6 months ago today - Welcome to the US!

6 months ago today Daniel's plane touched down on US soil. When we boarded the plane in Hong Kong, the song Daniel by Elton John was playing on the plane. How ironic. "Daniel is riding tonight on a plane...." heehee. We went through Homeland security. They stamped his visa and he was officially a US citizen. That day was exhausting! After 15 plus hours on planes and less than an hour or so of sleep I was delirious. Dealing with a 2 year old on a plane also didn't help my sanity. Although, he was very good. I felt so sick after getting off the plane. I thought I was going to pass out. It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon EST. China time - about 2 AM. It seemed like forever getting through customs, immigration, baggage claim, etc. When we finally got through the doors (passed the security points) this is the sight that welcomed us.

A sight for sore eyes. Boy did we miss this little face!

Daniel wasn't so sure who all these crazy people waving signs were. He did so well in his car seat. I was shocked he didn't freak out. We kept him up almost the entire drive home. Once we got home he had many gifts to open, He was having a great time going around and hugging everyone in his new family. He freely gave Bao Baos (hugs) and was having a grand 'ol time. We were now a family of four and the fun was just beginning!

My Little Graduate

Leah is no longer a little pre-school student. She left her crayons and gluesticks behind and will now enter the real world of Kindergarten. We're talkin' markers and Elmer's Glue now. The class of 2008 of St. Andrew's Pre-K marched down the aisle proudly to Pomp & Circumstance. They gathered at the front of the church as a group and confidently sang a song from every month of school. They've all grown so much since they started the 3 year old program in September 2006. I remember the first day when the kids were so scared they wouldn't leave Mommy's side. Many of them cried when we left. They were all relieved when the Mommies and Daddies returned to get them. Each day got better. Leah was fine the first few months. It wasn't until November that she started to cry. Not sure why. Apparently this is not uncommon. Here are a few pics from the first week of school 2006.

Back to 2008. Leah sang the loudest and I apologize to everyone as she has her Mother's voice. It was a proud moment! They sang songs about the days of the week. Leah's favorite was about her pre-school (sung to the tune of Take Me out To The Ballgame). We have video that I'll go through and post in a bit. It was very cute. A few tears were shed. Congrats to the class of 2008!

Walking proudly down the aisle.

Receiving her hard earned diploma. Hey it takes practice to master those ABCs and 123s!

2 Years of hard work finally paid off.

The Class of 2008

We had a little party after graduation. Leah enjoyed herself. She had a good nights sleep last night. She is now having her coffee and looking over the want-ads. No time to waste!

And to the teacher's of St. Andrew's: Enjoy your Summer and rest up. The following little face will greet you in September 2008.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

We have had crazy weather the past couple days. The sun would be shining and it would be pouring rain at the same time. We were driving home from a friend's home yesterday afternoon and saw one of the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen . I was so bummed I didn't have my camera. However, last night after dinner we saw another one! I love rainbows!

Hug Your Kids

I just heard of a tragic event. Steven Curtis Chapman is a Christian singer who is very big in the adoption world. He has 3 daughters from China. His youngest was hit by a car in their driveway and killed. The car was driven by his teenage son. This is so heartbreaking. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers:
http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/

Hearing Tests - Round Two

Yesterday Daniel had his second round of hearing tests at CHOP. We made an early appointment so we had to get the kids up early. We got Leah up without a problem. She wasn't happy, but she was up. I went into Daniel's room and turned off his sound machine. Waited a few minutes. Nothing. Went back in and pulled up the shades. Bright light poured in over his crib. Nothing. Next Dave went in and rolled him over. He woke up, and then went back to sleep. So, I got the camera and decided to take some sleeping photos. I always wanted to do it but was afraid I'd wake him. I flashed in his face about 6 times. Nothing. Boy this boy can sleep when we don't want him to! He finally got up. Also not a happy camper. Within a few minutes and a cup of Froot Loops in his hand and all was well with the world.

The audiologist repeated some of the tests we did a few weeks ago. We also did a new one we have been practicing at home. Daniel has to place an object (they used plastic balls) next to his ear. When he hears the sound (coming from earphones in his ears), he has to place the ball in the basket in front of him. He did well for awhile. Then decided it was more fun just to start throwing the balls into the basket whenever he wanted. From what they could tell he did better yesterday than he did a few weeks ago. Well enough that they do not suggest putting aids on him yet.

