Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms, mommies, mothers-to-be, mothers-in-waiting, mothers-at-heart, mamas, and mamos who read this blog.

Happy Mother’s Day to those of you who wipe little noses and cover cuts, who cook and clean, who drive to therapy and soccer practice, who give bubble baths and life lessons, who pack snacks and get the groceries, who bake birthday cakes and make heart-shaped grilled cheese, who de-tangle curls and trim nails, who wait up for kids to come home, who build blanket forts and sandcastles, who kiss booboos and know how to get out grass stains, who read bedtime stories and teachers’ notes, who chaperone field trips and help with homework, who encourage, cheer or redirect, who get gum off shoes and splinters out of fingers, who toss, catch or kick balls, who give daily vitamins and attitude adjustments, who schedule appointments and car pools, who tickle toes and cut crusts off sandwiches, who comfort and cuddle, who understand without words, who chase away bad dreams and teach to reach for the stars, who celebrate milestones and small accomplishments, who tour colleges and preschools, who never give up and never lose hope, who expand little minds and mend broken hearts, who plan sleep-overs and vacations, who are not grossed out by boogers or spit-up, who send care packages and set up dorm rooms, who say no when they have to and yes when they can, who love unconditionally and always.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you doing or dreaming of doing these things and more.  Your love, dedication and patience every day make such a difference in your children’s lives and our world.  Thank you.

Rex - Thirty-Nine Weeks Home

I am so behind due to travel, but Thursday marked forty-one weeks out of the orphanage and thirty nine weeks home for Rex.  The last two weeks have been full of ups and downs with wonderful progress in Rex's development coupled with the resurfacing of some Rex-rage.

So I'll start with all of the good. Rex is learning so much. One day I decided that I wanted him to be able to drink out of an open cup unassisted before he started preschool, so I prepared for a mess and began giving him his cup.  To my great surprise, there wasn't ever really any mess and Rex mastered this skill in about two days.  Now I only have to hand him his cup from the counter and he drinks as much as he wants, then returns the cup into my hands.  He's also working very hard on the sign for drink, so once he's reliable with it, getting a drink may no longer involve pulling a parent to the kitchen and reaching his arms up toward the cup.

Rex has also learned to jump.  He's been getting a lot of practice on the trampoline, but one afternoon, he just started jumping in the middle of the living room, holding on to nothing, which, in turn, made Craig and me jump off the couch with pride.  Now it's so cute to watch him jump when he gets excited, for example when Craig comes home from work.

 I have told him a hundred times

no climbing on the banister.

The child is a magnet for danger.

With Rex, nothing is really safe, even the things you have child-proofed.  Recently Rex figured out that he can open the fridge and freezer doors, so now we need to secure them in some way.  Rex mostly just wants to try to climb into the fridge and inspect everything.  He's not really looking for eats.  But speaking of eats, we have kind of a food snob on our hands who knows what he likes and what not.  Recently Rex enjoyed two legs of smoked duck at our friends' house.  Since Rex otherwise really only eats beef, this very much speaks to their famous smoking skills.

Look at how much confidence he has gained 

in just ten short months with a Daddy & Mama. 

Rex has also learned how to give high fives.  They still need a little oomph, but it's so nice to be able to tell him to give someone a high five as a way to greet each other.  And Rex has been babbling a lot more lately.  We are hearing syllables that had disappeared since the palate repair (such as dada) and syllables we have never heard before (such as yaya).  There has even been a tiny bit of oral motor imitation where Rex has been able to reproduce the sounds we are making.  For children with Rex's syndrome, the first word on average comes at 38 months, Rex's current age, and can occur as late as 60 months.  And of course, this data is for children who are not cleft-affected and did not spend over two years in an orphanage.  So, we are hopeful that Rex is on his way to acquiring a few verbal skills.

At "his desk" which is really our TV stand.

