[angelkisses0102]

I know I don't post much here anymore (other than attachment and the kids birthday's and anniversary's) but thought since it has been so slow and there are so many newcomers...maybe we could all do an update of our kiddos, our process, whatever. And pictures if you would.

I had my mom here for a little over two weeks and then FIL and his wife and then MIL and her boyfriend.... Everyone is now safely in there respective homes and I am getting our house back to 'normal.' LOL!!

Alex is doing great ...still has some issues but overall he has not regressed at all since a June incident and has been progressing very nicely attachment wise. He has become so verbal I think that has really helped...he can talk about what he is feeling..things like 'I sad, I miss my daddy' or 'I no want grandma to leave, stay my house' and I can then address it without him acting out. He is swimming with just a vest on...again a huge leap for him...he will jump into our arms while we are in the pool...let us put him underwater...float on his back. All huge for an AD child, he has to trust us, trust that we will not let him get hurt.

He is starting pre-school, at a new school on Monday, 5 days per week from 8:30 to 1:00 pm. We looked at part time on a few days but decided with his issues...routine was needed and anything other than 5 days would be too hard on him. We have talked to his doctors and decided we can and should try again (I am still home so if it doesn't work...we will pull him again.) We uncovered that he was scared of his old classroom because at nap time it was very dark. And he has an almost irrational fear of the dark. Plus, since getting potty trained does not interest him, the new school will allow him to be with all the other 3 year olds, regardless...old school would have kept him back with the older 2's and a few other untrained kiddos. This new school is the same school group that we loved in our old neighborhood for Ari...they are very structured and yet they allow the children to be individuals and express themselves. Lots of sensory activites too. Oh, he has to wear uniforms...too cute.

We are going back to have his eyes checked again mainly because of his extreme fear of the dark. Night vision is different than day vision and it may be related to his nystagmus...either that aspect of his vision is impaired or because he is typically more tired at night, his eyes are not working as well. August 31st is that one. He still has his binky too ...decided to not fight that battle yet.


Arianna starts Kindergarten on Monday! She's thrilled and I am very emotional about it. She goes for just 6 hours....8:10 to 2:10 and it is walking distance from home, so she is bummed about no bus ride. She has orientation on Friday...I know she will be fine, I am another story. And even in public schools here, she needs to wear a uniform. I am not thrilled but she looks adorable.

She has become a fish...she can swim the length of our pool...can swim underwater well...knows how to come up for a breathe and then go back under. We just started working on diving and she is doing great. I love to watch her becoming a little girl...no baby left...sadly. She even got play (but real) makeup for her birthday. She is just growing up and we are hoping that the sassiness of 4 will be gone now that she is 5. LOL!

We are going back to the pedi urologist tomorrow as she is not nighttime potty trained and wets nightly. It may be due to her earlier surgery since they could not remove all of the extra tube, her being such a sound sleeper, or I have recently heard of research that states that kids who do not have proper nutrition their first year (she was malnourished) tend to have bedwetting issues. So, we will see. It's good because right now, it is just the way it is for her...but she will soon realize most kids don't wear goodnights to bed. I am signing her up for ballet and gymnastics once we settle into our new routine with school. She is beyond thrilled.

Anyone wanna share?

These are all from the past couple of weeks...my camera was on it's last leg...I got a new one...but it scares me. Too complicated.

[beckyww]

I did a summer blog with pictures: http://woodworthfamily.blogdrive.com...-2006_o-0.html

Been a super-eventfal season for our family.

Becky
www.woodworthfamily.blogdrive.com

[mommyto4]

Love the pics guys! Thanks for sharing.Glad you had a great summer

[heikewould]

Anglekisses, you can post here and there any ol time!! The kids look great. I have to say I love the idea of uniforms. No battles of what to wear each day. I will post some summer pics, I just need to resize.

[carrie2adopt]

This I think, is a good place for my update! This morning, I accepted a referral for a beautiful baby girl who was born on the fourth of July this year. She's from Guatemala....not Russia as I had planned, but sometimes life leads you where you least expect it! I'm very, very excited!!

