Hannah has been asking every day to play in their little pool. Today we just let them play in the water hose. She is excited that she will get to go swimming this summer while at Fun Co. It is hard to believe that our baby just finished kindergarten. She is not looking forward to first grade. She says it will be too hard. We went and bought a first grade workbook for her and a kindergarten book for Ethan. She was excited about that.

Speech and Language Therapy

I went to our last meeting for Ethan's pre-school speech and language therapy today. His teacher says that when she retested him that he tested in the 80 - 85 range. This is very good. He has had a lot of improvement since we started him on medicine for ADHD. His focus is much better. The teacher said that the will even listen when she is working with the other students that are in the class with him even though he doesn't have to be. Greg and I are very proud of his progress.

Hannah has been working on her sight words for school. I told her that we should start teaching Ethan the words since he will be starting kindergarten in August. The other night she was in his room going over them with him with the flash cards I made. She says that she wants to be a teacher. I think she will be a great teacher if that is what she pursues.

Flood 2010

I do not think I have ever seen it rain this much in the Nashville area in all 37 years I've been alive. I think it starting to move on. It will be nice to have some sunshine tomorrow. The kids are out of school because of streets flooding in our county. Hannah is not happy about that. I think that the roads that I travel to work are flooded also so I will not be at work tomorrow. They have even had to close down some of the interstates. This is crazy.

Ethan

Well, we have had many doctor's appointments for Ethan over the past six months. We are concerned about him being behind in his learning skills and some of his behaviors. Vanderbilt's Children doctors advised putting him on medication for ADHD. When we went back to the pediatrician to see about putting him on the medication they referred us to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist has started him on Adderal. He seems to be able to focus a little better. It has started to effect his appetite. I make sure that he has a good breakfast before he gets his meds.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

The kids were happy to be out of school on Friday. We didn't really get any snow to play in until Saturday morning. Ethan didn't like playing in it Saturday because it was very cold. Today wasn't as bad. They have enjoyed making a snowman and having a snow ball fight.

She Survived Surgery

Hannah had her tonsils and adenoids removed on Tuesday. Her tonsils were large. She snored very badly. The ENT said that they were really bad. Her adenoids had actually started growing into her nasal cavity.

She was one of those children that do not react to coming out of anesthesia very well. She kept trying to pull her i.v. out of her arm. I could tell that Greg was having a hard time watching her in post-op. I hated to see her going through it.

She said that her throat is not hurting her as much now. Our only problem is she is not wanting to eat or drink. I have told her that if she doesn't drink she will get dehydrated and would have to go to the hospital. I told her they would have to put another needle in her arm. That has helped to get her to drink.

I took Ethan to the pediatrician Wednesday. When we were referred to the child development department at Vandy, they suggested that we try Ethan on meds for ADHD. He is at about a 2.5 to 3 year old level. We are concerned that his lack of attention span and lack of focus is contributing to him being behind. The peds is referring us to a psychiatrist since he is only four at this time. We just want to find out what needs to be done to help him out. He does not seem to retain much of what he is being taught. If they can tells us other ways to help him that would be great.

Update on Ethan

So, I heard from the geneticist on Friday about Ethan's test results. They did find that there is an abnormality on chromosome 10. Unfortunately the lab that ran the test has never seen this before so they do not know what it might be affecting. Also, without any information about his birth parents they would not be able to tell us anything. At least we know that there is something that we need to pray about. We know that God has provided healing for us through Jesus Christ and that He is the God of miracles.

Recovery From Surgery

So, I had my sinuses cleaned out last Tuesday and he had to shave some off of one of my bones. I had an air bubble inside of one of my bones. Most of the pain has gone away. It has been nice to be able to just relax. I have to go back to work on the 30th.

My Exhausted Baby Monkey

So, Hannah has started her second full week of school today. My poor baby is not used to having no naps. I find it amusing that she used to hate taking naps while in pre-school. Now she tells me that she misses them. She is in Fun Co. after school. I have tried to tell her that she can take a quick nap when she first gets in there but she doesn't want to do that. This is what I saw when I got home this afternoon.

Her first eight days of school she cried because we had her eating breakfast at school. She would cry at night telling us she didn't want to eat there. Unfortunately I have to drop her off early so I thought it would be a good thing. Now she is eating breakfast at home but still having to wait at school in the mornings. Now she is crying because we have to drop her off at the door and can not walk her into school. I breaks my heart.

Hannah's First Day of School and the County Fair

Rides at the County Fair

Hannah's First Day of SchoolSo, my baby's first day of school was August 6. I walked her to her class. I held it together until I got out of the school. It is hard to believe that she is five now. She was not looking forward to starting for some reason. But when my dad picked her up she told him that she likes school. We are going to see about letting her join the Girl Scouts.

This week went to the county fair. The kids really enjoyed the rides and they both played a game. We will go to a bigger one later this month.

We got Ethan's evaluation results for his cognitive testing. He tested delayed. He is at about a 2 1/2 to 3 year old level. We are going to have to do more extensive testing. We will see what they say.

July Activities

This July has been fun for us. WE have taken the kids on day trips up to Kentucky to see an Amish community. There is a lady that lives in our community that is from China. She performed a Peking Opera at our library. It was interesting to see her perform. She is from the same province Hunan as Hannah. We told her what city Hannah was from and she knew where it was.

