What a blessing it is that each of my girls has at least one big brother to watch out for her. Hope was sad that she was too young for Vacation Bible School. Here is her brother offering his monkey mask that he made at VBS to his disappointed little sister. I had to run in and grab my camera when I saw him trying to tie it in the back. He didn't seem to notice that she was crying, because her nose was poking through the eye hole, so she couldn't see.
I wish I had had my camera earlier when I dropped Simeon off at soccer practice. He was the first one there, so he asked Hope if she would like to play soccer with him. I didn't get a picture of it, but I hope I will never forget the picture in my head of my little girl in her dress and fancy shoes playing soccer with her big brother.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Big brothers
How to grow hair
The question was asked, what has made Ava's hair grow?
The answer: We have been giving steroid treatments, a multivitamin and Omega 3 daily, massaging her scalp, giving her lots of kisses. And did I mention she has a little sister who prays every day, "Jesus, please make Ava's hair grow weally long so we can do bwaids and pigtails." Some combination of those things....is working.
Here is Hope, brushing and decorating Ava's hair, dreaming of being able to actually do something with it someday!
PEACH FUZZ!!!!!!
Does anybody else see it?? I noticed when I kissed her bald spot last night that it felt a little prickly. Upon further examination this morning, I saw it....just a tiny little spot, but it's growing! My little girl is growing hair!!!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Communicating
I don't know why but Ava will NOT show her newly mastered signs to anybody but our family. I have tried to show her off several times, and she refuses to sign for other people or the video camera. Go figure. I have tried to get video of her saying "mama", "papa" (she puts her thumb on her chin, does the same sign for both even though for 'papa' she's supposed to put her thumb on her forehead), "ball", "eat", and "bye-bye". She does all these signs pretty well.....unless you're just trying to show her off. Pretty clever little girl. So one of these days you won't be surprised to see a video. Boy is she cute! She grins ever so sweetly, as if she is so proud of herself. You oughtta see her. And other big news....She has learned to push herself up to sitting the correct way, pushing with her hands up from the side. We are so proud. This little girl has certainly managed to get every one of us wrapped around her little flexible finger. Watch for a signing video....soon I hope.
Wednesday weigh-in week 2
Start weight 154.8
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Old Friends
I suppose "Old Friends" is not the best title for this post but I'm not feeling extremely creative today. Sorry friends. These are my very young friends Kristi and Delahne. (Some of you adoption blog readers will recognize Delahne who is adopting 3 yr. old Hannah from Eastern Europe....she should have news ANY day now!). We have known each other since we were 18 years old, freshman in nursing school. We had many...let's say "interesting" experiences together, and had many laughs in those early years learning to use catheters, enemas, give bed baths, etc. You get the idea.
Thankfully Kristi makes it a point to come and visit once a year or so, and each time she comes we take a picture of these 3 "old friends" growing older every year. We always get a good laugh over the funny pictures we have of us as each time they have been taken by one of our kids. In some of our previous photos we have all had bunny ears and goofy faces peeking over the back of the couch.
It's always a little crazy when we all get together but I am SO glad we have kept in touch over the years.
This is Kristi's daughter Kelsie who reads this blog (Hi Kelsie!) and informed me while she was here that watching Ava has inspired her to be a therapist. I was so proud. She would make the perfect babysitter!! I told her I wanted her, and she said she would be happy to babysit but I'd have to pick her up and bring her back home. Too bad she lives 4 1/2 hours away away!
And this is Delahne's daughter Catherine who taught Ava how to roll a ball! I have been working for weeks on this (OT homework) to no avail, and Catherine picks up a ball and rolls it to her, and Ava rolled it right back. Thank you Catherine!
Just one of the kids
A couple of days ago I was trying to talk on the phone and I could hear that one of the kids had pushed the button on the phone in the other room and were breathing heavy into it. I called them one by one, "Hope, hang up the phone. Jude! Liesel? Who is on the phone???!!!" I walked around to see AVA holding the phone pushing buttons and breathing into it! Pretty exciting for the girl who coudnt even hold her own bottle a few months ago.
Just a little bit ago I kept hearing someone knocking on the window. It was bugging me, so again I started naming names: "Hope, stop that!......Hope! Stop knocking on the window." Hope said, "Mom, it isnt me, its Ava!"
(I apologize for my lack of apostrophes, my computer wont let me type them occasionally, kind of a pet peeve of mine).
Monday, July 28, 2008
No hearing aides!
Ava had a consultation this morning with an audiologist regarding hearing aide fitting and placement. We got a slightly different opinion from her than we got from the tech who initially tested her hearing. The audiologist feels that hearing aides are unnecessary right now, as her hearing loss is borderline. The high pitch sounds she can hear fine apparently, it's the lower tones she is having trouble with. The audiologist explained that while the lower tones are magnified by the hearing aides, so would the higher tones and it would just be too much for her and in the end it would probably make things worse.
