Counting Kisses

How many times in life do we take kisses from loves ones for granted?  A few nights ago, Elliana came up to me and said three kisses Mom. So I gave her three kisses. She said "No, Mom this morning you gave me three kisses."  I normally only give one when they leave but that morning I gave her three.  She said "Mom more kisses."  So I did not just give her three kisses, I kisses her from her head to her toes. She loved it. She then went on to tell me that Latvian Foster Mom only gave hugs no kisses. She then says that she likes kisses from me. Ever since then she keeps coming up to me and says "kisses Mom".  She has the biggest smile on her face.  My heart melts every time.

Our kids have a special bond that I can't really put in words. Last weekend they were all out side and Hunter was wrapped in a blanket.  Elliana said I am cold. Hunter moves over and covers them both in the blanket.  We went out for ice cream and Spencer finished his first. He was asking for more. Elliana goes over and scoop him some of hers. I pass out vitamins in the morning for the kids if I don't have one of them in the room the other two point out to me that the one kid did not get there's. They will not stop until the other kid received there vitamins.  Hunter is continually getting hurt at day care. Every time he does Spencer and Elliana tell me Hunter is hurt and gives him lots of hugs. We love that these kids have a bond and we want to keep that going strong.  I just want them to realize that we are here too and that everyone's needs will be taken care of. Of course a few wants will be taken care of too.

The kids had a graduation from the preschool.  We went because the kids were talking about it.  During the graduation each kid had to stand on a platform and were asked "what do you wanted to be when you grew older."  I freaked, they know English but no way do they know that.  So the program goes one kid wantd to be teachers, another a police officer, then a firefighters, and other similar careers.  Well they called Elliana's name. I was in the ready position to run on stage to spare her from people all starting at her.  However, she answered right away and said "Mom." She wanted to be a Mom. I don't know if she knew or if any of the kids knew what they were being asked.  Hunter was next, I was not as worried for him. He wants to be a Dinosaur. Yes, no mistake there loud and clean and confident "DINOSAUR" The place when up laughing.  Then Spencer took the stage. He said "Dad".  It was so cute. We now have a Mom, Dad, and yes a Dinosaur in our family.  So how do we rank as parents????  There was finally 10 kids later one little girl who wanted to be a princess then a boy who wanted to be a transformer...so I guess our kids are not entirely crazy.  At lease we don't have to worry about them being conformists.

We decided it was time to decorate the kids room. They currently only have one solid color on the walls. The boys room is getting dinosaurs. We have a small mural on one wall and we are making dinosaur hooks up from toys to hang on the wall.  The rest will have to wait until we get more financially stable. Elliana wants flowers. We asked my step sister to help paint since she is really good at it. She said yes!!  We are going to paint flowers all over her room.  We picked out the colors already!!

Starting to Trust

So this week has been full of fun, cute, and reality checks.  The kids are adjusting so well that even I forget sometimes where they came from.  I don't want anyone including myself to be sorry for my kids or sad because of their past. I want everyone to be excited about their future.  Elliana just this past Friday started telling that she knows she is different.  When she bring it up I tell her that yes you have a sleepy leg but it is ok we will make it better.  Well tonight when I put her to sleep she again said "This leg ok, this leg is not ok"  I told her that we are working on making it better. I was thinking why is she telling me this and waiting for a reaction.  It was all in how she was saying this. She then asked me in some broken English if Mommy is ok with her not having a good leg. At first I did not know what to say. I told her Mommy loves her with a good leg and without a good leg. No matter what I will love you. I then went through all of the emotions she knows to try to get my point across that I'm not going to abandon her. I said I love you when you are mad, sad, happy, and sleepy.  She got a big smile and she kept hugging me. Daddy read a book to all of us and she had to keep her hand on mine. She also randomly hugged me throughout the book reading.  I thought Elliana would have been to young to remember her birth mom's visit with her.  Her birth mother basically was not ok with her leg and told that to Elliana.  I am telling her I will always love her but now I need to find a way for her to understand or a way to prove to her that I will always love her.

Some people have songs stuck in there head and other may have a rhyme stuck in there head.  Not me. I have playing in my head Hunter saying the color "Blue."  The word "Blue" is one of my favorite things he says. I am not even sure why. It is just a four letter word but when he says it my heart melts.  I always point to something blue and say what is the color.  He says " Um.. Aww.. Blue." So cute.

