Thursday, April 28, 2011

Silly Boys.....

Sometime all you need is a picture......
Can you find the hidden Zhu Zhu hamster??

Look Daddy, I found some glasses!

Uh, what do you want?

Can I continue playing now?

Celebrating with Cake

Monday my dad asked me if I could make a simple cake for him to use to celebrate a ham radio buddy's US Citizenship (the guy became a citizen on Tuesday) and Dad needed it Wednesday morning.  I decided to make a cake for the boys to celebrate the arrival of their citizenship certificates (and I needed the decorating practice).  The boys hadn't had cake and frosting before (as far as we know), so we were excited about what their reaction would be.  Chris didn't have to work Wednesday night, so we had a family dinner and brought out the cake afterwards.  You should have seen their eyes light up!  Of course, they both got just little slivers (it was close to bedtime after all), but they loved it!  


This was my practice cake, the other one looked much nicer!

Trying to eat a big bite, like Daddy

What can I say?  Yummy!!

Easter 2011

The boys enjoyed their first Easter with us.  The neighbors brought over Easter buckets with some toys (dump-truck, dune-buggy, boats, bubbles) that the boys got to see and play with before breakfast Easter morning.  They weren't really sure about it all until Chris encouraged them to check it all out.



After church, we went to Grandma Lela & Grandpa Dave's house for lunch.  They have started a toy collection for the boys to play with at their house (balls, bat, puzzles) that they really enjoyed playing with after lunch.



While we were there, Uncle Robert, Aunt Liz & Cousin Charlie stopped by and dropped off Easter buckets that Charlie wanted to give his cousins.  We waited till we got home before the boys got those since we wanted to make sure that they understood that they were from Charlie, not Grandma & Grandpa.  When we got home, we showed the boys a picture of Charlie (they recognized him) and told them that Charlie picked out the toys in the Easter buckets just for them.  They got kites, coloring books with markers, a Hot Wheels car and a Kung Zhu hamster (Chunk) with Easter bunny ears.  The boys really enjoyed playing with the hamsters (especially when they figured out that if they punch their brother in the arm with the nose it will 'talk').





They boys had a fun and full Easter 2011.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

First Doctor Visit

Thursday the boys had their first visit with a pediatrician here.  We are currently working with a doctor at the Texas Children's Hospital International Clinic to get the boys caught up on shots, testing, etc.  Later this year we will look for a pediatrician closer to home (although the Clinic is only about 20 minutes drive, parking is impossible and we would rather have someone closer in the future).

We had requested a Russian translator for the visit (part of the services they offer) and she was helpful in going over the papers we got from the Baby Home (shot records, etc).  We found out that they seem to be current on their immunizations, but we are waiting on the final word from the doctor about it all.

The boys are healthy (as far as we can tell without the results of the blood and stool testing) and seem to be on level for their age (maybe just a few months behind on some things, but they will catch up quickly).  We did get orders for them to see a speech therapist, physical therapist & an occupational therapist for evaluation.  They also need to have a hearing test done as there isn't a record of that being done in Russia.

The boys got some shots after the check up: David got 4 and Michael got 3.  Both boys did pretty well, unless you consider all the screaming and crying that went on (no, mom didn't cry).  I think that the most screaming was because of Chris laying across them to keep them from moving (they don't like being constrained).

We also got to go to the 3rd floor for blood draws.  We only had to wait for about 20 minutes before they were ready for the boys.  I took Michael in the hallway while Chris held David for the nurse.  Then we switched kids for round 2.  They each had 7 vials to do so they were rather woozy for the walk back to the car.  David worked himself up before the lady even got them seated.  He could be heard in the waiting room.  Yes, that was my child.  Michael on the other hand screamed for just a minute as he was being 'stuck' then watched it all quietly.  Chris did rather well himself (I couldn't have handled it at all; I don't even like it when I have to have blood tests done).

