e: Need idea for  fun places to take out of town guest

Sat Dec 1, 2012 7:44 am (PST) . Posted by:

"Lara Wainstein" larawainstein

I am in the same situation.  Here is what I have come up with so far, let me know if you think of anything else too.  My friends will be here for 2 weeks, and some of the days I'm working.

-Celestial seasonings factory and then a hike at Chataqua
-Coors factory
-Manitou springs
-16th st mall
-Dinosaur ridge
-Skiing
-Snowshoeing in Estes
-Christmas lights at botanical gardens or zoo or something

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killakk599

Hi my dear friend
http://lajoiedeparler.net/gobarts.php?xytIDCid=74


            Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:41:44
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"Dwight found a little spot so smooth and level, that the rocking-chair would stand very even upon it, though it would not rock very well, for the ground was not hard, like a floor." (c) Danatay worsbach

I have been very delinquent in updating our blog!  I suppose since we are home and life has normalized I haven't feel the overwhelming need to vent, whine, or share the positives, since life has been very positive  for the past several months. 
I did just receive some updated photographs from our orphanage, most of which were photos of Katie as a baby.  It is a very strange feeling to see photographs of your child as a baby, with short hair, looking so small and not recognize the photo or even have a memory of her at that age.  There are 730 days of her life that I never knew her.  I can't conjur up memories of my little girl as she learned to roll over for the first time, or how exciting it was to watch her master the skill of crawling.  But as sad as that was for me to accept in the beginning, I have found peace with her missing past and know that she is with us now, and that is what matters most.  Some day, she will probably fight her own demons as she struggles to understand her past and lack thereof but I pray it will not be a long struggle and that she will be able to accept this missing piece of her life with grace and forgiveness.
Katie has recently started daycare and she really seems happy there.  She does not panic when we drop her off and is happy to see us at the end of the day.  She is in a very small in-home daycare about a mile from our house and gets to spend her day with her 2 year old cousin, Karli as well as two other little girls, ages 1 1/2 and 2.5.  They all get along very well and Katie seems very comfortable there.
Speaking of comfortable, she is really starting to accept and enjoy the added attention from extended family and friends.  She will now let grandparents and aunts and uncle hold her and she does so with a big smile on her face, which is a significant change from just two months ago.  Surprisingly, she even does great with a babysitter, as long as her brother and sister are with her.
The only thing that keeps Katie from being just like other children her age is the fact that she is still not communicating.  There are no words or attempt at words.  A few months ago she said "Mama" several times but has never said it again since.  She makes noise and can definately let you know what she wants with the help of voice fluctuation and sign language, but no matter how many times I over pronunciate the word "SHOE" as I put her shoes on 19 times a day, she just looks at me as if to say "nice try Mom, but I'm not going to give you the satisafaction of hearing me try to sputter the word "shoe"!"
We start speech therapy on Wednesday and I hope that we start to see some progress over the next few months.  Everyone asks how do you do speech therapy when she has no speech to work with?  Great question!  I'm not so sure, but we will find out on Wednesday!  Her comprehensive language is fantastic.  She understands everything that we say, which makes me forget that she can't communicate.  My friends keep telling me to stop wishing away these "quite times" because once she starts talking its all downhill from there!  Maybe that is why three kids has been such an easy transition....I'm seeing three but only hearing the chatter of two!

I will add some photos so you can see how big she is getting and how long her hair has become!  Such a sweet little thing and life with three has been perfect for us!

Back to work and in a routine!