We have to go back in three weeks for additional testing. Right now they are suggesting he be observed when he goes to school in the Fall to be sure he isn't missing anything. If the teacher and the IU feel he is missing a lot they may decide to put an FM amplifier in his class room. The teacher would wear a mic and it would basically make her voice more clear and louder.

That's about all for now. Leah graduates pre-school tomorrow. Cap& Gown, Pomp and Circumstance, procession down the aisle and all! I'm sure there will be tears. And lots of photos!!

Tune in :)

6 months ago

6 months ago yesterday our lives changed. We landed at the airport in Henan and met our guide Lee. We met our driver, got in our van and drove to the Hotel Sofitel in Zhengzhou. Our flight was late about 45 minutes and our son was early about 18 hours! Hey, Leah was early 4 weeks. There is no way to plan every detain of your child's arrival. When we got out of the van, there he was. Being carried by his caretaker. She brought him toward us. I could hardly believe my eyes. Here he was. After 5 months of taking his photo everywhere I went, he was here. Right in front of us. It took everything in me not to snatch him away from his nanny. He was so much tinier than we had imagined.

He was definitelt frightened. When I look back at these photos, I can see the fear. He was loving the lobby of the hotel and wanted to take us to see the flowers "hua" and Christmas decorations.
It was such a blur. Our guide was trying to check us into the hotel and needed passports. Every thing we brought with us to "break the ice" was packed in our bags. This was not how we had planned it. But it was perfect. We finally had our son!

Once we got up to the room and the caretakers left, Daniel was a little upset. He ran after them crying. He cried for a few minutes and then stopped. Then he never looked back. He had his Mama and Baba and all was well.

Here he is his first night with us. It took a little while for him to fall asleep. We left him in the last layer of clothing that he had on.

Here is the link to the blog entry on that day:
http://thelinksredthread.blogspot.com/2007/11/surprise-forever-family-day.html

And our Gotcha video:
http://thelinksredthread.blogspot.com/2007/11/gotcha-video.html

Fast forward 6 months and here's our little man. He's a handsome dude! Keeps us on our toes. I cannot imagine life without him. 6 months have flown by, yet it seems like he's been with us always.

Mother's Day

This post is a little late. However, I didn't want Mother's Day to pass without mentioning how wonderful my day was. I woke up early as usual. It was about 6:10. Dave was already up and had the coffee going. We need to have the coffee before the rug rats, er children wake up. Well, 6:20 who comes bounding down the stairs but Leah. Now, we have a rule that Leah knows very well. She can wake up any time she wants, but she isn't allowed to come out of her room until 7 AM. She can play her Leapster game or do whatever she wants quietly. She usually sleeps past 7 nowadays so there are no issues. So, I ask her what she's doing. Her reply was "It's Mother's Day". Guess she didn't get the memo that stated Mommies are happier when children sleep past 6:20 on Mother's Day. Oh well. She was up. And very excited to give me the present she made me at school. It was "hidden" under her bed. I know this because she told me. And the fact that it wasn't hidden well. It was wrapped so I didn't see anything. Here was the tag on the bag. Love how it has her last initial. You know, i case I confuse her with any of the other Leahs in our home...at 6:20 AM.

And here she is proudly holding her masterpiece. In the bag was an adorable potholder that they painted flowers on with their fingerprints. I'll post a photo soon.

And here's Daniel showing off his creation. daddy helped him paint a picture frame. I'll take a photo of that too later.

And my second born (the bird is firstborn. can't forget her) checking out what's in the bag. She's very nosey. There was a ladybug house in the bag. I've been wanting one and can't wait to put it in the yard.

After the gifts, my wonderful husband made the most delicious Banana french toast casserole I've ever had. He had some help from Leah.

Then we had a great day with the rest of our family. Dave made a gourmet meal for everyone. He worked so hard to make the day perfect. And it was. I'm very lucky to have such a great guy! We needed a family photo for our 6 month post placement visit with Daniel (can you believe it's almost 6 months?!) so we took this photo. It's the only way I'm ever in a picture. So, I probably won't post another photo of me until our 1 year visit. Not that anyone cares. We all know you're here to see the kids!

