We'll start with the good news. I consider myself an pragmatic optimist (is that an oxymoron?), so we'll start happy...
Tim and I decided today that we will be going to the CHI Reunion this summer for sure. (I still need to send in our reservation). Some friends (my friend - from when I worked in Mexico - and her husband - from the states) are planning to join us there. They are not a CHI family, but are seriously considering adopting a baby from Colombia. They have a 4-year-old daughter adopted from Guatemala as a baby and would like to adopt another baby now but can't go back to Guatemala (because, as some of you know, that country is currently closed to adoption). I keep trying to get them to consider special needs adoption, but I know that isn't for everyone :-). CHI said that they would love to have them and we are excited to be going this year.
Last weekend we had family pictures taken. We went to an actual photographer this time instead of going to a department store. I wasn't really pleased with our department store photo experiences. I always feel rushed to make a decision and they don't tend to photograph large groups of people very well (bad composition, bad lighting, rush rush rush). We spent over an hour with this photographer just for the shoot. We then got to come back and spend another hour with her looking at and selecting the proofs (in a slideshow of digitals). Much nicer experience and much better pictures to choose from. I hope to be able to post one soon.
Yesterday the kids were out of school for Good Friday so I was home from work and had scheduled appointments with the pediatrician. Oscar and Diana both had their appointments yesterday, Claudia and Mayerly go on the 30th (when school is out again). Oscar went from the 12th percentile in height and weight to the 25th percentile. Diana went up a little in height percentile and down a little in her weight percentile (which is good because she was a little chubby - said the pot about the kettle - when we first came home). Hopefully her height will catch up with her weight at some point. Dr. Kirby-Diaz said to keep doing whatever it is that we are doing and that she was very happy with their progress this year.
Yesterday was a busy day. We also had our 3rd post adoption visit with Nikki, our social worker. We had a pretty good visit. We also discussed our up-coming "recognition of foreign adoption" hearing that is next Friday. She gave us a run-down on what to expect, so we will be more prepared. We started this process back in October, but had to wait for a copy of the original adoption decree (the Spanish one that we did not have a copy of - we just had a translated copy) from Colombia. We finally got that at the beginning of March but couldn't get a court date until April. I'm just happy to be marking one more thing off our list of "post adoption things to do".
Now the sad news. We took Hank (our dog) to the vet last week to have a bump on his front leg looked at. Turns out it was a tumor that was growing very rapidly. We had it removed (also yesterday). The vet said that it was not a "good" tumor either (the kind that is encapsilated and just "pops out" in surgery). It was growing around the main artery in his leg and into the skin and pretty much everywhere. We decided to have it biopsied to see if there is anything we can do that won't cost too much. He more than likely has cancer, we just need to know what kind of cancer before we decide what to do next.
We have to keep poor Hank in a kennel for a day or so (which he is very put out about). He has to wear a "cone" (the vet calls it an "Elisabethan collar") to keep him from licking his stitches. We had to go back to the vet to get him some tranquilizers this morning because he would not calm down after we brought him home yesterday until after everyone (including Tim and I) went to bed last night. He's still freaking out - even with the tranquilizers - but it's not as bad as last night. It's very sad and hard to watch him have to endure all this. He has had to have surgery before, but it is harder now that he is older and we have four kids and another dog. Too much activity (that he wants to be a part of) going on...
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
CHI Reunion ... Anyone?
We got an email about the CHI reunion this summer. Anyone out there planning on going? We'd love to meet some of our blog-buddies in person!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Claudia's 7th Birthday
Toy veggies and fruit from Grandma & Grandpa Verhulst
A "laptop" from Grandma Schoemig
More educational electronic games
The kids (and Hanai)
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What a difference a year makes, hardly looks like the same kid...
February 17, 2010
February 17, 2009It's hard to believe we are starting our second round of birthdays. There will be no more surprise celebrations now. They all now know when their birthdays are (everyone got their own calendar for the New Year and they all counted the days until "Claudia's Happy Birthday" this year) and what to expect (cake and presents).
Monday, February 8, 2010
Anniversary, Therapy and Education
I finally bought a laptop! Yippee! Now I don't have to wait for a sunny or warm weekend to blog or check my email or do my household budget or ...
Just thinking outloud...
I often struggle with how much to "share" on the blog about certain aspects of our family's life. I feel a responsibility to keep much of our kids' information somewhat private, but then I also feel somehow compelled to be open and honest about the challenges and problems we have had over the past year. However, I also don't intend for it to sound as though everything is always rosey at the Verhulst house (we have our ups and downs). I usually err on the side of caution and hold back quite a bit, since once you post something on the net it's pretty much out there for anyone to see - forever. Just so you know. I have answered some specific questions occasionally by email.
Anniversary
As I said in our last post, we celebrated our one-year-at-home anniversary on February 4th. It wasn't anything really big, just pizza for dinner (which the kids cannot get enough of) and a "family" gift of a Vtech V Flash game system (it's an 'edutainment' system that I found on Amazon.com for $75 - including 4 games). It was a big hit because the kids love all things electronic and Mom and Dad are happy because it entertains and educates them at the same time.
Therapy
Things have been going very slowly with Oscar's home-schooling (mainly reading, he is almost caught up to where he should be in math) - to the point that we had him tested to see if he has some real learning problems. It turns out that he does. We are going to be sending him to an audiologist and optometrist for further testing. We started him on a therapy called Interactive Metronome this week. We are also looking into special education schools to possibly enroll Oscar in next school year. The schools we are looking at have small class sizes, incorporate occupational therapy, and other therapies as needed and have the goal of getting the kids ready to return to traditional school. We visit the first one this Thursday morning.
