Blogging Milestone!

This is post number 700. 700 posts in 7 years....

It's been really neat to look back at how far we've all come!

Our family has grown and we have met some great friends through blogging!

There are things I would have never remembered had it not been for blogging. Every single day of Jack's NICU stay, Ever single day of Morgan's NICU stay...and each day on my journey to bring Tyler home. There are the funny moments, and sad moments...

I started using a program to turn our blog entries into memory books. I have 4 of the 7 years completed so far. I hope one day our kids read these books and have special memories and photos long after this blog is gone!

Just a nifty little tidbit to share this morning!

June 2010 Photos :)

Our June 2010 Album is up!

JUNE 2010

I posted this on an ebay message board, but wanted to turn to my blogging friends too! It is a long story for another post, but I ordered a SN Stroller for Jack...it cost a little over $600. It was too large...like adult-sized too large, so I had to return it. I really want to take the time for another post about wheelchair woes...so it is coming! Here is the problem I am having right now...

am hoping someone can offer some advice!

I purchased an item from a great ebay seller. Unfortunately the item was too large and the seller authorized a return of the item.

I packed the 3 boxes in the seller's original packaging and dropped them off at our local FedEx Ground pick up location.

2 of the 3 boxes made it there today. The 3rd, and most expensive box, did not. The tracking information states "shipping info received" so it looks as though it was never scanned at pick up or picked up at all.

I contacted customer service at FedEx and opened a case#
for their package tracing dept. And now, I wait. I informed the seller of the delay as well.

So, my question is, how do I handle this situation? What happens if FedEx cannot locate my package? Am I out the money spent for my item? How much are FedEx Ground packages covered for? I never saw an notion for additional insurance, so I shipped it with whatever, if any coverage they offer.

Thank you in advance!

Catching Up!

So, I apologize for not keeping everyone up to date! Time goes by so quickly and before I know it it's time for BED! Jack started his Summer School Program this morning, Tyler is napping, and Morgan is happily not having to share toys with anyone at the moment ;) Now I am in between 3 tons of laundry...and sitting for just a moment to have a cup of coffee and catch up with blogging!

Let's go one by one for an update...I'll start with Tyler! He is feeling much better after being so sick from an infection on his arm. The site is healing and he is finished with his antibiotic. We are still watching the site, but it looks so much better than it did last week. He is eating very well, sleeping like a DREAM, and is just the happiest, funniest baby. We are still really low key and haven't been out much at all, or had too many visitors. It's really, truly helped with bonding and attachment. I believe he knows us well now and shows stranger anxiety (but does warm up and flash his gorgeous two-tooth smile). He loves, loves, LOVES Jack and Morgan. His whole face lights up and his little legs and arms and legs go a mile a minute whenever he sees them! He is gaining so much strength too. He can sit unassisted for a few seconds, can pivot and roll, and is trying like crazy to push off with his little feet to scoot on his belly. He started babbling "da, da, da" and has found his little voice. He also started eating stage 1 baby food. We are going slowly due to his tummy sensitivity to certain items! So far he has tried rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes. Today peas are on the menu! He is still on Soy formula and is doing really well. We are so happy he's home and love him to pieces!

Hmm, who's next? How about Jack! Jack amazes me each day...his language has exploded and he uses so many new phrases and words each day it's awesome! He has been healthy and seizure free for months...he is growing like a weed too. Who knows how much he weighs these days?! I'd say a safe bet would be 55+ lbs! Back in April and May he saw a bunch of his specialists...which nicely freed up our summer. We are looking at some type of orthopedic surgery within the year. Quite honestly I have put it on the back burner and will worry/obsess over it more after our follow up appointment in September. I will absolutely keep you posted! We've had a HUGE mess with his wraparound services....to say I am displeased is an understatement. Super long story made short...for months I requested (if at all possible) to keep the same TSS this summer. I mean our family has been through the biggest change to date...mommy had to leave for Ethiopia for 10 days...we brought home a new baby, and Jack who has a hard time with change truly needed consistency. His summer school program is at a new building and this fall he will return to school and have a new teacher and a new classroom. This is a lot of change for any kid, but for Jack it's all coming at once and I fear regression with all of the wonderful progress we've made with his therapist over the past two years. So they gave us two new TSS's (one for school, one for home) AND a new BSC. So essentially at a time when our family is stretched as far as it's ever been they take away EVERYONE. I know I don't have to tell some of you how EXHAUSTING it is to work with a new therapist. I mean starting from square one (regardless of how good the therapist is) is just...painful. So we're in the middle of meeting the new team, and they are great, don't get me wrong! But the reasons for switching therapists (TSS hours and availability for the summer) are not jiving with me considering our new TSS is unable to fill all of our hours. I just want to cry. In fact, I have. It's too much. We are a family that puts 110% plus into therapy. So much is at stake...my sanity being one (very important) thing. So, yeah, I'll keep you all posted on that front too! Jack's behavior has been pretty darn good through all of this though. I am very proud of him. He is using strategies he has learned over the past two years. Although, as I mentioned before, we have been very low key for the past month. So he hasn't been faced with a lot of demands or outside stress...so I am curious to see how school goes for him today. I miss him already, and he's only gone for 3 hours!

