Craziness

Sorry for the long time between posts. Life just keeps getting busier. Hopefully by the end of the week I can update with some details about Eli's first birthday and our trip to Kentucky for Sam's(kyle's brother)marriage to Amber.

For now I'll just include some general updates.

Eli is very mobile and very aware of when he is not obeying. He is learning everything so fast with having Isaac as a model. He makes noises for any vehicle when he plays, sings right along with all of us, isn't afraid to start a wrestling match, and is extremely adventurous (no fear).

Isaac is still a ton of fun to pretend with. He loves to include imaginary people into his pretend play now. Today we were pretending to fly our planes and land for a lunch together. Isaac had 5 kids and one of them was sitting on his lap. He began our lunch saying "so what would you like to talk about." And he will literally sit there and hold an adult conversation with you...you don't get bored. Lately, he is big on informing anyone when they are wrong and correcting them. He has an amazing memory about places, events, etc...I'm in shock of what he remembers before he was really verbal. He can hit a baseball (no tee) better than me and throw a ball with more accuracy than me. He is also into using persuasive tactics to make anything go his way from playing with certain toys, consequences he receives, etc. The worse part is that it is hard not to negotiate with him because he is so reasonable sometimes.

Prema is busy with school, private PT, neurofeedback, and finding ways to make me mad. I'm having a hard time feeling positive about her these past few weeks, so I can't think of that much to say about her.

Kyle's busy with work. He still is riding his bike back and forth to work which I am really proud of him. Its almost been a year. He is so close to finishing our pergola . He has done a really nice job. He is enjoying playing baseball with Isaac. It was fun to see him squeal in joy when Isaac hit his first pitch. He has also been really supportive of my new commitments to church..watching the kids.

I'm busy with the kids. It has almost been a year since I started running...so this is a really big hurdle for me. I used to hate running and now I am eager to get in my 3 times a week. I just need to increase my distance and time. I am really quite busy with church the past few months. I am now in the choir and last year I started a 3 year commitment on our pastoral council. I have been nominated to be on our "facelift" committee so those extra meetings are adding to the stressful schedule until the project is complete.

I had a nice mother's day weekend. Saturday night I met a friend for coffee for several hours. Her daughter also is adopted, deaf and has RAD so we support one another very well. On Sunday we went to church and lunch. Then Sandy (Kyle's mom) nd I went to see the Vatican Splendors, but decided to sell our tickets as the museum was behind over an hour. So instead I met kyle at the park with the kids and then we ate dinner and all went to Candy Kitchen for some awesome ice cream.

Isaac's On the Job

Isaac's Birthday and Camping

On April 1 Isaac turned 3 years old. We had a wonderful time celebrating over the course of two days; all planned by Isaac himself.

On Monday we had his birthday party with Kyle's parents and the Heuertz clan (a.k.a Drew, Karamin, Dillan, and Kenyan---he is starting to learn that we can just call them the Heuertz's instead of naming each of them individually). He didn't want to invite anyone else. We had it at the Walsingham park kids playground (where we play several times a week and often have picnics) so we could play football. Isaac wanted to have Little Cesar's pizza, veggies, and fruit. He wanted a "horse" cake (chocolate cake with chocolate frosting---green sprinkles for grass and two fake horses on top.) He also requested that Grandpa Cullum play "Happy Birthday" on his trombone. Everything he wanted happened. It was a lot of fun. He directed the timing of each activity (eating, opening presents, eating cake, playing football, playing at the playground, etc).

On Tuesday we went to see the dolphins at the Clearwater Aquarium and out to dinner at Cody's (also his planning). The dolphins jumped out of the water and got us drenched so that was really fun.

His 3rd birthday has brought a few new things. He got his first backpack to take with him when he is waiting for Prema at school and PT. He has his own workbook so he thinks he is going to school. He is really cute wearing his backpack and watching him put it on. He has also officially been given some chores (folding cloth diapers, picking up the fruit, scrubbing toilet bowls, and taking the recycles out). He is asked to do chores every day but depending on his mood, can do them alone or with mom's "help/ encouragement". And of course 3 years old means 3 minutes of time outs and longer strong sitting time.


We (more I) have had desire to try camping with the kids. I remember the few times we camped when I was little being A LOT of fun. Some friends of ours camp very often with their daughter and invited us to come along for a weekend to try it out. This weekend they were camping an hour from our house so we thought the driving situation was ideal for our small ones. Our friends provided the tent, cooking needs, dinner, entertainment, chairs, etc. All we had to bring was our clothes/shoes, sleeping bags, pillows (which i forgot), sunscreen, toiletries and breakfast....TIMES 5.

One thing we have decided for sure is that camping is not something you try to do with a family of children under 3 years old. Eli tried to eat the entire campsite (ground of sand and shells) the entire time. In his small meals habit, the need to eat every 2 hours was a bit inconvenient. And in addition to those problems is everything related to packing, setting up, taking down, and unpacking with 3 kids that can't be responsible for themselves. We would come home more exhausted than when we left.

