8 weeks home

arriving at the airport in September

Eight weeks now since Princess Eee got home. And home is currently one of her most used english words. She has started mixing in an english word to an otherwise spanish sentence quite frequently the past few days. "Donde esta home?" "Vamos a home?" "Que es jerk?" (We can thank Zippy for that one.) "Yo quiero juice." And she tries to repeat english that she hears, but she still mostly hears it as sounds without meaning and often makes it into something spanish instead. Example: the Cake song "Race Car Ya-Ya's" will forever be known in our family as "Ernesto's Ya-Ya's."

We have hired a spanish speaking ESL teacher to be with Princess Eee at pre-school starting later this month when we have done enough visit days together to actually drop her off there. Hopefully she won't need the aide for very long. Princess Eee will be starting this Monday at a tiny little co-operative pre-school with 8-12 kids, but either J or I will stay there with her for this week. So far on the days we have spent there together, she loves it. She will be nervous when we leave, but she has been so resilient and quick to rebound when upset, that I don't think the transition will take too long for her. She will go three mornings, learn some more english, and make friends around her own age. And I will have six hours a week without any children, one morning alone with Cupcake and one morning alone with Princess Eee. That makes four mornings when I don't have to keep them from killing each other.

This coming week is birthday week for Princess Eee so there will be new photos next weekend. She is having a few other princesses over for feasting and merry-making next weekend, and even J and I have courtier attire for the event. (The boys are getting shipped off to a dual playdate luckily.) After celebrating three of her birthdays without her, this will be an exciting week. I didn't have to limit myself to choosing gifts that could be easily shipped internationally, and this year I get to wrap them all since they don't have to clear customs!

home for eight weeks!