Morgan! She's just filled with cuteness, curiosity, precociousness, fun, and a VERY strong will! She and I have the most amazing conversations. I wish I could record each and every one. She is growing up right before our eyes. She takes the roll of big sister quite seriously. She had a few weeks of preschool (2 days a week) at DDS (where Jack went). We know the staff and love it there. She is in a class with typical kids and kids with special needs. I told the teacher don't be alarmed if she doesn't notice things like wheelchairs, walkers, or braces...she's so used to Jack that she won't care if a kiddo doesn't walk or talk -- she'll march right up to them and play or compliment the color of their wheelchair! She loves to help mommy and daddy around the house and loves to talk. She talks all the time. She woke up early (6 am) this morning and as I was getting Jack out of the bath tub she said "Hey mom, is it morning yet?" "I love you, you are my BEST friend." and then laid back down. She's so sweet!

I hear Tyler already! I did have to stop typing to switch a load of laundry, change batteries in a toy, and take a phone call! I promise more posts to come!

I love the site rainbowkids.org -- I wanted to share an article I read just now:

http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=714

Finding Me I am American June 01,2010 / Mary Behan

Four Irish-Americans and a Chinese girl walked into a restaurant. If you are waiting for a punchline, that wasn't a joke: It's just my family whenever we go out to dinner. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Mary and I was adopted from China when I was two and a half. I've always wondered what people think when my family and I are out together. Do they see what I see: two parents and their three children? Or do they see two Americans, their two sons, and mentally check me off as my older or younger brother's girlfriend? Do they even think about what they see, or am I just obsessing over the minor details? For a long time, I hoped I was just obsessing, because it was those sorts of questions that made me feel insecure about my place in my family. Those questions made me doubt myself, and, as cliché as it seems, they made me wonder about my identity. It began with exasperated sarcasm. "Wait, so, are you Japanese or Chinese?" "Neither," I would say, "I'm Irish." There would be a pause. And then,"Wait, really?" My general answer to The Question was, "No, not really," but if I was feeling particularly irritated, I would say, "What, you couldn't tell?" Eventually the sardonic remark, accompanied by a roll of the eyes and perfected deadpan, became my way of ignoring a question that, for some reason, bothered me. It bothered me because even though I was a Chinese girl adopted by an Irish-Catholic family, I did not want to be categorized as "Asian" by other people when, for the better part of my life, I did not even categorize myself as Asian. Friends' lighthearted comments about my "Asian-ness" were actually funny, but when someone, in all seriousness, asked me about my nationality, I always felt offended on some level; I did not care what I was, so what gave other people the right to question? In the summer of 2007, after my freshman year, I traveled to Beijing to study with a Choate Rosemary Hall program. There, while all of my white American friends called me Fu Ping, my Chinese host family insisted on calling me Mary. It was their attempt to make me seem more American despite my obvious Chinese appearance, because having an American in the home was exotic. I had grown up in a Roman-Catholic middle school, where, to my classmates, everything about me screamed Asian!; this was the first time I had ever met anyone who considered me just plain American. It was a strange concept and more than a little odd, but I liked it. When I came home from China that summer, I experienced another "first" in regards to my race. It was my cousin's wedding, and someone I had never seen before, decided to go down the line of cousins with whom I was sitting and play guess-the-parents. To my cousins, she said,"You're Bridget's, right? You are, too. And you're Susan and Chris's," while my younger brother received a,"You're Tish and Mike's." She stopped at me. Her blank stare and hesitation lasted only a moment, but it was a moment too long. "Tish and Mike's," I supplied hastily. "Oh." She couldn't tell. But then, I tried to tell myself, why should she be able to? I mean, it's not like I was ever going to hear, "You have your father's eyes," or "You look just like your mother" from anyone. Despite knowing all this intellectually, I still felt hurt, rather than annoyed or uncomfortable. That one incident kept replaying in my mind; I was incapable of just letting it go as I did most other comments about my race. It made me think. What am