Last weekend we went to a drive-in theater to watch "G-Force." This was the kids first time going to the drive-in. It was a fun night out. The kids really enjoyed it. We plan on doing that again.

Now we are getting ready for Hannah to start kindergarten. Her first half day is on August 3. I'm sure I'm going to be emotional.

2009 Pingjiang Reunion

The 4th of July weekend was fun for us. We were able to have a reunion with five of the other 10 families that we traveled with to China to get Hannah. All the girls are five years old this year. It was amazing seeing how much they all have grown. It was wonderful to all their different personalities. Hannah and Ethan loved the pool. I think they were in all but two hours before the storm moved in. Hannah enjoyed seeing her China sisters that were there. Ethan even had fun with the other children.

Doctor Visit

Today we took Ethan to Vandy for a visit with the Children's Center for Development. We have had some concerns about where he is with his development. We have also wondered if he might have ADHD. The teachers at Head Start filled out paperwork on his behavior at school and we filled out our paperwork. After the nurse practitioner went through her questions and exam of Ethan we had some answers. We have always noticed that his walking was not always stable. She said this was because of hypomyotonia (lack of muscle tone). She also said that his gross motor skills are not where they should be. She has referred us for physical therapy. We will also be going back for them to test his cognitive skills and to meet with a behavioral consultant. She made it sound as though she might think he does have ADHD but does not want to diagnosis him with it until he is in kindergarten or first grade and having issues.

We are praying that these things we will start with will help him. It is hard going out in public with him because he will run off ahead of us not even thinking about it. I know that some people have told me that he is just being a little boy but I know as a mother that it is more than that. We just have to think about what we will do about the money for the PT. Our money is still tight because we are still paying on his adoption. I know that God has already made a way for us to get this done for our little grasshopper.

Baby Monkey is 5 Today

Happy birthday, Baby Monkey. You are a wonderful blessing from God. We have enjoyed being your parents these last 4 years.

It is hard to believe that Hannah is five years old now. My dad and his wife's aunt came over Saturday for cake and ice cream. My friend, Amee, and her son Owen came over afterwards. Hannah had fun. She is growing into a lovely young lady. All she wanted us to get her was a set of princess shoes and a Barbie nail set. She was excited.

Memorial Day Weekend Trip

I know I'm late posting these pictures from our Memorial Day weekend. We went to Chattanooga, TN. Ethan loves trains so we wanted to go down so he could ride a real train. He really enjoyed it. While we were there we went to the science museum. We had a lot of fun there. The kids made a mask and painted pictures. They have a really nice park across the river from downtown. We rode a ferry boat over so the kids could ride the carousel. Ethan was too sure about the carousel. The pictures of them in the water is outside of the aquarium. Every time we were down there they had to stop and play in the water. Hannah said her favorite part was swimming in the hotel pool. One of our traditions when we go to Chattanooga is to go to the English Rose Tea Room. Hannah always love to have tea with me. On the way home we stopped by the Mayfield Dairy in Athens, TN. It was interesting to see how they get the milk ready for us to purchase.

Ethan's Speech

I had a meeting today with Ethan's speech teacher concerning his IEP. She said that he has come a long way. I agree that he has come a long way. She says that he is a sweet little guy that she enjoys having in class. She also says that he is very eager to learn.

He will have to have speech once a week during the summer just to keep everything he has learned up. They do not provide transportation for the summer visits. I'm praying that God will work it out so that the teacher can go to the head start site to do his therapy.

Ms. Lisa has set a goal for him to be at 80% intelligent comprehension by this time next year. She does not think that he will have a problem reaching these goals.

Hannah's Pics

We recently bought the kids a kids camera. Hannah is always wanting to take pictures. After we got the camera Hannah was taking pictures outside. I'm not sure if she meant to take this picture like this or not but I thought it was very artistic. I know she was trying to get the swing set.

New Family Pictures

Last weekend we went to get some family pictures. Here are a few of the poses. The children did really well while having the pictures made. We had them done at JCPenny's. The lady that did them was great. These were the best pictures that I have ever had done.

Farewell to a dear friend

Yesterday I went to the Life Celebration of my best friend's step-dad. He had been battling leukemia for 3 years, COPD and emphysema. He had been in the hospital for a month when he came down with pneumonia. While there he got an infection that he just could not beat. He was a crazy wonderful Christian man that I loved like a father. It is sad that he is no longer with us but we know he is in Heaven singing his praises to God. His name was Travis Withers. If you think about it please say a prayer for his family during this time. He was married for 30 years. they were a very happy couple. Brenda will have a rough time right now.

Easter

We had a good Easter. We went to service on Saturday night. Then my family that lives in our area came over for lunch on Sunday. The kids always enjoy having their cousins, LaoLao, Aunt Sharon and Palpaw and his wife Mary over. Ethan cried when they left. Hannah asked me all day Saturday and Sunday when we were going to hunt eggs.

Finally, I get to hunt for eggs.


Look at all of my eggs.

Here they are in their Easter outfits. I made Hannah's dress for her. She really liked it. She helped me some with the sewing. I was pleased with how it came out. It was the best thing that I have ever sewn.
Here is little grasshopper's new glasses. We just got them this afternoon after work and school. You could tell from his reactions that he could actually see now. All the way home he continued to look out the window at everything that he could see. I think that he looks very cute. Now if I can just get him to stop touching the lenses all the time it would be great.