actually wasn't really that bad. It left a little red mark but didn't bruise. I'm sure it hurt, though. The inside of your upper thigh is a tender area! She cried. For the first time over getting hurt. Yes, of course, we don't want her to get hurt, but for Cara to actually cry and know she would be comforted and get some kisses, and apology from B, and ice for her leg is real progress for our little princess.