I? I came closer to answering that question the summer after my sophomore year, when I learned through awkward conversation and random speculation that my roommate at the Middlebury Monterey Language Academy was from the same orphanage as I was. Later, when I returned home from camp, my mom and I set out to see if we could find other girls from my orphanage, or maybe even from the foster family that took care of me after my brief stint as a newborn in the orphanage. Our investigation, including the exchange of part-English, part-Chinese, and part-Babelfish Online Translator emails, ended with a trip to China at the beginning of last summer, and a foray into the first two-and-a-half years of my life there. We planned to visit the relatively small city of Fuzhou, in Jiangxi Province. While there, I found memories of a toddler who chased rabbits, pretended to do schoolwork with her elder siblings and practiced making sad faces. I heard tales of a girl who knew she was leaving and told her daddy she was going to America to make a lot of money to buy him a drink, and stories of a newly adopted child who sat at the hotel door and screamed until she cried herself to sleep. I came face-to-face with the forgotten. With the physical remnants of my past. I found an old, one story cement house riddled with over-grown weeds and traditional good luck signs pasted on the sides of the door in faded red. I saw a broken crib kept long after its occupant departed for America, and a garden through which a toddler used to traipse under the illusion she was helping to grow things. And, finally, I met a family so full of love, that even after they endured the pain of watching me leave, they cared for 13 more infants, ending with a girl they found on their doorstep. I met a mother, a father, and two older siblings who despite 14 years and a language barrier still called me their daughter and sister. I met a family that made me feel unbearably guilty: I wanted to be able to tell them I loved them and remembered them, because they so obviously loved and remembered me. I wanted them to be more than strangers to me so badly that I cried when I knew no one was watching. And yet. There was something missing. As selfish as it makes me seem, there was a whisper of disappointment that only I was able to sense, a feeling that some integral part of what I was looking for just wasn't there. When I went to visit my foster family, I was told many things about myself, but I was not told who I was. I realized, after the trip, that I should not have expected to find the answer to my question of self-identity with my foster family. They could not tell me if I was Chinese, or American, or perhaps even half-Chinese and half-Leprechaun; that was something only I could figure out. But I did not know where to begin. Strangely enough, the beginning of enlightenment came later in the summer, as the start of school drew close and I finally picked up my copy of "Confucius Lives Next Door." It was ultimately a conversation with my mother about the summer reading book and the campus speaker Cathy Bao Bean that really settled things for me. The conversation went something like this: "So, I heard there was a speaker," my mom said casually while I was impatiently trying to hang up the phone on her. "Yeah," I said unenthusiastically. "Cathy Bao Bean." "Well, what did she talk about?" "I don't know. Being Chinese and American?" "Well, Mary," my mom said in that reproachful tone of hers, "don't you think that's kind of pertinent to you?" I thought about it. Cathy Bao Bean is Chinese. I'm Chinese. Cathy Bao Bean is an American citizen. So am I. Therefore, two plus two must equal . "No," I told my mom frankly. "Not really. She's actually Chinese." What I meant was, Cathy Bao Bean grew up in a Chinese household, and she learned those Confucian values that Reid writes about in "Confucius Lives Next Door." AHA! my mind all but screamed at me. So this is the answer, it continued.This is who you are. Perhaps it seems narrow-minded, but I don't identify with the Chinese, socially or culturally. Like many Americans, I don't even fully understand their society or their culture. I just look like them. So I would like to thank the author of "Confucius Lives Next Door," Cathy Bao Bean, and my mom for guiding me to that elusive identity of mine: I am Mary Katherine Behan, which is about as Irish a name as you can get. I stand at an intimidating height of four-feet-eleven-inches, and, just like the rest of my family, I am American. Embodied in my idea of being an American is that I have the capacity to be whoever I want to be, regardless of what I look like. The world can assume I speak fluent Chinese, or Japanese, or Korean, or am good at math, simply for the fact that I am of Asian descent. I don't mind anymore, because I know who I am.

