One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Josie screamed bloody murder getting undressed and in the tub again tonight. She's so afraid of getting her right hand and arm wet and she didn't want her hand splint taken off for her bath. The hand splint represents security right now. It took her a good 15 minutes to settle down in the tub. She refused to put her right arm in the water but I did lather her up despite the crying. You would have thought we were hurting her by her crying and yelling. It reminded me of when she first came to us in China and she hated her baths and I used to have to get in the tub with her.



It's one step forward and two steps back right now with Josie. Her left hand is definitely the dominant hand now. She's still not wanting to use her right hand and she hasn't moved (bent, flexed..etc) her new thumb at all. She's so resilient, so I know this is only time limited and we are continuing to find new activities that force her to try and use both hands.

Despite all my concerns or complaints, she's amazing. She's now counting. Emma worked on counting and numbers with her over Christmas break. Josie's so eager to count objects and her favorite books right now are the ones that are counting ones. What a smarty pants. If the teaching market ever improves in Michigan, I'd love to encourage Emma go into Education. She's such a natural teacher. I need to videotape Josie and Emma counting. It's so cute to watch.

On a completely different subject, we decided to have a little salsa music and frozen drinks with our dinner this evening.





As much as I love winter, the idea of warm weather sounds very appealing right now. Our salsa music and frozen drinks were a great temporary escape. Anyone else sick of wet boots, misplaced mittens and soggy snow pants?

Hand Splint, Head Gear & CNY

Here's a picture of Josie's splint. It was custom made for her hand yesterday at the surgeon's office.



She's not thrilled with wearing it (we had quite a bit of toe stomping this morning when she was getting ready for daycare) but I imagine it will become second nature in a few days. She only needs to wear it while she's at daycare for the next three weeks.



Funny thing about the bubble bath last night, she was terrified of getting her right arm and right hand wet. I'm not kidding. She's been so used to her kitchen sink baths and plastic bread bags around her cast, that she wasn't real comfortable with the regular bath tub (even though big sister tried to make her comfortable).

We also keep reminding her that she can use her right hand now. She's been hesitant to use her right hand for playing, eating or picking up objects. I can't wait to do some art therapy with her. Bring on the crayons and stickers!

Enjoy a few pictures of Emma and Josie's new winter head gear. Chris and I both thought that Emma's picture reminded us of Audrey Hepburn from the movie Charade in the opening scene at the ski lodge. Josie certainly makes a cute snow bunny.



In a few days, I'm going to post a gold fish craft project for CNY. I have a toddler version and a more elaborate version of this gold fish project. The Chinese believe that goldfish bring good luck, abundance and great fortune to their keepers. I think we all could use some luck and great fortune right now!!



Speaking of Chinese New Year, we're attending the Chinese New Year Gala Show at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center on Saturday with two of my blogging friends (Kelly and Kimberely) and I can't wait. I'm guessing we'll have all kinds of photo opportunities at this event. Be prepared for lots of pictures!!

Introducing Josie's New Hand!

We spent nearly 2 hours at Josie's hand surgeon's office and we are happy to report that Josie is one brave little girl and that her right hand looks amazing.



The noise of the saw cutting away at her cast frightened her (she wasn't real fond of the scissors either), but overall she was amazing.











She barely cried through the pin removal and she was only slightly annoyed with getting a splint made for her hand. She'll wear her new splint while she's at daycare for the next three weeks.





Tonight we are looking forward to a bath in the big tub with lots of bubbles and toy boats. I think we'd give her the moon if we could. To further celebrate, we're eating Chinese take-out on our cast-away (fishing dinnerware). We couldn't be more proud of Josie. She's one tough little girl.

Bedroom Makeover (painting done)

It was a whirlwind weekend of emptying out the girls room, patching holes and painting, but it all came together nicely. I love the color...Apple Green.

Here are a few pictures from this weekend.





Their new beds aren't scheduled to arrive for a few more weeks, but we agree that we would put out the new linens, hang curtains and their frog light. Didn't it turn out nicely? Thanks for all your hard work, Chris.





At 2:50pm this afternoon Josie's cast and pin come off! I can't wait to bath her in a real tub and to not worry about dressing her with a big cast getting in the way. I'll be posting pictures of her new hand later. Say a few prayers this afternoon for Josie.

Bedroom Paint & Chinese Firecrackers

In bedroom makeover news, we have picked out paint for the girls bedroom. It's called apple green. The goal this weekend is to strip everything off the walls, fill holes and sand. Who knows, we might even be able to get a coat of paint on the walls. Emma desperately wants their room done RIGHT NOW!! Their new beds aren't scheduled to arrive for a few more weeks so stay tuned for more bedroom updates.

As a follow-up to the car air freshener post, we sprinkled a very light dusting of baby powder on Josie's stinky hand tonight. It helped slightly. Let's just say, I'm so ready for Monday and her cast-off party.

Now, to the craft...

A common decoration during Chinese New Year is a string of red firecrackers. The firecrackers are set off to keep away the man-eating monster Nian and to welcome in the New Year.



Here's an easy craft I came across on the Kaboose website for making Chinese Firecrackers using toilet paper rolls and red construction paper.



Supplies needed:

* 4 or more toilet paper rolls or cardboard tubes
* Red construction paper, ½ sheet per tube
* Tape
* Gold glitter glue
* White yarn
* Scissors

How to make it:

1. Roll cardboard tube in red construction paper, use tape to secure.
2. Fold ends of construction paper inside the tube on both ends.
3. Decorate tube with gold glitter glue with different shapes and designs. Allow to dry for several hours.
4. Tape yarn inside one end of each tube.
5. String together, one higher than the other if you have four of them. If you have more, you can hang them in pairs, two at the top, two below that, two below that, and so on.
6. Hang up and enjoy!

Happy crafting!