8 is GREAT

Our firstborn Son turned 8 this weekend.
What a blessing this sweet, shy, caring little guy is to us.
I look at him and see myself in so many ways. We are so much alike, kindred spirits..and I just love him with all of my heart. He's tall, skinny, blonde haired, blue eyed (THAT he did not get from me!!), and has the hugest heart. He's emotional, smart, witty, a little reserved and already I can tell-a people pleaser.

I think back to the day he was born. I was only 36 weeks pregnant, but definitely feeling like he was going to make his entrance anyway. My hubby had traveled out of town for the day, and I had headed into work. It was about 11am, and I was cleaning my patient's teeth (I'm a Dental Hygienist), I began having contractions and excused myself to the restroom. As I closed the bathroom door, my water broke! I freaked out and called my OBGyn, explaining what had happened. Since they didn't "believe" I was in true labor, they told me to come to the Office. I quickly called my husband to tell him what was going on and that he needed to head back to town (he was 3 hrs away). I jumped into my car (yes...I drove Myself!!) and raced to my Doctor's office. I had called my girlfriend who was close to town and she agreed to meet me at the Doctor. Well, as I'm racing down the highway, in labor, amniotic fluid trickling down my leg..(sorry....but it's labor we are talking about).. What do I hear in the background??? Sirens. A police officer was pulling me over!!! He pulls me over and continues to SIT in his car. Hello..dude...can you get out of the car and let's get this ticket over with?? He struts over to the car and begins to ask me if I realized how fast I was driving. I pointed to my belly (which I will admit, was hidden pretty well in my medical scrubs). I began yelling, telling him I was pregnant and in labor. He smirked and asked.."how far along are you??" People. I swear. I'm not making this up. It could have been a movie. I screamed, ""far enough for my water to have broken and its pouring down my leg!! Wanna see?!?!". He just gave me a glare and said, "well.. be careful and slow done." That's it. No police escort to the hospital. Nothing. People kept telling me afterwards that I should have gotten his badge number. Hello. This was my FIRST baby, I'm by myself and I'm totally freaking out. All I could think about was making it to my Doctor.
Well, I screech into the parking lot where my girlfriend is eagerly waiting for me. She walks me in, and registers me at the front desk. We sit. We wait..and wait...at this point, all I can do is laugh.and each time I laugh, I feel more amniotic fluid oozing down my leg...we glance at the desk and notice a sign that says. "If you have waited more than 20 minutes, please tell Receptionist". My girlfriend goes and lets them know that I am STILL waiting, and oh, that by the way...SHE'S IN LABOR!!!! We are laughing so hard at this point, because in a million years, I couldn't have scripted this. Other women in the waiting room are asking if I'm ok. We are joking that THEY may get to deliver my baby.
Minutes later, a nurse comes out and casually calls me back. Wait for it. She hands me a cup and asks me to get them a "sample"...
I asked her.."a sample of amniotic fluid??" She looks at me perplexed, where I then begin screaming.."I'M IN LABOR!!!!" I mean, hello, my pants are soaked!!!!
She rushes me back to the OB who quickly looks and says, "Yep..you're gonna have a baby!" Luckily, the hospital was right next door, so my girlfriend loaded me up and drove me over to the hospital. We walk up to the desk and tell them we need the Labor and Delivery Floor. Obviously, they thought we were visiting a new Baby, because they moved as slow as Christmas. This little old lady ushered us onto the elevator..my girlfriend and I are just laughing nonstop. We exit the elevator, and the sweet lady asks..""Who's the patient your looking for?"" We say.."Me!!! I'm having a baby!!"
Oh goodness...well, lets get this poor lady a wheel chair..
FINALLY, I make it to a real hospital bed, with real nurses, and know that I'm going to be OK. My girlfriend stays with me the whole time, holding my hand and seeing Waaay more than she hoped to. She even got to witness my epidural...woo hoo!! My husband finally arrived, along with all of the family that I had called on the way there.
My husband, Aunt and Grandmother were there in the delivery room with me, helping me every step of the way
The epidural took, pushing began..and then it stalled. My poor baby just couldn't make it under the pelvic bone. (Sorry..but this a Birthday post..so you KNOW we're going to talk about the BIRTH!).We tried for 2 1/2 hrs to get him out, and then finally with a little "help" he was delivered. Our healthy 7 lb 2 oz baby Boy was here!!!