Referral Photos :)

Since I couldn't share them back then, I want to share them now...these are the very first photos we saw of our little man. I stared at his little face wondering so much about him...it was hard to tell his actual size in these pics! He was 8.5 lbs here and 4 months old...

Here he is now, at 16 lbs and 8 months old :)

Fun in the pool!

Another Trip to the Doctor...

Even though Tyler's fever was gone we ended up back at the Peds office yesterday! After picking up Morgan from preschool I noticed Tyler's spot on his arm was getting bigger and I could see a yellow liquid under the skin. I called the office and realized they were at lunch. I was going to give it until 1:30 and call again. At 1:29 the phone rang and it was our pediatrician! She was calling to check on Tyler. I told her my concerns about the state of his arm and she said we needed to come in and have it drained and sent for testing. She put me on the phone with scheduling and I said 3:30 would work perfectly for us! I called Jason and explained the situation...he was releived we were going to have it tested. Our main source of anxiety was how I would manage all 3 on my own for the first time at the doctor!

Planning a trip in the car with a busy preschooler, a non-amblitory 55 lb 7 year old, and a teeny baby takes some planning...and guts. I have to take them one at a time...Morgan goes first, and along with that first trip to the car I take my purse, the diaper bag, and Jack's mode of transportation. That day it was the convaid stroller, or as we call it here, the blue stroller. Morgan gets buckled in her carseat in the way back of the minivan. Meanwhile, inside the house, Tyler is in his crib and Jack is obsessively yelling, Ma ma, MA MA, MOMMY, GOOOO to CAR!!! Over and over....so next, I take Jack to the car. It feels like the longest walk ever! He is getting so big and long I have a really, really hard time carrying him down the steps and to the driver's side of the car. He gets buckled in and i head back to the house for Tyler. I make my final trip to the car and buckle him in his seat. Out of breath and sweating already i hop in and we make our way.

We get to the peds office and this time Jack has to come out first because i cant lift him while i am carrying Tyler or get to Morgan's seat. So out comes the stroller, i heave our big guy in and hang the diaper bag on the back of the stroller. Then i climb in to the back of the van and get Morgan. Then we go over to Tylers side and i have Morgan hold the door to the van as I get Tyler into the baby carrier I wear on my chest.

So we made it! I am feeling pretty good...proud of myself for doing it! It takes more maneuvering and strategy to get across the parking lot and in to the office. That door is awkward and HEAVY! I managed with only running over Morgan's foot once and get us signed in. I love the staff at our peds office. They are always so helpful and genuinely love to see the kids!! Jack had to stay in his stroller which can be a tantrum point for him but this time he was calm and listened to me very well. Morgan was such a big girl and also listened very well. It was so helpful that they were both such angels during the visit!

Jack and Morgan sat in the exam room and were making conversation with the nurse (our favorite one!!!) and then the dr. came in. She agreed that it was larger and ready to be lanced. I will spare the details but it sure did drain. She collected a sample and cleaned the wound and gave me instructions to use peroxide, saline wash, antibacterial ointments, gauze and bandages twice a day and to let it breathe overnight while he is sleeping. We will have the preliminary results on Saturday. And we watch it...it seems that some fluid is back this morning and i know that was one of her concerns so I will call if it gets worse.

On a great growing note, Tylernis over 15 lbs now. He came home just shy of 11 lbs. Seriously, this kid is a growing machine!! His growth curve isn't a curve, it's a straight line UP! I will have to post it somehow, it's amazing! On bonding growth news, he is really bonding with us. At the dr. the nurse held him while i washed my hands after the proceedure and he could not keep his eyes off of me. When I turned to take him from her, he stretched his arms out and nearly leaped from her arms into mine!! He snuggled in to my chest, and calmed down. Such a good feeling!

Much better today!

