Ok, yes it has been a long time. To finish off the last post, yes, Steve did badly sprain his ankle, and only was able to restart running the past couple months. We did end up getting away together for our birthdays to that wonderful B&B. And the babysitter is no longer having the stabbing eye pain nor is as drugged. But the eye pain could come back at any time, so prayers are appreciated. It is excruciating pain when it happens.
In June we took a wonderful vacation to the Great Smokey Mountains, and stayed in a cabin with 20 people! It was the first time in a LONG time that my mom's family got together, and we all had a great time. That's pretty amazing when you have almost 30 people gathered together. Gabe had his fits because of the change from normal in his life, but didn't do too bad. He got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Prough while the rest of us went to Dollywood (surprisingly great park), and while Steve, Addison and I went with a group of us on a white water rafting tour. Ok, it was more like floating down a bumpy river, but Steve and I got to stay and do a second round with a few brave others and do the higher level rapids. What a blast. And Steve managed to do it despite his sprained ankle.
The rest of the summer I spent babying our blue blow up pool (the kind with a ring around it). It was it's third summer, and I got such a great deal on it, but the top ring had a hole in it that we couldn't find. It made it all the way to the end of August before it turned green and I couldn't get it back to the right color. The girls absolutely LOVE the pool, and can spend hours in it playing. At the end, even Gabe was having some fun in the pool, especially when he could walk around by himself with the innertube around him. The girls also had Tennis and swimming lessons.
Gabe turned two and we celebrated by having Grandpa Edwards come down and we all went to the Taste of Tippecanoe. Good food, just expensive. But all had a good time. The next day we had a Korean feast and some cake. Gabe's speech was still very limited, and he wasn't running, so we got a second referral with First Steps. When I thought it was his speech that was lagging, he actually didn't even qualify for that, but he did qualify for physical therapy, so that got us in the door with First Steps and he is with Speech and Physcial therapy weekly. He is making some gains, but it hasn't been that long.
Gabe continues to make strides of attaching to us and working on his sensory issues. He still doesn't like change (as was well exampled when the kids went back to school and Daddy went away for the week for work), but it is helpful to talk with him about what is going to happen. He may not like it, but at least it doesn't blind side him. He is also quite the charmer. He actually scored better than average on his social ability with First Steps. That was encouraging to me, as many children with sensory issue have Autism. But only God knows.
Lauren is loving Kidnergarten, and usually comes running at me with a big smile and hug at pick-up. Gives me something to look forward to. Socially she has come a long way, but she will never be an extrovert. Her reading is phenominal to me. She can read things that I think she shouldn't be able to do. Her reading level is not too far off of Addison's in 3rd grade. Yeah. But she has the same Kindergarten teacher as Addison had, and Addison's Kindergarten classmates were reading chapter books in Kindergarten. Her teacher told me then that kids learn to read at different paces, but they all catch up in third grade. So Lauren may just pick up on things a little earlier. Of course, she does want to be a doctor:).
Addison has continued to grow in many ways. But I feel like I have a budding lawyer on my hands, with all the questions and comebacks as to why I should change my mind. She can be quite the helper with her siblings or things around the house. She decided this year to do American Heritage Girls and Ballet. Unfortunately, ballet lasted only one session, and her heart went back to gymnastics. Since it's in the same place, we are back to gymnastics on Saturdays for both girls. They love it and it is great exercise. And Saturdays were much more peaceful last year (maybe that is because I didn't have Gabe with me to watch).
Steve's work is going well, but the work just continues to pile on. We are hoping the next year is a better that the last.
I'm still trying to figure out how to handle everything with three kids, school, extra-curricular activities, therapies, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and trying to have some fun. Add in there that they house is feeling tighter by the second, and low interest rates, and the bug to move to something bigger has bitten very hard. There were several houses for sale in our neighborhood this year, but none of them worked out. Now we just have to figure out where to go from here, and are considering the crazy idea of just adding on.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
The rest of the school year
In late February we made our annual trek to Chicago for the Hustle up the Hancock. Steve gets to compete, and I get to spend the weekend in Chicago seeing some of my college friends. We stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown, and that was really nice. We also got to eat at a Korean restaurant and shop at a Korean grocery store. Unfortunately, Gabe did absolutely awful there. Took him forever to go to sleep, and then when he was asleep he was poopy. We changed him, and then he started crying all over again. The next day was fussy, and we didn't get home until late, and he screamed when we put him to bed. All I can say is the rest was a REALLY bad night.