This weekend was awesome!!  Jeff and I kept singing the song"Everything is awesome" from the Lego movie.  The kids also jump in and sang it too. We went to a couple community events, Touch A Truck and Jr. Firefighter Challenge.  All three did amazing.  Touch a Truck was a blast.  They had diggers, police cars, mail trucks, SWAT tanks, and so much more.  The kids got to climb in them.  The one trash truck the owner was not around and of course my kid figured out how to turn on the CB radio and started changing the channels.  Jeff and I looked at each other and Jeff jumped in to stop them from talking into it. Luckily they only got it tuned to the CB weather station which they got blasting on the loudest setting.  I was laughing once it was all under control.

I was nervous about the Jr. firefighter challenge. It was for kids 10 and younger. However you had to listen and follow directions. The firefighter does not demonstrate but just verbally tells them what to do.  My kids know a lot of English but lets face it they heard their first English words less than 3 months ago.  They did so well. They did everything they were instructed to do. What impressed us even more was that they were not in a group but one on one and they couldn't see other kids to visually copy. So they understood what they were being told!! They had to climb a latter and ring a bell, crawl through two tunnels, get a baby out of house, use a hammer to hit an X on a door, stretch out a fire hose, and spray it on the mock house and then check the chimney. When they were done we got to play in the water. The Fire department had their ladder truck out with a hose and they sprayed it down over a 30 foot area.  They absolutely loved it. We did not bring a swimsuits so we did what any parent would do. Strip to your short well, Elliana kept her shirt on. I think two of our kids maybe in the newspaper coming out this week.  The stow century got their information and asked if they can put their picture in the paper. That would be super cool.

This was a great week. I can't wait to see what the next one brings.

Another Fast Week

What a fast full week.  We had our social visit and that went well. Our social worker said that normally when she goes to a house that adopted more then 2 kids the parents are freaking out.  She was shocked at how well we were doing and the kids. I just replied we have a 7 year old, 6 year old, and 4 year old, adopted or not, they are going to push you to your limits. You just have to deal with it. I did not bring up the special needs question.  Not sure if I should have or not.

We had our first physical therapy with Elliana. I called several different local places and decided on this one. WOW was I wrong. I paid a copay of $60.00 and I walked out knowing nothing more then going in. Over the phone they said they worked with CP kids well they may work with them but they do not have any experience with them. We would have been the second one with CP and this place really doesn't work very much with kids. I asked what I can do to build up her muscles and he showed me stretches and said you need to adjust them for kids. I asked how and he replied well you lay her down. Ok show me please.  The one good thing that came out was he confirmed she can do all the motions separately for walking straight we just have to build up the muscle and get her mind set on doing it. Not sure what else to do we are trying a new doctor tomorrow.  A friend from my church is also helping me get with a physical therapist. One way or another we will get her the help that she needs.  Every night we do exercises to help build her muscles. Tonight was the first night I saw improvements. She is starting to get more muscle on her left leg. She can almost stand on one leg now. Elliana did say yesterday her legs hurt so I believe she really has soar muscles. :-)

This week we also had another bad fall. The unlucky person was Hunter. He was messing around with Spencer and fell on our fireplace hearth.  It was a huge goose egg. We found him crying and I picked him up and held him. It was like a cartoon the bump kept growing. We put ice on it and he hated that. Right before the third round of ice he said "No more Ouchie."  Meaning his head didn't hurt anymore because he didn't want another round of icing.  Sorry kiddo, we did give him some pain medication. The next morning which was today he woke up and pointed to his head and said ouch.  It did looked better. I kept calling the day care place checking in on him. I wanted to make sure he was doing well. They told me that he never even touched it or mentioned it to them.  He lost some hair due to the fall.