Well, I have nearly forgotten about my blog with all the hustle and bustle of getting settled in to our new lives as a "table for 5, please", and finding daycare for Katie and getting back in the swing of things with work after 3 months of being on "maternity leave".  The 3 months went by so fast, but I so enjoyed my time getting to know my newest little love.  The transformation that this child has undergone in the past 3 months, has been truly amazing.  From a terrified little girl who would cover her face in the presence of new adults who now runs up to them and happily gives them high-fives.  She is still not big on being picked up and held by anyone other than mommy and daddy, but really.....what two year old does like being held by people they still don't know well? 
With every passing week, Patrick and I learn new things about Katie and see a new dimension to her marvelous little personality.  She loves to peak around the door frame of our office, and when she makes eye contact she will squeal and run with her floppy little self and jump into our arms grinning ear to ear.  She smells so yummy after bath time and loves to be wrapped up in her big pink towel with the cat ears and cat tail and then climb into my arms while I hold her tight and rock her as she warms up. 
Katie went from virtually hoarding food to now showing a bit of a picky side, which to me is a wonderful milestone.  To me it says that she is no longer scared that she will not have enough food, and that she feels safe enough to turn away food because she is confident there will be more the minute she tells me she is hungry. 
Now language with Katie has not quite developed the way we thought it would have by now.  She is almost 27 months and at her speech therapy assessment they said she is at the level of a 4 month old.  She does not experiment with sounds or consenents and only has one sound that she makes when she is happy or frustrated.  The difference is in the inflection (as well as how LOUD she says it!) which gets her point across.  We are also using sign language and she communicates quite well with me through signing.  We will begin sign language in the next few weeks which will be interesting to see if we denote some progress.

We have been through the battery of medical appointment with her pediatrician, the adoption medicine clinic, the audiologist (hearing is perfect!), the cardiologist (has a murmur, but harmless), the neuro surgeon and the neurologist at the end of January.  We believe she might be having small siezures which seem to come and go depending on her level of rest, stress, etc.  She will undergo a stress EEG which we are hoping to get some good results from.

All of that aside, it feels like Katie has been part of our family for forever.  She seemlessly fit into this family as if she was picked by the hand of God himself for the perfect match.  Oh wait.........he did pick her for us, and us for her!  What a guy!
And her siblings have embraced her with open arms and love her so unconditionally and passionately that it makes my heart burst with pride.  I did not know that my children possessed such capacity for compassion and boundless love.  When I speak firmly with Katie because she has just ripped up something (say, my "Night Before Christmas" book)  Brooke will run to her crying sister and hold her so tight, stroking her head and kissing her so gently, whispering "It's okay, Katie.  I love you."  And then the Ice Queen's heart just melts and I have to scoop them both up into my arms and have a little love-in.  And Austin still loves to feed her and change her diaper......... yes, you heard me correctly, he LOVES to change her diaper, as long as it's not poopy.  He wrestles with her and has tickle fights with her which are hysterical to watch because Katie has no idea how to tickle so she flails her arms all over his belly and he fake-laughs so hard that she just erupts into laughter, which then get's everyone giggling.
Katie just feels so "normal" to me.  I know that when we visit the doctor and they say "possible neurological damage" and "tremors in her hands" or "siezures", it all sounds so horrible and scary, but the minute we leave their office and I look her in the eyes I know that she is one healthy, happy little girl and that is all that matters to me right now.  The rest will all work itself out in time. 
What a blessing Patrick and I have been given in Katie, as well as our Brooke and Austin! 
How sweet life IS!

Our meeting with the Neuro surgeon

Well, we have put Katie through the ringer with medical appointments and she has been a feminine champ through it all!  Our pediatrician gave her a clean bill of health and most of her blood work (10 vials of blood later) has all come back in good shape and it appears that all her vaccinations she received in China worked.  I have to say I am shocked by this as 60% of kids adopted from China have to have vaccinations re-administered once in the US.   We went to the dentist and shock of all shocks, she does not have any cavities which was also another welcome surprise.  Surprising because orphanages are notorious for giving these kiddos lots of sugary foods, falling asleep with bottles and they don't brush their teeth.
We also met with a children's neuro surgeon a few days ago and he did confirm that Katie had brain surgery as a newborn.  He explained that the scar is very typical of an epidural hematoma which is what Katie had.  He said that he is certain that it was caused by a traumatic labor and delivery, specifically the use of a suction vacuum in the hospital or forceps which may have caused the blood clot on her brain.  He said that given her development is right on target with the exception of her language, he is not worried and did not want to do any type of brain scan.  He said that her head is very flat due to spending an abundant amount of time on her back in a crib in the orphanage, and not from the surgery itself and felt that it will gain a more rounded shape over the years. 
We do think that Katie is having small seizures throughout the day and after discussing with him and our pediatrician we are going to wait to do testing for a bit, as it can be a lengthy process.  She is not in any immediate harm and they are very mild and most people would not even notice that she has had one.  Her eyes flutter a bit and she appears a bit dazed for about 5-10 seconds, so they are very short and painless.
Regardless, as a mother it is our innate response to worry.