Diana started her vision therapy at the beginning of January. She enjoys going because she views it as "play time". She talks it up so much with her sisters that Mayerly asks me all the time, "When do I get to go to the doctor?". I told her that she goes to the doctor in April (time for shots again), probably not what she had in mind...
Education
We went to the girls' school tonight for parent/teacher conferences. Everyone seems to be making good progress. Mayerly's teacher even reported that she almost never has trouble with her not listening to instructions now (ah, finally a pay-off for all that discipline). Claudia's teacher just loves all the girls (they were all in her class April-May of last year). Diana's teacher is having a baby before the end of the year (she's due in April). Diana really likes her teacher, so I hope she does okay with the substitute that she will have for the last month and a half of this school year. She doesn't usually take too well to change.
Just thinking outloud...
I often struggle with how much to "share" on the blog about certain aspects of our family's life. I feel a responsibility to keep much of our kids' information somewhat private, but then I also feel somehow compelled to be open and honest about the challenges and problems we have had over the past year. However, I also don't intend for it to sound as though everything is always rosey at the Verhulst house (we have our ups and downs). I usually err on the side of caution and hold back quite a bit, since once you post something on the net it's pretty much out there for anyone to see - forever. Just so you know. I have answered some specific questions occasionally by email.
Anniversary
As I said in our last post, we celebrated our one-year-at-home anniversary on February 4th. It wasn't anything really big, just pizza for dinner (which the kids cannot get enough of) and a "family" gift of a Vtech V Flash game system (it's an 'edutainment' system that I found on Amazon.com for $75 - including 4 games). It was a big hit because the kids love all things electronic and Mom and Dad are happy because it entertains and educates them at the same time.
Therapy
Things have been going very slowly with Oscar's home-schooling (mainly reading, he is almost caught up to where he should be in math) - to the point that we had him tested to see if he has some real learning problems. It turns out that he does. We are going to be sending him to an audiologist and optometrist for further testing. We started him on a therapy called Interactive Metronome this week. We are also looking into special education schools to possibly enroll Oscar in next school year. The schools we are looking at have small class sizes, incorporate occupational therapy, and other therapies as needed and have the goal of getting the kids ready to return to traditional school. We visit the first one this Thursday morning.
Diana started her vision therapy at the beginning of January. She enjoys going because she views it as "play time". She talks it up so much with her sisters that Mayerly asks me all the time, "When do I get to go to the doctor?". I told her that she goes to the doctor in April (time for shots again), probably not what she had in mind...
Education
We went to the girls' school tonight for parent/teacher conferences. Everyone seems to be making good progress. Mayerly's teacher even reported that she almost never has trouble with her not listening to instructions now (ah, finally a pay-off for all that discipline). Claudia's teacher just loves all the girls (they were all in her class April-May of last year). Diana's teacher is having a baby before the end of the year (she's due in April). Diana really likes her teacher, so I hope she does okay with the substitute that she will have for the last month and a half of this school year. She doesn't usually take too well to change.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Gotcha Day Anniversary
Yesterday marked one year with the ninos (physically, not legally/officially). Looking back, we have made a lot of progress, but looking forward we still have quite a way to go.
We decided not to do a celebration for this (Gotcha Day) milestone. I did give each of the kids a new Leapster game, though they didn't ask why. Free presents for no reason, why not?
I'm not sure we will celebrate the Sentencia (Janurary 27th) either... I'm thinking we may celebrate February 4th (the day we returned home) as our 'Famiversary'. I didn't really feel like a parent until we got back home... on our (Mami & Papi's) turf - so to speak. Before that day I just felt like a highly underpaid, overly abused babysitter... just being honest.
On a separate note...
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Reppe's as they travel to Bogota to meet their 3 little boys! We appreciate their prayers for our family, even before we were thinking of becoming a family.
We decided not to do a celebration for this (Gotcha Day) milestone. I did give each of the kids a new Leapster game, though they didn't ask why. Free presents for no reason, why not?
I'm not sure we will celebrate the Sentencia (Janurary 27th) either... I'm thinking we may celebrate February 4th (the day we returned home) as our 'Famiversary'. I didn't really feel like a parent until we got back home... on our (Mami & Papi's) turf - so to speak. Before that day I just felt like a highly underpaid, overly abused babysitter... just being honest.
On a separate note...
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Reppe's as they travel to Bogota to meet their 3 little boys! We appreciate their prayers for our family, even before we were thinking of becoming a family.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The True Meaning of Christmas
We bought this at Maku (a store that sells nothing but handcrafted Colombian items) in Bogota. I'll just let the simplicity of this Nativity speak for itself.
Christmas Day - December 25, 2009
We got all the kids "Leapsters" for Christmas. We also got them each a charger (will save us a fortune in batteries), 3 extra games each, and a bag (the girls got little purses) to carry and store them in. We hit a grand slam home run with these... which has not always been the case with gifts (if you've been there, you know what I mean).
For fun, count the number of times you see a dog's tail in these photos.
Kids with a stack o' presents each...
Let the ripping begin!
...and more ripping of paper...
Joke of the day... Claudia has joined the Canadian army... probably because the uniform was sooooo cute! (Thanks again for the clothes Wendy R. from Canada!)
Nothing left to do now except play...
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