Adoption Troubles (private)

[robehouse]

Patty turned and saw Ezrine. She quickly came over and too the bag from her and set it on the table. She gave Ezrine a hug and picked up what had fallen from the bag.

Frank helped Patty put the food away and then got their lunch out. He set it out on the table, and motioned for the girls to sit down.

Patty sat at her end of the table and watched to see if either Sana or Ezrine needed help.

[Ishigreensa]

The girls climbed up on the chairs and sat very politely waiting for Frank or Patty to give them food.

They smiled at one another and then at the adults.

Sana started to eat right away when she was given her food, but Ezrine watched Patty for some clue as to when to start eating.

[robehouse]

Patty opened Ezrine's sandwich and set it on a napkin in front of her, along with some fries and her Patty motioned for her to start eating and started on her food.

Patty and Frank didn't say anything as they ate, they just concentrated on eating and watching the girls. 

[Ishigreensa]

Ezrine smiled and started to eat as soon as Patty let her know it was alright.

Sana didn't say anything either.  If the adults were not talking, maybe you are not supposed to talk at the table here....

Ezrine looked around the dining room as she ate, taking her living environment once again because that night before, and the morning before they left, she felt like she had barely really seen anything.  It was probably because she was so tired from the drive and everything that she had just not had the energy to look around.

Both girls did smile at each other often, and it was apparent that though they could not really speak the same language, they were somehow learning to communicate with each other very rapidly.

[robehouse]

Patty and Frank saw the girls got along well with each other although it appeared they didn't speak the same language. They wished the girls could understand them, and that they could understand the girls. It appeared that it was going to take some time.

When he finished eating, Frank got the candy he had bought at the store earlier. He opened the package and put a couple of pieces in front of both Sana and Ezrine. Frank slipped a piece of candy in his mouth and ate it, smiling.

"Candy good." Frank said.

 

[Ishigreensa]

Samantha smiled and took a piece and put it in her mouth.

"Candy good," she mimicked him.

Then her eyes lit up and she chewed on it with delighted surprise.  It was good.

 

Ezrine looked at the candy for a minute.

She poked it.

She smelled it.

Only after what looked like an intensive science study of the object, did she finally put it in her mouth.

A clear smile came to her face when she did, and she chewed on it holding her hand out for more.

[robehouse]

Frank smiled at the girls reaction. He gave both girls another piece and put the bag of candy up in a cupboard.

Patty cleared the table. Frank got the game candyland out and showed it to Sana and Ezrine.

"Play game?" Frank asked.

He started setting up the game on the table.

[Ishigreensa]

The girls watched Frank set up the game on the table.

Neither of them had seen a game like that, ever.

When he was done, they watched to see what he was going to do next.

They were more than curious

Sana understood the words "play" and "game," so she could guess that this was some kind of game, but she was still wondering what they were supposed to do.

[robehouse]

Frank set up the pieces on the board and took out the colored cards. He showed Sana and Ezrine the cards. He pointed to the squares on the board and then showed them the same colors on the board.

Frank took one of the pieces and showed the girls one of the colored cards and moved his piece to the same colored square on the board.

"See?" Frank asked.

He moved the piece back up the beginning and mixed up the cards. Frank set the cards down and chose a blue playing piece.

"Blue. My piece." Frank said.

He pointed to the girls and then the pieces.

 

[Ishigreensa]

Sana caught on quickly and picked up the yellow one.

Ezrine looked at both of them, and then smiled and picked up the green one.

Sana looked up at Frank wondering who was going to go first..., and she looked at Ezrine hoping Ezrine got it.

Sana picked up her yellow piece again and looked up at Frank.

"What?" she asked him

Ezrine looked up at Sana, and then picked hers up and said the same thing.  "What?"

[robehouse]

Frank watched them choose their pieces. He smiled and put his piece at the beginning. He motioned for them to do the same. He wasn't sure who should go first, then decided since Ezrine was youngest that she should.

Frank pointed at Ezrine and then at the cards.

"Ezrine go first. Pick card and move'" Frank instructed.

[Ishigreensa]

Ezrine looked from Frank to Sana, and after a moment or two, realized they were waiting for her.

Sana reached over and picked up a card and handed it to her.

It had two purple squares on it.  

Ezrine put her token on the nearest purple square from start and then looked up at Frank.  She didn't realize that two squares meant she could got to the second purple square.

 

Sana didn't know either, so she started to pick a card for herself....

