Happy Birthday to Us - March 9, 2008

Well, another year has come and gone. Micah turned 2 Sunday - yeah! I turned 41, ugh! We had a pretty good day around here. Since Dayton is still pretty well snowed in, things were very slow. We made it out to church along with about 6 other folks :) Then we went to the Olive Garden for lunch. Yippee!!!!!!!!!! I didn't have to cook or eat grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup (standard Sunday noon fare). Plus, I have left-overs for today. Micah was pretty oblivious to the fact that the day had any special meaning whatsoever. He did, however, totally enjoy eating his cake.

I thought long and hard about what kind of cake to make for him. I finally decided to do a giraffe. It is amazing how many giraffes can be found out and about when you have a 2 year old who is ga-ga over giraffes. Luckily, Michael's had a cake pan for me. Lucky, also, that Micah recognized the cake as a giraffe, and announced to the entire family (over and over again) that there was a giraffe sitting on the table in front of him. That top left picture is of him signing, "Giraffe!!!" The right picture is of the group effort to do the candles - Peter lit them, Sofia helped blow, and Molly held him back so he wouldn't jump into the flames. All in all, a successful venture. Last, but not least, was present time. We couldn't resist putting Micah INTO a bag - a present for Mommy!

The last picture I am posting has nothing to do with our birthdays other than the fact that I took it on our birthday. I just thought it was a cute one showing him up and walking around like a real, little person. No more little toddler :(

Arnold Challenge

Well, I haven't posted in 4 1/2 months! It's about time to get back to business.

This past weekend, Peter had his last gymnastics meet. It was held in Columbus, Ohio at the Convention Center. This was "the biggie" - the Arnold Challenge. This is a HUUUUGE event that was started by Arnold Schwarzenegger (ok, I probably mangled his last name) years ago. It has grown to encompass something like 37 different sports (weight lifting, body building, gymnastics, martial arts, competitive cheerleading, fencing, etc.), with 17,000 participants, and 150,000 spectators! Peter was so excited about this - I'm surprised he slept at all the night before. I finally managed to get videos of most of his routines. I have been trying all season, but the positioning has been terrible. I am in the process of trying to post these videos. Be patient, I'm doing my best!

For those of you who don't know about Peter - he is competing for Stars Gymnastics in Dayton, OH, Level 5. He did qualify for the state meet, but at this point, we don't know if the gym is going to be sending the boys to the state meet :( I have been looking at the websites for some of the other gyms that he has been competing against. Some of them have the kids in Peter's level practicing 10 - 12 hours a week! Peter goes 4 hours a week with an additional, optional, 2 hour "open gym" practice on Saturdays. He has been placing consistently in everything but the pommel horse. I think he's doing great when you look at the competition. Funny - people always talk about the parents pushing the kids. With him, it's the opposite! He is begging us to find a gym that will LET him practice 12 hours a weekwhen we move to California. Todd and I are having a hard time convincing him that this needs to be for fun . . . he needs to have a little bit of balance in his life!

I seem to be having a bit of luck posting these routines. Enjoy! (the ones highlighted in blue have been successfully done - it's taking about 45 minutes per video, grrrr)

Peter's Parallel Bars Routine
Peter's High Bar Routine
Peter's Floor Routine
Peter's Rings Routine

ENT Visit and "Good News and Bad News"

Micah and I headed down to Cincinnati yesterday for his 3 month ENT (ear, nose and throat doc) and audiology follow-up. Micah has had 2 confirmed ear infections and a suspected ear infection since we have had him. On his last infection, he was definitely pulling and rubbing at his atretic ear. Also, I can get all the way up to his crib before he turns to look at me. My totally un-expert diagnosis was - I think he is getting ear infections in BOTH ears (so I wanted to talk to the doc about going ahead with the CT scan of his ear), and I think he is retaining fluid in his left ear (so I wanted to talk about tube options). I gave the nurse the updates, and when the doc came in he brought up both points! It's so nice when the professional's opinion lines up with your own, isn't it?? So, he is getting a tube in his left ear . . . don't know when, because we are going to get his little private area fixed up at the same time (ok, he's getting circumcised) and we have to get a referral to urology, go for the initial visit, and then coordinate 2 surgeon's schedules. His CT scan is scheduled for next Thursday (he has to be sedated). That means that I have to put off his shots for another week - I don't want to risk him getting sick or they won't do the scan.

