On Friday, they're going to meet Aunt Judy (a long-time friend of mine), who will probably end up being our baby-sitter/helper. Judy is a mother of two, and a licenced nanny. She doesn't know Russian, but she knows kids very well. She'll be helping out next week by watching Zack while I'm at school with Nicky. After Nicky gets settled at school well enough to stay by himself all day, she'll continue helping while I try to arrange pre-school and medical appointments for Zack. After that, she'll help by watching the boys every now and then when I have work to do.

 

Dentist Report: Both boys have thin/weakened tooth enamel from lack of flouride and calcium, but are in pretty good shape. Nicky has five cavities that need filling, and two teeth that need to be coated with sealant to prevent cracking and decay. Three of his four "six-year molars" have come in, and his lower-bottom front two teeth are a bit loose. In the next couple of months, his first front permanant teeth will erupt. Zack has four cavities and needs sealant on four teeth. There's no sign of Zack's permanent teeth, but the dentist says he's doing well and there's nothing to worry about.

 

Opthamologist Report: I noticed on the first day I met the boys that Nicky squinted pretty often. It was really apparent during the testing Dr. Yuriy gave him at the orphanage, but we didn't have the equipment to check anything out at the time. Since then, I've had an opthamologist on the list of doctors I wanted Nicky to see. We finally got an appointment, and it turns out Nicky is very far-sighted -- much worse than I suspected. From 20 feet, Nicky can make out the biggest E on the eye chart, but everything else is just a blob, and even the E is fuzzy. He's astigmatic in both eyes, which makes it even worse. It's amazing that he's been able to cope as well as he has! The poor little guy has been living in a very blurry world all his life.

 

The opthamologist said Nicky would absolutely hate wearing glasses at first because the correction was so large, but that once he got used to them, we'd have to pry them off with a crowbar. I think that once he sees the world in focus, he'll be very pleased with all the things he can see and do.

 

Nicky was very excited about getting glasses until he understood they were to be regular glasses instead of sunglasses. Then he was even more disappointed when we went to pick out frames and he realized he couldn't get them right then -- because they are special lenses, the glasses won't be ready until next Tuesday. But since getting over his intial disappointment, he's been very pleased with the idea of having glasses. He announces about once every hour that he's getting glasses on Tuesday.

 

Zack's eyes checked out perfectly. He doesn't need anything other than annual checkups, but since his brother is getting glasses, of course he wants some, too. The problem is that Zack and glasses don't get along. He loves to wear sunglasses, but he also loves to twist them and turn them and see what pieces will come off. So far, with everything from the cheapest kiddy glasses to a fairly expensive pair of sunglasses, Zack has proven that every single piece can come off if one only tries hard enough. I'm going to buy him a pair of $1.99 Walgreens sunglasses on Tuesday, just so he doesn't feel too left out.

 

Nicky's Second Day of School: Between other activities, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for Nicky's return to school on Thursday. We talked about what happens at school, and we sat in the parking lot at dismissal time to watch parents picking up kids. We used the calendar board to lay out activities for after school so he could see that he'd always be coming back home afterward. We stopped by the school to pick up some books and homework, and to say hello to the class. By Wednesday night, Nicky was as excited about going to school as he had been last week.

 

The only lingering problem was that Zack got to go to Uncle Steve's house, and Nicky was jealous that his brother got to play with Uncle Steve's dog. We solved that by having Uncle Steve come to our house instead. Suddenly everything was okay, and we headed off for school Thursday morning full of smiles and anticipation.

 

I sat next to Nicky on the kindergarten rug for the first half-hour. He watched the teacher and gave the other kids sidelong glances, but didn't participate or speak. Then the class had an exercise that involved cutting out pictures from magazines and gluing them to a worksheet, and Nicky not only got involved, he started talking to the other kids. I left for five minutes, and he was fine with it.

 

After that, it was time to go down the hall to music class. Nicky walked with the Mrs. Price (his teacher) instead of me, and, except for constantly checking over his shoulder to make sure I was still there, was able to stay in line with the other boys and girls. He was very interested in the songs and instruments during music class, but couldn't bring himself to participate.

 

One of the teachers needed to talk to me about Nicky's eye exam, so I excused myself and went into the hall for a few minutes. When I got back, I found that Nicky had stayed in the class, but was crying quietly with his face in his hands. Allen (the boy who had been extra-friendly with Nicky on Monday) was sitting with him, trying to get him to feel better. Nicky stopped crying when I took my seat, but I could tell we were near the limit for the day.

 

After music class, we went to P.E. Nicky walked in the line without any problem, and participated in a running game for a few minutes. Then he wanted to go home. Since we weren't planning to stay much longer anyway, I decided it would be better to leave on a high note and have him be happy about going back the next day. The alternative -- making him stay the full morning, and having him become really upset -- didn't make much sense. If the last thing he did at school was feel miserable, what motivation would he have to go back?

 

So we said good-bye to all the teachers (actually, we said "Until tomorrow," which Nicky can say in both Russian and English, and which has a much more accurate meaning), and headed out.

 

Uncle Steve surprised me by offering to watch both kids for a while, and I took him up on the offer. I got the first uninterrupted sleep I've had since Tuesday, 13 July. It was heavenly.

 

Tomorrow (Friday), we're going to school again in the morning, then spending the afternoon with Aunt Judy.