Caught off-guard

We're not sure how far Keith is developmentally-speaking. One doctor said 6-9 months, another doctor said newborn. Whatever the age he is - he is learning some new behaviors. Today he threw a big fit (he seems to be having fits more often these days...) so I calmed him down by rocking him. Once he was calmed down, I put him on the floor. He looked up at me and very deliberately stuck out his tongue and blew raspberries at me and scooted away quickly. Tyler & I were definitely caught off-guard by this behavior. He knew what he was doing.

Both children have been more difficult lately. Keith throws more fits. If I take him away from ANYTHING that he's doing, he throws a fit. It's getting to be ridiculous how many times he throws his head back and kicks his legs throughout the day (and evening). Anna wasn't much of a tantrum girl - so this is new territory for me. Kristina is now whining. All. The. Time. If she can't have a bath - she whines. If she can't play wii - she whines. If I can't pick her up immediately - she whines. Ah yes, we have two very difficult-to-please children in our house. The therapist warned us that things would get worse before they got better. She wasn't kidding around.

Naps and Corners

After having episodes of Kristina waking up in the middle of the night and NOT going back to sleep, we cut our her nap during the day. Problem solved. I thought that doing the same with Keith would help with his bedtime routine - and it did. Problem solved. Although I'm happy that they go down to bed MUCH easier at night - I miss my 2 hour break during the day! ;o)

While Uncle Yury was here for Christmas, he spoke to Kristina and Keith in Russian which was great. He asked some questions to Kristina and we found out some vital things. For example, she KNOWS that I am her Mama and that Tyler is her Daddy. She is happy. She is afraid of the dark - it's SO HELPFUL to know that - now we leave a light on in her room at night. The tooth she is missing was knocked out in Ukraine - we were wondering...and then discipline. Yury sent Kristina to the corner for disobeying. He said that in Ukraine sending the children to the corner is their main form of discipline. We have been sending her there since then when she disobeys.

Not to worry - we follow it up with a big hug and kiss and "Mama lubit (loves) Kristina". :o)

Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I know that we did. The kids woke up around 6am and went through their stockings. We had breakfast around 7am. Then the kids opened presents! We had a lovely time.

While uploading Christmas videos and pictures on my other blog, I found these old videos that I wanted to share. Enjoy!



Keith doing his excited dance!

This was the day after we arrived home from Ukraine. Kristina LOVES to dance and here her fabulous Aunt Tisha is dancing with her.

Anna at her school program - it's a marshmallow world!

Keith not only loves bathtime - he has learned how to SPLASH! He absolutely loves splashing around in the tub and is quite upset if you take him out!

Seeing through new eyes

Presenting: Keith modeling his new glasses. You may now "Ooh" and "Aah" over how cute he is.

I think we have enough

Clothes...

And therefore, we have more than enough laundry.

100th post

Wow. 100 posts. It's amazing the journey that we've had thus far. We started our paperwork in April of this year (2008) and submitted in July, and traveled in October. And now we have 2 adorable children with us here. I hoped to have them home for Christmas and God answered that prayer. We are so blessed.

Both Keith & Kristina think it's HILARIOUS whenever we blow our nose with a tissue. I'm not entirely sure why this is - but during this time of year we can't help but entertain them with this activity.

Here is a video I saw on this blog. Thank you all who keep our country safe!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Swaddling

I have been swaddling both children before naptime and bedtime and it has been working wonderfully. My husband says it seems that we spend our entire life trying to recreate the feelings of being in the womb. ;o) Kristina does especially well before naptime and bedtime. She snuggles right up and is so affectionate and sweet during the rocking time. She is easy to love. :o)

Today we picked out some glasses for Keith. They are bronze-colored - they match his beautiful eyes. In one week (when they're hopefully ready to be picked up) I'll post some pictures. He wasn't too thrilled about them, I must say. But, the one year warranty on them was a little reassuring. Keith has also decided that he LOVES the bath. It's amazing the change in him. Today he sat in the tub and actually *gasp* splashed the water with his hands! And when daddy took him out - a HUGE fit until he was placed back in the bathtub. What a funny little guy.