And now for the bad:  we're dealing with a bit of toddler rage again, usually around two longer episodes a day.  I know our ABA therapists want us to chart what happens exactly before a tantrum, but I don't need to write it down. It's always the same reason of Rex not getting his way in some form or fashion.  It might be him being told no more outside for the day or to sit at the table for dinner or a toy is broken or realizing that the Lego simply isn't going to fit through the funnel.  I think his getting upset and frustrated is very normal for his developmental age, but the intensity of his reaction is fueled by his past and his current limitations.  I have faith that these behaviors will eventually go away as Rex gains more communication skills and independence.

Our Armenian-American with a sprinkling of German (he does love potato cakes) is definitely moving in the right direction, growing, exploring, learning new skills and working so hard to overcome the things that complicate just about everything he tackles.  We're proud of you, love, you rock!

Picture Of The Day

This weekend we enjoyed some Chinese food and my fortune cookie read, "Only if you dive for pearls shall you find one."  So true:

Rex is so worth the deep dive we've been taking to slowly uncover the amazing pearls inside of him.  Shine on, beautiful boy, and we'll keep diving!

New Rides For Everyone

Thanks to the IRS returning part of our money to us last month (still waiting on the adoption tax credit), everyone in the family was able to get new wheels.

Rex and Emilia got the City Mini Double Stroller: 

And Craig and I got the 2012 Honda Odyssey:

The only difference is that the kids' ride is paid off and ours isn't (yet).

Picture Of The Day

Carefree Spring Afternoon

IAC 216 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC session 216 which was held on March 28, 2012:

1) Canadian dossier from January 2009 referred a female child aged 1 year and 7 months with features in health status

2) Dutch dossier from March 2009 referred a female child aged 5 years and 4 months

3) Italian dossier from April 2009 referred a male child aged 1 year and 10 months

4) Norwegian dossier from April 2009 referred a male child aged 4 years and 5 months

5) Dutch dossier from May 2009 referred a male child aged 4 years and 10 months

6) US dossier from February 2011 referred three sisters, aged 3 years and 11 months, 5 years and 3 months, and 3 years with features in health status

7) Swedish dossier from March 2011 referred a male child aged 2 years and 11 months with features in health status and family history

8) US dossier from May 2011 referred a female child aged 2 years with features in health status

9) Italian dossier from March 2012 referred a waiting child (#1621) with a profile on the MOJ site

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Of the 50 dossiers still registered with MOJ from October 2006 until June 2009 (data published in March 2012), 14 have now received referrals.

The Good Shepherdess

Craig and I use a lot of nicknames in our home to help each other stay on top of the people that are more connected to just one of us, rather than both.  It’s a mnemonic device that we find really useful.  For example, many years ago Craig had a colleague with a very common first name like Jim (it wasn’t Jim) who was known in our house as “The Source” because he always seemed to have insider information about everything.  Of course, the people in our lives who have been given a moniker do not know it because we never disclose these nicknames or use them in public.  That said, I have decided to make an exception this one time.

Recently I connected with a woman who knew Rex when he was an infant and met him when he was about six months old.  We have been calling this woman “The Good Shepherdess.”  There are a couple of reasons for this choice, but the most important one is that she may have saved Rex’s life or at least greatly improved it.  As you know, Rex was born cleft-affected and was unable to latch on to regular bottle nipples to nurse.  Consequently, for the first few months of his life he was not at all growing and dropped from the 50th percentile in weight at birth to the 2nd.  The Good Shepherdess learned of his need and sent cleft nursers to his orphanage which turned things around for Rex in a big way.  Proper nutrition helped him endure the wait for us and gain the strength to tackle developmental tasks.

When the Good Shepherdess met Rex, she took some photos for which I am so thankful.  Just look at my dreamy baby boy at six months old:

So, Good Shepherdess, if you are reading this, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving my little lamb when he was most vulnerable, for giving him a chance and some protection from afar.  You were there for him when he needed you and that can never be erased.  Our lives are forever connected because of one Armenian angel that touched both of us so deeply.