In addition to the blood tests, they have to have parasite testing done.  Unfortunately it has to be done with stool samples.  We were sent home with plastic bags for each boy as well as a plastic 'hat' to put in the toilet to catch David's samples.  This is why I never wanted to go into the medical field.  I've dealt with some icky stuff in the past, but this is definitely The Worst And Grossest Thing Ever!!!  There are 3 vials for each boy: one gets one sample, the other 2 get 3 different samples put in.  Each vial has a little scooper attached inside the lid to make it easier (but not better!) and you have to put in enough to reach the red line on the label.  Once we get the all the samples, we just have to drop it all off at a Quest Lab facility.  I think this definitely puts me in the 'Best Mom In The Whole Universe' category.  Be glad you don't have to deal with this; be very glad.

After shots, before lab work.....

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Easter Egg fun..

Earlier this week Cousin Charlie invited David & Michael over to his house to dye Easter Eggs.  Of course the boys don't know anything about Easter Eggs, much less Easter (other than what we have told them and what they picked up from the Veggie Tales Easter video), so they weren't really sure what to do or what was going on.  Regardless of that, they had fun with their cousin today.

This one was supposed to be green....
Look, it's pink!
Fingers work so much better than that little metal thingy.....
Getting a little help from Daddy
This one is ready to dry.....
Time for stickers
Now that we are done with the eggs, it is Playtime!!

Monday, April 18, 2011

More Family Pictures

Looking cool in the car

Are we leaving or what???

Coloring at the table (trying to keep the colors on the paper, not the table)

Chillin with Daddy

Official First Family Photo for the First Report by the social worker
(at least we are all looking at the camera at the same time)

At a playground, in the 'sand box'

Sitting with Cousin Charlie, ready to go home
(or in Michael's case, not ready to go home)

Watching TV....

Figuring out the Shape Sorter Ball
(the Original Tupperware version, like what Mama remembers as a child)

Not so fond of spaghetti yet.....

Enjoying the spaghetti....

David is a whiz with the Shape Sorter Ball

Okay, these toys are not actually designed to be used as a riding toy, but they enjoy it so much
(and the toys are small enough to deal with in the house)

Sheba is not so sure that this seating arrangement is a good idea....

More fun on the trucks, using the hallway as the speedway!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Back to work...

Chris returned to work today at Wal-Mart.  He is going to go full time now instead of part time since he is no longer working for Fort Bend ISD (his choice, not theirs!)  He left this morning at 8:30 and should be home around 6:30ish tonight.

The boys and I are on our own today. 

Should be interesting today since the boys both work up rather fussy and whiny.

I know: Welcome to Parenthood!!

On a side note: for those who have been reading the blogs and thinking that Chris has written them, sorry to say that all the writing is done by Rachael (even when it is written in third person).  Chris has only contributed to a few of them and didn't even read most of them until last week.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Now that we are settling in...

We have been home for about 2 weeks now and we are all settling in rather well (considering the circumstances).

The boys are learning the routines/schedule/way of life at home and we are learning to be parents.  Not as easy as some may think.  When a new baby or infant comes into a family, you have time to adjust to the little things.  When you have 2 preschoolers dropped into your life, you have to make SUPER QUICK adjustments and deal with things that most parents get to deal with gradually.

Overall, we are all doing really well.

They enjoy playing both in the house and outside.  They have been to several different parks with playgrounds to play (once just the four of us and the rest were 'play dates' with other kiddos).  They have 2 balls and 2 vehicles to play with outside (right now) and we are looking into a play structure of some sort to put in the backyard in the near future.  They aren't really fond of swings but like to climb and slide (they LOVE the curvy slides).  Anything that David does, Michael wants to do the same (he is our daredevil acrobat). 

Inside they have some coloring books, crayons, blocks, a fire truck (complete with sounds), a puzzle ball (the original one from Tupperware!) and some vehicles (we are not doing the small matchbox type cars as the boys just want to push them under the furniture and can't get them back out).  They also have several books to look at (usually with us). 

