When Nora came home she was terrified of Tucker our dog. He is part Australian Shepherd and part Poodle which means he has a ton of energy, sheds a little less than a shepherd, and likes to herd everyone into the same place. He is almost 3 years old and has settled down a bit, but he is still very curious and wants to be in your face most of the time. For Nora who had never experienced animals of any kind this very happy mid-sized beast was a little much for her. For the first week or so she would scream if he came in the same room as her. I tried my best to keep them apart but with an open house floor plan it was challenging. There was a turning point after about a week in which she would tolerate him in the same room but did not want him touching, licking or sniffing her. Fast forward five weeks later and they are becoming best buddies. She walks him, yells at him, feeds treats to him, plays vet with him and is always announcing everything he does.
What pets have taught Nora so far…
First sentence – No Tucker no!
Verbs – She knows and can tell you just about everything Tucker does. Run, run, run, walk, jump, wag, wag, wag, lick (she acts this one out rather than saying lick), shake (she also likes to act this out), scratch, sit, wait, roll, roll, roll, pant (she acts this out), wrestle, bite, drink, eat, sleep and poop.
Body Parts – She can identify and say eyes, noes, ears, toes, back, hair, tongue, legs and tail.
Onomatopoeia – Animals in general have taught Nora so many sound words. Bark, meow, moo, cluck, cheep, oink, neigh, quack and buzz.
Patience – Waiting is hard. It is hard for anyone but as a two year old waiting can be extremely difficult. I am trying to teach Nora to wait at different times during the day. Waiting for me at the bottom of the steps is important. Waiting for dinner to be ready is also very hard. Another adoptive parent told me a really good point the other day, that their meals were prepared for them in a separate place and brought to them at the same time every day. Nora doesn’t realize that food needs to be prepared, cooked and then you have to wait for it to cool off. So meal times can be frustrating because they are not instantly ready. The word wait is hard to explain to a two year old who doesn’t know English. It usually goes like this. (Nora hanging off my leg in the kitchen whining because she is hungry and me saying Nora you need to wait and be patient, supper is almost ready!) Pre dinner time is getting better though and I am giving Tucker credit here. We give him little treats and I say… sit, wait, ready, set, go and then he is allowed to go get the treat. Nora has picked up on this and knows what wait means. She will tell Tucker (while holding up her pointer finger) Wait Tucker Wait!
Gentleness – Nora has learned to pet the animals gently. We say nice nice or be kind and this has transferred to other parts of our day when we need to be more gently.
Her first joke – She is infatuated with Tucker’s tail. I don’t know if it is just at eye level or if she has never noticed one in pictures before but she points out his tail at least a hundred times a day. She points out tails in books and on all animals that we see. She tries to convince me that she has a tail and will tap her chest and say, “Nora tail!” while pointing to her bottom. I laugh and say, “No! Nora doesn’t have a tail!” and then she says, “Mama tail!” No! I say, “Mama doesn’t have a tail!” Then she will joke with anyone else who is home saying they have a tail. It is so cute and she cracks up. She understands that she is joking with us and being silly.
Her first big story – We went for a walk with our neighbor one day and they have a farm with lots of animals. Tucker came with us and as we were walking back the lane one of the barn cats was coming toward us. Tucker was on a leash and was all excited to see a cat! He started getting closer to the cat and all of the sudden the cat jumped on Tucker’s face and started scratching him! Tucker jumped back and yelped. The cat took up a hot pursuit and chased us to the van! Tucker jumped in as the cat was right on my heals trying to attack him again! Nora was walking close by and didn’t seem to see the whole encounter but I told the story to Clara and Dana when they got home and by the time Brad came home she was ready to tell him what happened. It went something like this. Bubba Bubba! Tucker jibberish really fast jibberish Meeeooowwww! Meeoowww! More jibberish is a fast excited voice. Wimper Wimper (Tucker being scared). Tucker Wimper. And that was how Nora told her first story! (We also had to act out the Tucker and barn cat scene. I was Tucker and Nora was the barn cat. She jumped on my back and pretended to scratch me while yelling Meeoowww!) It was quite an exciting day!
Her second big story – Tucker is not the only pet that has taught Nora a few things. We got baby chickens a few weeks ago and they were in the house for a while. Nora liked to watch them and again be an announcer for everything they did. She learned about beaks, wings, flying and pecking. One day she stuck her finger in the pen and one pecked her! She was so surprised and started crying. That was the next big story. Each time someone came in the door she held up her finger and then with words and sign language motions said peck peck peck and then she would fake cry and make whining sounds and hold up her finger again.
Follow the leader – Nora did love the cats from day one. Of course she points out their tails any chance she gets and she loves crawling around on the floor following them behind chairs, under tables and behind the couch.
Swimming – Our fish has taught Nora about swimming. She has learned to feed him and of course points out his tail!
Responsibility – This is a stretch but she has been helping feed the big chickens and finding eggs.
Pets have taught Nora a lot in just 5 weeks! Now if we can just train her to clean out the chicken coop we will be in business!
CoulsonFamily 