Glasses

Keith went to see the opthamalogist today and informed Tyler that Keith needs glasses. I must admit - I hadn't thought that either Kristina or Keith would wear glasses. I just assumed that their eyes would be better off than mine or Tyler's. ;o) The doc said it would improve his strabismus...anyone else heard of this? I thought it just required a simple procedure...

I am one satisfied mama

Why, you ask? Because my babies each took a 2 hour nap and THEN at 7pm they went to bed tonight. All times they averaged about 30 minutes each to be ready to sleep. Hooray!!! I rocked them both and it was much easier this time. I swaddled both of them pretty snuggly and then rocked them while feeding them a warm bottle and then singing to them. This is the song that I keep singing to them - it just came to my mind automatically, which is interesting because I never sang it to Anna.

Mother, Tell Me the story:

Mother, Tell Me the story that I love to hear. Tell me of heaven and why I came here. Mother tell how you love me and gently speak, and then I'll go to sleep.

Child, I am here. Can you feel that heaven is near? Sleep, sleep, a love watch I'll keep to protect you through the night.

And here are some pictures that I just realized I hadn't posted yet. Enjoy!

Strength and weakness

We had a 2 hour doctor's visit today with an attachment disorder specialist for Kristina. Dr. Melodie had lots of things to say about Kristina. She said that Kristina has lots of strengths: Kristina is aware of pain and that she turns to us to give her kisses when she falls down; the fact that Kristina is affectionate with us is good; that Kristina has empathy for others; that Kristina was patient while we worked with Keith during the visit. Dr. Melodie complimented us saying that we've been able to successfully develop communication between Kristina & ourselves.

We talked about Keith and Dr. Melodie said that he is showing some clear warning signs of attachment issues. She had me hold him like you would an infant and Keith just flipped out. I hadn't realized this about him. She said that daily I should hold him like an infant and look into his face and try to make eye contact. Keith avoided my eyes and was screaming which made it difficult for me to smile and sing to him - which she said I should be doing during this time. It was exhausting, but very informative.

We asked her about our bedtime struggles and she suggested that we rock both children to sleep and then to put them down for bed. I rocked them each (individually) for naptime today and that went...okay. It took 45 minutes with Kristina and 1 hour with Keith - but they both went to sleep. Then it came time for bedtime. Anna had her Christmas program at school so Tyler went with her to that & I attempted my first bedtime routine involving the idea of rocking them to sleep. Kristina took 1 hour and she transferred well from my arms to bed, no problem. Keith - another story. I rocked him for almost 2 full hours. Eyes wide open. Nothing. Not even a hint of fatigue - except from me. Then I had the thought to stop rocking the chair. Instantly he threw a huge fit - and then I figured it out. Keith LOVES movement - he was enjoying the rocking and it was stimulating his mind, so he wasn't getting tired from the rocking at all. In fact, it was keeping his mind focused and alert. Great. So now I'm trying to figure out how to bond with Keith while putting him to bed without rocking...any thoughts?

Bedtime issues

We are having bedtime issues. Kristina has to have the room completely DARK to be able to sleep - Anna has to have light, so we've been separating them until they're both asleep and then moving into the same bed together. Since Kristina will get up and play in their room - she is the one who is falling asleep in another bed. Well...now she is getting up in that room (master bedroom) and playing with whatever is in there (not a good idea). She cries when we put her to bed - could it be nightmares? Could she just not need a lot of sleep? So tonight we're putting her in the guest room - which is also the tv room and the computer room...lots of breakable things...isn't sounding like a great idea...

Meanwhile, Keith is becoming more mobile than ever. He somehow gets out of his bed - a daybed with a railing on all sides - and is playing on the floor. Last night at 1am - yes, you read that right, and yes, I was awake - I heard something in his room and found him WIDE AWAKE on the floor playing with toys. I don't know what to do. He HATES to go to bed. Kristina HATES to go to bed. Is it possible that they just don't need sleep???

