Halloween Night!

Happy Halloween! Liam & Nyla had their halloween parties at school today. Our friend Laura made Nyla's beautiful costume, it looked great!



The kids were hot, cranky and tired but we couldn't go out trick or treating without getting a picture first! Halloween is fun for the kids, not so much for the adults!

I probably won't post until the beginning of December (hopefully we will be home and Ethan will be recovering from surgery by then). Ethan's weight is almost 23 lbs now and he is developing well, especially those pilates 'core' muscles. We are just going to focus on making him healthy and strong before surgery.

Pre-op visit

Staying overnight in Pittsburgh, the kids go crazy in the hotel.


Ethan working with a PT on gross motor skills. He also has a speech therapist.


Ethan's pre-op visit to Children's hospital went well. We signed consents for tubes to be placed in his ears and for the palate repair on November 28th. We met again with Dr. Jiang and other members of the cleft clinic, labs were done before we left. They are still not sure if his palate repair will take 1 or 2 stages, they are going to try for one. In Dr.Jiang's notes they describe his cleft palate as "very, very wide". Stage 2 would take place 3 months after the first surgery if needed.

Only his palate will be repaired, not his nose or his gumline (where your teeth sit). Those procedures will wait until Ethan is 6-8 years old. The urgency in getting the palate repaired is so that he can begin to talk.

A little time for reflection:
Ethan has been our son for only 2 months now and so much has happened in that short time. He is a different child than the shy baby they brought to the adoption registration office in Jiangsu. But, in many ways he is the same child only with more energy and weight. Our first days home were really rough and he didn't seem interested in exploring his new house, most likely because he didn't know it was home. Once he left the orphanage, the only home he knew, we moved him into 3 different hotels rooms and 3 different beds before arriving here. What a terrifying experience that must be for a child. I complain about my lack of sleep, yet he has traveled half way around the world with people who look, smell and talk different than his caretakers, basically learning to trust complete strangers. With all things considered I think he is doing very well and I need to remember that when he cries EVERY time I leave a room!

Hives, cough, nosebleeds, etc

We have had a busy week at home with the kids and different illnesses. Nyla broke out in hives last Friday at 5pm, at the same time Liam was calling me from the bathroom where he was having diarrhea and thought he might throw up. I was trying to get him a bucket and get Nyla benedryl while Ethan was crying at my feet to eat supper.

This is a snapshot of my life with 3 kids, & for some reason everything falls apart between the hours of 4-6pm. I am sure many of you know how this feels! By the time Patrick comes home from work he is wondering what all the fuss was about since everyone looks fine!

Ethan is doing very well. 2 weeks ago he started pulling himself up to sit and stand. I will post a picture of him standing in his crib. About 1 week ago he said his first word in sign language - "eat"! It is amazing how quickly he is learning these skills. Nyla tells him she loves him & gives hugs about 20 times a day except when he bites her (a problem we are working on) and then she says "bad Efan". Liam came home from China not very happy about this new boy in the house, but I think he now likes having a roomie & brother even though he doesn't like to admit it.

Busy days

I am sorry I have not been very consistent with posts on the blog. I wanted to just write a quick note today to say Ethan is doing really well and getting big. On 9/13 he weighed 19.5 lbs at his checkup in Warren to start his immunizations. Despite having an ear infection after this appointment, his weight was up to 21 lbs on 10/3/07. We definitely feel the extra weight when we carry him around. Ethan loves mushed fruit, yogurt and pudding, but he is snubbing his nose at everything else. We think he has a definite sweet tooth.

Every day feels like it flies by. I want to stop and enjoy this time I have with young kids but there is always so much to do (Nyla is due to be picked up in a few minutes). I will post a couple of recent pictures of the kids. Nyla and Ethan just before her field trip to the apple cider farm and Liam in goal at soccer.

Thanks for all the well wishes, everyone have been so supportive and helpful. We really appreciate all the love!