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| Tuesday, October 24, 2006 |
| 3 months and a little |
I had been posting an update on L and El every month from when they got home. On Saturday, I realized that I had missed the 3 month update. Actually, the "Yummy Fun" post below marked 3 months of them being home with us all together as a family. Anyway, here is an update.
1. Medical- They are being sent for more blood work and also urine and stool samples. We are catching up on immunizations. Still no word from L's doc about his surgery status. He's had a few "choking" episodes this week again. Hopefully, we'll hear news soon.
2. Dental- Our prayers are being answered. In the last update, we were handed a proposed treatment plan that exceeded $10,000. That was just the beginning. I prayed hard and felt peace that God was going to take care of it. He did. The next day, a man at our gym asked to talk to us. He is a pedidontist. He offered to do the work for about a third of the cost and it may even be less because he hinted at just "throwing in" some of it. Last Friday, D took them for their first visit. El had the one tooth that was bothering him pulled and the abcess drained. L had two teeth pulled. I won't say that the boys were thrilled, but they feel much better. Our next visit is Monday for some crowns.
3. Language- L is speaking almost entirely in English! He is very social and very talkative. He will piece a sentence together however he can in English. Here's a few examples over the last week: "I un a give me a hug." Translation: "I want to give him a hug." (Papa was going to work.) "I know where it is." (This one was very clear.) El speaks some, but maybe just one or two words at a time, not full sentences. It is great to know they are learning English so well, yet rather sad because the Russian is fading so quickly. I thought they would continue to speak to each other in Russian, but they are not. They are using English.
4. Tantrums- They had slowed down a bit, but we are seeming to have round 2 around here the last few days. We were down to having a few tantrum free days per week. Now we are back to having a few tantrums every day. Overall, they are doing much better. We are just being as consistent as possible, hoping it will all even out in the end.
5. Toliet Reversion- We're DRY!!!!!
6. Love- They are constantly loving on us. At first, when they woke up in the morning, they would wait on someone to tell them they could get up. Now, I feel little fingers on me every morning waking me up. They just want to crawl in bed and snuggle with us. It usually ends up in a tickle fight, their favorite. In fact, they have become so loving that we are now going to have to have a conversation about who we can love on. When D picked the boys up at their class on Sunday, he said several little girls came rushing at him, telling him that the boys were kissing them. I really don't think they mean any harm. They are just liking this world of love so much, that they just want to share a little. :-)
7. School- UGH!!!! This is the area that is absolutely driving me insane. We have been in school for 2 and a half months now. The boys have been doing colors, shapes, and writing their names almost every day. L does fairly well. He can get almost all of his colors most of the time and can at least put down the four letters of his name, never in the right order though. El is a completely different story. He can luckily guess about 1/3 of the colors and has no clue on his name. We have been doing this for 2-1/2 months. I spoke to our pediatrician about this and we talked a little about FAS. The boys have some of the markers but haven't been tested or anything. We know mom was an alcoholic and drug addict. This may be part of our problem or they may just be very developmentally behind. In many cases, they are more like 3 year olds than 5 year olds.
Overall, everything has gone so much better than what we had prepared ourselves for. All of the kids are closely knitted together and it is like the boys have always been here. We had our first post placement a week ago and it went really well. The social worker was very impressed by how they fit in and the way everyone was one unit. We are so grateful to God for all 6 of our blessings and for the way He takes care of us all.
***Sidenote: Blog pal, I received your incredibly cute Halloween card the other day. Thanks so much for the kind and encouraging words. You are awesome!*** |
posted by 6blessings @ 7:02 AM  |
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| 7 Comments: |
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Great update Kim. The boys sound like they are doing well. It's also good to know how much they get along with their brother & sisters.
You're doing a great job.
Their dental work is a miracle.
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Congratulations Kim. God is working miracles in your family. It is encouraging to hear.
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Wonderful, wonderful new on the teeth!
It took M forever to get out of bed without being told. Of course, you know, we are STILL dealing with the tantrum thing.
I will pray for the boys and their schooling. I worry so much about M. There is so much we don't know...how much birth mom took, when she took it, etc. It's hard. More lessons in trust I guess?
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Praise the Lord for the upcoming dental work from the friend. He provides! That is awesome. Answered prayers. And I love the stories of the boys. You all are doing a marvelous job. What a true blessing to all!
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Wonderful news about the dental work! It's amazing how solutions present themselves sometimes, isn't it?
It's interesting how kids acquire language differently. My friends who have brought home their host children all have different experiences. One 10-year old speaks with amazing sentence structure already, but his brother is really putting the brakes on learning English.
My favorite phrases from the one who's learning English rapidly are: "Yes, Aunt Margaret, it ees a big trampoline." (When I tried to use every Russian word I knew to ask him about his new trampoline.) And "Mama, tonights I sleeps on floor, OK? Sleeps on floor ees funny thing to do." (After he received a sleeping bag for a birthday present.)
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Hi Kim,
An idea for you...
Two of my foster kids were 5 y/o twins when they came to me. VERY developmentally delayed. They did know their colors and their first and last names but that was IT! When we were working on the alphabet, the magic for them was Leap Frog's Letter Factory video. I also had the Leap Frog refrigerator magnet letters and one of the girls would play with those for an hour or more at a time.
Good luck! Lisa
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They have come a long way! It is a true miracle.
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Great update Kim. The boys sound like they are doing well. It's also good to know how much they get along with their brother & sisters.
You're doing a great job.
Their dental work is a miracle.