On a separate note, Katie is now such a typical two year old, minus any language.  She is happy and charming and full of energy.  If you would have asked me one month ago to describe her personality, I would have told you that my daughter was shy, fearful of loud situations, terrified of adults and reluctant to interact with other children.  Today, she is a loud, confident, assertive little girl who loves to play with other children, embracing them with big hugs and overall seems to be attaching superbly to her mommy and daddy.  She joins in on the WWF wrestling matches in the basement with the neighbor kids and loves to scream as she runs around the pool table while swinging her baby doll in one hand and her brothers laser tag gun in the other.  She wants me to cary her everywhere, loves to climb in my lap while I work on the computer and has a sweet tooth, just like her daddy.  I felt like I loved her to maximum capacity the moment she was placed in my arms.  A week ago, both Patrick and I felt like our love for her jumped exponentially and realized that as we get to know her personality on a deeper level, our love for her grows deeper roots as well. 
Life with three kids has not been difficult.  The difficult part is having a two year old that leaves a path of destruction in her wake.  It is part of a two year olds private little joke to leave chunks of food and toys everywhere, and to stuff bottles in the couch cushions for her parents to find as a soured science experiment a week later.  Changing diapers again has not bothered me, but when she sticks her hand in her poopy diaper and then giggles while accidentally wiping it on her clean clothes or my sweater.........now that bothers me!  :)

I pray that each of you is as blessed in your lives as we are.  We have three of the most amazing kids in the world.  They share their love with us and others so freely and they have embraced Katie as their sibling with open arms and big  giant bear hugs (or headlocks, in Brooke's case).  I cannot begin to imagine my life any other way.       

 

Today is our 1 month anniversary of our "Gotcha Day"!

1 month ago today, our little Katie was placed in my arms, by her nanny, the only parental figure she had ever known in two years.  She was terrified and shut down emotionally and physically.  She was shaking and twitching with a fear that I cannot comprehend. 
1 month ago today, was one of the happiest days of our lives, and one of the worst in her little life.  Once again, she was ripped from the arms of her "mama" and forced to start over again.  I wonder, how many times this happen to her?  She lost her birth mother, and she lost her nanny or "Ayi", but how many other nannies had she lost in the past two years?  One?  Three?  Ten?  I have no idea, and I will never know, but I do know that it had to have been horrible for her with each loss.
And then on Gotcha Day, here is this family that looks very strange and smells funny with tears rolling down their cheeks, kissing on her and hugging her.  Perfect strangers now bound together by a love that she does not feel yet.  In fact, she hated her new mama.  She would tremble when I came near her.  She would close her eyes and hope that I was just a bad dream, only to open them to me still largely in her world. 
1 month ago today, Katie was a completely different child than the one that now runs around the house, chasing her new brother and and sister, squealing at the top of her lungs.  There is virtually no hint of that scared little girl, so terrified and angry.   She now carries her baby doll everywhere, stopping only to feed her a bottle or to give her a hug and a squeeze.  She holds her arms up to me, asking me to pick her up and hold her in my arms, which I so willingly do, over and over again.  She smiles and babbles and talks to me in the limited baby talk that she has and we can communicate and understand each other. 
Katie still thinks the sun rises each morning for her daddy, which is truly such a blessing and so wonderful to see.  She loves her daddy to pieces, but she now seems to love me too! 
I can hold her in my arms at night and sing to her and stroke her head while we sit cheek to cheek in our big chair.  She now cries when I leave the room, not just her daddy.  She beams with delight when her brother and sister get home from school and loves it when Austin climbs in her crib at night, stroking her head and singing soft songs until she falls asleep.
Our life is more blessed than we could have possibly ever imagined.  Katie was truly picked by God as the perfect complement to our family.  She is so much like her brother and sister and such a gentle soul.  We could not imagine life without her.  Although it can drive me to tears thinking about the two missed years that I did not have her in my life, I have to give that piece over to God, knowing that he was preparing her and preparing us for each other.  He did the most masterful job of creating our family and I have always told my biological children that I am so glad that "God picked me to be your mommy".  Now, I can say the same thing to Katie, because it is clear to us that God picked these children, not by coincidence or science, but by the loving and faithful hand of God, because no other children would have worked in this family.....  Austin, Brooke and Katie were made just for us.  I am so thankful and truly in awe of Him.  What a gracious God we have.