OK, now for the good news/bad news section. The good news is that Micah is now standing up in the middle of the room and walking around. The bad news is that now that he is up and walking, he has discovered that he can actually OPEN the bathroom doors. That means I will be heading out SOON to buy toilet locks. He got into the toilet 3 times today before we figured out that he was actually OPENING the door . . . I just thought the other kids were leaving the door cracked open. Yuck.

Sorry, no pictures today. Kind of like a "grownup" book :)

Micah's First Steps

Micah has been working hard this past week trying to master his next big milestone - walking. (Click on the word "walking" to see the video). OK, truth is, Mommy has been working hard this past week trying to get Micah to stand up long enough to take a couple of steps. He just loves to crawl. He stands and plays. He cruises furniture and walls. He loves to be on his feet. But when it comes time to walk, he prefers to crawl. Well, last night, he surprised us by taking 6 or 7 steps. I tried all day to re-create the feat for pictures, but he would have none of it. He finally decided to cooperate, and Peter caught it on video . . . Yeaaaaaa, Peter! Sofia could barely contain herself . . . as you can see at the end of the video. Molly squealed. The dog ran around. Micah just kind of looks at us all like we are crazy! Do we REALLY want him to start walking?? Yup!

The Communication Lightbulb is . . . Plugged In!

Everybody keeps asking how Micah is doing. Yesterday's post was a family affair . . . today will be a Micah only update. In short, he is keeping us busy, and wearing us (and himself) out.

You may be wondering about the title for today's entry. Well, I think Micah is finally STARTING to get the idea about this whole tw0-way communication thing. The lightbulb is not ON, but I can see that the lamp has been plugged in. I think the bulb may even be glowing :) He is currently using 3 words consistently - unprompted and with meaning. Those 3 words would be "all gone" (ga-ga), "Mama", and "milk" (mmmk). I would like everybody who reads this to try to say "milk" without opening your mouth. Go ahead - press your lips together, say "mmm" and then get a good strong "K" sound . . . but DON'T OPEN YOUR MOUTH. Not so easy for you and me, but Micah sure has it down pat. He will lay in my arms while drinking his bottle and say "Mmmmk. Mmmmmk. Mmmmmk." The only problem is that every time he says it, he expects me to sign it. If I don't, he pulls at my hand until I do. He will say more (mmmmmmmmoooo), up (puuuup uuuuup), and bye-bye with prompting. He signs "dog" (but never when a dog is around) and will sometimes wave. He recognized several signs - milk, caterpillar (one of his favorite toys), bear, all done, cheerios, cheese, toast, peaches, bath (he signed and said that one today), and horse. When I say he recognizes them, I mean he ranges from total comprehension to him looking at my hands with this "that-looks-familiar-what-the-heck-does-it-mean-I've-almost-got-it-agh!" look on his face. He likes for me to sign words ON him - he will grab my hand, pull it over to him and lean in waiting for me to sign on his body. His favorites for me to do are Sofi, Peter, Molly and Daddy. Recognition is a great first step. Now we are just waiting for him to start using some of this great language.

Now for development - We took Micah back to the International Adoption Clinic last week for a 3 month follow-up visit. They re-evaluated him in several areas. When we visited them in June for his initial evaluation (he was 15 1/2 months old), they came up with these results.

Gross Motor: 9 months

Language: 8 months

Fine Motor: 6 months

Personal/Social: 5 months

At our most recent visit (he was 18 1/2 months old), they came up with these results.

Gross Motor: 11 months

Language: 13 months

Fine Motor: 12 months

Personal/Social: 10 months

The lady who did the evaluation was a little fussed about the lack of progress in the gross motor area, but the doctor said to just wait until the 6 month follow-up before getting too concerned. He has made great strides in other areas . . . his focus has been on things other than learning to walk. We are now spending lots of time walking all bent over (that would be the adults are all bent over - holding his hands, the back of his shirt, his overall straps, etc.). I have seen an improvement in his assisted walking in just the past week.

