Tuesday, August 7

Alex has turned 5 years old! He was so excited for his birthday party- and had a great time! His favorite things were the balloons (we blew up a bunch of helium balloons) and the birthday cake. I will post pictures as soon as I get them (they were not taken on my camera).

I did want to go ahead and post about him and how he is doing as he has now been home 6 months! We have completely switched over to calling him Alex, and it actually went really well. It's hard for everyone to remember but I think it was the right thing to do. We explained to him (as he knows our names are Kim and Chris) that my name is Mama and also Kim, Chris' is Papa and also Chris, and he is Sasha but also Alex. And now that he is going to school he will be Alex more. He seemed to understand and be okay with it. If you ask him his name now he does say "Alex", and he can even spell it!

His English is really coming along great. He asks all the time "what's this called?" or "what's that mean?", and he always remembers when we tell him! He does enjoy talking, though, so I think that has really helped him. He often will just sit down with Chris and I, or other people, and say "Let's talk, guys" or "Let's talk about something". It's so funny!

It was interesting looking at toys before his birthday, because he has also come a long way in the way that he plays. When he first came home he didn't really play with anything and the toys that interested him were ones that were more for younger children or even babies. He liked the lights and sounds. He has quickly developed in that, though, and he now is playing with his own age toys, and plays so well. He can just sit for hours now playing with his little men and cars, etc.. He has really developed his imagination. He also likes to act out things he has done and enjoys or sees on television. His television watching has really developed (which I know isn't always a good thing), but when he first came home he couldn't sit still and watch 5 minutes of a tv show. Now (just as of a month ago) he can sit and watch a whole Disney movie (usually Cars) or several shows at once. I actually have to make him turn off the tv now in the mornings as he enjoys all the Playhouse Disney shows so much. I'm sure it is also because his comprehension is so much better.

He is excited to start preschool, although he would like me to come with him and he is a little disappointed he isn't going to ride a school bus yet. I think it will be so great for him to start preschool, mostly for the socialization. There are a lot of social skills he doesn't understand yet (like standing in line), and he is not around children his own age very much so it will be good for him.

A funny story: We have found that Alex, like most children, watches how we do everything. One morning before church Chris was outside with him watering plants and Alex decided he was ready to go to church. He came in the downstairs and got Chris' keys and wallet from their spot in the house, put the wallet in Chris' car and the key in his ignition, got his booster seat out of my car and moved it into Chris' back seat, opened the garage door and got in the booster seat ready to go. We usually go to church in Papa's car. We couldn't believe how he remembered every detail, (except he was still in his pajamas)!