Spencer is doing well. He is our slowest to adjust out of the three. Hunter definitely is adjusting the fastest. Elliana does some days and other days not so much. She got a large stuff animal this weekend and she was telling me that the stuff animal was sad. I could not understand why.  Spencer had a hard day today with us. There were lots of no's and whining. This morning he wanted to wear his Latvian wool underpants under his jeans. I had to take them away because it would be to hot well 70's and for Ohio that's hot. He loves T-shirts and I told him he could wear one but he picked up a heavy sweatshirt. Maybe with Hunter getting hurt he misses Latvia? He did not improve this afternoon either. I tried to cuddle with him on the couch and he was happy, then pushed me away, then climbed up me to cuddle again. It was so hot and cold. I am not sure why.  Yesterday he was awesome, he even helped up mulch the flower beds, although we had to pay close attention to him as he liked to bury mommy's flowers.  We've always been told it would be a roller coaster with ups and downs. 

Lost our first Tooth!

Today Elliana lost her first tooth! She has been saying it is loose for a while  Today after church she came home and ripped it out.  Jeff and I were both shocked at the fact she was ripping it out. She did not even freak out with the blood.  I will spare everyone the bloody pictures, in truth I don't really like the blood.  Weeks ago I took Elliana to JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby to get supplies to make her tooth fairy pillow.  I took our ring bearer pillow from our wedding and made it into Elliana's pillow.  We put her name on it and she picked out a patch and fabric for the pocket.  It was really cute. Once she had the tooth out she put it right into the pillow. Well Jeff washed it first.  She keeps showing me another one in her mouth that is loose. I told her that one tooth needs some time.  I just hope no one tells her about attaching a string to her tooth and slamming the door.  I know she will try it.

We are working more and more with the boys on toys.  Tonight they were very interested in the hot wheels car holder which is a car loading semi.  They kept putting them in and out of the holder. It is a start.  However, they still find our dog Mia the most entertaining thing in our house.  Not sure really if Mia is enjoying the attention or not.  She never leaves so I think she does not mind. The boys keep dressing her up.  She is finally starting to understand that no matter what you do they will not stop. She finally threw up the white flag one day and let the boy dress her without moving.  

Tomorrow is a big day for us. It is the first American social worker visit.  I have no idea what to expect. There is only one possible issue that may come up.  One of our kid is labeled special needs.  It is an extremely mild case but the label is there.  Our original paperwork we submitted says  2 - 3 kids with mild or minor correctable needs.  Our one child will never be corrected. Yes we can do lots of things to make them have a better life and not have so many issues but it will never be 100% cured.  I did not keep a copy of another form we filled out, which now I wish I had. This form listed several potential issues. I mean over 300 different potential issues. That form freaked me out.  We had to say yes or no to each issue. There was no maybe at all.  I really think we said no to the special needs label we have.  Only the US government has that form. We filled it out and sent it directly to them.  We asked our agency if we needed to file a addendum to our paperwork and they said no however I think they might be wrong.  We will see what comes out of it. Worse case we have to file the addendum and pay some money. It will prolong our adoption process but I have no idea how long. Hopefully not too long or their vista will expire.  So we will find out tomorrow what exactly will happen.

Bruises

So during bath time I was noticing how many bruises all the kids have.  They are covered.  Then I took a shower that night and realized I had 5 bruises too. I have no idea where they came from. Maybe the toys I trip over or crawling on the floor with the kids. I do not plan on wearing any skirts for a while. HA.

So there are several different kinds of adjustments going on here.  Here is a list of some of the small ones that make me smile or laugh.

-       .   1. When I go to the grocery store I no longer read the expiration date for milk. Expiring in 3 days… no problem, I will take two.

-           2. Check Jeff for sparkles on his shirts before he leaves for work.

-          3. Folding laundry and finding Spiderman or cars underwear. Boy’s underwear is too cute.

-          4. Checking the toilet seat before you sit down, no matter what bathroom you go to. (ok I may not laugh or smile when it happens to me but it is hilarious when it happens to JeffJ)

        5. You are never alone. Going to the bathroom..."Mom can I have cheerios?"  Taking a shower... "Mom I want my stuff dinosaur." Cooking dinner... "Mom can you carry me upstairs."

