Lots of Updates...

I just realized that it had been over a week since I last updated! Wow! I have been really busy between taking care of John Paul and getting Dasha's dossier together. There has been a lot of running around! I picked up our updated medical certificates from the doctor's office today and our social worker's license came in the mail today as well. The notary had made a mistake on the previous copy that she had sent me. So guess what? I have a completed dossier! YAY!! Most of the documents are already out getting apostilled. I have the last batch that I am overnighting out tomorrow. So as long as everything gets back to me (with no mistakes) I should be able to ship Dasha's dossier to Ukraine next week! Of course she won't be available until Oct. and we may not travel until November, but at least it will be there and can get submitted. They are probably close to giving out October travel dates anyway, if they aren't already. I can't wait to get that little girl home. John Paul and I watched some of the video of him and her from the orphanage the other day while Rick was at work. John Paul said, "Dah, Dah". I think he was trying to say Dasha. He was smiling at her and started laughing when he heard her laughing in the video. His eyes got huge when he saw himself. He was intrigued by seeing himself! It was so cute!!

We had three rough days with him after he had his vaccinations. He just was not himself at all. He was very fussy and temperamental for days. And he didn't want to eat very much at all. I was starting to get really concerned and was going to make him a dr. appointment on Monday, but then he woke up Monday morning smiling and started eating good again. I guess it just took a lot out of him. I did not realize that it would wipe him out like that for going on four days. I learned something new about him and next time I'll know to expect it. He only had two vaccinations. They were going to give him four at once, but I would not let them. I'm just really cautious about vaccinations and boy am I glad! I can only imagine how bad he would have felt if he had received double what they gave him.

He was so wiped out that I didn't even take him to get his blood work done until yesterday. He needed a break in my opinion. Apparently he has veins like I do. Tiny and hidden! They stuck him twice, once in the arm and once in his hand. And they were not able to get any blood. I felt so bad for him. We have to take him to the hospital lab to let them do it now. The lab next door to the pediatrician's office said that she only tries twice and then she refuses to stick kids again. I'm kind of dreading that because I had a bad experience at the hospital when they were trying to draw blood on Chloe. They were very impatient and rude with her and of course that did not fly well with me at all. That has been almost two years ago so hopefully they have new, nicer staff now. I'll try with him next week. I'm giving him a break from it until then.

He was so funny when we got home from the lab! They had put a band-aid on his hand after the last stick. He was sitting in the floor while I was fixing supper and he looked down at the band-aid and gave it a mean look! Then he ripped it off and threw it down on the floor hard and fast while making a mean face. Then he rubbed his little hand and looked up at me and whined. I could not help but laugh on the inside because it was so cute to see him do that! So smart and adorable. Supper had to wait while I gave him some love and cuddling. He loves to get hugged and kissed! And he is such a little cuddler (that is when he is not too busy for it).

Here's another funny thing he did! I put gel in his hair, after his bath this morning, and spiked his hair up. It looked so funny! Here was this sweet little innocent face with this wild hairdo. It was so cute that it made me laugh. He gave me the stink eye (because I laughed at him) and pushed his hair back down. That of course was even funnier because it surprised me that he would do that. He surprises me more and more every day! I wasn't going to leave his hair standing up like Billy Idol's by the way. I was just playing and having fun. He was not as amused as I was. lol! I must have given him a slight complex because through out the next several hours I saw him pushing down at his hair like he was making sure it was still down. lol!!

The BIG accomplishment for the day was that he used the potty for the very first time ever in his life (twice)!! Not to give out too much information, but I am so proud of him! He did a number one the first time and a number two the second time. He bent over and looked in his potty (to see what all of the praise was for) and then babbled a little and smiled from ear to ear. He seemed proud of his new accomplishment.

He went with me to my doctor's office to pick up the medical certificates and had a fun time flirting with the nurses. What a little ham he is! One nurse was bent over talking to him and he reached for her stethoscope. We were the only ones there and it was the end of the day. She sat in the floor and played with him. She took her stethoscope and said, "Do you want me to listen to your heart?". That little stinker cut her a smile and lifted his shirt up for her!! He did this about ten different times with her and then he backed up to her and sat in her lap. He is such a loving little boy! Today he reminded me so much of Chloe and how happy she always was entertaining every one. It made me really happy because I know that he must realize how loved he is now and it is beginning to really shine through in his personality. He's becoming the little boy that God intended for him to be and he's getting so secure and confident. He is such a miracle to us! We just love him!! I looked down at him this morning when I was wiping his face after breakfast. Looking back up at me were these sweet and innocent little eyes with the shape characteristic of Down Syndrome. Those sweet little creases under his eyes. I couldn't help but cry tears of joy as I thought how nice it is to see those little eyes again in my family. The sweetest and most beautiful little eyes you will ever see. My heart is so full! Then I thought about how awesome it will be when Dasha is here too. Two perfect little angels. Who could ask for anything more? Other than having Chloe here with all of us during this happy time. But we accept God's reasons and know that God used Chloe to lead us to John Paul and Dasha. I know she is smiling down and loves her new brother and soon to be sister. It is so remarkable because several of the toys that John Paul has claimed as his favorites were Chloe's favorites. She's definitely smiling down. :)