It's been a week and a half since we returned home

So what a difference a week makes!  We have been home a week and a half now and Katie has improved by leaps and bounds!  Each day, we seem to make progress, with the weekends being a step backwards (I'll explain), but overall we are still moving in the right direction! 
Patrick is back to work and I am on maternity leave which means that Katie is "stuck" with me during the weekdays.  This past week, she really began warming up to me, letting me hold her and kiss all over her and she even began babbling with me, which had been something only reserved for her daddy and siblings.  I was so thrilled!  Once daddy was home in the evenings, she preferred spending time in his arms, opposed to mine, but I wasn't offended since I got to hog her all day long.  She has begun to understand so many english words as well!  She understands changing her diaper, snack time, bottle, and even nap time because she goes to hide in a closet!  I find her peaking out from behind daddy's suits!  She is still not saying any english words but with the language barrier and the speach delays due to institutionalization, I am pleased to see her babbling and experimenting with words.  She will point at an object and look to me for an explanation of what the object is.
Over the weekend, we did take some steps backwards, however we took her to a pumpkin patch and I think that may have been a bit overwhelming.  She then proceeded to refuse any affection from me and wouldn't let me hold her which was honestly hearbreaking, after making such strides.  Tomorrow is Monday, so we will have more alone time which means 5 days of hopeful progress!
I have to say, that Brooke and Austin have been so amazing through this process.  I really expected them to struggle more with the adaptation of a little sister, and they have been truly remarkable.  Austin puts her to bed at night which is so sweet.  He climbes into the crib with her and strokes her head until she is sound asleep.  Katie cuddles up against him and is out like a light within 5 minutes, and Austin is soooo proud of himself!  And Brooke, whom I thought would really struggle with a new baby sister, has just smothered this poor child with love!  She literally mauls the poor child with hugs and kisses.  I don't think another child has received so many kisses in a single day.  Katie is such a trooper and puts up with it, and even seems to enjoy it.  She follows her brother and sister everywhere and they get to running around the house screaming jiberish wish makes Katie laugh until she snorts like a pig.  Pretty darn cute, if you ask this mama pig.

Brooke also wants to feed her all her meals, which means that I have been replaced in that department but its too hard to tell Brooke "no" as she enjoys it so.
I have loved watching Katie flourish, seeing that she is gaining confidence to tell me when she is hungry.  She goes to her highchair and pats the seat when she wants food and she has learned that mama comes a runnin' with fistfulls of snacks when she does this.  I want her to realize that she can get food when her belly is grumbling and that she will no longer only have 2 meals a day.

We had our first doctors appointment this past week, and she passed with preliminary flying colors.  We still have to run some blood work at the hospital and meet with a children's neuro surgeon, but she was 50% in height and 25% in weight on the american scale, so she is healthy and thriving.  A little excema medication and we were on our way!

To sign out, I just want to say thank you to all of you who have followed our journey and prayed for our family along the way.  It has meant the world to us, and we are so incredibly grateful for the support and good friends that we have as our support system.  At church today I weeped through the entire service as I looked at my newest daughter in my husbands arms and realized how incredibly blessed we are.  We all needed each other.  Katie needed a family, and we needed a little girl to bring us more love, hugs and giggles (or pig snorts, whatever you want to call them).  Austin and Brooke are so much more enriched with their new little sister and although I see some attachement therapy in our near future, I think that our family will soon feel whole and normal and fulfilled in short order. 

I will continue to update our blog  with pictures and stories as our lives progress over the coming weeks.  And if anyone is feeling led towards adoption, I would love to talk with you about it!  I think that we are all called to do different things in life, and if you are feeling called to find a child, its a dramatically wonderful journey, that you have to experience to truly understand!