We have learned a lot more about the kid’s likes and interest over the past few weeks. Hunter loves dinosaurs. He would like to wear only dinosaur’s shirts. He will enter the room sometimes roaring like a dinosaur. It is so funny.  Kohls had their stuff dinosaurs on sale for $3.50/ea so I grab one for Hunter. It is the same one Spencer has but neither seemed to mind.  Spencer loves being outside. I swear he would live outside if possible. It does not matter what you are doing as long as he can be outside. Every time we go inside he asks when he can go back out again. He also really likes dinosaurs and cars, however he is not as picky as Hunter when it comes to what is on the shirt, thankfully. Elliana still is holding some things back. She is a fashion queen.  We got the kids all sunglasses and she only wears her on top of her head. She also has to place her hair with a little swoosh in the front. She would only wear dresses every day if we let her.  We save the dresses for church so that has become her favorite thing currently.  She also has me paint her toe nails and finger nails every few days. Personally I hardly remember to paint mine until I have one toe with the color left. She does like Barbies and bubbles. There really is not one thing yet that she always wants to play with. I need to spend some more time with her.

I know people talk about how Mom's are tuned into their kids and Dads are hardly aware of the small people in the house. Well... this past weekend Elliana comes in the room at 2am and crawls into bed.  She moves a lot when she sleeps. I have no idea how she slept in a tiny pull out bed before and did not fall off. I couldn't fall asleep with the flailing, so I crawl over Jeff and went into her bedroom to sleep. Mia our dog wakes up around 3am for some reason and needs to go outside. She is wining in the bedroom where Jeff and Elliana are sleeping. I go and take her out cause neither of them heard her.  Then the alarm goes off at 5am. I wait thinking Jeff will turn it off. I wait and wait. Finally I hear Jeff move.  Then I hear "What are you doing in our bed?  KRISTEN!"  I just started laughing so hard.  Next night when anyone furry or not furry moved I woke Jeff up and said your turn. HA. 

We had our Both Hands Event this past Saturday.  The event was spectacular.  We were very bless at the amount of folks who showed up to help (66 people, we were expecting 35).  Those 66 people don't include all the behind the scenes who were watching kids, or preparing the food. In a nut shell we cleared enough brush for 2 ½ chipped up dump trucks, we painted 2/3 of the inside of the house and had a wonderful time.  The generosity of folks helping us was beyond expectations.  We had enough donated to us to almost pay for our last two trips.  Any ways towards the end of the event we brought the kids to say “hi” to everyone.  Spencer saw Jeff carrying his chain saw and he completely lit up and started making chain saw sounds.  I have no idea where he learned about chain saws.  He then asked daddy if it was his and his smile grew when Jeff said “Yes.”  That is one tool that will be well hid from now on.  Well a family from our church gave Spencer and Hunter a toy chainsaws and weed-wacker about 20 minutes later.  He absolutely flipped out.  They both love the toys and now Spencer gets mad…I mean really mad when he can’t go outside to play with them.

I have really wanted to decorate the kid’s rooms to make them look like a kid’s room. Currently there is nothing on the walls really and nothing that says, three kids sleep here.  I feel like I need to hold off more for Elliana since I can’t figure her out as easily.  The boys will be a dinosaur theme, which was a no brainer. I am not going to paint the rooms yet but maybe hang a poster or find some wall decals. 

What a week

I know it has not been too long since my last post but so many things have happened. There was some good and some ugly. The ugly part was we had our first ER visit.  We were getting the house ready for Spencer's birthday with the family and we heard lots of banging and then an all out screaming cry. Elliana fell down our stairs. We knew it was bad when we saw a 4" diameter hole in our drywall.  She kept saying that her foot hurt. However there was no way a foot could make that hole. So we kept asking about her head and elbows, she only replied with her foot.  So as people arriving we were leaving to the ER. She had a fracture in her left foot. So it will be several weeks until it heals. We are not walking with her as much and we are making sure we protect it as much as possible.  Every time we had to ice the foot she would say "No ouchy".  

This week also had a lot of good too.  We had a lot of funny moments.  I normally put the kids to bed by singing about 7 lullabies. I take request from the kids too. One night I had to go to work early the next day so Jeff was on duty while I showered. I finished with my shower, and came out to check on everyone. My husband was sulking and the boys were giggling and talking.  I guess when Jeff tried to sing them to sleep the boys thought his singing was hilarious.