John Paul's Doctor Appointment

John Paul had his first doctor appointment since he has been home today. We got
referrals to the cardiologist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, and physical therapist. We also got a referral to Children's Hospital to get orthotics for his feet where he rolls his ankles inward when he stands and walks. I realized after I left that they didn't give us a referral to the E.N.T. like I had requested so tomorrow when we go back for his labs I will make sure they get that taken care of too. The doctor said that he could hear his heart murmur today. That was contrary to what we were told by the medical examiner in Ukraine. Once we get into the cardiologist that will reveal what is going on. We were told in Ukraine that he has an ASD defect.

He did really well with the doctor today. He only got upset when they gave him two vaccinations, and that is understandable! I personally hate needles! We were at the doctor's office for two hours and by the time we were done it was lunch time. So since he was grumpy from the shots, ready to eat, and getting tired (since nap time is right after lunch), I decided to wait until tomorrow morning to have his blood work done. I figured he had been through enough today.

In general, he is doing really well. He has stopped crying through his baths and is starting to enjoy bath toys. So that is awesome! He's playing more independently with his toys. He's still eating really well! He loves the cats and likes chasing after them. He's just an awesome little guy!

This Is for "Anonymous"

The anonymous that apparently is a member of the car seat patrol and left the following comment...

im so glad hes home safe,
but i see hes not in his carseat right the straps need to be higher up and also that car seat is more then 7 years old so i hope for his saftey you get a new one.
thank you

August 13, 2008 10:03 PM

First of all, if you don't have the nerve to even show who you are, then please do us the great favor of staying off of our blog and leaving your nasty grams.

Second, what makes you the authority on the age of my car seat? Where did you obtain the purchase receipt from? Not that you deserve an explanation, but for the readers that I do care about, the car seat is less than three years old and it was only used for about 4 months. It was bought for our daughter, Chloe, and then she had to grow into it. So it sat unused for about a year in the box it came in. Then Chloe spent the majority of the last seven months of her life living in the hospital where she obviously did not need a car seat. Let me guess, you maybe bought one or someone you know had one like it seven years ago. Guess what? So did my nephew, but they didn't stop making that model of car seat after you and my nephew got one. Further it was bought brand new less than 3 years ago at a major department store that would know if the car seat had any recalls that would make it a danger to a child. So if you have a problem with a car seat being sold for more than four years, then you should really take that up with Wal-Mart. And I can't see as to how a new car seat that sat in its box for a year, then was used for 4 months before our daughter passed away, and then stored unused for another year makes it unsafe. The key word here is "unused" and if you knew us and the details of our life then you would know that. In addition to that the car seat has never been involved in any auto accident that would make it unsafe. So I don't know where you are coming from.

And as far as the strap height, I don't see a problem with it. Neither has anyone else, except you, a stranger that doesn't have the nerve to identify yourself. He is in between strap heights. While I am very aware that the current strap height is a little low, the higher strap is too high and I did not like the strap that high and near his face. I picked the safer of the two options. And for your information we had already bought him another car seat before I read your comment today. And we didn't buy it because the current is one old and ragged. As a matter of fact, it will be used in our other car. We bought the new one because it is softer and will be more comfortable for him on long trips.

So I'll end this by saying, mind your own business please in the future regarding circumstances that you know nothing about. And take your judgments else where.

Thank you for your uneducated assumption regarding our child's safety.

And to our loyal readers, thank you for your continued support and prayers. I apologize for this post, but not to the "anonymous" individual that it was intended for. Any comment other than insinuating that we don't provide safety for our child would probably have been ignored. I found this over the top and insulting and could not let it go, even though as a Christian I probably should have. I apologize for being less than perfect, but I will not stand idly by when false accusations have been made about my child's safety. As a result of this, comment moderation has been enabled and anonymous users will blocked from leaving comments.

Our Fundraiser

While we were in Ukraine my mom began making a quilt for us to raffle in an effort to help raise money to bring Dasha home. I have posted larger pictures at the bottom of this post. Please read the post in its entirety as it explains the sentimental value behind this quilt. It's really more than just a quilt. At least to us and the people that know about the quilt collection and that knew and still love Chloe. If you are really in a hurry or share my dislike of reading, then I have put the meaning of the quilts in bold print so you can skip through. I know how it is to be busy!

Below is what I wrote in Ukraine about the quilt and our fund raiser. I copied and pasted it from my Word document so it is still in past tense, but the meaning is the same.

