Wow! 4 months home! I can hardly believe it!! We've actually got a visit from our social worker on the calendar already for our 6 month post-placement report coming up fairly soon. In some ways it feels like we just got home with the girls and in others it feels like they've been here forever!!
Both girls are doing really fantastic! I am so thrilled with how they are growing and blossoming. They hardly even look like the same children!! It's amazing!! They are growing physically, emotionally, socially and academically - and we have a true picture of redemption in our home! Thank you God for the blessing of these girls!! :)
I don't have physical stats to show you how much they've grown - but I have had to switch out a lot of their clothes for bigger ones! Their hair has grown SO much - it's shiny and getting thicker, and I have to trim their bangs constantly. :)
Emily has gone from taking maybe 10 steps in a row in December when we got home, to RUNNING everywhere and CLIMBING!! She navigates the 4 rungs of the ladder on our Little Tykes slide with no problem and just the other day, climbed from a chair onto the kitchen table to dump out the salt shaker and that same day climbed from a chair to the piano - because she figured out we were stashing stuff out of her way on top of the piano! She has a ton of signs, is starting to try to talk more and more and blows our mind every day with the things she observes once or twice and then does for herself. She has shown interest in potty training, but isn't quite ready yet. She enjoys playing in the dirt, dumping out cupboards, drawers, toy boxes and anything else she can get her hands on, playing outside, snuggles with mom and dad, "Choo Choo Soul" on the Disney channel, eating, and doing anything her big sister is doing!!! Emily enjoys playing with her friends in our local Down syndrome toddler playgroup. She can have her "Terrible Two" moments of course, but we love her so much and she is such a joy!!
Dasha has been growing physically like crazy!! She is getting so big!! We are starting to see her gain confidence in things and show more preferences towards foods, toys and things like that. She has several words that she uses and tons of signs. We are SO proud of Dasha and the way she has taken to life in a family. It's much harder for an older child who has lived institutionally and she is really doing well. She LOVES playing outside, has found a love for Mickey Mouse and will yodel when she sees him - thanks to the character on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "Toodles." She yodels "Oh toodles!" It's pretty adorable. ;) She has discovered she likes to play the iPad and navigates it pretty well. She likes to set up tea parties for Emily and I during the day, and carries a stuffed seal around like a baby. Dasha loves going to Sunday school at church, singing and dancing and helping mommy around the house! She's very helpful at the grocery store, sweeping the floor, emptying the dishwasher and clearing the table!
Dasha had a big week last week and had surgery to have her tonsils and adenoids out and tubes put in her ears! She did SO fantastic with the surgery and recovery!! She was an absolute trooper through the pain and is almost back to her old self now. She's eating most foods again now, with the exception of really salty or crunchy things. (toast, chips, pretzels) We have seen an immediate improvement in her hearing now that she has the tubes in her ears and we expect for that to continue to improve. Her breathing has gotten SO much better as well - she can now breathe through her nose for the first time!!! She has been sleeping a little better, and we expect that to continue to improve as she finishes healing and realizes she doesn't have to wake up several times during the night! :)
Dasha is going to play baseball on an adaptive baseball team this spring - we go to a meet and greet tomorrow for her team - and we're really excited! I think she's going to really enjoy it! She loves to do anything active!!
The girls enjoyed their first Easter home with an Easter egg hunt at church and lots of family time!! Their sister relationship is really blossoming too - it's so fun to see! Although in true sister fashion, they love each other one moment and 2 minutes later are fighting! :)
I have zillions of pictures I could leave you with - but I'll try to limit it to just a few!! (I'll pick a few for this post, and then do a pictures only post next week!) Be sure to check out my facebook - because I have tons more there!! (if you send me a friend request - please send me a quick message either in a comment here or on FB so I know who you are and why you're requesting to be my friend!!)