Bear's New Nose

This is an ode to Bear. Bear has been in our family since Leah was bout 6 months old. We went to Ocean City Maryland and I wanted Leah to be comfortable sleeping in the pack and play. So, I grabbed a few stuffed animals (of the hundreds in our house) and took them along. Leah chose Bear. Ever since July 2003, the two have been inseparable. Once Leah became attached, we went out a bought 2-3 other bears that looked exactly alike. For awhile Leah used 2 of the bears interchangeably. This was wonderful as we could take one and wash it while she had the other. It would also have been beneficial should Bear have become missing. Too soon, Leah "took" to only one bear, this was THE Bear. It was amazing how she knew the difference by just looking at them. We would try and trick her into taking the impostor, but she was too smart. Soon, impostor bear became a thing of the past. he is now known as Daddy's bear because every time we would try and give it to her that is what she would say "No, that's Daddy's bear". Bear has been taken everywhere for about 5 years now. Leah has slept with him every night since she was 6 months old. Bear started out pink and very soft. Bear doesn't have much fur left. Bear is now brown even though he gets bathed every now and then. Bear has had a few minor surgeries to repair some seams that have opened up from being loved so much. This past week, Bear had a seam come open slightly on his nose. Leah's Nana came to the rescue (since Mommy has no sewing skills whatsoever!) and patched up Bear's nose. Leah chose the pink material for the patch. Before I unveil Bear's new nose, here's a walk down memory lane. Bear, this is your life!

Leah and Bear - new friends - August 2003

Bear asleep with his buddy - Sept 2003

Bear has even been to Disney World 2 times! Here he is on Alladin's magic carpets in Dec 2005

Bear with Santa - Dec 2005

Bear relaxing on the recliner - May 2006

And finally Bear's New Nose! Couldn't forget the feather boa now could we??

Daniel's Visit to ENT

Yesterday we took Daniel to the Ear Nose Throat (ENT) doctor at CHOP. He also had a hearing test scheduled. We were told in China by the orphanage nannies that Daniel had had some ear problems. This is not surprising in a cleft palate child. When we first came home and saw several doctors we were told "just wait and see" before getting tubes put in his ears to help with ear infections and draining. Since he's been with us he has had 2 ear infections. Not too bad. However, Dave and I wanted to be certain we weren't overlooking anything and wanted to "cover all our bases". So, when we went yesterday we were expecting the doctor to say "No problems. All is well. Have a great day!". What the hell were we thinking? This is us. It's never that easy.

The doctor lets us know that Daniel has perforations in both ears. These are caused by multiple ear infections that have not been treated. So, he basically has a small hole in each of his eardrums. The hole in the left ear is 12% and the right is larger at 25%. He'll need to have surgery to close these holes, however, it cannot be done until he is older and his cleft has been corrected (possibly after age 5). So, what does this mean? He had to get sized for custom ear plugs for swimming and bathing. This will prevent water from entering the ear canal and causing more infections. That's minor. The bigger issue is the affect it may have on his hearing. So, off to the hearing test we go!

After several different types of tests, the audiologist confirmed that he does have minor hearing loss in both ears. Daniel was a trooper and did awesome through all the tests. I was shocked that he didn't rip the plugs out of his ears. I had to sit in the booth with him as they played the different sounds in the different directions. It made me sad when I heard the sound and he made no response. There's so much he's missing and we didn't even know it. So, basically the holes in his ears are causing hearing loss. This is minor hearing loss, however, it may mean he is missing a lot of the sounds, like Fs, THs, Ss. this is very important when learning to speak properly. So, the doctor and audiologist are suggesting hearing aids temporarily until they can repair the perforations. This would ensure that he can hear well until that time. We have another hearing test scheduled in 2 weeks to make sure the first tests were correct. We will make the hearing aid decision at that time.

Not at all what we were anticipating from this visit. Now I'm off to complain to our pediatrician's office. Daniel has been seen at least 3 times for well visits and ear infections. This means that on 3 separate occasions a doctor has looked in his ears. Not one mentioned any perforations. Gotta love modern medicine. Grrrrrrr........