A frog with Down Syndrome
Over the weekend there was a lot of excitement over a frog the kids found in the back yard. They had fun watching it swim in the kiddy pool and wanted to keep it for a pet. Remember our 24 hour pet rule? Well at one point Liesel came in the house and said, "Mom, that frog has Down syndrome!" I was bracing myself for what she might say next. I was afraid maybe she was going to make a comment about how "dumb" it was, or even use the dreaded word "retarded" which is far too commonly and flippantly used, and can be so hurtful to hear sometimes. I asked her what makes her think the frog had Down syndrome. She said, "Because it has the stretchiest legs just like Ava!" (Aw, I loved it!)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Disabilities and church
My friend Meredith is taking a poll on her blog regarding church attendance for families who have a child/children with special needs. If you'd like to contribute to her poll or read others' responses CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Critters in my house!!
Yes, this bug IS as big as it appears!
What a cute little mouse Ava found!!
The kids and I thought we were SO funny buying a plastic mouse to scare all of our house guests this summer. Our house guests have all come and gone and not one of them fell for our joke! Did you???!!!
When Daddy works from home....
He doesn't get as much work done, everyone wants to sit on his lap! This is what I walked in his office to see yesterday.....
Wednesday weigh-in
Well my cheap weight loss plan is working, at least so far. I can't tell you how many times I resisted temptations in the last two days because I knew that Wednesday was coming.....the moment of truth.
By the way, I had a couple of comments about how brave I was to post my weight on my blog and I wanted to explain my rationale. I figure, people can hide their weight but they can't hide their fat rolls, (at least I had been trying to but couldn't), so as far as I was concerned my actual weight wasn't so much an issue as how I felt walking around the swimming pool. I know it probably seems weird, but I do so much better with accountability, I had great success last year with Weight Watchers but as soon as I met my weight goal I quit the meetings and the weight came right back on.
So here goes...Last week 154.8, today's weight 151.6...I lost 3.2 pounds!
John's weight last week...211.8, today's weight 208.6...he lost....OK that's weird, 3.2 pounds!
Let's hope this week is as good as last!
Monday, July 21, 2008
More feeding progress
Rachel, Ava'a OT, handed her a bowl of pudding and a spoon to see what she would do with it last week. I was shocked to see that she put it right in her mouth!! I had never even thought to attempt that yet, as I wouldn't have expected her to "get it" yet. But she gets it!! Look.....I LOVE how her sister is always right beside her cheering her on in every new accomplishment.
More swimming pictures
The kids are SO bummed because it's ADULT SWIM TIME. They hate adult swim time!!!
Remember my post about how much Ava hates her bath and the swimming pool? Well what a difference a couple of weeks makes. She still hates the nice warm bath....go figure. But look how well she's adapted to the swimming pool! I'm especially suprised with her previous sensitivity to cold temperatures. I guess that brushing therapy has really paid off. And you should see her squeal when her daddy throws her up in the air and catches her in the pool. What a change! She is truly an Urban now. :) And in the process, she learned a new sign, water (make a 'w' with your fingers and tap your lips). She is truly surprising us every day. What a smart girl she is!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Blackberry Curve, anyone?
I don't know what a Blackberry Curve is, and I don't know what I would do with it if I had one, but I bought 3 chances to win one nonetheless. I have good reason though. I hope you will visit SHELLY'S BLOG to find out what would possess her to give her Blackberry Curve away. I love her heart, and I love this idea. (By the way, Shelley is Xander's mom, remember Ava's best friend at the orphanage). PLEASE take a look, and consider participating in this neat project.
Date night catch-up....Jude's turn
We're doing catch-up since we haven't had date nights with the kids since returning from Ukraine. Bad Mommy! We're going youngest to oldest so today was Jude's day. (Ava won't count until she can actually appreciate date-night).
Dinner of choice...Cheesecake Factory. Let's just say he was more than a little disappointed to realize that there is nothing in there than even remotely resembles a "factory". I think he was expecting our cheesecake to come down on a conveyer belt through a waterfall of chocolate.
I think I could have enjoyed this slice of Godiva chocolate cheesecake a little more if it didn't cost $7.50!!!! Oh well, it's the memory that counts, right? (Oh, and so much for my diet by the way, huh?)
Our next stop, Ross. He wanted to buy a bathrobe, since he's never owned one and thought it would be a cool thing to have. His friend Michael wears one after all. Unfortunately nobody in Oklahoma sells bathrobes in July I don't think. So this t-shirt for $3.99 was a perfect replacement, since our next stop was.....
The movie theatre...We saw Wall-E. Pretty cute....
