Tuesday, August 10, 2010

All is well

We are alive and well. The kids are keeping us very very busy with their curiosity and newly discovered exploration skills. I need some baby gates!!! Other than trying to establish boundaries and trying to keep up with 2 extra little people, things are going very well, in fact much better than anticipated. Joseph is doing pretty well on the potty now that he is in a routine. We all clapped and cheered when he went #2 and he looked at us all like What in the World???

The language barrier isn't as big of a deal as I thought it might be. The kids are so expressive that they really make their needs known quite well.

There have only been few tears shed, the kids don't seem to be missing a thing about their former life. Praise the Lord. They are eating well, sleeping well and their digestive systems seem to work properly. How did we get it so good? Wow, thank you Lord!

The airlines lost the luggage so we spent a couple of days trying to track those down, plus the stroller. Arghh! The other major issue is that one of the kids is on medications for a pretty rare immune disorder. The orphanage promised to send us home with a 10 day supply, which turned out to be a 4 day supply. Our pediatrician had never heard of the medications and we've spent quite a bit of time just trying to figure out the American equivalent for the drugs and then finding a pharmacy who carried them. The pharmacy ended up having to special order them but then we realized that the kids aren't technically on our insurance yet so we had to pay out of pocket. Thankfully only one dose was missed. We have an appointment to see a specialist in Little Rock on Friday, which will be about a 4-5 hour drive but there are no specialists any closer.

Joseph is busy and curious but very sweet and responds pretty well to correction. He is having a blast with his two big brothers who love jumping on the trampoline with him. Playing in the water hose has become a daily routine. They even rigged up a slide to the trampoline to make a little water slide. He doesn't talk much but he can say Papa, which is so totally sweet. It's not that he doesn't like the rest of us, it's just that he loves his Papa so very much....Hope was sad yesterday. She said "Joseph doesn't like me." :( Yes he does Hope but it will take time for him to show it.

Zoya is loving having a closet full of clothes and momma's shoes to wear. Unfortunately her closet full of clothes is way too big. I was way off on her size. I stocked it with 2t/3t's thinking surely that would be right. It turns out she wears a 6-12 months on top and a 0-3 months waist. Anything bigger, even a 6 months shorts, fall right off her waist. They don't make panties for infants so you can only imagine. Of course her height is more like a 2-3 year old so it has made dressing her quite the challenge. If it fits her waist it's way to short on her. Thankfully a couple of Facebook friends came to the rescue and have offered to give us some infant clothes. My poor sweet baby. She weighs 22 pounds and is 38 inches tall. She is my first picky eater. When she finds something she likes she eats well but if not, forget it. With her being so tiny I almost feel as if I need to cater to her wishes although I don't want to reinforce bad habits.

This is funny: Hope is fascinated with Zoya's cleft palate. She is teaching Zoya to go around opening her mouth for people to show them the cleft in the roof of her mouth. Oh my!

I am loving the bedtime routine, giving each kid the affection they never had. Joseph doesn't seem to know what to do with the attention, and Zoya is eating it up. I caught her sitting up in bed boxing her ears and rocking back and forth one night, so I picked her up and rocked her and she snuggled in to me so tight, and smiled up at me so sweetly. She curls up in a fetal position and it feels just like having a tiny baby in my arms, wrapped up in a blanket. I can see she is very happy to have a momma. Part of me keeps waiting for them to get homesick any day as any child would being away from home for more a few days. But so far not one sign of homesickness.

They both seem eager to help around the house, especially Zoya. Joseph pushes the broom around the house and loves his new job of wiping the tables and chairs. Zoya is my first initiator! She walks around the house picking up items and bringing them to me. She was very concerned to see the trash can without a liner and then helped me replace it.  How cute. My other kids would just throw their trash into the empty can. She did the same thing with the empty toilet paper holder. I love that they are helpful children and but it makes me a little sad really. I don't know what makes me more sad. Wondering if they might be trying to earn their keep around here, or wondering why after all the years of training and training my other kids still whine and complain when asked to do something.

I love watching their expressions as they discover new things. They make it so clear by the confused, curious, mesmerized, perplexed or terrified looks on their faces. Here are a couple of obvious firsts for them:

-dogs
-stairs
-grocery carts
-watching somebody cook
-watching somebody put makeup on
-hairdryers
-ice
-ice cream
-peanut butter (Joseph hated the texture! Zoya loved it!)
-loud music
-car seats
-trampoline

All in all things are great. I'm taking lots of photos and hope to put together a little slideshow soon.

Thanks for still following along.

18 comments:

Carrie said...

Love your blog. Your family is so beautiful and inspiring. Thanks for allowing us to feel just like we have stopped by for a visit. I found your site when searching for information on DS, I have an almost 5 year old nephew with DS.

Anonymous said...

So glad all is going well. Sounds wonderful!!!