So I think for a while we will keep our camping memory of this weekend as our only for a while....playing at the playground on seesaws with bumped and bruised heads (Isaac, Prema, and Tiana couldn't quite coordinate themselves to well), strolls around the campground with the Fullers 3 dogs and talking parrot in tow, eating pizza burgers for the first time, setting up/sleeping in/ and taking down a HUGE tent, trying to sleep during the hours of heavy rain (which eventually crept into the tent), showing at the site, and playing.

We are really thankful for such generous friends to invite us and allowing us to use all of their things freely. It was great to sit and chat parents to parents, but ended early due to the rains. It is definitely something you can see doing again for the kids enjoyment...but probably years down the line.



When we got home our caterpillars, turned pupae inside chrysalis (cocoons are moths not butterflies) turned into butterflies. We released them on Monday night.

Certificate At Last

After 2 hours at the Immigrations Office today we were given the original Certificate of Citizenship. It was a positive experience, besides the behavior problems Prema had today due to the visit. Seeing her passport again and sitting in a room filled with people of different races, (me being the only white person) and people leaving but never seeing them again is a trauma trigger for her. Hopefully she will be better tomorrow.

Immigrations Again

Since the last post we have celebrated Isaac's 3rd birthday. When I get more time I'll post about his special celebration.

But you may find it interesting that our government sent us a notice 2 weeks ago that we are to come to the Office of Immigration in Tampa tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. to REBUILD the file on Prema. At the bottom it says you must show up unless you have written notice as to why you can't come.

So tomorrow we will yet again make the trip to the office with her, her Indian passport, American passport and Social Security card. Mind you we have made this trip several times before twice requesting a green card so that we could apply for SSN and American passport and the third time to apply for her Certificate of Naturalization at which time we also gave $200 for the certificate which we should have received 9 months later. At each visit I was assured there were no problems even though they couldn't find her file each time we came. (So what did they do with all the paperwork we filled out each time we went?) The initial problem happened when we entered America from India in June 2006. I handed the Immigration Officer a HUGE envelope of paperwork from the past year and a half of the adoption legal documents. Somehow, it was never entered into the computer after he stamped our passports and never seen again. Does this make you trust our government?

birthdays and chasing

Life has been crazy the past couple weeks with birthday and Easter preparations/ celebrations and chasing kids...but here is a little update.


We celebrated Prema's 9th birhday (legal) on Good Friday night. Kyle's parents and the Heuertz clan helped us celebrate. The week before Prema and I had made 3D butterfly invitations so I carried out the theme with a chocolate butterfly cake that cracked after I frosted it. Luckily it was on a piece of cardboard so we folded it back together for pictures and Prema was satisfied with my solution. She got lost of wonderful presents...mostly clothes to fit her new curves.


Eli is officially a toddler. He started walking unsupported at 10 1/2 months old. He is getting more confident and taking bigger steps. He wore his first pair of shoes yesterday; only his Crocs fit his fat feet. He loves the new freedom to roam the outdoors on the grass and cement without having to scrap up his knees. He gets up on the porch ledge and shouts along with mounting a small tittle trike.


Isaac will be turning 3 on Tuesday. He talks and reasons like a 4 or 5 year old. He has been keeping us busy with constant questions (a lot that the knows the answers to also), debates about what really is true (his world of truth is a bit skewed), and trying new lines and actions to get what he wants so as to appear to not be disobeying. He is also constantly still entertaining us with elaborate pretend play of many things related to church, the ice cream truck, football and now some baseball, Bob the builder/ construction, garbage truck, etc. He definitely keeps melting my heart with his cute facial expressions and "mature" body movements.

A Child mind, A Woman's Body

Last night we discovered the news I have dreaded for quite some time. Some mothers and daughters celebrate this day as a time of coming of age. I was still hoping yesterday that I had at least 9 more months until the big day. Prema started her first menstrual cycle yesterday. Its a shock to my system. I am overwhelmed with the possible limitations it may hold, as her body (hormones) tell her to be independent and we still fight for attachment. I fear our expectations for learning will be stifled. I am also just dreading the hygiene issues related to it.

Its an odd thing to have a two year old in mind having a woman's body. Prema, not knowing what it really means, is announcing to everyone its arrival with graphic signs (blood flowing from her vagina). After inserting a pad into her underwear she walked with her legs extremely spread apart. Thankfully her teacher saw the humor in it and helped me to laugh about the situation too.

So now I am back to helping all 3 kids with their bathroom needs; changing diapers, wiping poopy butts, and changing pads. I really hope that Prema will be able to do it on her own within couple of months, but she still can't even brush her teeth herself (coordination problems) so it might be too hopeful for the other.