A few weeks later the kids and I headed off for cold Florida for spring break. After how Gabe did in Chicago, and with his first flight since coming, I was braced for the worst. He did great. The only complaint I had with him was waking up early, about 6:45 every day. But the girls did the same thing when they were little. We think maybe the difference was that we talked with him about what was going on. He stayed with my parents for the day, and I surprised the girls with a day at Disney. That started out rough with Lauren being scared of most of the things we did in the morning, but after a talk with Daddy, and Mommy being a bit more careful, she did great in the afternoon. The girls definitely deserved this treat, after the year they had. The have done great with Gabe.
Since then we went on a spring retreat with our church group in Brown County, and Gabe did great there too. Even better than in Florida. Thinking the key is talking to him.
Unfortunately during that weekend, Steve's step-mom Carolyn suddenly passed away. The week before she was to have minor surgery, and she never came out of surgery. She apparently had a stroke (or strokes). Her and his dad had just started going to church, and we worried about his faith. But we were both surprised at how he held his faith through it all. We just pray that it continues despite life going back to "normal" without her or someone by his side.
Again, Gabe is doing much better overall. I feel more like his mom and attaching to him more and more. We even have more and more times of smiles and laughter with each other. He is definitely a daddy's boy, and after that he adores Lauren. But we've come a long way, and can pretty much say we are to "normal" childhood with some adoption and Gabriel quirks. For instance, it is currently 5:50, and I have been up since 5, as Gabe stayed awake until 9 last night talking/fussing, and woke again at 5. With Gabe, if we go in and talk with him, he will absolutely blow up when we leave. After about 20 minutes of him moaning for us, I finally went in and talked with him. When I left, he cried. But at least it wasn't a blow up. Here's to the next two hours until he can actually get up!
Addison is blossoming from a little girl into a big girl. Yes, she is just starting to show signs of maturing, but I also see it in her behavior. The way she talks about her friends and school, how she plays, and her love of performing. We have struggled with her lately with obedience. This has always been her downfall. But she did do her jobs for two weeks in a row, so she earned her allowance and is having two friends over after school today.
Lauren just graduated from Pre-Kindergarten. It doesn't seem possible that my baby girl is going to school in a few months. Academically, she is probably beyond the target, but socially, she has a long way to go. She plays wonderfully with her siblings, but with friends from school she still struggles, wanting to play more by herself or not knowing how to play together. The teachers aren't concerned as they have seen great progress, so I am not as concerned. Just a little:).
My parents are struggling with their health. The 70's have not been kind to their health. Dad was in the hospital twice in Florida due to an irregular heartbeat. It seems it was from being on a certain blood pressure med, and now he is doing better. My mom has had pain in her lower body for some time. She recently found that she is missing bones in her foot, and that is why they are so deformed looking and off center, which causes pain elsewhere. For the past few weeks she has been having unbearable stabbing pain in her eye. The medicine that has finally been helping is hard on her body, and makes her sound drugged. She also can't think clearly, and this has me concerned on many levels.
In two days Steve and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. Boy has this journey been much rockier than I could have ever imagine, but glad I had my best friend to go through it with. We were supposed to go back to this wonderful bed and breakfast in Valpo tonight, but our babysitter had to cancel (see about paragraph). As my parents age, we will have to come up with some other resources to be able to get away. Just not sure we can afford those other resources, and yet Steve and I know how valuable it is to get away even for one night.
Ah, the saga continues. Steve just came in from his early morning run (hey, he was up anyways at 5), and seems to have sprained his ankle. Oy!
A few weeks later the kids and I headed off for cold Florida for spring break. After how Gabe did in Chicago, and with his first flight since coming, I was braced for the worst. He did great. The only complaint I had with him was waking up early, about 6:45 every day. But the girls did the same thing when they were little. We think maybe the difference was that we talked with him about what was going on. He stayed with my parents for the day, and I surprised the girls with a day at Disney. That started out rough with Lauren being scared of most of the things we did in the morning, but after a talk with Daddy, and Mommy being a bit more careful, she did great in the afternoon. The girls definitely deserved this treat, after the year they had. The have done great with Gabe.
Since then we went on a spring retreat with our church group in Brown County, and Gabe did great there too. Even better than in Florida. Thinking the key is talking to him.