Getting ready for Christmas

So, Christmas is just next week. How did you teach your children about Christmas when they don't speak English? We're going to get out the Little People nativity set and teach them the story. My brother-in-law, Yury, is from Belarus and speaks Russian. He and my sister, Heather, & their adorable daughter, Iliana, are coming to celebrate Christmas with us this year! It will be nice to have a quiet Christmas this year and I look forward to having Yury explain what Christmas is all about to Keith & Kristina. Oh, and by the way, if you have a baby or know someone who is going to have a baby - my sister, Heather, has a patent pending on these.

Help me out, here

So Keith & Kristina are adjusting really well (thus far) and so that's good, but my daughter, Anna, well, she's not doing so well. She has been having meltdowns almost daily...I'm not sure what to do. She can be extremely overemotional and be upset about very minor things. We're not sure when to coddle her and when to expect more from a 6 (almost 7) year-old. We give her affection and praise every day. We make a point of doing things with her, for her, extra snuggle time, etc. At times I feel like she may be using the adoption as an excuse to get out of doing undesirable things or to gain extra rewards for "having a hard time." I'm not sure what to do. Anyone out there have any ideas? I have considered finding a counselor to talk with her - what are your thoughts?

How long did you wait?

How long did you wait before you got a babysitter and went out for a date?

Change, indeed

Keith has been anti-baths since we brought him home. So imagine my surprise when my husband shows me this photo:
Is that really my son? I wonder what brought about the change? Regardless, I'm happy it's happening. :o)

Keith had an appointment with a swallowing expert and they said that Keith can swallow just fine, so that's good news. Hopefully within a year or so he will be eating more solid food. :o)

Kristina is doing better - behavior-wise. Tonight I just held her and sang several songs - it calmed her right down. The only question is - why haven't I done this before?!?

She likes to move it, move it

So recent news with Keith - his legs are fine. We thought his femurs weren't completely in his hip joints - but recent x-rays show that they are completely normal. So we need to get this boy walking! (when he's ready, of course) :o) Despite Keith not walking (without our help), he is getting around the house more now. In the beginning he would stay in one spot for hours. Now I leave for 5 minutes and he's across the room or after his nap he's UNDER his bed, etc. It's a good sign that he's more comfortable here and that he's already developing in healthy ways.

Kristina went to see psychologist with Tyler on-base today. The psychologist said that Kristina MAY have some signs of RAD, but after doing my own research today - I doubt that she has it. She has already shown many signs of being attached to us as her parents. We did get a referral to some specialists nearby and I am eager to see what they will say and to see we can do to teach her better behavior. She is a button-pusher and at the end of the day, we are tired of our buttons being pushed by this adorable, but difficult child.

Today we brought out the tinker toys. A good time was had by all!

Anna & Kristina playing the "drums".
Drum solo by Kristina!
Maggie - wanting to be where all the excitement was!
Keith - he was actually excited about having his picture taken. Let's hope this will continue and I might get more smiles from him on camera!


The whole family having a great time! And below are some videos of Kristina. The first one is of her playing with a toy she got at McDonald's in Ukraine. She likes to move it, move it - reminds me of my brother, Evan, who likes a movie with that song on it, but I can't remember the name of it...anyhow, the second clip is of Kristina doing the actions for the song: "If you're happy and you know it" - I love it when she says "hooray!", so cute! I think we have another singer on our hands, here! She LOVES music! A girl after my own heart! Enjoy!

Today was

hard. We've been home for 3 weeks now (hard to believe) and most days are better than I imagined that they would be, but today was difficult. Poor Kristina - my patience was very short with her - which usually only happens in the evenings - and things never go well when I'm irritable. I know that we're all adjusting, but I didn't feel like I did as well as I could today as a mama of 3. Anyone else have these days?

SMALL WORLD

Today I am beginning to understand the important of making the world of Kristina & Keith small. For some reason it hadn't really dawned on me beforehand. I guess some things come faster than others within the realm of adoption, but today it just "clicked" in my mind that these kids never did much more than stay in the orphanage, so anything more exciting than that could work them up. However, to be honest - it doesn't affect Keith NEARLY as much as it affects Kristina to be out and about. But church was still too long for Keith. Being LDS, we're in church for 3 hours, which is pretty taxing on these young ones. For you church go-ers - how did you manage that in the beginning?

