Emilia Is Four

Craig and I can hardly believe it, but our baby girl recently turned four years old.  We celebrated with a party with our family and friends.

If you want to know how I plan a party, here are the few notes I made in preparation.  Yes, I have learned to keep it simple.

Emilia’s Birthday Party

Where: shelter at local park adjacent to playground, grill provided

Guests:  Grandpa, Aunt MB & the cousins, The Sch. Family, The T. Family, The S. Family

Theme: Purple and White Polka Dots

Supplies: white, purple and polka dot balloons, purple table cloths, white/purple/polka dot paper plates, white plastic cutlery, white napkins

Kid favors: pretzel rods covered in white chocolate with purple sprinkles

Appetizers: hummus and various chips, fruit kebabs

Food: Bulgarian dishes (kebabcheta, potato plakiya, shopska salat, garash torte, biscuit cake)

Potato Plakiya

Kebabcheta
(They should have been more charred from the grill,
but the grate was too wide, so we had to cook them in a pan.)

Shopska Salat

Garash Torte (GFDF)

Activities: on-site playground, bubbles, balls, tricycle, scooter, play dough, chalk, Rody Max, coloring pages, trampoline, parachute

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for Emilia's party. The weather was perfect to be outdoors and we were so glad to spend some quality time with our family and friends.  One of our guests took all of these great pictures:

Happy birthday, sweet Emilia.  You are a daily joy and a tremendous blessing to all of us.  Your spirit shines brightly with beauty and love.

We love you forever.

Friday Hooky

Since Rex was off school today for a teacher in-service day and the forecast predicted a sunny 82 degrees, Craig and I decided that our family would play hooky and head to the zoo.  I'm so glad we did because we had so much fun.

On our previous visits to the zoo we were not sure if the kids really even noticed the animals.  Today, they did.  First, we stopped by the elephants which happened to be pretty active, including with their BMs. When Emilia pointed and yelled, "Poopy," I knew she was looking directly at the majestic mammals that are my favorite animals, by the way.

Next we visited the giraffes who were inside this morning.  Rex was very interested in them and signed for more three times after we had taken him off the viewing ledge. It was really incredible to see him watch the giraffes move around and realize that they were alive and in 3D.

Both kids were excited to ride the train.

Then we went to feed the lorikeets.

And after a sunny lunch under the open sky, our grand finale was a stop at the carousel which was Rex's absolute favorite part of the day.

The joy on Rex's face makes every challenge encompassed in being his parents so worth it.

And what we affirmed for ourselves today is this: sometimes you just gotta play hooky.

Let's Hear It For The Boys

When it comes to international adoption, 

boys have a decreased chance of being chosen by a family.  

In fact, 

less than 40% of all children adopted internationally are boys.

Now add to that the being older

and maybe this is why these wonderful boys 

are still waiting in Eastern Europe.

I'm not allowed to say for sure, 

but they may or may not be located in Emilia's birth country.

Please consider them and pass their profiles on to others.

For more info on these boys, please contact waitingchild@hopscotchadoptions.org.

Slater was born in January 2002 and is healthy.  He is described as a positive boy who can sometimes be emotional and impulsive, but he usually controls his behavior well.  Slater is very active, extroverted and communicative and enjoys the company of other children.  He is curious, well-intentioned and believes in himself.

Slater is purposeful and well organized.  He can easily concentrate for 20 minutes and up to an hour with encouragement.  He understands most of the academic material taught to him in school, but needs to be more consistently motivated for this work.  He sometimes requires additional time or assistance to master academic tasks.

Slater likes sports and attends a fitness club once a week as well as a folk dance school twice a week.  He also participates in an art studio at school.

Jasper was born in June 2001 and diagnosed with polymalformative syndrome, involving a left club foot and frontal meningoencephalocele, both of which have been surgically corrected, as well as agenesia of the tarsometatarsal joints and two missing fingers on the right hand.  Jasper has a prosthetic leg below the left knee which was provided for him by a Swiss charitable foundation.  Jasper also has bilateral amblyopia, astigmatism of the right eye, and hypermetropia of the left eye.  Despite his multiple diagnoses, Jasper is currently in good health.