Today we took the kids to Target to get more shoes. On the way to the shoe section we past the sleepwear section. The kids are doing so much better at communicated with us. They are say they like something or when they don't.  Well there was a sexy black teddy with some white flowers on it. Elliana goes up to it and points, looks at Daddy and says "I like it".  I wish I had a camera to capture Jeff's look at that moment. In the end Elliana did not get that but ended up with a pair of church shoes.

Doctors and Doctors and more doctors.  In one week we have gone three times to different doctor visits. Elliana to the ER.  Elliana to the doctor for bumps. Lastly all three kids had eye exams.  We are still not finished yet!  Coming up is Elliana exam for her foot. Hunter needs to get his heart checked out in two weeks. I have learned that you call the insurance company before booking appointments. I like our kids' doctor but he keeps referring us to out of network people, so I have to watch that.

For dinner tonight we had some fortune cookies in our house. Elliana's read "Fear is knocking at the door. Faith answers. No one is there."  I really liked that one. This entire process has been a leap of faith. We did not know how this would have all turned out.  We are still learning too. I am learning that you never get too comfortable when you sit down because you will be getting up within a minute or two. Dinner time... I sit down Elliana needs a spoon for applesauce. I come back sit down. Hunter dropped his fork and needs a new one. I come back sit down. Spencer finished his milk and wants more. I come back sit down. Someone needs a "Mommy do" for cutting up food. I sit back down, some one is done and wants 2 pieces of candy.  I sit back down.  If the kids decide that they don't like a particular food that day I find that if I come over and spoon feed them a couple bites they eventually realized that they do like it.  I know they can do it but no one has ever served them before, so I'm doing it now for the sake of saving time.  My kids will be independent but they also need to know someone is there too.

I put some fun Easter pictures below.  These kids are awesome!

Big Toilets

I was just getting used to saying I have a 6 year old, 5 year old, and a 4 year old. Ok well honestly I am just getting used to saying I have kids.  :)  Before today I was saying I have a 7 year old, 5 year old, and 4 year old. Today I am saying I have a 7 year old, 6 year old, and 4 year old.  People were not joking when they say kids grow up fast.  Spencer turned 6 years old today.  It was his first celebrated birthday.  We are having some immediate family over tomorrow but today we did a small ice-cream cake.  Well Spencer and Elliana were not too sure about it since it was so cold. They like the taste just not the temperature.  It was half melted before they both gave up on it. More ice-cream for me.

We were trying to get the point across that they were getting older. We counted up to their age. Well Elliana wanted to know how old Mommy was. So I started at one and counted to my age. When I was around 16 all three stood wide eyed and gasping. I guess I am officially old. Jeff was laughing until I counted how hold Daddy was.  :)

The kids are getting better and understanding what we are saying. That is wonderful. I can't wait until I can actually communicate with them. We drop them off at preschool and we pick them up. I have no idea what they do all day. I want to ask them so badly. For example two days ago I picked them up and Hunter had his change of clothes on. I was carrying a bag with soaking wet clothes. I have no idea how that happened. I had to wait until the next day to call and ask. I guess they were playing with water and Hunter thought he was in a bath tub and kept dumping water on himself. He has never played with water before we got him. We taught him how to play with water in a bath tub so he played like that. Hunter has a nickname of Minion. He gets into trouble but he never means to do anything wrong.

The kids know how to say "I like it".  Elliana was telling me that she likes America because we have big parks, big cars, and big toilets. I started to laugh it was so funny. I thought they were around the same size in our apartment but maybe not where she was before. She also added that she liked Mia and Asics, our two dogs.

We were having a hard time getting the kids to drink milk. In Latvia they sold milk but in small containers so I don't believe most Latvians really drink milk. I do not think our kids really had milk either. One night I had them touch my arm muscle and then I drink a glass of milk flexed and had them touch it again.  They got that point really quickly. So milk equals big muscles. Every time they drink a glass of milk they make us touch their muscles. It cracks me up.  Elliana is one we have to watch because she will not drink very much fluids. I was trying to find ways to get her to drink a glass of water. She was not having it so I took a really large glass out and chugged the entire thing in front of her. I was just trying to say Mommy drinks too and in large quantities.  The point that she got was not what I intended. Now she chugs her drinks, smacks her lips, and say aahh.  At least she is drinking again.  :)