Sha made the school paper/website

Last Thursday Paul and I had our first parent/teacher conference.  To our delight we got fantastic reports back on Sha, especially in the math department.  Both Ms. S and Ms. W (her ESL teacher) were there and they both emphasized how amazed they were by Sha's determination to want to learn.  Ms. Schofield told us how Sha is constantly raising her hands now in class and asking lots of questions.  She has grown very close with Ella, her new bff who is truly a sweet girl.  During our conference the principal, Merry came in to tell us how amazed she was with Sha's problem solving skills.  So much so that she did a write up in "The Pipeline", that is on the school's website.  Paul and I left that meeting overjoyed and partially in tears (good tears).  We decided to pick up Chinese take out to celebrate her successes so far.  Below is the write up of our little sunshine that we are very proud of.

Rigor at it’s Best

 
One of the most important principles of learning is effort and rigor. We have studied
the meaning and expectations connected with this short snappy phrase, but what does
it really look like?

Last week I had the good fortune to observe “effort and rigor” at its best. I was
facilitating the Math I portion of the Mastery Test for one of our third grade
students. This particular child has only been in our school since January and the only English
she speaks is what she has acquired since coming to the United States in December. One
would be surprised at how much she has learned in such a short time.

The State mandates that students identified as ELL (non-English
speaking children) enrolled for the first time in a U.S. school after March 2, 2010 may be exempt
from the reading and writing portions of the test. However, they must take the Math
portions of the CMT. They are permitted a reading accommodation so I was reading her
the passages on the test. When the questions required she give a written explanation for
her answer, she was initially stymied. She looked to me for help and when I shared I could
not provide any additional assistance, she continued to think. After a few minutes she started
writing the words she did know and drew pictures for the others. She used names of her
peers she had come to know as the characters in her sentences. Furthermore, she flipped
back in the test for words she remembered and wanted to use that I had read to her in the
prior pages. Her comprehension was amazing. What I am describing is true “effort and
rigor”. She was determined to find a way to express her level of understanding and she did.
Whether or not she receives credit is secondary. Her determination makes her a success.

Every day, the teaching professionals at ** School try to instill the concept of
“effort and rigor” onto their students. We see more and more of our children delving deeper
in the hopes of increasing their level of understanding. I encourage you, the parents, to
support your children in going the extra mile. We are not truly supporting our children as
learners if we make the process too easy or allow them to make excuses. Future outcomes
depend on us supporting our learners to think outside of the box and dig deeper for information.
They need to be thoughtful about their own thinking.

If we empower our children to do this, they will be better not only in the classroom,
but in all aspects of their lives.

~ Merry , Principal

Happy 10th Birthday ShaSha

Well the weekend came and went so fast but was filled with so much love it's amazing.  So many firsts.  She met Grandpa and Grandma Jameson and was very excited about this. As we figured, she took them naturally as if she had known them for years.  While Sha was at school Friday, I completed (with big help from Carolyn and my mom) her Hello Kitty cake.  As you all know the cake was the "make it or break it" factor in this girl's birthday, it's all she has been talking about since we came home.  To my delight it came out great and Sha loved it. We did have a backup, her other cake wish was a pug cake so of course we came through:)  The day of her bday, she wanted Grandpa Mike to pick her up at school in his "fancy" car, she even went so far to ask if he would wear a "hat" just like the limo drivers wear-ha.  Needless to say we picked up her and he did get out to open the door for her but did not have the hat:)  Later that night we went to 9 East with both grandparents and Aunt Joan and Sha got her hibachi she's been also talking about forever.  Our buddies at 9 East gave her a fried ice cream treat and sang Happy Birthday to her, she loved it.  Before we left that night for dinner allowed her to open two of her gifts, one was the big kitchen she wanted and the other one was a bike from Grandpa/ma Jameson.  She loved both of them.  After dinner we came back and Skyped with Grandma Viv and Colin and Cheryl so they could all watch her open their gifts, that was fun for everyone. 

Saturday was the big day, her birthday party!  It went better then I could have asked for.  We had 28 people, most of who Sha had not met yet. She met Aunt Milly and Uncle Mike, Aunt Joanie, Alison and her two girls Melissa and Katie, and Connie and Joe. Paul and I were nervous on how she would handle the crowd, sharing her toys and simply just opening gifts.  She has never had a party like this before nor has she ever received so many gifts at one time so we knew she would get a bit overwhelmed.  However in typical Sha fashion she was great.  It was such an ideal setting, she appears to be grasping the concept that her new forever family just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  One sweet moment was with my cousin's daughter who is 11.  Sha and Katie played most of the day and I kept calling Katie her "Friend" as I didn't want to overwhelm her so much. She knows Katie is my second cousin and at one point in the day she had two plates (she was waiting for chicken nuggets) and Paul said to her, "Who's the other plate for" and Sha replied with "It's for my new cousin"....ahhh melt # 5900.  The day was filled with lots of laughing and fun games. We broke out Wii which was a huge hit for both the kids and adults.  Luckily for Steph and me nobody grabbed the camera:)

On Sunday we took Sha to the Green so she can ride her new bike.  This bike is so great, Grandma/pa Jameson did great with picking it.  She loves it.  It was simply a fantastic weekend...another first and another of many melt.

First LPA Party

Last weekend was Sha's first LPA party in Uniondale, NY.  This was a huge moment for all of us as we were not quite sure how she would take to seeing about 200 little people, all in one room,  for the first time. She was very very excited for weeks leading up to the "Little People Party" as she called it. We decided to take the Bridgeport ferry over and that alone was a fun experience for her. She was blown away over the idea that our car was going on a big boat.