Tyler's fever is down and he's been awake and happily playing and eating well!! The spot on his arm is exactly the same as it was yesterday, so we are still keeping an eye on it. If it gets worse or puss-filled I will need to take him in to the peds office to have her take a sample.

Lets hope it starts to look better soon!

Jack is napping, which is odd for him! I am soon going to have to wake him up...Morgan is digging in the snack cabinet and Tyler is sitting on my lap trying to help me type :)

Sent from my iPad

The spot...

Rare calm moments are wonderful!

Sweet Baby Tyler Update!

Blood work and an antibiotic! If it gets worse, then she will take a sample from it to send to the lab.

The dr. is stumped because an injection site infection should have happened sooner (more like 2 weeks later, and not 6 weeks later). It's definitely infected! She said he may need IV antibiotics if his white cell count is super high...we should know more at the end of the day when his labs come back!! I hope that is NOT the case!! The hospital is the last place I want to be :(. I will keep you posted!!!! He is feverish and sleeping now, the poor kiddo!!!! My mother is going to get his meeds as soon as they are ready! Yay for grandma!!!!

EARLIER TODAY
About 10 days ago we noticed a hard small lump on the outside of Tyler's upper arm. I mentioned it to the ped and she said it looked like a lump from a vaccine. Tyler's record from Ethiopia said he had vaccines on May 6th. Well just now, I noticed the poor kid has a fever and that lump is bright red and large! I am waiting on a call back from the peds office...trying not to worry!! I will keep you posted!!!

UPDATE
We have an appointment in the morning! She said if his fever gets worse or won't stay down to take him to the ER. He is doing okay with Tylenol so hopefully we can just wait until morning!

Sent from my iPad

Home two weeks...

So now that we're home two weeks we are settling in to a routine. Of course now Jack is out of school so that changes things a bit -- but hey what's life at our house without change ;)

Tyler is doing amazingly well. He is adjusting and happy. He has appropriate reactions to things -- cries when hungry or uncomfortable, looks to be held and gets our attention with smiles and coos. He loves Jack and Morgan and is really becoming attached to mommy and daddy too. He loves to play and is practicing blowing raspberries and trying so hard to make consonant sounds! He has certainly found his voice this week!

He is rolling both ways, and loves tummy time. Tummy time is a favorite for the entire family! He gets his head up high and can keep that position for a while before getting tired. He can sit propped with both hands and is gaining a lot of strength in his trunk! When he first came home he was quite floppy and although he had excellent head control, he prefered to rest against us almost always...now he squirms and kicks his legs, and reaches out to us or for toys. He has come a long way already!

He is eating very well and just last night we had a small realization. His BM's were still yucky, his belly still distended, and he was spitting up a lot too. We were waiting on his stool cultures last week and thankfully they came back A-OK! So no bacterial infections, parasites, etc., but then why were his BM's sooo yucky (mucousy, watery, etc.)? I remembered reading a long time ago that Ethiopian (and other African) children tend to be lactose intolerant. Jason made the suggestion that perhaps we try soy formula...so he ran to Wal-Mart and picked up Parents Choice Soy -- and we gave him his first all soy bottle this morning. By the 3rd bottle today his BM's were NORMAL, NO spitting up, and NO huge belly! So, I think we found our culprit! He was not tolerating his formula and tolerates Soy extremely well so far. We may never know if it was a true lactose intolerance or what exactly it was but for now we'll stick to Soy and after his first birthday we'll slowly introduce dairy (yogurt, cheese, etc.) and go from there.

We were looking at pictures from when I first walked through the door with Tyler and realized he looked so scared and confused for the first few days! He would retract his shoulders and scowl quite a bit -- and that has completely disappeared now that he's been with me for 3 weeks and home with the family for 2 weeks. Now Tyler is just so happy and content (even with weeks of tummy issues!!) and he is showing his trust in us and we are falling for him pretty hard too ;)

Sometimes we have parties in the middle of the day...

Shopping in Addis...

Sweet Kisses!

So it's been a little challenging with all 3 kids now that Jack is out
if school! But then there are the SWEETEST moments and my heart melts!

Blog Roll!

Do you have a blog? I would love to link to it here! Please reply with your blog address!

Last week of first grade!!!

Shhhh....

I love sleeping baby pics!!!