Both girls are doing really fantastic! I am so thrilled with how they are growing and blossoming. They hardly even look like the same children!! It's amazing!! They are growing physically, emotionally, socially and academically - and we have a true picture of redemption in our home! Thank you God for the blessing of these girls!! :)
I don't have physical stats to show you how much they've grown - but I have had to switch out a lot of their clothes for bigger ones! Their hair has grown SO much - it's shiny and getting thicker, and I have to trim their bangs constantly. :)
Emily has gone from taking maybe 10 steps in a row in December when we got home, to RUNNING everywhere and CLIMBING!! She navigates the 4 rungs of the ladder on our Little Tykes slide with no problem and just the other day, climbed from a chair onto the kitchen table to dump out the salt shaker and that same day climbed from a chair to the piano - because she figured out we were stashing stuff out of her way on top of the piano! She has a ton of signs, is starting to try to talk more and more and blows our mind every day with the things she observes once or twice and then does for herself. She has shown interest in potty training, but isn't quite ready yet. She enjoys playing in the dirt, dumping out cupboards, drawers, toy boxes and anything else she can get her hands on, playing outside, snuggles with mom and dad, "Choo Choo Soul" on the Disney channel, eating, and doing anything her big sister is doing!!! Emily enjoys playing with her friends in our local Down syndrome toddler playgroup. She can have her "Terrible Two" moments of course, but we love her so much and she is such a joy!!
Dasha has been growing physically like crazy!! She is getting so big!! We are starting to see her gain confidence in things and show more preferences towards foods, toys and things like that. She has several words that she uses and tons of signs. We are SO proud of Dasha and the way she has taken to life in a family. It's much harder for an older child who has lived institutionally and she is really doing well. She LOVES playing outside, has found a love for Mickey Mouse and will yodel when she sees him - thanks to the character on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "Toodles." She yodels "Oh toodles!" It's pretty adorable. ;) She has discovered she likes to play the iPad and navigates it pretty well. She likes to set up tea parties for Emily and I during the day, and carries a stuffed seal around like a baby. Dasha loves going to Sunday school at church, singing and dancing and helping mommy around the house! She's very helpful at the grocery store, sweeping the floor, emptying the dishwasher and clearing the table!
Dasha had a big week last week and had surgery to have her tonsils and adenoids out and tubes put in her ears! She did SO fantastic with the surgery and recovery!! She was an absolute trooper through the pain and is almost back to her old self now. She's eating most foods again now, with the exception of really salty or crunchy things. (toast, chips, pretzels) We have seen an immediate improvement in her hearing now that she has the tubes in her ears and we expect for that to continue to improve. Her breathing has gotten SO much better as well - she can now breathe through her nose for the first time!!! She has been sleeping a little better, and we expect that to continue to improve as she finishes healing and realizes she doesn't have to wake up several times during the night! :)
Dasha is going to play baseball on an adaptive baseball team this spring - we go to a meet and greet tomorrow for her team - and we're really excited! I think she's going to really enjoy it! She loves to do anything active!!
The girls enjoyed their first Easter home with an Easter egg hunt at church and lots of family time!! Their sister relationship is really blossoming too - it's so fun to see! Although in true sister fashion, they love each other one moment and 2 minutes later are fighting! :)
I have zillions of pictures I could leave you with - but I'll try to limit it to just a few!! (I'll pick a few for this post, and then do a pictures only post next week!) Be sure to check out my facebook - because I have tons more there!! (if you send me a friend request - please send me a quick message either in a comment here or on FB so I know who you are and why you're requesting to be my friend!!)
4 comments:
Going to friend you on facebook. We live on Langton around the corner and are in the Emerald Down Syndrome group. Sindy
Love seeing the progress! Keep the reports comin'.
My name is Sara, and I found your blog through my friend Rachel Drummond. I love it! I sent you a friend request on facebook because I just love your pictures.
O my. Your girls sound so typically like my girl when she was a preschooler and now that she's 7. Yup!! Kids are so typical!! They're lots of fun and have wonderful personalities.
Thanks so much for sharing. I appreciate it. I'm so glad to hear that you have an adaptive baseball league.... I wish my community was big enough for something like that.
Greetings from Nova Scotia, Canada
Deborah Baker
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