Blog post #4

April 16^th, 2013

Tonight we took A & Tabby to the Pavillion Mall in Westville.  The other family had gone the night before, and said there was a restaurant with a play area that their kids loved. So we took the girls to have dinner. This was A’s first experience in a mall & she was very over stimulated. The first object of intrigue was the escalator. I explained it to her before we went down it, & insisted she hold my hand. (A is a VERY physical, VERY vocal child. In America, she would probably quickly be diagnosed with ADHD.) She was over-the-top excited by the escalator, grinning, exclaiming, asking to get back on. We had one more escalator to go down before finding our level, so she got the experience twice in a row. As we walked, looking for the CNA bookstore, we passed by another escalator, going up, and she nearly tugged my arm out of its socket, trying to go up it!

At the bookstore, we were able to find a Bible in Zulu for A, which she was very excited about. She can’t read yet, so I try to sound out the words for her, & when she recognizes them, she tells me how to pronounce them properly. It’s pretty cool! We also picked up a basic phrase book for English & Zulu, and the girls got to pick out bubbles. I was happy to see that when Tabby picked the same kind as A, A didn’t mind or change her choice. I see that tiny interaction as progress. There was a lot of touching things, asking what things were, a lot of “Mommy, loooooook!!”, and a fair amount of asking for things in the store. But they had a great time & ultimately followed all the rules.

After the bookstore, we headed to the restaurant. We definitely wanted to keep the trip short, since A was so amped up and a little difficult to contain. We got a table right next to the play area, and the girls had very different reactions to it. A didn’t want to order or eat, she just wanted to run in & play. Tabby had to be coaxed and prodded in, because she is always afraid there will be yelling or hitting or some sort of naughtiness in areas like that. A pointed at random to something on the menu & ran into the play area. She was so excited that she was truly dysregulated, making all kinds of shrieks & noises, jumping up & down, really over-the-top. The girls eventually had fun playing in there together, and that was a success. I forget sometimes that every single experience is new for A, and she also doesn’t have the language to process her new experiences. She has never been to one of those hamster-tube climbing places—this was so novel & fun for her. It was a little difficult to sit back & enjoy watching her delight in these new things, because Tabby, who is very used to all this fun, kept doing typical sibling things, “I want to go on there first!” “I wanted the blue one she has!” “No, A! You’re not supposed to climb up there!” I always thought Tabby had a bottomless pit of need for attention—she has always wanted me to watch everything she does & compliment/encourage her every ten seconds. (Those of you who have seen it in action know that it is more than the average child!) Now there are two VERY needy little girls, who want our undivided attention and praise. Even in the best moments, our days here are LONG. And even on the longest days, there are the BEST moments.

On the way home, A sang along to every song on Tabby’s favorite CD. It is so sweet & heart-warming to hear her husky, raspy little voice singing songs about God. Those are my favorite moments out here.