Two Boys in a Tub

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks-sorry! It's been busy. REALLY busy. It seems as though we spend half of our weeks in Dr. offices or therapy sessions. Not that kind of therapy (though after too many more weeks of this, I may need it...). Here's some things that are going on in August for us:

Speech and play therapy for J twice a week, but he's about to turn three, so we're in meetings every week to transition out of the infant/toddler program and into the school program. J is up to signing 50+ words, and speaking full or partial 42 words. That's up from nothing other than the "grunt and point" from when he came home in February. Way to go, J! By the way, people keep asking, "Has he learned English yet?" as though that were the delay. Learning English is only a part of the issue. J never learned to speak ANY language, even Tagalog, because he wasn't around spoken language enough to pick it up. (Orphan institutionalization delay). So, we aren't working on "in Tagalog, sit is upo, but in English, it's sit." We're working on, "This is a tongue; it's used for speaking. Can you make this sound? Look at my face....nnnnnnn." It is a long tedious process, but he is coming along very quickly. No, I'm not disappointed that he has these problems; I've worked with enough orphans to know to expect this. Yes, he can and will catch up. Yes, it will take YEARS, not weeks. And, no, he can't speak English yet. But he does UNDERSTAND English at his age level. Just wanted to field some questions there that we've been getting a lot lately.

Planning a birthday party! C will be 1 on the 30th, and J will be 3 Sept. 3rd. This year, we're combining them into one party. Of course, it has to be a train party since J is obsessed with trains! Very cute.

Starting Preschool. J starts preschool in two weeks, and we are so excited! It'll help him a lot with his speech and teach him what kids do, since he was never around kids until he came home. And C and I are really looking forward to getting some one-on-one time back. What do you want to do, C? I vote train time at Barnes and Noble. Nothing beats locomotives and lattes.

Finalizing C. We're soooooooo close! All the court hearings are done, and we're just waiting, waiting, waiting, on that piece of paper that says he's legally ours! Woo Hoo!

Finalizing J. J had his last post-placement study with the social worker July 30. Yay! That report is being sent to our agency where it collects the other needed paperwork, then the Philippines. Then the Philippines sends the papers to us, which get taken to court, which are ruled upon, and then get sent to us. And then I think we're done. I think. Adoption can be complicated, but so can labor and delivery, which is also a lot more painful. Speaking of which...

Tom and Alexis had a baby today! What's her name? Nobody knows. You've got 24 hours to decide, you two! Mom and baby are healthy. Alexis had an extremely fast delivery (under 4 hours from induction to baby-in-arms for her first baby)! Happy baby day!

A lot of doctor appointments for me. I have been spending time at my family practice doctor wiggling my wrist around. She sent me to a neurologist because of probable nerve damage, and an orthopedist who will fit me with a better brace and treat the mobility. What's wrong with it? Tendonitis gone bad. Real bad. What caused it? 23 lb., wiggly baby. I sure hope it heals soon because it is a huge inconvenience more than anything.

Vacation Bible School. That's Saturday, and Tim and I are in charge of registration. It's a pirate theme, so we have to-I mean GET TO-dress up as pirates for the day. Don't count on a blog post with that photo. Arg. It'll be fun for the kids, though.

Misc. Then there's always a host of birthday parties, showers, playdates, graduate school stuff, outings, and errands.

We are all still here, though. Alive and mostly well. Enjoy the pics and have a great week!

I can sign some too! This is "night-night." I can also sign, "food," "more," "bye-bye," "up," "stop," and blow kisses when Mommy says, "I love you."

This is the new persona I'm trying out. It's called, "onry and into everything." I think Mom and Dad prefer, "sweet and obedient," but I'm pretty sure this one suites me better. I put on this face when MaMa says, "no." Tough, huh?

This is my new favorite book. It's about trains. And my favorite movie is Thomas the Tank Engine. My favorite underwear has trains on it. I'm having a train birthday party. Everything trains! Choo! Choo!