November 12, 2010

One year ago today, I held my little boy in my arms for the first time and shortly therafter, this photo was taken.
My heart has been overflowing with love ever since.

Blessings Abound

It feels like the last few months have brought us many wonderful blessings (other than our son and daughter, of course). In no special order, I want to list some of them here as a reminder that they happened and an expression of my gratitude.

1) I usually pack Craig’s lunch every day, but in the last several weeks he has had many free lunches at work which has saved me some time and effort in the mornings. It’s been so nice to have those five or ten extra minutes that I could stay cozy under the covers.

2) I have found a fantastic young woman who comes to our house for two hours a day now just to play with Rex and work on his skills. She is Montessori-certified and doing a great job with our little peanut. The two hours she is here are so invigorating for me as I can be very productive with tasks around the house.

3) Craig’s co-workers had a great baby shower for us and presented us with more than enough money to buy a second Ergo carrier for our daughter. Being the thrifty shopper that I am I was able to get one new on Ebay for $40 under list price and then also buy a Ju Ju Be Prepared diaper bag in immaculate used condition for $105 under list price. I am so excited about both of these purchases. We are two steps closer to being ready to pick up our little girl now.

4) Good friends who started their Bulgarian adoption journey around the same time we did, but whose child has been home for a year now sent us the Leva they had left over from their second trip and told us to buy ourselves something beautiful or donate the money to the orphanage. I promise it will go to good use.

5) Rex has been home for almost four months and I haven’t had to buy a pack of diapers yet. Amazing how diapers have just continued to show up for us from various sources.

6) Presents and cards for Rex and his sister keep arriving from family and friends around the world. Thank you all for showering us with your love and generosity. I honestly had no idea our story had reached so far and is touching so many hearts.

7) Beautiful hand-me-downs have been passed on to us by other parents. Rex and his sister will be stylin’ through the winter and next summer, too. I am so grateful.

8) We have found wonderful therapists to work with Rex. He is making great developmental progress due in large degree to the work they are doing with him. It’s nice when you have people who get it on your team.

9) Readers of this blog, you have given me a lot of support, a reason to chronicle this journey, and a certain kind of motivation to pull myself up by the bootstraps and move forward even on the bad days. I know at some point when things settle down I will re-read my entries and be happy to have them as records of our lives. And maybe when our kids get older they will value them as well.

Rex - Fifteen Weeks Home

Rex has now been home with us for fifteen weeks and out of the orphanage for seventeen. Life has been good, except for that darn time change which has been rough on our little guy. Rex is gaining weight and I think height, too. His onesies are getting tight in the crotch all of a sudden and the size 5 Pampers is on the horizon. Plus, he’s been sleeping a bit more lately and eating quite a lot of food. Seems like a growth spurt to me.

Developmentally, Rex is climbing all over the place, so nothing is really safe anymore. He pushes chairs up to counters to get what he wants and is reaching higher shelves in the pantry, like I mentioned a few days ago. When we forget to close the gate, he’s up the stairs in no time flat. He has started stacking when we make him though I don’t think he likes it one bit and he is beginning to open and close zippers. We are doubling up on OT sessions now as they are doing such wonders for him. We are also working very hard with Rex on verbal requesting. For example, he knows how to blow raspberries, so when he wants one of his buzz toys, he must blow a raspberry to get it. Or when he wants out on the deck, he must produce a G sound (guh=go). If he cannot or will not (he’s a stubborn little guy), we sign “go” hand over hand with him.

Rex keeps working in waves on attachment, always two steps forward and one step back. He actually will sit in our laps now for longer periods of time and he lets me guide his hands in a very rudimentary version of the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Previously, he would squirm and scream away from this activity, but now he sometimes asks for more of it. Eye contact was way up, but now he’s pulling back from it a little bit again. Craig has taken over bath time which involves even more play, so that’s going much better. I don’t know how far away we are from an actual sit down in the water bath, but I take the giggling standing up over the screaming standing up any day. The nightly teeth-brushing is going well as are haircuts. Even the most recent trimming of his nails went better than ever. Naps are wonderful these days. Rex rarely fights them now and usually as soon as we lie down on the bed, he snuggles up to me and then stays glued to me the entire time he sleeps. If I move, he moves to remain close. I love it.

Rex continues to try out new foods. I don’t remember them all, but popcorn, spicy beef taquitos, pepperjack cheese, hummus, salami and homemade German potato cakes (he eats them with salt like Craig and most of my family though I prefer them with sugar) were a hit while marinara sauce is a definite no go. He wasn’t sure about kitkat at Halloween. He’s not a candy and sweets kind of guy unless it’s something homemade.

A while ago I mentioned Rex’s daily quest to bring the deck chair into the kitchen. He finally did it:

Let’s see how the next two weeks go. Lots and lots of changes ahead.

IAC 196 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 196 which was held on 10/07/11:

1) Cyprus dossier from April 2008 referred a female child aged 3 years and 5 months

2) Cyprus dossier from May 2008 referred a female child aged 1 year and 5 months

3) Greek dossier from June 2008 referred a male child aged 2 years 10 months

4) Spanish dossier from October 2008 referred a female child aged 2 years and 1 months

5) Spanish dossier from March 2009 referred a male child aged 4 years 10 months

6) Italian dossier from April 2009 referred a male child aged 6 years and 2 months

7) Spanish dossier from November 2009 referred a male child aged 2 years and 6 months with features in health status

8) Italian dossier from December 2009 referred a male child aged 8 years 3 months

9) U.S. dossier from October 2011 referred a waiting child (#1307) with a profile on the MOJ site

New Minister of Justice In Bulgaria

The current Bulgarian Minister of Justice, Margarita Popova, was elected vice-president in Bulgaria's October elections, so a new Minister of Justice will be announced next month. Let's hope that the switch in officials does not delay or affect international adoptions which are overseen by the Ministry of Justice in Bulgaria.

You can read more about this story here:

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=133611

Did I Do That?

Well, Rex has figured out how to reach the second and third shelves in the pantry. The potato bin apparently makes a perfect step stool once it's discovered as such. On Sunday evening, before I could intervene, Rex had grabbed a bag off a shelf, opened it and... see that all over my kitchen floor? Who needs mulling spices anyway, right?

National Adoption Month - Meet Mariah

Meet ‘Mariah’

(DOB 10/09/2004)

Sweet Mariah is a favorite of the staff at her small orphanage, described by all who know her as a kind, charming, and inquisitive little girl. She enjoys school and eagerly completes her homework each day. Mariah is bilingual in English and her country’s native tongue. She has been diagnosed with spina bifida (lumbar region) and was placed with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt in 2005. Mariah uses a wheelchair to get around. She is under the care of a nephrologist due to diagnoses of neurogenic bladder, chronic pyelonephritis, vesiculoureteral Reflex IV degree. Mariah is a gorgeous, intelligent girl whose best friend was adopted a few years ago. Maybe Mariah can join her in the U.S. soon. She would make a wonderful addition to a family willing to give her a chance. Please contact info@hopscotchadoptions.org for details.