Elena update

Elena is now 4 1/2. I can vividly see better days ahead. Fewer are the tantrums, the back talk, the dependence. I am amazed by how self sufficient Elena is becoming and also by her ease of understanding the world around her especially rules, and expectations. Restaurant visits are less chaotic because she loves to sit and color and and tell us about her work. When I can take my eyes off Marisa or when Marisa wants to join us, I am able to do circle time with Elena which includes calendar, counting, and literacy practice. I love that I can sit with Elena and do mini reading lessons and am so impressed with her readiness to read and her print awareness.

Elena will be going to real school next year! While I am nervous about her making it through a full day (she still takes a 2 hour nap daily!) everyday of the week I am thrilled at the opportunity she has for attending Dual language Pre-kindergarten next year. The public school she will be going to offers tuition based Pre-kindergarten for four year olds and happens to be piloting the dual language program next year. I couldn't be happier about her learning in two languages AT SCHOOL!!. She'll be getting all the academic Spanish that I never did.

Elena is quite the chatter box and loves to engage in conversation with us about EVERYTHING. She loves playdoh, drawing, reading, and playing with Marisa. No more parallel play here. They love dressing up together, filling backpacks and playing school. Recently Elena has been into pretend cooking and baking and I have to "try" everything!

I've been meaning to do an interview with Elena and I will post it as soon as we complete it.

Next month Elena will be having a tonsillectomy.:( I'm not too happy about her going through surgery again, but I am a bit relieved that this should solve Elena's sleep troubles once and for all. I was in a bit of denial that Elena was chronically tired for a few months now despite her getting a full night's rest and napping. Unlike last year where Elena's obstructive sleep apnea resulted in hyperactive behavior, this time around Elena was just plain tired all the time. Throughout different times in the day you would find her in a daze not interested in doing much. While I sensed something wrong I also knew that a looming tonsillectomy would be more invasive than the adenoidectomy. I didn't want to go there unless I had to. I figured I could modify my expectations rather than put her through a surgery again. Then, we had a parent-teacher conference at her preschool. Her teacher seemed concerned that Elena's demeanor had changed drastically. For months Elena lost interest in playing during centers or during outdoor play. Instead she would just sit and watch looking tired. The teacher thought she was sick because coincidently Elena's behavior changed after her bout with pnemonia. Hearing this made me sad. If you know Elena, you know she is joyful and energetic, but this is not how her teacher was describing her and even she knew something was not right so she encouraged me to check it out. I then realized I couldn't deny that Elena was probably suffering from sleep apnea again and I scheduled an appointment with an ENT. Sure enough the Doctor confirmed her enlarged tonsils and the effect they are having on her sleep and scheduled her for surgery. On the positive side, they will be looking for enlarged adenoids during the surgery and will remove them if need be. Yes those were removed last year but apparently they can grow back! Her recovery period will be 2 weeks! No swimming or playing outdoors then, just rest, rest, rest. Please pray for an easy surgery and recovery without complications. Thanks!





Elena and Marisa