A little catch-up

I thought these two were so cute in their coats.



She's not the most animated of the kids, but she can give some great smiles!



It's safe to say this one is the most animated of the kids.

Always seeking attention...  and she usually gets it, too!

Starting to come out of his shell...

So, I'll try to do a little catch-up since I haven't blogged in a few weeks.  As you can see, the kids are pretty healthy, and for the most part, pretty happy.

Our little boy has had the biggest changes in his behavior, and his ability to embrace happiness.  He was so angry, and did a lot of rocking, staring at lights, and hand flapping, as well as throwing a lot of tantrums.  He still rocks, but now it's more like he's thinking about things, and he even looks happy when he's rocking.  If we call him while he's rocking, he'll get up to come and see what we're up to.  He still gets mad pretty easily, but it's usually short-lived, especially if we can figure out what he wants, and solve his problem.  We don't give him everything he wants, and we're pretty strict with him, and have boundaries, but he knows what the rules are, so it's usually not just trying to get his own way.  Sometimes it is, though, and then he just has to deal with it, because kids don't run our household.

He also believed for a long time that the orphanage way was the right way, and the only way, and wouldn't accept our way of doing--- pretty much anything.  Unfortunately, he also believed that he was incapable of just about anything, and has had to be convinced, slowly but surely, that there are lots of things that he can do, if he'll just give it a try.  He didn't think we knew what we were talking about, so it's been a lot of work, but now that he sees that we do know what we're talking about, he's learned to do lots of things, and is actually pretty proud of himself when he does.

He also eats and drinks very well now.  He has his preferences, of course, but he has a good appetite for almost every meal.  He's gained enough weight now that his pants will stay up.  We had so much trouble finding clothes for him, since he was too thin for almost any size.  We thought he looked like an alien, because his head appeared enormous compared to his tiny little body.  His little legs looked like sticks, and his hip bones stuck out.  He now has muscle and fat on him, and appears healthier and more active every day.

I'll wrap this up for now, and talk about the girls another day.  Bye! 

So, I'm back!  I hadn't really gone anywhere, but since I had so much trouble with my blog, I decided to scrap it, and try again with a new one.  The old one is still there, if you want to read about our adoption adventure to a certain Eastern European country.

There's an old saying, "the more things change, the more they stay the same."  I'm not sure what the author meant by that, but in my case, it's like deja vu, going back to the old days of having toddlers, and all that it means.  I'm sometimes more patient, just as lazy as before, and in some ways more motivated, and in some ways, less.

Our little trio is so much fun (and work!)

Our new kids are a blessing, a handful, and are going to either keep us young, or wear us out early.  I guess I can't say early, since we're facing the big 5-0.  (I always used to think I was destined to die young... guess I dodged that bullet!)  Anyway, they're amazing, and amusing, and intriguing, and mysterious.  What are they thinking?  They don't talk much, but they certainly have facial expressions, that sometimes say it all.

They try harder than anyone I've ever known, and then sometimes won't try at all.  They have that particular trait that I've noticed in most Eastern Europeans of being very opinionated on any particular subject, and it's difficult to convince them otherwise, even using science or logic.  But, like most Eastern Europeans I've met, they're big hearted and warm, once you get to know them.

Anyway, we had made some headway on the potty training front, but Daddy feels that we really only have energy to focus on one child at a time, and the children are in complete agreement with him.  However, they've each decided not to be the one child who gets to be focused on, to potty train first.  Everyone has regressed considerably lately, since on Mommy's watch everyone is expected to be potty training, and on Daddy's watch, no one is.  Lest you think my expectations are too high, let me reassure you that each child has shown considerable self-control, leading me to believe them all capable of full potty-trainedness. (Is that a word?)  One thing we've discovered about children with Down syndrome is that when they decide they want to do something, they are suddenly capable.  Hmm...  Don't get me wrong.  I don't say it's easy for them, necessarily, but when they make up their minds, strangely, nothing seems to stand in their way, and they will work until they accomplish it.