He finished his special day off by losing a tooth! Let's hope the tooth fairy doesn't forget to pay a visit (again!) Of course, now I can blame it on mom-nesia!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Mommy date night
We have a tradition of scheduling one-on-one time every so often with each of our kids. Tonight was Hope's night. It doesn't cost a whole lot to entertain a 3 year old, really. Oh, how I love mommy date nights.
Strawberry and green tea frappucinos from Starbucks (Thanks Christine for the suggestion)...Somebody please explain to me why a small is called a tall??!!! Tall? Grande? Venti? What does this mean? Let's call them what they are folks, small, medium and large! I'm not sure why I let it bother me so much.
I loved listening to Hope's deep 3 yr. old thoughts, including this one..."Mommy, it's OK if we jump in a house, but not on a house, wight? Or we might fall off and get hurt weely bad, wight?"
Holding the cutest puppy (in her opinion) at the local pet shop....She told me that if this was her dog she would name him "Cute Little Baby Boy Dog". They sell some very interesting things at pet shops, like crate bumper pads for $35....and doggy strollers......hmmm.
I had to post this one too. She wanted to take a picture of herself in the car. I sure do love that girl!
Last stop: The Dollar Store. I told her she could pick two things for herself, then something for her brothers and sisters to share. She picked a package of greeting cards, so she could invite everyone to her "bowtday pawty", and some fake flowers..."for when she gets married". I tried to talk her out of the flowers, saying that she might change her mind by the time she gets engaged. To which she replied, "Well you can use it for when you get married to Daddy. Are you and Daddy already married?"
Had to get a 25cent gumball on our way out, so she could make a "gum hole". For some reason that is more fun that the gum itself.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Ava "singing" with a sippy cup microphone
When I was on the phone with my mom yesterday she asked me which one of my kids was crying in the background. I said, "Oh, that's not crying, that's Ava singing." She asked me to take a video of her granddaughter "singing".
Then earlier today when I posted the update about Ava and her fluid intake, along with her new interest in singing, I got 3 more requests for a video. So here is a video for you....Doesn't it seem like she is jamming to a beat that only she can hear? I think I foresee a musical career in her future. :)
Ava is drinking finally!
I wanted to follow up about Ava and her drinking. Remember she weaned from her bottle before she knew how to drink out of a straw or sippy cup. Well we tried the honey bear, different sippy cups, medicine cups, medicine droppers. Finally I tried the cheap ($1-ish) sippy cups with the flexible top. I cut a slit in the top so she doesn't have to suck too hard. I thicken her drink up a bit otherwise it comes out too fast and she either chokes or it all dribbles down her chin. If it's milk, I add yogurt and if it's juice I add applesauce. She is drinking like a pro now, even holding her own sippy cup. What's cute is that she likes to hold the sippy cup and pretend like she's singing into a microphone. At least I THINK that's what she's doing. She's been watching her brothers and sisters playing Rock Band on the Wii.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Playing practical jokes on our guests
My kids played this practical joke on me. I screamed SO loud and then laughed so hard afterwards. So what do I do? I play it on our guests. I am so terrible.. This is so funny. Here is our sweet neighbor girl Anna, she is such a great sport. Also, Liesel started her own blog. It is really cute. You should take a look at it if you have a chance. Don't forget to leave her a comment. She loves getting comments. CLICK HERE to see her blog.
If you'd like to play this trick on your friends, it can be found HERE.
I love family!
I don't get the in-law jokes, maybe because I have such great in-laws. We loved having Janell, Jeremy and Heather visit us for a few days. I'm so thankful to have bigger cousins that are great role models for my kids to look up to. Thanks guys for coming. And with gas prices so high, I am especially honored that you made the long trip down here.
I like your shirt, Heather.
And Jeremy, I liked your late night singing. You didn't think anybody was listening, did ya? :)
And Janell and Heather, thanks for being such great sports by putting Target bags over your heads with me while shopping without umbrellas on a rainy evening. Not only did we keep our heads dry, but we made some great memories in the process.
It's so fun to be a girl
Liesel and I prayed for 2 years for a girl to move into the neighborhood. We have a plethora of boys around here. So imagine our excitement when this little girl knocked on our door last fall saying that she had just moved into the neighborhood and was wondering if our daughter could play. I'm sure you've seen her in so many of our family pictures. What an answer to prayer Anna has been for my Liesel!
Here we are shopping at....The Dollar Jewelry Store! Did you ever know there was such a thing? Too bad I'm not a jewelry person, I could have gone crazy! Aren't their Dollar headbands cute though?
Then they decided to trade just one shoe. Gosh, I love little girls!
A cheap weight loss program
John and I have been talking about losing weight forever, my goal was to lose the weight before our family pictures. Well, it never happened.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Family Photos
These photos were taken by Ashley Ann Photography.
It was hard to pick my favorites to share, but here are a few of them.
'Mom-nesia'?