Unfortunately during that weekend, Steve's step-mom Carolyn suddenly passed away. The week before she was to have minor surgery, and she never came out of surgery. She apparently had a stroke (or strokes). Her and his dad had just started going to church, and we worried about his faith. But we were both surprised at how he held his faith through it all. We just pray that it continues despite life going back to "normal" without her or someone by his side.
Again, Gabe is doing much better overall. I feel more like his mom and attaching to him more and more. We even have more and more times of smiles and laughter with each other. He is definitely a daddy's boy, and after that he adores Lauren. But we've come a long way, and can pretty much say we are to "normal" childhood with some adoption and Gabriel quirks. For instance, it is currently 5:50, and I have been up since 5, as Gabe stayed awake until 9 last night talking/fussing, and woke again at 5. With Gabe, if we go in and talk with him, he will absolutely blow up when we leave. After about 20 minutes of him moaning for us, I finally went in and talked with him. When I left, he cried. But at least it wasn't a blow up. Here's to the next two hours until he can actually get up!
Addison is blossoming from a little girl into a big girl. Yes, she is just starting to show signs of maturing, but I also see it in her behavior. The way she talks about her friends and school, how she plays, and her love of performing. We have struggled with her lately with obedience. This has always been her downfall. But she did do her jobs for two weeks in a row, so she earned her allowance and is having two friends over after school today.
Lauren just graduated from Pre-Kindergarten. It doesn't seem possible that my baby girl is going to school in a few months. Academically, she is probably beyond the target, but socially, she has a long way to go. She plays wonderfully with her siblings, but with friends from school she still struggles, wanting to play more by herself or not knowing how to play together. The teachers aren't concerned as they have seen great progress, so I am not as concerned. Just a little:).
My parents are struggling with their health. The 70's have not been kind to their health. Dad was in the hospital twice in Florida due to an irregular heartbeat. It seems it was from being on a certain blood pressure med, and now he is doing better. My mom has had pain in her lower body for some time. She recently found that she is missing bones in her foot, and that is why they are so deformed looking and off center, which causes pain elsewhere. For the past few weeks she has been having unbearable stabbing pain in her eye. The medicine that has finally been helping is hard on her body, and makes her sound drugged. She also can't think clearly, and this has me concerned on many levels.
In two days Steve and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. Boy has this journey been much rockier than I could have ever imagine, but glad I had my best friend to go through it with. We were supposed to go back to this wonderful bed and breakfast in Valpo tonight, but our babysitter had to cancel (see about paragraph). As my parents age, we will have to come up with some other resources to be able to get away. Just not sure we can afford those other resources, and yet Steve and I know how valuable it is to get away even for one night.
Ah, the saga continues. Steve just came in from his early morning run (hey, he was up anyways at 5), and seems to have sprained his ankle. Oy!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Finalization, Christmas and Birthdays
Boy, it's been awhile. Gabe continues to do better, and life has started to get more normal. Instead of being completely wiped out, we are now limping.
In December we went to court in Indy to officially adopt Gabe. Despite Lauren puking in the van right as we parked down there, everything went smoothly. Steve was more used to the setting, and was more comfortable than I was. I didn't realize that we had to be sworn in!
It ended up being an adoption blitz, and there were hundreds of adoptions taking place that day. We were supposed to do this in October, but H1N1 took our family out. Our judge (whom was recently nominated to the US District Court by Sen Bayh) was wearing a Santa hat, and they had a party with lots of food in the other court after our finalization. He is officialy ours.
After a quick stop at Trader Joe's to get some paper towels (to clean up the smelly mess from Lauren) and other yummies, we went to Momma's Korean restaurant in Indy.
For Christmas we went to my sister's house in Georgia. On the way there, we split up the trip, and Gabe didn't do too bad. Addison was a great help. Unfortunately, Addison was sick with the stomach flu on Christmas morning, Gabe had it by that afternoon, and everyone else got it one by one, except for my sister. Luckily not everyone was throwing up, but we all got sick. My mom,unfortunately, got sick the day she was to fly out. I felt so bad for her. Needless to say, we love my sister and family, but we couldn't wait to leave!
The girls have started gymnastics on Saturdays and are loving it. In fact, Addison did a back walkover just today. Lauren continues to amaze us with her reading ability. Not quite five and she will read words that I think there is no way she'll know what it is. She even spelled one of her sister's spelling words before! Addison celebrated her eighth (is it possible?) birthday at Chuck E Cheese with her BFF Kiersten and neighbors/friends Delaney and Kathryn. Her favorite gift was a lava lamp. She loved getting to spend all day and night with Kiersten.
