Saturday, July 28, 2007

Day 4 Cont. (and some of Day 5)

Yesterday evening, I went over and spent time with Noah while they were eating dinner. It's amazing to me how much food these kids eat!! They each had a huge bowl of noodles with white sauce. The nannies feed the kids huge bites at a time and they are each done with their big bowl of food in a matter of minutes. There's no way Jadne and Danielle could eat so much food, especially in so little time! I was feeding Noah and I could not keep up with the nannies' pace. I was trying to feed him big bites, but all of the other kids were finished eating and went for their baths and I was still trying to get him to eat the rest. I don't know the nannies' secret! Eventually, I gave up and one of the nannies took his bowl away with some still in it (I think he's the only one who didn't finish his off). Of course, the older kids (in the Lion room) feed themselves at a little table, but I've been told they eat just as much and just as fast. I guess that's just what they get used to.

Okay, here are some more reports on the kids I played with individually or in a small group:

Evanson and Sammy: I played with these two together, so I thought I'd talk about them together. Evanson was great at blowing bubbles and a real sweetie. He mostly wanted to transfer bubbles back and forth from my bubble wand to his bubble wand and he had quite the technique. Both Sammy and Evanson were fascinated when I would blow giant bubbles. They kept saying, "Blow a big one! Blow a big one!" And then they'd ooh and aah in amazement at the size of the bubbles. They played so nicely together - nice and polite and great at taking turns!

Ti Kendy - Kendy is so funny! He talks so excitedly about everything! Almost everything he says, he yells. The whole time we played with bubbles, he shouted and pointed at this or that. It was as if he were talking about the most important things in the world!!

Woosben, Thania and Kassandra (Robert's sister): These three were so funny together. Kassandra was being a bit of a stinkerpot, putting bubbles on Thania instead of blowing them (Kassandra and Thania weren't great at blowing the bubbles, so they were finding other ways of entertaining themselves I guess). Thania would get upset and Woosben would go over and wipe the bubbles off of her and try to make her feel better. It was really sweet. Woosben was a master bubble blower - maybe the best out of all the kids. Thania and Kassandra would bring the bubbles over to Elly and I so that we could blow them for them.

Moise and Reubens: Moise and Reubens were only interested in bubbles for a short while. After that, they were too concerned about the fact that they could see Blake cutting branches from guava trees to care about the bubbles. They kept shouting, "NO Blake!! NO!!" at the top of their lungs. I wondered if they were concerned they wouldn't get any more guava. They also sat down together on a chair and shared a guava while they were with me - it was pretty sweet to see how nicely they shared it (Moise seemed rather possessive of it when he showed it to me, so I was surprised that he shared at all). You could tell that they were very good buddies. When it was time for them to be done, I told them who to send over and they said, "No" and started making their own suggestions (actually a few of the kids did this, but I specifically remember Moise and Reubens doing it). It's funny how they want to make sure the "right" kids get turns (I actually think that I got all of the Lion Room kids and a few from the Alligator Room between yesterday and today).

Totalte and Woosben: These two were being real clowns, running all around with their bubbles. Woosben was talking to Maria - a constant chatter that I couldn't understand, but it was making Maria laugh. I was surprised at how well Toto was doing with the bubbles - he really is an amazing boy and so very sweet!

Emmanuel: He had a fun time in the guest house with us reading some books. He was able to identify some of his animals and count to ten. When we were playing with bubbles, I was trying to get him to sing and dance for me again because he had made me laugh so much when he was doing that in the kiddie pools, but he was too busy bubble blowing and I could only get one quick song out of him. He is always full of energy and smiles and his little dimples are just about irresistible!!

Obenson: Obenson is eager to please and a real charmer! We sang some songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and he was always the first to do exactly as I did and repeat the words. You could tell he was just so proud when he got a "Bravo!" from me. It's obvious that he's very smart too - he caught onto things quickly!

Nadege, Jonas and Jacob: These three really like to get your attention! They immediately run to me every time I come to the baby house and try to climb on my lap or get me to pick them up! Nadege will immediately grab my hand. Jonas and Jacob will get these pitiful looks on their faces and just sob if you don't give in and pick them up. I think they know that when a strager comes, they'll most likely get the most attention that way. And it does work!!

Vanessa: Vanessa is such a sweetie! I'm amazed at the improvements she's made since I was here in 2005. She is able to get around now by pulling herself along the floor - it's really impressive how well she gets where she wants to go. She is always such a sweetie - always a smile on her face. She likes to carry this comb around with her and always offers it to me (or at least shows it to me) whenever I come by - I wonder if she's trying to get me to do her hair? She is very smart - she really did well in school today. I can't wait to see what life has in store for her when she's in her new home!!

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