[VinSue99]

Here are two pictures of Connor taken about a week ago - he loves his pool!

He starts pre-school in September - only twice a week for 2 and a half hours each day.....I'm so excited for him to meet some kids his age, but I'm going to miss him for that little bit of time he is away!

[LilyMoon]

We are having a fun summer. Anastasia is enjoying day camp and Zak is getting ready for college. We got a new puppy to add to the other two furbabies we have. She is so cute but quite a handful....somehow I just forgot how difficult a new puppy can be!

Anastasia will be starting 2nd grade this Sept. I can't believe she is growing up so fast, seems like yesterday we were traveling halfway around the world to bring her home. What a long way we have come. Our last postplacement is due soon!

Great to hear from all of you. Looking forward to catching up with the old timers and hearing from the newcomers.

[ncdoppler]

Lilymoon,

She is so gorgeous!!! Wow, it looks like she is posing! Congrats on the last post placement soon!

Nichole

[jimpol]

We have had a great summer! There were lots of trips and good times. We went to the beach, the grandparents new house in Florida close to Disney (so of course we went to the Magic Kingdom), & relatives in Mississppi.

Andrew has made some huge strides in his eating. We have added whole wheat toast, hot dogs, green beans, & pancakes with syrup to the menu. We adopted him in 2003 and have struggled with eating issues since he was home so these are HUGE!

He just started Pre-Kindergarten on Monday and is having a ball. He has been looking forward to this all summer. He took his new Spiderman backpack to school and walked in looking very proud.

In the picture that I am attaching you can also see the most recent family member, RJ, from Over the Hedge. Andrew LOVES him. You can also see Froggie, the faithful security item that has been with us since Oct 03.

[hbmom]

Great pics from all!

Our summer has been fast and furious, learning how to be a family. We are enjoying all of it. Hollis is doing fantastic! We are sending him to daycare/preschool starting next week. We felt he needed some interaction with other kids his own age (we have yet to find many families with kids his age). And I've decided to work part-time so I can have a little interaction with adults! We are excited about this change and also apprehensive. I will miss spending every minute with him. But I am hoping it helps him develop language and social skills he is lacking.

Can't wait to see what the next day, week, and month bring us!

[jroc]

Thanks Everyone for the updates! Great idea!

[angelkisses0102]

Great to see the wonderful updates!!!

Thanks to all who shared...anyone else?

[Butabzig]

I can't believe the summer will be coming to an end soon. It's been a whirlwind but lots of fun and of course lots of firsts this year with Ana. The pool and the beach have been beyond thrilling! She's become quite amazed at how her skin color changed this summer and has become obsessed with turning brown. She told one of her African American friends that she was starting to look like her.

We've flown several times over the summer which Ana LOVES. The first flight we took after arriving from Russia last Christmas was a little tough until she realized that we really were going to see her Grammy. Since then she tells us all the time she wants to fly, but not back to groupa. Ana always looks forward to going on our trips but about halfway through the trips she tells us she's ready to go home and see her kitties and puppy.

PreK will start in about a month. If I've heard once, I've heard a thousand times that she needs to go buy her backpack and go to school. Her big sis will start back to school in two weeks. I don't know which of them will go through greater withdrawals. They act like they have been siblings all of their lives.

We just returned from Chicago Tuesday so this is our most recent summer fun picture. We met Ana one year ago Monday so it's been fun to think back and remember. She always tells us that she sat on her bed waiting for us that morning wondering when we were coming. I can't hear that story enough from her and fortunately she loves to tell me.

[TweetyMom04]

Sounds like everyone had a great time.

All the children are so cute.

[KGM]

Max is 23 months and has been home for 10 months.
The wait is so worth it so for those waiting...
Hang in there.
The first one is Max in his new summer gear..getting ready to go to the pool for a swim which he now LOVES to do.

The black and white one is his passport photo...I just love this picture.

The next one is our first visit, he was 9 months old

And the last one was a couple months ago...he was cookin!

PS he does now have hair....it is so light.