When we got to the hotel, we checked in and then her and I waited in the lobby while Paul parked the car. Two lp woman walked by us and said hi to us and Sha said "Mom, I'm scared".  I reassured her not only was it going to be ok but also told her how I was 13 when I went to my first LPA event and I was petrified, so much so I turned around and ran right back out.  Luckily my mom forced me back in and within an hour I started making friends, friends that I still have to this day.  Pretty much after about an hour for Sha, she was making friends too.

The first night at the dance she stayed kind of quiet and reserved, at least when it came to dancing and socializing.  By the second night she was a whole new girl, danced until midnight, took pictures with her new friend Annika and even played in the finals (in front of the 200 people) with her baba for "Minute to Win It".  Paul won a $35 gift card to Target which she was thrilled about.  We also went swimming and had her picture drawn by a local artist.   We could see as the weekend progressed just how at ease she was becoming not only with her friends but with the fact that she and her forever mom and dad are little and it's all good. 

One of the highlights was finally meeting "G", our dear friends Cara and Gibson's son who was adopted 2 weeks before Sha.  Cara was a huge help to me and we shared many conversations about when we get these two kiddos home.  Just another amazing moment that has come true.  G and his big sis are adorable.

The weekend was great all around. Paul and I even got to catch up with friends of ours we had not seen in so long. It was very refreshing to us going to an LPA event now as parents and not as young people wanting to party.  It just confirms that our lives are all about little miss sunshine and that my friends is all good.

4 Months Gotcha Day Anniversary

I can't believe as I sit here and write it has been 4 months since Sha has entered our lives.  4 months and so much has gone one.  I can't help but think back to the first time we met her and how nervous and shy she was.  I can't even begin to imagine just how scared she was or what was going through her mind.  Then I have to remind myself of how nervous Paul and I were.  But the best part is when I think back on those fears I remember that it truly was an instant connection the 3 of us had.  It's crazy to think we met her at 9:00 in the morning and were back at our hotel, alone with her by 1:00 and somehow it just all fell into place.  We managed as a family to decide to go swimming that day, remember, we managed with a brand new person who spoke no English and we spoke no Chinese.  It was an organic moment that naturally fell into place the way it was meant to.

4 months and we are now speaking full paragraphs with no electronic translator.  4 months and we are (both) getting hugs and the words "I love you too".  4 months and she is now calling us mom and dad (no longer mama and baba) and is very happy to hold our hands wherever we go.  4 months and we are now sleeping in our room during the school week.  4 months and we know the street we live on, the town, our phone #, my maiden name, all her grandparents,aunts and uncles names, the location where they all live. 4 months and we already have family traditions of movie night and Chinese Take Out.  4 months and she is already insisting on a sibling and what room they will sleep in if we get one;)  4 months and she has filled the hearts of so many people ranging from her grandparents to her Shushus' and Ayi's and to her teachers at school. 4 months and she already has a BFF at school.    She radiates with happiness but the best part is the glow in her shines brighter and brighter with every new break through we have and lately we have had some of the best. I think the best is just seeing her trust more and more and to start to look at us as parents and not necessarily as friends which she may have looked at us like that in the beginning, which is fine.

She is very intrigued with learning all about her new family.  Her first birthday with us is April 1st, our little baby will be 10:):):)  She is finally going to meet Grandma and Grandpa Jameson as well as my Aunt's and Uncles from both sides of my family.  We, of course, are having a party for her and I can't begin to emphasize how excited she is for this.  Since day 1 all she talks about is her cake.   If I do anything right for this party is has to be the cake.  Her theme is Hello Kitty (shocking, I know) so I am (along with the Grandma's) going to make an attempt at baking HK's head and decorating it.  I will have a backup as well but dear lord let me nail this cake to perfection:)

The relationship that her and I have is getting stronger and stronger every day and I am grateful for that.  The more we learn about each other the more it makes sense just how much she is my daughter.  We have a lot of similarities which crack me up most of the time. We share the same love of pop music, Lady Gaga, Rhianna, Beyonce, Katy Perry. I am trying to introduce my true favorites like Bon Jovi, Elton John, Billy Joel, Madonna, etc but right now she just thinks Bon Jovi is old-ha.  All the things she is into I loved as a child, Hello Kitty, Doll Houses, Breyer Horses, little purses and wallets, the color pink. We both love sweet potatoes and ketchup potato chips (the real ones from Canada).   I am even finding we are sharing the same taste in clothes, in fact the other day we bought our first pair (well two pairs actually) of matching mama and shasha shoes.  How cool in the not so distant future we can share shoes-haha. She also has strong similarities with Paul too, she is very athletic and is afraid of nothing. She has also taking a liking to hockey:)   I know some may think these are silly but to me it just reminds us of why the wait was longer than normal for all three of us to unite but like my father always said, "All good things come to those who wait":).

I can't say it enough, she is a great kid, very kind and has a good heart.  We are the lucky ones.  I leave you pics of her other BFF, her first photo with Smushes, yes folks that is our cat somewhere in her arms and her latest art work that she did all on her own on her easel in her room.  Hugs to all.

NYC con't

I don't know what happened but I was unable to add text to the NYC pics.  That blog is long overdue. Sha, Grandma and me took our first trip to NYC to visit Aunt Joan during Sha's February break.  Ever since Sha saw the movie "Elf" she loves NYC, what girl doesn't:).  The highlights of the trip was going to "Top of the Rocks" and looking at the Empire State building from the roof, getting our first Miney Mouse at the Disney store in Times Square, dining in China Town, see the ice rink at Rockefeller, oooh and so much more.  For now I will keep this brief however I did want to get these pictures up before it gets too late.  Thanks AJ for a great time.

NYC