Cannot believe you have to go so far for specialists. Hope you get everything you need. We have so many international adoption specialist around here. Atlanta, B'ham, Nashville all have them. I guess I just assumed it wouldn't be a problem for you.

The night time routine sounds great!!!!!

Can't wait to see the pictures.

Jan

little dalene said...

It's good that Zoya likes peanut butter. It's pretty high calorie, and if you get the natural stuff it's still healthy. Can't wait to meet them!

JennyH said...

Sounds like they are doing super well. I'm sure Zoya will be putting on weight fast now and will be fitting into her clothes in no time.

Little Rock is a far drive for you. I hope you don't have to go too often or can find someone closer that works.

I love hearing about the kids. Sounds like your (older) kids are adjusting well too.

MoonDog said...

Cha I thought of you so many times this week. I saw your favorite vampire underground wedding photo about a hundred times and I bout crack up every time.

Anonymous said...

oh precious Zoya! I just gave all my infant girl clothes away or I would send more :( The story of her at night... oh my, sweet girl. How wonderful to finally have a mother to rock you to sleep!! You might consider (clearly, when all is settled and you are ready) a speech/feeding eval for Miss Zoya to address her cleft issues and get some feeding strategies. Her development (physical included) will take off soon, but she will need ongoing assistance with speech and likely feeding. (I'm sure you know this already, sorry if its redundant info!) She is too precious... I have a soft spot in my heart for her and Joseph. So happy to see them just drinking in all the new sights, sounds, and love :)

Chad and Dana said...

Love you! Gosh, I'm so glad to hear Z likes PB! Since she is picky, this is a great source of protein. I too was picky as a child. My mom use to make me peanut butter and syrup in a bowl....YUM. I lived off of PB and green beans. Are you homeschooling this year?
Thank you for the updates, what a work God is doing in you! He is sooo good!

Sarai said...

We had a similary eating problem (with my dd) to Zoyas last year. I figured out that it worked fairly well to make my daughter try one bite of everything that was served each meal. Then I would give her something she enjoyed.

After she figured out that if she ate one bite of everything she got food she liked we increased it to two bites, then three, and so on and so forth. Now we have a little girl who is fairly picky but will eat most of what is on her plate.

Another suggestion is to serve her at meals like every one else and then make sure she is getting protein for snacks. We had 3 snack times a day and normally I put peanut butter on apples, crackers or on a spoon.

Good luck on fattening her up. :) :)

Sarai

Anonymous said...

Charissa,
I'd be glad to make Zoya a couple of pants/shorts if you could give me her actual waist size and her pant length. Something simple and pretty, like her. I see she likes pink! Just let me know if this would help.
Thank you for taking the time to blog. I love reading them and keep up with you all.
Love you, Aunt Sharon

kdliberty said...

Glad to hear everything is going good. I bet she is a 3 slim(the make them but are very hard to find) or 4 slim. Some 4 slims with a really nice elastic waist might be an excellent choice. She should be able to wear Hanna Andersson underwear(currently on sale) very soon. While the are not cheap to buy they last forever and look at lot like she is use too. Plus, the waist on the XS is only 17 inches when relaxed...

Unknown said...

What a joy to see you Sunday and sit by you and Zoya in church and see her express her love and security when in your arms. I will wait patiently for my turn when Oma becomes familiar as well and can get in on all the lovin' with Joseph and Zoya. I think it is a miracle the progress you have already achieved and we were blest to see them get off that plane and into our arms!! Love and Kisses, Oma

Anonymous said...

Cant wait to see pictures and so happy the kids are adjusting with no problems. You family is absoulty blessed:-)
Cheryl

cara said...

I should have thought to mention -the underware thing. I had the same problem. You can find tiny panties and undies in Ukraine. I think you still have friends there maybe they could find some. Cara

Anonymous said...

My little one has a syndrome that causes growth issues and the nutritionist has us give her a bottle of Carnation Instant Breakfast each day. I guess it has lots of vitamins and tastes better than PediaSure. It's also cheaper. They have several flavors, but she only likes the Strawberry.:) She also really likes Nutella.

Rhonda

Charissa said...

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the Carnation for sure.

Alice said...

My picky eater needed Carnation Instant Breakfast. It worked well for him. It is very high in sugar, though. I used 1/2 packet for a serving or he wouldn't drink it. Another of his favorites was LaCreme yogurt. It is full fat, and soooo delicious! If you get it for Zoya, don't try it yourself. It is too good!

thedickinsonfamily said...

I feel like I've gotten to know them just by reading your precious descriptions of them both. I can't wait until we can meet them in person. It sounds like all is well. They truly just needed the love of a family. So glad the Lord blessed you with them & them with you too. So very happy for you!
Blessings,
Meghan

June Berger said...

I'm so happy you all are together again. The children look so tiny next to their siblings. Little Zoya is such a peanut! Wow, is her size ever small! Who would have thought you'd need baby clothes for her?! Joseph looks like he had so much fun in the water. I love your shoes on Zoya. Praising God you are all together.