We cried tears of joy. I was finally a MOTHER. I had dreamed of this day for years, and suddenly, I was holding MY baby. Now what? Sheer panic took over and I was scared. What if he cried? What if he got sick? What if I didn't know what to do? How was I going to do this with my Family a state away??

Well...fast forward 8 years...and I have figured it out...I think...

I'm not perfect, I mess up, sometimes I don't have the right answers for his questions...but we are figuring out this Parenthood thing. And I believe I have a pretty awesome 8 year old to show for it.

He has taught me so much about Life, selflessness, sacrifice, and faith...

I love him with all of my being and pray that he grows into the strong, Christian young man that we are sculpting him to be. We know that God has given him this huge gracious heart, and we have no doubt that his future is going to revolve around it. He is destined to help people..I see that already is his kind, caring nature. I'm not sure exactly WHAT he was put on this Earth to do...but I know that he will change lives.. I can just feel it...

We celebrated his BIG Day with Family, Presents and CAKE!!!
You know as a parent that you have great, deserving kids, when you, the parent, are SO excited to give them their gifts. I just love to see my kids faces light up when we are able to give them something that they have truly wanted for so long. We make them wait for it. Build the anticipation. and then when they receive it...it's that more special..

we hope that his 8th year brings him lots of happiness, fun and fulfillment...

we love you, Nick!!!!
Happy, Happy Birthday, sweet Boy!!!

CAMERA DUMP

Because I feel like I am ALWAYS snapping pictures, (my hubby has nicknamed me "The Paparazzi"), I've decided to occasionally just make some posts a "Picture Dump"
No words necessary..just a few snapshots to SHOW you what's been going on in our little world lately...

So, here is my first CAMERA DUMP post...

Blessings,
Angie

Life with One.....for the week...

This week the Boys have been away at their Grandparents, and I have been down to ONE. My friends have joked with me.."Girl..what are you going to do with all of your free time, with just ONE??"
Umm....just how much time did YOU have with a busy 19 month old??
Probably not the child to be left with if I had hoped for rest and relaxation, but we have had an amazing week, with LOTS of much needed one-on-one time to strengthen our bonding. And how do I know it's working?? The other day, during a trip to our SuperMarket, our nice bag carrier offered to push our buggy out and help unload our groceries. Well, as soon as he reached for the buggy (which she was in), Mia LEPT out of the buggy and started SCREAMING!! This may have annoyed most parents, but this Momma was soooo happy. She's FINALLY looking to ME for comfort. Over the last few months, she has been very free and willing to jump out of my arms and into ANYONES  arms. Most would think that means she is well adjusted. The experts say otherwise. Children MUST go through the typical "stranger anxiety " phase, in order to be well adjusted, bonded children. They need to know their parents as THE ones, and go to THEM for comfort. Before, Mia was not doing that...And so, to have her now reaching for ME, over others, lets me know we are definitely moving in the right direction. Whew!!
So..what are we doing with our week??

We are tending to our little garden. Our lemon tree has tiny lemons starting to bud..which means there will be some lemonade in our future before Summer is over. Lots of herbs means lots of cooking! We are even growing some tomatoes.

We have been enjoying lots of snuggle time, dinners out (that is BIG with a toddler!!), and boat rides..

Since the housework doesn't end, even with 2 missing, I'm getting lots of "help" with my daily chores. Sure, folding a normal load of laundry takes twice as long with her help..but, I'm going to miss these days, one day..so, I let her help..

She LOVES to play outside as much as possible! Thankfully our 2-3 week bout of torrential rains has calmed down a bit and allowed us some playtime outside. She can play..and play..and play. While I sweat..and sweat...and sweat. Miss Thing can mow the heck out of some deck tiles....

and carpet....

And she grills, too!!

This week we celebrated our 5 months since Gotcha Day!!
It's hard to believe she has been with us that long. She has changed so much and with each day, we see more and more TRUE personality emerge. We can't wait to see the feisty, spicy little girl she turns into!!!

We are excited about having the Boys back home soon! We know they have had an amazing time away, staying very busy. Thank goodness for FaceTime where we can talk to them everyday...

but..nahhh....I don't think they are ready to come home, yet!!!