Jasper attends school with the help of a resource teacher in a special classroom and has completed fifth grade.  He enjoys going to school and shows interest in his studies.  Jasper has a poor attention span, but can focus longer when a task is enjoyable or appealing.  His memory is good.

Jasper can read and write and has a good vocabulary.  He is described as a calm, observant, and orderly boy with nice manners.   He is positive, motivated, and easily carries a conversation.  He participates in group activities with his peers, but prefers contact with adults because other children often mock his physical differences.  Jasper likes to read books and watch TV.  He wishes to be adopted.

Tobias was born in March 2000. He is healthy and developmentally on target for his age. Tobias attends main stream school with satisfactory results though he needs more motivation to work toward higher achievement. His favorite subject is Russian and he struggles with math. Tobias' imagination is active and well-developed. He enjoys drawing with different techniques, building models, and arranging puzzles and mosaics. He often makes up funny stories to entertain others. Tobias also happily participates in several sports. Tobias has developed hygiene habits, but can sometimes be careless about his appearance. He likes to help at the orphanage and copes well with the rules and routines of his daily life. Tobias is described as a sociable and well-mannered boy who has many friends. He understands his situation and sincerely wishes to be adopted.

Fabian was born in May 2002 and is a bright, inquisitive and positive preteen who is striving to be independent and to distinguish himself as an individual.  He speaks with an extremely rich active vocabulary, reads well and loves to draw.  He does well in school overall, but struggles with math.  Fabian is a hard-working boy who is outstandingly responsible about his orphanage duties and enjoys them.  He regularly helps to clean in the kitchen and is eagerly looking forward to receiving permission to assist with food preparation.

Brothers Walker, Wesley and Wyatt were born in July 2004, March 2002, and December 1999 respectively and, due to their strong emotional bond, need to be adopted together. All three are healthy and typically developing. They came into state care in 2010 and currently live in the same orphanage.

Walker is described as an extroverted, cheerful child who likes music, dancing, children’s books, and sports. He has completed second grade successfully and is responsible in regard to his school work. Walker makes easy contact with his peers and adults and is rarely involved in conflict. He follows rules, respects authority and strives to correct behaviors in himself that are not desirable.

Wesley is an introverted, sensitive, pleasant boy who is kind to others and likes to play sports. He has completed mainstream fifth grade with the help of a resource teacher and is known as a disciplined, responsible student. He respects authority, follows rules, and maintains good relationships with his peers.

Wyatt is a responsible and consistent teenager who can sometimes be critical of himself or others. He has successfully completed sixth grade, but he needs someone to push him toward higher goals and achievement. Wyatt attends training sessions for sport dancing and participates in competitions. He has formed close friendships with select peers, follows rules, and rarely involves himself in conflicts.

Emilia's First Haircut

Last night, Emilia received her first real haircut.  Sure, I had been trimming her bangs at home for the last almost two years, but the rest of her hair had never been cut since she joined our family.  It took me a long time to work up to this haircut, knowing we'd be losing her lovely baby locks, but it had to happen finally.

So, we prepared for the worst and went to a local salon.  I fully expected that Emilia would cry the whole time and fight the stylist, but she sat rather calmly on my lap and listened to me sing her favorite songs.  I could tell she was a bit scared as little shivers went through her body every once in a while, but on the whole, she did wonderfully.

Here she is yesterday before her haircut:

And after:

Can't believe what a big girl our Emilia is already.

News from MOJ

MOJ in Bulgaria released some statistics today.  I do not understand them all, but I think the chart lists the number of adoption procedures approved by the Minister of Justice this year through June 30, 2013 by receiving country.  Here's the break-down:

USA 53 (31%)  - of those 53 procedures, 36 were for identified waiting children with special needs
Italy 39 (23%) - of those 39 procedures, 4 were for identified waiting children with special needs
France 25 (15%) - of those 25 procedures, 3 were for identified waiting children with special needs
Spain 25 (15%)
Germany 11 (11.6)
Netherlands 7 (7.4%)
Sweden 3 (3.2%) of those 3 procedures, 2 were for identified waiting children with special needs
Canada 2 (2.1%)
Cyprus 2 (2.1%)
Greece 1 (1.1%)
Norway 1 (1.1%)
Ireland 1 (1.1%)
Switzerland 1 (1.1)

There were a total of 171 approved adoption procedures for a combined 200 children.  Of those procedures 45 were adoptions of 72 identified waiting children with special needs.  This means that 36% of all children approved for finalization of international adoption from Bulgaria in the first six months of this year were waiting children.