So today I was going to go to the store, but we had planned to go to FHE (family home evening - mondays are set aside to spend family time together and sometimes we combine with another family) at my friend, Nicole's house - so I didn't go to the store. I don't know why - but I'm so proud of myself for recognizing what should have been easily recognizable, but wasn't. Anyhow, this evening at Nicole's house was great. We had soup, rolls, and cookie sundaes. One funny thing - we gave Kristina ice cream. It must have been her very first time having it because she said it was "too cold" and wouldn't eat any more!

Anna with her friend, Celeste
Kristina with a "machina" (car) - she LOVED playing in this. She loves cars and is constantly pointing out all the "machinas" everywhere we go. Perhaps Santa might try to find one of these cars for Kristina...?
Look at that smile! So cute!
Nicole and our Keith. I must say that Keith is really warming up to people in general. When we first visited him in the orphanage, he was very cautious and certainly didn't smile at all. Now he's becoming more friendly and it warms my heart to see him smile more easily. :o) Thanks for a great night, Nicole!

Reuniting with an old friend

My good friend, Valerie, became my friend by introducing me to my son, Keith, through Reece's Rainbow and by recommending our placement agency, About A Child. And the rest, as they say, is history! Valerie adopted Evan from the orphanage in Artemovsk. While she was there with Evan, she met our future son, Keith. She took pictures of him and hoped in her heart that someone, somewhere would adopt him. Little did she know that that person would be me and that I live only 25 miles away from Valerie! God works in mysterious and miraculous ways. My life has been so blessed because of Valerie, words cannot describe my gratitude to her for telling me about this little guy! Tonight we had a little reunion between Evan & Keith - who were cribmates in Ukraine - now friends in the same state. What a small world.

Keith & Evan...not sure why everyone was taking photos of them...

There's a little smile...

Keith puts his hand over his mouth when he's unsure of what's going on...

Seriously, how cute are these guys?!?!

Adorable!

Me holding Evan - he is so snuggly, I couldn't resist!

Group photo, take one

Friends before

Friends forever

From left to right: Keith, Evan, Jacob, Maren, Kristina, Lukas, Anna - holding Josh.

What do you do when

your daughter is out of control? She's overstimulated and doesn't know how to calm herself down? What do you do?

2 doctor visits later...

Keith went to the Pediatric Cardiologist yesterday - he said everything looks normal. Keith had lots of bloodwork done late week including hepatitis and others - everything was normal. This morning we took Keith to a feeding specialist - yeah, he's quite delayed. I was informed that he's not eating solid food because he is not developed in that area to do so. I am now returning back to pureed food (tasty, eh?) and with his once a week therapy, the therapist said he might be able to eat solid food in 3 months or up to 2 years. Wow. 2 years. Can you imagine? She said that he doesn't use his lips to help take a bite - but "cheats" using his teeth and not moving his jaw at all. She said he isn't chewing at all, but should in time.


One doctor recommended that we have Keith tested for PKU. Tyler has done some research and Keith seems to have several symptoms. Does anyone else have experience with PKU? I'd love to hear more from you on this subject. I guess that all babies born in the US are tested for PKU after they're born, but since Keith was adopted - well, we'll just have to see what the test results are when we get him tested.


I feel like I write a LOT about Keith and not as much about Kristina. Perhaps this is because Keith has more special needs than Kristina and we're taking him to several doctor appointments all the time. Not to worry, Kristina is getting plenty of attention and love and she's adjusting wonderfully in our family. Keith is also adjusting. He is giving us LOTS of smiles now, which is so fun to see. He is also moving around a lot now. Yesterday morning I went into his room and he was underneath his bed. What the? I have no idea how he got off his bed - there's a railing all around the mattress (it's a daybed). He's Mr. Houdini or something. His strept throat is improving and his rash is going away (finally). Keith is allowing Maggie to be closer to him lately. It's a funny relationship - Keith does NOT like Maggie and Maggie LOVES to be near Keith.