Bedtime is developing a routine.  Bath time starts around 7:15 and is done by 7:45 (yes, 2 preschoolers can get fresh bathwater, scrubbed/shampooed, rinsed and play all in about 30 minutes).  They don't know how to play in the bath, so Rachael is teaching them (slowly but surely) to enjoy bath time.  We have started out with a few squirting toys and today we bought some stacking/straining cups for them to play with as well.  Not that bath time needs to take all night, but it would be good to see them playing for a bit in the bathtub!  They both get teeth brushed (Michael gets help and David can do it on his own) after pajamas are on and then a book is read before tucking into bed.  They really like: Barnyard Dance and Pajama Time (both are by Sandra Boynton).  The first one in bed gets to choose the book first.  We try to get them in bed for reading time around 8:00 with lights out around 8:15.  Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.

Food wise they eat pretty much what we have put in front of them.  The only thing that David has a hard time with is spaghetti, but we are working on that (in other words, we won't use that particular brand of sauce again).  Michael is usually good about eating most of his food before playing with it.  He is very independent when it comes to trying to eat; he prefers to do it all himself.  It really is fun watching him pick up pieces of things to put on the fork or spoon then put it in his mouth.  David doesn't really like his food touching, but spreads it out himself.  He also likes to eat one thing completely before eating something else.  He also watches Chris and imitates his eating style sometimes (like mixing corn into the mashed potatos before scooping them up to eat).  So far they have had: yogurt, apples, bananas, peaches, biscuits, scrambled eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, malt-o-meal, carrots, cucumbers, potatos, rice, broccoli, corn, green beans, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese cubes, milk, water, apple juice, beef, chicken, pork, hot dogs, corn dogs, pretzels, animal crackers, cheerios, spaghetti, pasta, bread, and various other combinations of things.  They are eating quite well.  We are supplementing David's diet with the occasional Pedia-Sure (vanilla) to help him out.

Their first doctor appointment isn't until April 21.  They will see Dr. Montgomery at the Texas Children's Hospital International Clinic at that time and she will be their primary care physician for a while.  We will eventually find a pediatrician closer to home. 

David is wearing size 3T tops & bottoms while Michael is in 2T tops and 18 month bottoms.  Even with Pull-Ups, he doesn't have much to hold the bottoms up, so we are going with the smaller size for now.  Thanks to the generosity of friends we have plenty of clothes to choose from in sizes up to 4T. 

The boys both got their first look at Sunday School at church this past week.  They did rather well.  Chris stayed with Michael and Rachael stayed with David.  During the 2nd service (starts at 11:00), Michael stayed in his classroom and David came with us to service.  About halfway through, Rachael took him back to see if he would like to stay with the other kids, but stayed only because Rachael stayed with him.  We expected this and don't mind at all.  The teachers and our Children's Pastor are very supportive about it all.  We love our church.

We will post pictures of the boys soon (Rachael has to upload them first from the camera).

Saturday, April 9, 2011

More Pictures (this time of the boys)

Since all 3 of my boys are sleeping right now, I thought I'd update our blog.

We took some pictures of the boys and us while in Russia and thought we'd share some of them with you (they are not in any particular order):

First Day as a Family (March 24, 2011)

Enjoying the cars Mama & Daddy brought

Playing with the cars Mama & Daddy brought for us to play with


Not so sure if the crayons & coloring books were a good idea...




Still learning about sippy cups...


Ready for bed, but don't want to go to sleep....

Watching the planes at the airport in Moscow, waiting for our flight home

Rare moment when David would snuggle with Mama

Daddy as the jungle gym, again.....



The boys are adjusting rather well and we are pleased with their progress so far (of course we have only been home 9 days so far and the boys have been with us for only a week before that....).

We will post more about them later, as well as pictures.