Look Who's Talking Now

We love hearing his voice.

IAC 305, 306 & 307 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 305 which was held on January 15, 2015:

1) US dossier from March 2011 referred twins, male and female, aged 5 years and 9 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from May 2012 referred a female child aged 7 years and 9 months

3) US dossier from August 2012 referred a male child aged 2 years with features in health status

4) US dossier from June 2013 referred a brother and sister aged 4 years and 1 month & 5 years and 7 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from June 2014 referred a male child aged 1 year and 10 months with features in health status and a family history

6) Italian dossier from June 2014 referred a brother and sister aged 6 years and 5 months & 8 years and 10 months with features in health status

7) French dossier from July 2014 referred a waiting child (#2634) with a profile on the MOJ site

8) US dossier from December 2014 referred sisters aged 11 years and 9 months & 8 years and 5 months

9) US dossier from January 2015 referred a waiting child (#2145) with a profile on the MOJ site

10) US dossier from January 2015 referred a waiting child (#2254) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 306 which was held on January 22, 2015:

1) German dossier from November 2010 referred a male child aged 11 months

2) Norwegian dossier from November 2010 referred a male child aged 1 year and 6 months

3) Dutch dossier from December 2010 referred a male child aged 3 years and 11 months

4) French dossier from April 2012 referred a male child aged 1 year and 4 months with features in health status and a family history

5) Italian dossier from May 2012 referred a female child aged 7 years and 4 months

6) Italian dossier from June 2012 referred a male child aged 8 years and 3 months with features in health status

7) Italian dossier from February 2013 referred a female child aged 8 years and 10 months

8) Finnish dossier from April 2014 referred a waiting child (#2764) with a profile on the MOJ site

9) US dossier from January 2015 referred a waiting child (#2599) with a profile on the MOJ site

10) US dossier from January 2015 referred a waiting child (#2740) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 307 which was held on January 29, 2015:

1) French dossier from July 2011 referred brothers aged 6 years and 11 months & 5 years and 3 months

2) Italian dossier from May 2012 referred a male child aged 4 years and 7 months with features in health status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from May 2012 referred brothers aged 7 years and 10 months & 5 years and 6 months

4) Italian dossier from June 2013 referred a waiting child (#2576) with a profile on the MOJ site

5) US dossier from June 2013 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status

6) Italian dossier from August 2013 referred a female child aged 8 years and 9 months

7) US dossier from November 2013 referred a waiting child (#2501) with a profile on the MOJ site

8) US dossier from December 2013 three siblings, male and female, aged 4 years & 6 years and 10 months & 5 years and 4 months

9) French dossier from April 2014 referred a female child aged 10 years and 7 months

10) US dossier from January 2015 referred a waiting child (#2705) with a profile on the MOJ site

Why We Weep

Because this month, our son learned to say hi...

... and to give kisses...

... just in the nick of time for his sixth birthday.

Winter Beauty

Snow Week

The girls have been off school all week due to the holiday, snow, and arctic cold.  It's been a long week for everyone.

We did lots of drawing and made a few crafts:

We had a fort under the table where Big Sis read to Little Sis:

We played dress-up:

And jumped on the trampoline:

We played in the snow:

My angel boy

Enjoyed some snow icecream, built a snowman:

And carved out some alone time for ourselves whenever possible:

I don't know if the schools will be open on Monday because the temps are dipping into the single digits again overnight and everything that melted today will turn into a sheet of ice.  As we say in Germany, "Abwarten und Tee trinken."

Ella's Birth Family

We found Ella's birth family via social media in November 2014.  Since then, I have had contact with her birth mother several times each week.  We exchange messages, photos and videos.  Her birth mother reads and writes English very well which has been a blessing for our communication.

Our relationship is evolving, but positive thus far even though there's a lot of regret, grief, and pain on her birth family's end.  Six years ago they made a choice based on completely inaccurate medical information, social norms that would ostracize a child with limb differences, and personal fears.  The heartbreak is unimaginable.

Yesterday, Ella received her first package from her birth family.  It included some lovely handmade clothing and other items she will enjoy very much.  All of us are blessed to have this connection with Ella's Armenian parents who are reaching out in the best way they know.

Valentine's Day 2015

Craig and I are not nor have we ever been into holidays.  We don't exchange anniversary gifts and we can happily go without hanging Christmas lights.  We've never set off fireworks on the Fourth of July and rarely carve pumpkins for Halloween.  It's just not our thing.  But, now that we are parents, these holidays seem to be more important - if not to us then at least to the kids - because they are cause for celebrations and lessons at school and for marking time with traditions as the year progresses.

Ella is particularly excited about holidays and loves attending parties, making themed crafts and gifts, having special meals, and dressing up.  She has been talking about her class Valentine's party all week... or I should say since the 100 Day party was over last Friday.  The incessant holiday chatter from my Kindergartener does wear me down, but I realize that all of these experiences are meaningful firsts for Ella.

So, this year I went a few extra feet, not miles, to make Valentine's Day memorable for her.  First we made Valentine's Day cards to send to our loved ones around the world.  Both Ella and Emilia really loved stamping with a real apple and Rex made thumbprint hearts.

Then we worked on Ella's Valentine's gifts for her friends at school.  I wanted Cutie tangerines, but they were nowhere to be found, so we went with these oranges for twenty cents each.  All in all, I think each of these bags might have cost us a quarter.  We made the same for Rex's classmates.

We also prepared gifts for Ella's teachers.  She did a great job with the felt heart cards.  She was able to thread and re-thread her own needle and pull it back and forth through the fabric, adding the embellishments, while I held the felt.  I got the pens on Etsy for a few bucks each.

Ella also watched me bake an insane chocolate cake for Rex's therapists.

And she was in Happy Land being allowed to wear a dress to school on Friday. She specifically asked me to fix her hair this way.  Made me think of Pippi Longstocking, one of my favorite literary characters when I was little.

I planned a special dinner for this evening tailored to Ella's favorite tastes: pizza and chocolate pie with whipped cream and strawberries.  The pie was dairy and gluten free and we had three kinds of pizza: GFDF smoked chicken and cheese for Rex and Emilia (thanks, cousins, for the yummy chicken), sun-dried tomato and basil for me, and a choose-your-own toppings for Craig and Ella.  And just so you know, two out of three came straight from our grocer's freezer because my Valentine's present to myself was a day with little cooking.

And so it ends, another holiday experience had.  Here we come, St. Patty's Day.