April Update

I hope your Spring is a wee bit more warm than ours is here in Seattle. It's chilly out! Today on the way to church, I even noticed snow on the ground!! Say what!?! Tulips are supposed to be in bloom, not covered in white stuff!

Well, here are some faces to warm your hearts. Max turned eight in February, and I think I may have forgotten to post some pictures. So here are a few. The first one is from his classroom. Can you tell from his smile that he absolutely loves school? 

I love this little peanut. He is such a joyful child, unless he doesn't feel good - then at most, he cries and whimpers. He has the most beautiful giggle, and it seems to be contagious. His eyes twinkle and have beautiful brushfield spots that allow the light to dance in them. He is an amazing little boy, and as I have stated before - I often (especially on his birthday) pray for his biological mother, as I can not imagine the heart ache of having to leave him in the orphanage when he was a year and a half old. I can only imagine that she was trying to best care for him, and love him - despite any emotions she struggled with. I owe her, for choosing life for Max. 

Happy birthday to my tiny little 8 year old, who still wears a 4T and despite your small stature - made such a big impact in this family. 

Justus is a nut for books, and sitting as if he is reading them.

He also loves his ipad 'movie' time, and briefly allowed for Ivanna to partake in the fun.

 On the top is an 'after' picture of over 2 years home. The picture on the bottom is while in country still.

 I LOVE this picture. This is totally little Miss Sassy pants, giving me the stink eye.

Justus and his antics. Always with the antics.

So as mentioned in a previous post, I eluded to the fact that Ivanna had some medical stuff we were exploring. Being so close to the Children's hospital has allowed me more time to delve into options/care/resources that I otherwise, wouldn't have if I were still in Port Orchard and so far away. We now have Ivanna on the Autism Clinic's waiting list - which by the way, is EIGHT MONTHS long. *sigh* I'm looking forward to a consultation, as it might help us obtain more resources, since the world of Autism has much more funding, as well as tools that are available. 

Meanwhile, we have had Ivanna seen by the neurodevelopmental team at the hospital. This has been very helpful, and has set to motion many other appointments that range from sleep studies, feeding therapies, ENT, eye appointments, etc. The approach is one that encompasses the whole body - and locating ANY problems, that might be affecting her ability to socialize, or learn - and then either correcting the problem, or learning to cope in a way that helps her overcome. Anyhow, it has been very helpful.  

One lab result that has come back has shown that both her and Justus have a thyroid level that is slightly off. So, we will recheck that in a few months, and then go from there. Thyroid issues are not uncommon for children with Ds.

Ivanna is really doing quite well, and she continually shows me how I underestimate her abilities. For instance, I NEVER thought she would EVER sign. It always seemed to me that she never slowed down enough to realize you wanted her to mimic a sign, let alone actually sign. Well. She proved me wrong ... again.

Ivanna can sign 'more' and 'please'. And I am TOTALLY astounded by this. Ivanna has a terrific teacher and aid at school. They completely blow my socks off with the work they do and the results they get - and this is no less. I will post a video soon of her signing. I am just so proud of that girl. She is simply amazing.

In other news: I'm totally craving my sister's potato salad. Warm.

;)

Random.