Steve went to San Antonio for work the beginning of February. It was very long and tiring, but we made it. An impending snow storm brought him home earlier than planned.
Gabe continues to do better, month by month. Today I got a wonderful gift in that he let me cradle him. Gabe has NEVER let me do this. I took him out of the shower and held him in my arms, and he didn't say anything and he looked into my eyes! I was able to get him dressed and do it again, and so was Steve. I just can't tell you what a blessing that was.
Of course nothing is perfect. Currently he has been screaming/crying for a half hour (now make that 45 minutes) fighting to go to sleep. It's been like that for a while every time he goes to bed. I baby sat a friends child who is 6 months younger on Friday, and all I did was lay her down and she slept for 2 hours without a peep. Gabe screamed for a half hour and slept an hour. Sigh. And can he throw a fit. Screams bloody murder each time. I've put him in his room for them. Probably not the adoption way, but neither is loosing it with him.
Gabe is walking fine now, and slowly gaining sign language. He is wanting to talk, but just doesn't have the ability. He is trying though. And he understands alot. He is able to go to child care at church with minimal crying at the beginning and when we are due to pick him up (I'm told he has an internal clock). He is still very small, but eats better than my nephews.
I've met so many acquaintances who pray for us, and I'm just amazed. How the family of God has prayed and lifted us up, and God has heard them and answered their prayers. Thanks.
In December we went to court in Indy to officially adopt Gabe. Despite Lauren puking in the van right as we parked down there, everything went smoothly. Steve was more used to the setting, and was more comfortable than I was. I didn't realize that we had to be sworn in!
It ended up being an adoption blitz, and there were hundreds of adoptions taking place that day. We were supposed to do this in October, but H1N1 took our family out. Our judge (whom was recently nominated to the US District Court by Sen Bayh) was wearing a Santa hat, and they had a party with lots of food in the other court after our finalization. He is officialy ours.
After a quick stop at Trader Joe's to get some paper towels (to clean up the smelly mess from Lauren) and other yummies, we went to Momma's Korean restaurant in Indy.
For Christmas we went to my sister's house in Georgia. On the way there, we split up the trip, and Gabe didn't do too bad. Addison was a great help. Unfortunately, Addison was sick with the stomach flu on Christmas morning, Gabe had it by that afternoon, and everyone else got it one by one, except for my sister. Luckily not everyone was throwing up, but we all got sick. My mom,unfortunately, got sick the day she was to fly out. I felt so bad for her. Needless to say, we love my sister and family, but we couldn't wait to leave!
The girls have started gymnastics on Saturdays and are loving it. In fact, Addison did a back walkover just today. Lauren continues to amaze us with her reading ability. Not quite five and she will read words that I think there is no way she'll know what it is. She even spelled one of her sister's spelling words before! Addison celebrated her eighth (is it possible?) birthday at Chuck E Cheese with her BFF Kiersten and neighbors/friends Delaney and Kathryn. Her favorite gift was a lava lamp. She loved getting to spend all day and night with Kiersten.
Steve went to San Antonio for work the beginning of February. It was very long and tiring, but we made it. An impending snow storm brought him home earlier than planned.
Gabe continues to do better, month by month. Today I got a wonderful gift in that he let me cradle him. Gabe has NEVER let me do this. I took him out of the shower and held him in my arms, and he didn't say anything and he looked into my eyes! I was able to get him dressed and do it again, and so was Steve. I just can't tell you what a blessing that was.
Of course nothing is perfect. Currently he has been screaming/crying for a half hour (now make that 45 minutes) fighting to go to sleep. It's been like that for a while every time he goes to bed. I baby sat a friends child who is 6 months younger on Friday, and all I did was lay her down and she slept for 2 hours without a peep. Gabe screamed for a half hour and slept an hour. Sigh. And can he throw a fit. Screams bloody murder each time. I've put him in his room for them. Probably not the adoption way, but neither is loosing it with him.
Gabe is walking fine now, and slowly gaining sign language. He is wanting to talk, but just doesn't have the ability. He is trying though. And he understands alot. He is able to go to child care at church with minimal crying at the beginning and when we are due to pick him up (I'm told he has an internal clock). He is still very small, but eats better than my nephews.
I've met so many acquaintances who pray for us, and I'm just amazed. How the family of God has prayed and lifted us up, and God has heard them and answered their prayers. Thanks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)