Keith seems to be "tolerating" Maggie now.


Tonight we celebrated Saint Nicholas Day - it's supposed to be on December 6th, but I thought it was December 5th...so...hopefully the kids didn't notice...click here for pictures.

Christmas pictures

Keith is a happy guy today. I think he's feeling better and so he's very easy to entertain and I love seeing him smile and giggle over & over! Tyler went back to work today. They unofficially gave him "paternal leave" for 2 weeks once I got home with the kids. How cool is that? Keith is doing better in eating, but still not drinking. Kristina is eating just fine, but still very slowly. Keith & Kristina are very opposite in their eating speeds. Keith is all business when it comes to mealtime. He scarfs down his food and won't smile or play with you until the food is gone. Kristina seems to not care about eating and is easily distracted. Today she literally chewed on one bite for 5 minutes...it's hard for me to transition from feeding Keith to Kristina. I feel like I'm leaving the turnpike and entering a school zone.

I am so pleased with how sweet and affectionate Kristina is. She must give me 30 kisses a day - no exaggeration! She is always ready to love on me and I can't say that I mind it! Yesterday when Keith was in his highchair, his bib came undone. I watched him as he took the bib and tried to put it back on himself. He's such a clever little guy. Invalid, HAH!

We took some pictures of the kids for our Christmas letters. There were some really hilarious ones, and I now have SO much respect for those persons who try to take pictures of multiple children at once. Enjoy our bloopers for this photo shoot:

Dentist

Keith went to the pediatric dentist today. This dentist actually works mainly with special needs children. Considering how much Keith hates to be messed with in any way, Tyler said the dental visit went better than he expected. Keith had zero cavities - how's that for not having his teeth brushed EVER before we got him? Of course, he didn't eat anything sweet, perhaps there's a lesson in there somewhere...anyhow, the dentist said Keith's mouth was reminiscent of a child with Down Syndrome, being a big mouth, but he also said that his tongue isn't enlarged and it doesn't appear that he has DS, but that his large mouth may be indicative of another type of special needs, likewise with his top front teeth that stick out pretty far - of course, he also said that could just be a genetic thing. Who knows? He also said that most special needs children aren't intellectually "with him" during the dental procedures, but he said that Keith was very much aware and mentally acute during the visit. He said that he thinks it's possible that Keith's problems may stem from just a lack of stimulation throughout his short life.

As for Keith's strept throat, he won't drink much at all (read: without being forced to do so), but we try to mix in a lot of liquids into his already pureed food. He was eating more solid foods before he got strept throat, but now refuses to do so. I've been blending up the food we eat - which saves money. I made grits tonight with pureed peaches and he LOVED them. The baked beans and creamed corn? Not so much. We have three more appointments with Keith this week: cardiology, speech, & feeding. I'm so grateful for the military facilities that we have access to - they are wonderful!

Kristina is doing well. I've been teaching her to say "My name is Kristina" which sounds like "My naamuh es Pistina", very cute. She is quite affectionate and gives me hugs and kisses all day long. She enjoys playing with Anna and I often hear them giggling and playing together. Anna is a good big sister and feels empowered in her role to teach Kristina about various things. Kristina has an appointment with the dentist soon and will be getting speech therapy and occupational therapy as well.

I want to THANK those who have offered to help us with things for Keith & Kristina. You have blessed us so much. Not only have I gained two beautiful children through this adoption process, but I have made such good friends with you all. Thank you so very much. You are our angels here on earth.

And I thought we were through with paperwork

So, I need to hear from you veteran adoptive parents. We are looking to get reimbursements back from our state ($4,000) and from the military ($5,000). However, we need to have social security cards for the children, which we don't have. And apparently we need to have paperwork stating that they are U.S. citizens to get social security cards, which we don't have. Just having finished our adoption trip - we are completely strapped for money = we are poor folks here. What is the process for getting social security cards (what paperwork do we need to have) and how do we register the kids with the Ukrainian Embassy? I look forward to hearing from you.