Slooooow down Summer!!!

Oh my goodness!! Where has this Summer gone?! When you're wishing the school months to fly by, they drag. But once it's Summer, and you're hoping for it to move at a snails pace...zoom...it's here...and gone. It's hard to believe June is behind us and we are already approaching the middle of July! That means only one more month before we have to pull back out those lunch boxes, book bags and alarm clocks. Noooooooo.....

We have been waking up every ounce of our Summer. Swimming. Boating. Camps. Play dates. Late nights. Summer truly is my favorite season.

We have enjoyed lots of out of town friends and family and spent as much time as we can in the H2O! The Boys wake up and are ready to head down to the dock. No need to worry about sedentary kids..they are getting plenty of exercise...and water intake.

Mia got to experience her first 4th of July and fireworks on the Lake! To our surprise, she made it up and got to watch the show!! She loved the fireworks..even trying to reach out and grab them. When they were younger, neither one of the other Boys ever made it up that late. They both fell asleep on the boat while we waited for the fireworks to start. This girl held on...must be because she is such a night-owl....;-)))

Mia does not care for the lake or pool (heck..we are still getting her used to the bathtub. Of which she STILL refuses to sit in..she stands while I bathe..quickly!!!). She does, however, love her boat rides..and most often falls asleep sometime during the ride.

Mia had another check up this month, where we learned that she has gained a whopping 6 POUNDS since leaving China, and catching up drastically, developmentally. She is doing better with her walking, although still a little wobbly, and will usually fall after trying to chase her Brothers through the house. Our Pediatrician noticed some concerns with how narrow her throat opening is, now that she has a palate. At times,it seems like the back of her tongue and back of palate actually meet..with very little opening ?She seems to gag and choke a little, along with snore, and so he suggested discussing adenoid or tonsil removal with our ENT. I have been warned by many parents if cleft kiddos that our Cleft Surgeon must also be in full agreement with this before anything is done. We meet with the ENT next month to discuss, and then will move onto the Cleft Team. She is doing amazing with her ability to eat...So thankful for that! You don't realize what a blessing it is to have a child that can actually eat foods...until you have one that can't...major blessing.

She is starting to cut lots of teeth, which makes for a cranky little girl. As with  most children with clefts, once the teeth start to erupt, you just hold your breath, and hope that they come in ok. Well, you can imagine our shock when we noticed them coming in through the top of her palate!! Yep..that's right..she has teeth in the roof of her mouth. I can't even fathom HOW this happens (considering she didn't even HAVE a roof of mouth a few months ago!). Sadly, we are also noticing that many of her teeth that are coming in are not in the best shape. Some are not even completely formed. Sorry..is that TMI? What it IS is Sad. As a Mother who was fortunate enough to have very good pre natal care during my Pregnancies, it is sad to see the results of these children born to Mothers who were not awarded the same luxuries.Poor diet, lack of vitamins, pollution..all lead to the malformation of bones, digits and  teeth.Not really sure when we will address these latest issues, but obviously, we have a long road of Oral Surgery ahead of us. For now, we are just taking each week at a time, and enjoying the "down" time in between procedures.

She will meet with an Early Intervention Specialist later this month to be evaluated and see what services she qualifies for (OT, PT, Speech). She is not really making any words as of yet,but is starting to experiment with her tongue to make sounds. Waiting on pins and needles for a legitamit..."Momma" to come out...haha..
Finally getting treated for the Impetigo that has been causing the nasty blisters to come and go on her face. She just started an oral antibiotic, and we hoping it will squash it. Lots of children came home from the Orphanage with it (its caused from unsanitary cleaning conditions/poor hygiene), so it seems to be pretty common.

This sweet girl really is content doing just about ANYTHING. Even a cardboard box can keep her occupied for a looong time.

Nick has another loose tooth, which we are on watch for to come out at any time..he's trying REALLY hard to wiggle it out!!!

Later this month we are getting a visit from a dear friend I met through the adoption process. She traveled to China to bring her Daughter home a month before we did. We have remained in close contact  and so her and her sweet family will pay us a visit for the weekend. Can't wait to see that sweet girl of hers!!

Well....that's been our month, so far.....


Next month, Birthdays, Beach trip and Back to school.....................