In an effort to raise money to bring Dasha home my sweet mother has offered to make a baby quilt for us to raffle off. I am so touched that she has volunteered to use the talents that God has given her to help us raise money for our little angel that we have to leave behind. For those of you that may not have been following along the entire time, Dasha has not waited out the entire length of the waiting period in order to be adopted internationally. She will not be available until some time in October. John Paul is already four years old and was already scheduled for transfer to the institution. Our facilitator, Yulia, made contact with the orphanage director and had him to hold John Paul for a little over two weeks in order to give us time to get to him before he was transferred. We were uncertain if we would be able to adopt John Paul from the institution as no one had ever adopted from there before. And as it was put to me the conditions of the institution that he was going to be transferred to were questionable. It is a miracle that God worked out the timing for our travel and kept John Paul safe until we could get to him. It was simply not an option to leave him there until October when Dasha became available. God said, “Go”. So we went. And I praise God for blessing us with this sweet little boy! As of Saturday he has waited out the ten day waiting period and no one came forward to contest our adoption of him. Tomorrow we will pick up the court decree and he is officially our son. God has really worked strongly through this entire process, even giving us our court date to adopt John Paul on July 8th, which would have been Chloe’s 3rd birthday. While she is in a place that is like a birthday everyday, God gave us a special birthday gift in our new son. I can’t begin to describe what a blessing that was and what a miracle John Paul is to us.

While we are experiencing great happiness with the adoption of John Paul, we are also very sad to leave Dasha behind. It is also posing further financial obligations on our behalf than we had planned. We were not planning on paying for two separate adoptions in a year. But we can’t leave her here and I believe in my heart that she is meant to be ours and we know that God will provide. We are getting close to meeting the amount that it will take, but we are also fundraising in an effort to gain the entire amount as we will not be taking out any further adoption loans.

We are going to be trying to raise money in various ways. The first way is through the raffle of the quilt that I mentioned earlier. This quilt was hand made by my mother and it is adorable. But you can see for yourself below in the pictures. The quilt will also accompany a card that explains the collection of quilts and their sentimental value. To me these quilts are just one more blessing that came from Chloe. Each print is a happy print that reminds my mom and I of her sweet spirit. The first “happy quilt” was made for Chloe while I was still pregnant. My mom said that every time she thought of her she felt so much happiness. Little did we know what a bundle of sunshine she would actually end up being. After Chloe went to Heaven my mom was unsure if she would ever make another one of the “happy quilts“, but I encouraged her to keep making them. So in Chloe’s memory my mom changed the name from “Happy Quilts” to the Chloe Bean Collection. Bean was Chloe’s nickname and just the sound of Chloe Bean makes us smile. This quilt is number four of the “Chloe Bean Collection” of quilts. The quilt comes with a matching pillow and will be accompanied with a beautiful handmade card explaining the Chloe Bean Collection and the quilt that you have received. It also comes from a clean smoke free home and will arrive packed in a plastic carrying case.

The price for each raffle ticket is $5.00. I will let the raffle run for one month and then will declare the winner at that time. Even if you do not have or are not expecting a baby, it would make a great gift! If it is given as a gift to someone else, the card will also raise awareness for Down Syndrome. You can’t lose with this! You will get a precious handmade quilt that has been made with much love and prayers for the baby that will receive it, you will be helping to bring Dasha home to her parents and big brother that love her, and you will be keeping the legacy of our first little angel alive. How much love could be in one quilt?

We've been really busy since we have been home! Last week I spent trying to get settled back in and my mom came for a visit to meet John Paul. It was so great to see her! John Paul really liked his grammy! He got his first toy truck from his grammy. I told him that I bet his grammy would bring him something because that's what grammys do. :) We took a trip to the toy train museum in Harper's Ferry on Sunday. We all had a good time. John Paul enjoyed riding the train. I'll post pictures below from the museum and from my mom's visit. And I gave him his first hair cut. Well, first hair cut with us. He did so good through it. He was very patient.

He's still doing really well. I know he is gaining weight and he is looking so much healthier! He's been eating great! He eats everything that we eat. I just throw it in the minichopper and he eats it. I made lasagna a few days ago and he loved that! He gets happy when he hears the minichopper running. We're going to have to work away from the minichopper eventually, but right now he is eating so well! And he needs to gain weight so I'm not going to aggravate that just yet! He's made a lot of progress already anyway. He can hold and drink from his own cup now. He leaks some, but still doing a terrific job! He's really blossoming.

And he is so smart! When my mom was going outside to pack her things in her car before she left, he thought it was an opportunity to go outside. He walked about 20 steps to the door to go outside. The walking was AMAZING!!! That is the longest distance he has walked unassisted! Outside is motivating for him! The problem was that we were both still in our pajamas. We had just eaten our breakfast. So he didn't get to go out. He started crying. I sat him on the couch with me and told him that we'd go out later and that we weren't dressed to go outside. I told him that he didn't even have his shoes on. He hopped down and got his shoes and handed them to me. I couldn't help but laugh! It was so cute! I had no idea that he was starting to understand us! I was so proud! And yes he did get to go outside a little later.

We are still working on our dossier for Dasha. I hope to have it completed and sent to Yulia this month. Right now I am waiting on our social worker to get back with me to let me know if she still has an extra copy of my criminal record check. And also for her to send us another notarized copy of our home study and social worker's license.