This has happened twice recently. Someone comes up to me, greets me by name, asks me about my family and how we have been. And for the life of me I don't know who they are. They looked vaguely familiar, I knew I knew them from somewhere. Yesterday I misplaced the spoon that I was using to feed Ava. One second I had it, the next it was gone. I found it in the pantry later in the afternoon. What is wrong with me?
I think I've diagnosed myself..... CLICK HERE to read this USA Today article on 'mom-nesia'. Do you have it too?
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A Scrabble Natural
Liesel (8 yrs old) and I like to play Scrabble together. It's best to wait until "somebody" is in bed or preoccupied with something else, 'cause it's not so fun to play with a 3-year-old. This last time we decided to give Hope her own tiles to let her feel like she was playing too. I told her she could have the bottom row. I think she'll be playing with us for real in no time!
Slideshow
Can someone tell me how to put a slideshow on my blog? We have our family photos back and I wanted to share them!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Best Pals
We are dogsitting my sister's dog while they're out of town. Ava hardly notices Bliss, our golden retriever, but she loves Frankie! Maybe I shouldn't say she loves him, but she is definitely fascinated by him. I have always thought he was an ugly dog, but there is also something about him that is kind of charming I must say. (I hope you're not offended Marlita. By the way, does he have cataracts?)
Aw, look, she even gave him a kiss!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday Entertainment
My kids have watched this YouTube video over and over. I have to admit, it is pretty cute. I thought my fellow bloggers might enjoy some entertainment this Friday. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Biting-HELP
In the past 3 weeks or so Ava has made tremendous progress in the area of eating! She weaned herself from the bottle and can eat just about anything that I mash up in the baby food grinder, even tolerating fairly big chunks of things. I am shocked, considering all the sensory issues she's had, problems with gagging, etc. She's even started trying to drink from a cup, although it will be awhile before she can suck from a straw or drink from a sippy cup, but at least she is letting me put things in her mouth for a change. She LOVES to eat, and kicks her legs with excitement when I put her in her highchair and do the sign for "eat".
Along with this great progress, though, has come a habit of biting. She bites my shirt, but sometimes my skin gets in there too. When the other kids try to love on her, she "loves" them back by biting!!! I'm stressed! I don't want my daughter to be the one in time out all the time at school or in the church nursery because she can't be trusted with the other kids. I think she bit like 10 times today!! I'm stressed, because on the one hand I'm trying to encourage the mouth exploration, telling her to bite the cracker, etc. and I'm afraid I'm going to ruin a good thing by being too harsh on her. What I've been doing is squeezing her cheeks really firmly, I mean REALLY pressing her cheeks into her teeth, and saying "NO BITE". When this didn't work after about 9 times, then I did it again, but put her in her crib for her first ever time out. It pained me though, because she had the saddest little lip quiver, with tears filling her eyes as she laid there in her crib, and I'm not sure she understood why I had isolated her. And it's not helping that my other kids keep defending her!! I know that it is not a malicious thing, AT ALL, because she bites when she is loving on you, or if your arm just happens to be in front of her. It's like she is exploring this new world of hers, and can't help but just take a bite to see what you taste like. I realized today when she bit the physical therapist, we have to do something QUICK. Please, if you have a child that is or was a biter, please tell me what worked for you. I want to stop this bad habit quickly! Nobody wants to be friends with a biter, and I do hope Ava will have lots of friends!
Monday, July 07, 2008
Yay, Munga
Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com
I hope you're not getting tired of Ava videos. This was so cute I had to post it. She is just now starting to put food in her mouth, just to taste it, ever so briefly. This is a great step towards self feeding so I told the kids to really praise her when she does it. I wanted to video it tonight because I LOVE LOVE LOVE how she responds to everyone cheering for her. And I found it equally as cute to hear Hope in the background saying, "Yay, Munga". I have no idea what Munga means but she makes up the funniest words off the cuff, and I always seem to catch them on video. Remember "Pepekino Bunny" in this video?
What we've been doing this summer
Ava is kind of like me. She would rather sit on the side of the pool and watch everyone else enjoying the water than actually be in the water ! I'd venture to guess that the orphans at Orphanage #13 in Ukraine didn't get out to the swimming pool much, judging by the look of panic she gets on her face every time I get her near water. I will say, that I have been taking her in a little more and a little longer each time, and the panicky expression on her face seems to get less and less apparent every time we go. Today she even splashed around a little and I think I even saw a little bit of a smile on her face. I'm curious to know, from those who have adopted from orphanages....Does it seem that your kids have a fear of the water? Ava is just as terrified in nice warm bathwater as she is in the swimming pool. Is it possible she never had a bath before coming to us?! I don't remember seeing anything that resembled a bathtub in the orphanage, and how would they bathe 100 orphans on a regular basis anyway? Just something I've been thinking about lately.
