Could it be 3 months already???

I admit I’m very bad at blogging now, but my life has certainly been turned upside down with two busy little monkeys. The 17th will mark 3 months since “Gotcha Day.” We’ve had a busy schedule since my last post last month.

Swim lessons are continuing for both Reese and Niko. They still both absolutely love the water. Afterall, the are both Pisces.

At the end of September, Niko had a circumcision. It was a somewhat difficult decision to electively put your 2 1/2 under anesthesia, but in years to come we’re hoping he’ll be glad we did. He went through the procedure just like a champ. Of course, he couldn’t feel anything that day because of the pain pills, spinal block and anesthesia. The next 6 days were a different story. The wiggling, screaming and crying every time you would just try to put antibiotic ointment (vaseline-type) on him. Poor thing. It’s been 16 days now and he’s almost all healed.

Five days after his surgery we were headed out to San Diego. It was my birthday weekend and that’s just where I wanted to spend it. I also anxiously wanted to see what the kids thought of the beach and ocean. We figured the ocean for Niko might not be a good idea (and the water might have been too cold anyway), but they could surely play in the sand and see the ocean, right? Afterall, at the orphanage that was their favorite activity--just playing in the sandboxes for hours. Well, after we arrived at the hotel we went out for some dinner and then back to the hotel as it was already getting late. Bathtime! The kids favorite “indoor” activity. Three minutes into the bath Niko starts crying, we turn around to look and he had sliced just above his eye on the edge of the marble bathtub. Roger and I debated about whether or not he needed to go to the urgent care for stitches. There really wasn’t any blood trickling down, just mainly staying at the injured sight. And at this point Niko was more upset we ended bathtime. Well, Roger said it was sliced cleaned and looked deep. He’s off to the urgent care. I stayed and put Reese to bed. Well....they arrive back at the hotel at 2:40 in the morning. They were gone almost 7 hours! That’s just crazy! He did great though. Barely cried and the next morning acted as if nothing happened.

So needless to say, now we couldn’t go to the beach and play in the sand. What 2 y/o do you know that wouldn’t throw sand up in the air and land in his head? So they saw the ocean from a bluff and were just as content to play at the playground there. We also made it to SeaWorld. Oh my, they loved Shamu! Niko’s expression the whole 30 minute show was just bug eyed and open mouth. Not a word. They were very tired, but absolutely loved the long day of seeing all the sea animals.

The car trip (6 hours each way from PHX) wasn’t that bad, either. The last two hours into PHX is when the whining started on and off with Niko.

They are both still taking naps. Sometimes it’s 1 1/2 hours or sometimes it’s 3 hours. Still no problem going to bed for either of them, and they’re both still sleeping through the night. The pronunciation of words for Reese is still pretty bad. She also still doesn’t have many words in her vocabulary. Same with Niko--not many words. We’ve been told by so many professionals and other mothers to just get them in pre-school to be around other toddlers, and they should start beginning to speak more and better. So, that is on my list as the next to do. I am looking into part-time pre-school for Reese and possibly Niko, too.

Not that Reese had many, but practically all crying, whining and being upset is non-existent. She’s a very happy little girl. Niko, on the other hand, who had always been so calm, never cried or whined, is starting to whine quite a bit now. I guess he just feels comfortable enough now and is doing enough activities that he gets frustrated. Overall, still very happy. They’re really great kids!

We’re also still trying to go to Pump it Up gym once a week. There’s been quite a difference since the first time we went there. One of us would have to go with them up the slide and down and through the obstacle course, but now they just do all the climbing, jumping and running around on their own. So great to see!

Reese’s allergies, eczema, and asthma is totally under control. You wouldn’t even know she has them at this point. Also quite a difference from the first month home. As far as potty training goes, Reese has still had a couple of accidents in her pants, but for all practical purposes she’s potty trained. Well...nighttime diapers are still 60% of the time wet, but we’re getting there. We’re still gonna wait a few more weeks to get Niko on a full schedule of potty training.

And, the cooler temps are beginning to arrive. Granted it’s still in the 80’s, but that’s much better than the 100’s, so it’s off to the playground now and playing outside. We’ll also be headed to the zoo and the pumpkin patch farm soon. Lots to look forward to! I’ll leave with some pics until next time. (Probably another month....)