The little guy continues to laugh and giggle up a storm. I was standing next to the crib last night, swaying him back and forth and getting in my last cuddles before putting him down. I noticed he would laugh . . . and stop . . . and laugh . . . and stop. I finally took a look. His hand would lightly brush over the top of the rail to his crib everytime I swayed toward the crib. I have no idea what was so funny about that, but I got a kick out of his giggles. He is doing a bit of climbing. He loves to put blocks, balls, small toys, etc. into the tube of his ball popper (see picture above). Luckily we have been able to get everything out so far. I think I reported in an earlier post that he likes to crawl through the kitchen, open my pantry, take out the baking powder and corn starch containers, build a tower out of them, and then leave the kitchen. He has now graduated to the baking powder, corn starch, and Mrs. Dash seasoning blend. Who-hooo! 3 stories tall! He continues to be a one-baby wrecking machine, capable of destroying an entire room in 3 minutes flat. He has now discovered the craft cabinet - he can pull out the drawer of crayons and empty it completely. The drawer also makes a comfy seat (as pictured above). And last, but not least, he thinks it's hilarious that he can now reach the door handles - booooing! giggle, giggle, giggle. booooooing! giggle, giggle, giggle. booooooing! giggle, giggle, giggle.

Lost Teeth, Surgery, and 2 Birthdays!

Last week was quite the busy week!! Molly has had 2 slightly loose teeth for some time now. She has also had 2 adult teeth coming up behind those 2 loose teeth for quite some time now. FINALLY, after forever, Molly has lost her first tooth - yippee! I took a picture, but it came out all fuzzy. Use your imagination :) Luckily she lost it before her surgery. I think she was a little worried that it would fall out during surgery.

Next on the agenda is the afore-mentioned surgery. Molly was scheduled to go under the knife at 11:30 on October 1st. She had to stop eating at 1:30 am, and had to stop all liquids by 7:30. After that, NOTHING in her mouth at all. I had a plan . . . I woke her at 7:25 and gave her a glass of white grape juice. Everything went smoothly. At 8:15, I was wrestling with my curling iron and trying to keep Micah from getting into the toilet/ grabbing the curling off the counter/slamming cabinet doors while shouting directions at Molly (brush your hair, get your coloring books, brush your hair, where is your blanket, brush your hair, brush your hair) when suddenly Molly walked into my bathroom. She spied a pile of animal crackers that had migrated from my pocket (confiscated at church the day before) onto the bathroom counter. She said, "Oooooh, my animal crackers!" I said, "Uh-huh. . . .Micah, NO, that's hot . . . animal crackers?? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Too late. We found that 1/2 an animal cracker can push surgery back by 3 hours. Molly was really good the whole day. I could tell she was nervous, but she finds so many ways to entertain herself. When it was finally time to go, the nurse gave her a Tylenol/sleeping medicine concoction. It was really funny watching her sloooooowly go under. She got kind of giggly, and squealy, and her speech got kind of slurry, then she started waving at things that weren't there . . . . Watching her come out was about the same. She was a sleepy little thing for several hours. On the plus side, she got to have popsicles and blue slushies. One of the pictures I am posting shows the side effects of the blue slushy. The doctor said everything went well. They had to cut down through 3 layers of muscle to get to it, but it all came out once they got down to it. There was quite a bit of bleeding, but that was to be expected since they had to cauterize all of the capillaries feeding into it (hemangiomas are an abnormal build up of blood vessels in the skin or internal organs . . . consisting of dense, usually elevated masses of dilated blood vessels.) . She is left with a little soreness and a 3 inch long scar running down her back just to the left of her backbone. Now, the challenge is to keep her inactive for 2 whole weeks!! She stayed home Tuesday, but went back for a half-day stint on Wednesday. Thursday it was back to business as usual. Wow.

Todd's mom took care of Micah the whole day. She then got to care for Sofia and Peter as well, thanks to the delayed schedule. It sounded like Micah was a little angel for Grandma the whole day. I should have expected it - he is such an easy-going little guy. Thanks, Grandma!