Exercise Epic Fail

When our family's new fall schedule went into effect at the beginning of this month, it was the first time that Craig and I had officially penciled ourselves in for exercise at least once a week.  We realized that our own health frequently falls by the wayside amid the needs of our children and household, so we thought setting aside the time to work out upfront would make a difference.

Unfortunately, I must report that the first month of this experiment has been an epic fail.  Craig made it to the YMCA to swim exactly one time in September.  I had set what I considered a low goal of walking 30 miles which is just one mile per day.  I tallied up my total distance today and it came to a whopping 6.7 miles.  What an embarrassment.  So, for October I am lowering my goal to 15 miles.  We shall see what happens.

Now for those kind readers who sometimes email me and ask how I/we "do it all" here's your proof that we don't.  Real exercise (not the chasing your kids or weeding your garden or scrubbing your toilet kind) is one thing that doesn't tend to happen for us these days.  Sigh and we'll try again in October.

IAC 256 & 257 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 256 which was held on July 23, 2013

1) Greek dossier from April 2010 referred a waiting child (#2196) with a profile on the MOJ site

2) Italian dossier from March 2012 referred a waiting child (#1949) with a profile on the MOJ site

3) US dossier from May 2013 referred a waiting child (#560) with a profile on the MOJ site

4) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1084) with a profile on the MOJ site

5) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1912) with a profile on the MOJ site

6) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1529) with a profile on the MOJ site

7) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1842) with a profile on the MOJ site

8) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1877) with a profile on the MOJ site

9) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1836) with a profile on the MOJ site

10) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1866) with a profile on the MOJ site

11) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1788) with a profile on the MOJ site

12) US dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#1924) with a profile on the MOJ site

13) US dossier from July 2013 referred three waiting children (#699 & #1890 & #1095) with profiles on the MOJ site

14) Spanish dossier from July 2013 referred a waiting child (#2152) with a profile on the MOJ site

15) Italian dossier from July 2013 referred a waiting child (#1937) with a profile on the MOJ site

16) US dossier from July 2013 referred a waiting child (#1594) with a profile on the MOJ site

17) US dossier from July 2013 referred a waiting child (#2179) with a profile on the MOJ site

18) US dossier from July 2013 referred two waiting children (#1871 & #1872) with profiles on the MOJ site

19) US dossier from July 2013 referred a waiting child (#2045) with a profile on the MOJ site

20) US dossier from July 2013 referred a waiting child (#2074) with a profile on the MOJ site

21) US dossier from July 2013 referred a waiting child (#2116) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 257 which was held on August 1, 2013:

1) German dossier from March 2010 referred a female child aged 2 years and 3 months

2) Dutch dossier from April 2010 referred a male child aged 4 years and 1 month

3) Dutch dossier from April 2010 referred a male child aged 3 years and 8 months

4) Dutch dossier from May 2010 referred a female child aged 4 years and 4 months

5) Italian dossier from August 2010 referred a male child aged 1 year and 10 months with features in health status

6) Dutch dossier from October 2010 referred a male child aged 3 years and 3 months with features in health status

7) French dossier from October 2010 referred a male child aged 2 years and 4 months with features in health status and a family history

8) Canadian dossier from February 2011 referred a male child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status

9) Italian dossier from September 2011 referred a female child aged 4 years and 6 months with features in health status

10) US dossier from November 2011 referred a female child aged 4 years and 8 months with features in health status

11) Canadian dossier from August 2012 referred a female child aged 2 years and 7 months with features in health status

12) Italian dossier from November 2012 referred a male child aged 14 years and 11 month

13) Italian dossier from June 2013 referred two children, male and female, aged 7 years and 4 months & 9 years