Pump it Up!

Today we took Reese and Niko to a place called Pump it Up. A place filled with big, blow-up, bouncy type equipment. I have never seen these two have so much fun yet. Although, the Build-a-Bear and stroller pushing through the mall was a close second. It was suggested as a way to do occupational therapy and get those legs climbing and muscles built. They slept almost three hours at nap-time. I think we'll go every Monday. I'll leave with a few pics and also a pic of my cutie-patootie in her costume. My neighbor, Deb, came over last week to give this leotard and tutu to Reese. She looks adorable and she loves to wear it around the house. (Sorry the pics are not that clear--these kids move too fast!)

Allergies

Well...the results of my little girls allergy testing came back today. The doc said we have a highly allergic little girl on our hands. He said she's severely allergic to dogs, then cats, and also highly allergic to eggs. She is also testing positive for many other foods, but since they are not as high as the dogs/eggs we will be doing a prick allergy test in 3 weeks to all those other specific foods for a 100% positive reading. At least it's nothing too serious. Seems to be all manageable. Definitely not getting rid of my sweet baby dog. Benadryl, creams, breathing treatments, food/dog avoidance...
It's been a bit exhausting taking them to all these appointments. But, I know they are necessary right now and will not last forever. So far Reese has been to the pediatrician twice, dentist, allergy/asthma specialist 3 times, 2 times to a lab for blood drawn, and an assessment of developmental delays. It's been diagnosed as they are both behind, and we have decided we will be bringing them to occupational therapy and speech therapy. I don't know how many times per week these visits will take place yet, but we're thinking they won't last for more than a few months. They'll catch up very quickly, especially with the right supervision/guidance. Reese is very eager to learn. I guess the forever mom "chauffeur" services have officially begun. LOL!
Niko just has a mild scalp dermatitis. All of his bloodwork and x-ray and ultrasounds came back normal. It's been fun to see him develop into his personality. He was very quiet at the orphanage, but he is changing here everyday. So cool! They are both great little people!
In between all these appointments and people still coming over to visit them for the first time, we've managed to squeeze in some pool time, too. Here are a few pics:

One month marker

Wow! It's hard to believe but we've actually had them in our care now for 4 weeks!

It's true what they say and that each week gets better and better and shows many changes.

Nice Days!

Each day has truly gotten better. Reese’s rash is better being on the allergy syrup and lotion, so she seems to be sleeping better. A couple of nights all the way through. They both are still sleeping 10-11 hours per night.

We have been going in the pool for about 30 minutes almost daily. They are very comfortable in the pool now; however, they are wearing floaties. We might begin to look into swim lessons and see if they say they are ready for that. Reese is continuing to do well on the potty. Still has many mistakes (always at night, obviously right now), but when we ask her if she needs to go she’ll usually say yes or no. I think we just might have to get better at asking more frequently. Niko still sits comfortably on the toilet several times a day and occasionally gets lucky.

Sunday we drove down to a place Roger & I usually went on Sunday’s to go jogging. This time we put them in the double jogging stroller for 4 of miles of jogging and they loved it. Then, our friends invited us over for breakfast of eggs and bagels and to meet R & N. We had a wonderful morning. Thank you Gary and Kathy!

We still have many dates set up with friends who want to meet the kids. We’re just spacing them a part a bit. And we are still venturing to new restaurants and with new foods. They are doing great in both areas.

Over the next two weeks Roger is going to work part-time, then back to regular hours after that.

11 Days

Reese continues to go to bed w/o a meltdown--not even a cry now. She also had an allergist appointment today. We were gone from 1:00-4:00. So, no nap and she did great. Never once did she whine or cry, only a flinch at the 2 vial blood test. By dinnertime, you could tell she was tired and getting a bit cranky. She was sleeping tonight by 7:45. We won’t know the results of the allergy test for another 8 days or so.

Niko continues to be a sweet, sweet boy. I’ve never seen him give so many kisses before. He only sucks his fingers at naptime/bedtime now for a short bit, not nearly as much as he did that first week. He lets us rock him now, but when laid down he still continues to rock himself to sleep. Never cries still. He’s a very happy boy.

They both have started repeating some words we say, but not many English words yet. Reese is working on potty training. Niko is comfortable sitting there, but I feel he still doesn’t quite know what it’s about.

We’ve gone to several restaurants since we’ve been home and only once did Reese have a semi-meltdown (she had no nap that day). We just took her out to the car and said she has to behave before we can go back in. She agreed and the rest of dinner went fairly well after that.

They are both more comfortable in the pool. Seem to really be enjoying it. Especially going up, up and then under water. I feel we’ve been very lucky. They really are well-behaved children overall. The orphanage did a great job at teaching them how to put away toys and brush their teeth and pretty much listen to commands like don’t touch that or don’t do that, be calm/quiet, etc... Reese still loves to yell at her brother and tell on him. :-)

So, just an update, but they are progressing very well. We do wish Reese would start speaking more or learn her A,B,C’s, but I guess we’ve only been home 11 days.