And for the final bit of news. Sofia and Molly had their birthdays on Wednesday, October 3rd. Happy 10th and 6th, girlies!! I am posting a picture of Sofia reacting to opening her present from Peter . . . when she started to open his present, Peter ran and hid behind a chair. Todd and I thought he was scared she wouldn't like it. Turns out, he was scared of what he thought she would do when she saw the present. Turns out he was right to hide! She saw it, screamed, and LAUNCHED herself at him! Who'da thought a Webkinz horse could bring out such excitement? I am also posting a shot of Molly seeing her Barbie Dream House (rescued from a friend's attic after 20+ years of storage). She hit frequencies with her screams that I didn't think were humanly possible. Guess they enjoyed their gifts. Sofia had her birthday party on Friday - she was off for parent-teacher conferences. Molly will be having hers this week on Saturday.

Oops, THIS is the final bit of news. Micah is finally starting to get the idea of how to use a spoon. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are two thousand words.

September in a Flash

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted! Things keep happening, and I think, "Wow, I'll have to put that in . . . " Oh well. Here goes.

September started with the Venema family heading off to Camp Kern (YMCA Camp) for Family Camp over Labor Day weekend. This was our second year there, and it was every bit as fun as the first year. Thanks to Myrna and John for inviting us!!! For those of you who don't know about Family Camp, it is a fun-filled weekend with more outdoor activities than you could ever imagine. We did rock wall climbing, rappeling, verticle mazes with looooong, hiiiiiiigh zip lines, high ropes courses, swimming, hiking, BB guns, archery, canoeing/kayaking (Molly in picture above), giant swings (Peter in picture above), long mine tunnel slides, horse back riding, camp fires, human clue games . . . I'm sure I'm missing a few activities! All the kids were troopers. It's really crazy to look up and see your 5 year old rappelling off a 50 foot tower, or to see them flying down a 100 yard zip line. Some day I might get used to seeing them do this crazy stuff. (I just have to keep reminding myself that I used to do crazy stuff, too. Wait, I STILL do these crazy things.) I was a little worried about how Micah would react to being away from home and sleeping in a porta-crib, but he didn't seem to miss a beat. He wasn't too thrilled about being put into a climbing harness, though :) (I have tried to put the harness picture on here TWICE, but it refuses to attach in the correct position - just tilt your head to the left and pretend it's on there right.)

Sofia is again being lambasted by homework at school. She's doing pretty well this year. I think it's mostly due to her new study technique :)

Next in our month was a continued effort to figure out what's up with Molly. I noticed a huge bump on her back when she bent over for her scoliosis check during her kindergarten physical in August. She had an ultrasound which showed that it wasn't the quick easy little fat pocket that the doctor was hoping for. Then she had a 30 minute long MRI (no sedation!!) which pretty much ruled out any malignancy (whew!). Then we were off to a surgeon at Dayton Children's Hospital. He seems to think it is an hemangioma which is embedded in her muscles just to the left of her spinal column. She will be having surgery next Monday to remove it. However, that is happening on October 1st, so you'll have to wait until the October update for more on that :)

We have been going to the Dayton area's Family With Children from China (FCC) playgroup. There is a little girl there who is only 6 weeks older than Micah who came from the same orphanage. I love to see Micah and Ella together!

Finally, Micah went down to the International Adoption Clinic in Cincinnati this past Monday for his 3 month check up. He is now officially, completely ON THE CHARTS!!!! His head is in the 50th %ile, his length is in the 10th %ile, and his weight is just above the 3rd %ile. The scales say he has gained 3 pounds since we came home, but my arms and back would swear to a 5 pound gain at least! He is doing all kinds of new things - imitating sounds, putting blocks INTO things, building towers (mostly he just knocks them down and we build them, but he is finally building them himself), climbing, going down stairs, starting to drink from a cup, FINALLY starting to eat some table food, he laughs and giggles all the time . . . he is just a ton of fun.

I came home the other night after taking Sofia to her flute lesson and found Todd and Peter out working on the lawn mower. Micah was set up on the drive with a 5 gallon bucket filled with water. He was SOAKED from head to toe - but only on his front side! He had been standing at that bucket for about 45 minutes just splashing and splashing and splashing . . . If I had to say what his favorite activity was, I would say splashing in the water. He does it in the bath, buckets, sink, dog water, toilets . . .

It's time for me to close. Micah is awake and ready to tackle the afternoon. Check back for more updates. Really, I will do them more often!