Time flies when you're having fun ...

Guess who will be starting pre-school this fall? Yep - our baby. Just last year we brought our precious little boy home from Ethiopia, wearing diapers and still very much a "baby". And yesterday he went to his pre-school screening and assessment.

They tested the usual ... hearing, sight, weight and height, and then put him through a battery of assessment tests. And he did swimmingly!

What an interesting perspective to sit a few feet away and watch him as he attentively followed instructions and looked his teacher in the eyes, and perfectly answered all the questions. Every now and then he would sneak a glance at me (I was only sitting about 10 feet away) and a big grin would light up his face - and he would wave at me - and I waved back and thought ..."How did this time pass so quickly" And I sat there in amazement watching this little boy who has made such amazing progress in just over 15 months.

After the assessment, the teacher explained the results to me and I commented that it was so fun to watch from a distance as he interacted with her and how far he has come in only 15 months. "After all," I said, "he's only been speaking English for just over a year." The assessor looked at me with a trace of confusion on her face and asked "What do you mean?" So I explained about adopting him when he was 2 1/2 years old and how he wasn't even speaking his native language and had only been introduced to English just over one year ago.

And she was surprised and said she would have had no idea! And I marveled once again at the amazing resiliency of children and how quickly they can learn and adapt ... and become such an integral part of your family.


Maybe his quick mastery of English is partly a result of his love of reading. Wesley LOVES to read! He follows us around the house, constantly asking ... "Mom? You read to me?"

He'll ask and ask until I stop what I'm doing, and pull him onto my lap, and read the book of choice. He loves the little "chunky" books that I read about one million times to my daughters, many years ago. And he adores the little flip-tab books, although he already knows what is under each tab. If we are watching TV, he'll grab his little pile of books and insert himself into my lap, put my hands on the books and patiently wait for me to notice the open book in my hands and him on my lap, and commence reading.

When I leave the room, even for the bathroom, he'll follow me and push the books under the door to me. He's persistent - I have to give him that!

Just for fun, I had to put this picture in here too .... "Hey Mom! Wanna see my muscles?"