[robehouse]

Frank saw the card and watched Ezrine move her piece to the first purple and stop. As Sana reached for her card Frank stopped her by touching her hand gently.

"Wait."

Frank showed the girls Ezrine's card.

"Two." Frank said.

Frank pointed at the board and touched the square that Ezrine's piece was on.

"One. Two." Frank said touching the second purple square.

He moved Ezrine's piece to the second purple square.

"Understand?" Frank asked.

Patty brought three glasses of juice to the table and gave them to the girls and Frank.

[Ishigreensa]

Ezrine looked from Frank to Sana.

Sana looked at the car a couple of times, but then her face lit up and she nodded and then she counted one in her language showing Ezrine one on the card and one on the board, and then she said two in her language, and pointed to the second square on the card and the place where Frank put her piece.

Ezrine smiled and nodded, too.

She counted one in HER language and pointed at the card and at the board, and then she said "two" pointing at the second square on the card and the second one on the board.

 

Ezrine looked up at Frank again.

"...?" she held up one finger.  "...?" she held up a second finger.

she was trying to ask him something.

 

Sana caught on and held up 1 finger and looked at Frank... waiting....

[robehouse]

Frank smiled as the girls caught on. Although he couldn't understand them, he was pretty sure they were counting in their languages.

"One." Frank said holding up one finger. "Two." He added, holding up a second finget.

Frank nodded, then pointed to the cards for Sana to take her turn.

 

[Ishigreensa]

Sana and Ezrine both held up fingers and tried to say what he said.

"Oo an...  too?"

They both giggled.

Then Sana picked up a card and moved to one red space.

Ezrine held up three fingers.

"....xxx?" she asked.

 

[robehouse]

"Yes, that's right. One and two." Frank said, smiling at the girls.

Frank listened to Ezrine and saw her fingers.

"That's three. Three. Can you say three?" Frank asked.

Frank picked up a card and it happened to be three squares away from the start. He picked up his piece and started moving.

"One, two, three." Frank said, moving to the yellow square.

"Yellow." Frank said, announcing the color he was on.

 

[Ishigreensa]

"One," Ezrine counted on her fingers.  "Too..."

She put her finger in her mouth for a moment, and then she finally said.  "fee."

 

Sana mimicked him as he counted the squares.

"One.  Two.  Sree."

 

They both said "Yellow" together and then giggled.

[robehouse]

"That's right, one, two three!" Frank said, counting Ezrine's fingers.

Frank smiled as they laughed at the word yellow. He pointed set the square Ezrine was on and said "purple", then pointed at the square Sana was on and said "red." He repeated that a couple of times.

 

 

[Ishigreensa]

Ezrine then started to point at the board from start, and counted in her own language from start to her piece.  

Then she reached for Frank's hand and put his hand on the start place and looked up at him, waiting.

She seemed to really want to learn how to count in English.

Sana watched her curiously, thinking she wanted to know, too.

[robehouse]

Frank watched Ezrine and listened to her. When she took his hand he understood she wanted to count. He took her little hand pressing it on each square between start and her piece.

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8." Frank counted slowly, gently touching Ezrine's hands to the squares.

When Frank was done, he let go off Ezrine's hand and took off his phone. He looked on YouTube for a toddler counting video, then set the phone on the table for the girls to look at. The cartoon characters counted from one to ten, using different objects.

[Ishigreensa]

The girls smiled and watched it over and over, and eventually started to count with it using their fingers.

Once they thought they knew the words, they went back to the game.

Ezrine picked up a green square.

She started to count as she moved her piece.

"one, two, fee, four, six." and she stopped.

Sana smiled and looked up at Frank.

[robehouse]

Frank sat there listening and watching Ezrine and Sana watch the video and practice. They were learning quickly.

Frank listened as Ezrine counted, moving her piece. He shook his head.

"No. 1,2,3,4,5." Frank counted on his fingers.

He smiled at both girls and touched the end of their noses.

 

[Ishigreensa]

The girls giggled.

Ezrine scooted in her seat as she reached out to point at the spaces again to count to five.

Sana watched and then she took her turn, and started to count...

"One, two, fee, four, fibe, sis, seben, eight, ...?  She paused forgetting what was after eight."

[robehouse]

Frank smiled as he watched Ezrine count again, then watched Sana take her turn.

"Nine." Frank said, helping Sana count.

When Sana was done, Frank drew a card and showed it to both the girls. He picked up his piece and started moving it.

"Sana and Ezrine count?" Frank asked as he moved his piece.