More to do's

This has really been helping me get things done!  Sorry if I am boring you.

To Do:

Mail Jenny a check-DONE

Call eye doctor for K.-DONE

Call school district to request evaluation for E. in the fall-DONE

Send friend's daughter a card for graduation

Look for Father's Day gifts

Shop for groceries for company-DONE

Clean house for company-DONE

Take stuff to consignment shop

Take stuff to Goodwill-DONE

Call pediatrician to make appointment for S. and E.

Call Ann about S.

Meet family at children's museum on Wed.-DONE

Help set up gazebo and picnic table in yard-DONE

Make appointment for dermatologist- DONE

Make myself eye doctor appointment- DONE

Weekly Dinner Menu:

(Most dinners are from Easy Entrees...love that place!)

Monday: Taco Salad

Tuesday: BBQ Pork Chops with mop sauce, zucchini

Wednesday: Out to eat with family

Thursday: Hamburgers/hotdogs and sides

Friday: Coconut Tilapia with Tangy Apricot Dipping Sauce, salad, rolls

Saturday: Lemon Barbecued Chicken, salad, corn

Sunday: Beef Souvlaki, mashed potaotes, green beans

Sammy update- June

We went to the beach yesterday with friends.  My friend's daughter took these really great pictures of him.  I wish we had a nice camera.  Maybe someday.  

Samuel went to the neuro-developmental  clinic at the Children's Hospital on the 20th of May.  He is delayed a bit in speech/communication and the speech therapy he gets in our home is just the right thing to be doing according to the doctor.  The doctor also recommended Samuel see an OT to get a baseline on his development in that area.  He was pretty impressed with how social Samuel is.  He loves to smile and say hi to people.  

Samuel is learning new words quickly now.  I think it really helps that he has a brother close to his age who is also learning new words.  We are keeping a chart of words he can say, and I will post that soon so you can see how many he knows.  

He is getting into everything and is a very active little guy.  His speech therapist agrees with me that he has a short attention span, maybe shorter than most children his age.  He does like to look at books and can now point to some objects when you ask him to.

His favorite foods right now are any fruits, peas, oatmeal, yogurt, chicken, snacks like cheese puffs and crackers, and sandwiches.  He loves dessert too of course!  

His favorite activities are riding on his little scooter, playing with cars and trucks, kicking and rolling a ball, dancing, listening to people sing and play finger/hand games (like open shut them, this little piggy, where is thumbkin), and playing outside.  He even learned the word outside! (or his rendition of it!)

We stopped going to toddler play group because of timing conflicts.  We also noticed that he would get sick after every week we went.  We figured, along with the special ed teacher there, that Samuel gets plenty of interaction with other children in our home and in the community.

We are planning on having a fun summer and already the weather has been great!  We went swimming a few times and have played outside a lot.  Samuel really loves the water.    

Clenched fists

I did a google search tonight since my hubby is working late.  Below is one conversation about some toddlers who clench their fists (taken from an autism site).  I find it interesting since other children from the o. have been diagnosed with sensory disorders.  I also came across this online book, 

The handbook of international adoption medicine

 By Laurie C. Miller

Here is the conversation between moms:

One of the very first things that my son started to do was this, clentched fists. They were not closed tightly into a fist, just the fingers covering the palms, as if he doesn't want to expose his hands. My son started doing this before he was two. Along with the many other things that were going on that I was saying was just "quirky", I dug deeper and started to discover that he had sensory processing disorder. The Out-of-sync child talked about this. After I read that, that's when I started to really see that my son had this sensory thing going on.

We do not have any other dx. except sensory processing disorder (walking thru this now). I would recommend talking to an occupational therapist who could work on tactile issues with you.

My son did this for a while.  He wouldn't even unclinch them to hold things.   He would hold things with his finger and thumb.  Suddenly he just stopped one day.  I will be interested to see if this ever returns.

My son started doing this 2 weeks ago, when we moved. He has completely stopped using the fingers on his left hand when fully awake. He treats it like a "club hand," only using his thumb, which he sucks for comfort. He wouldn't even open it to eat his birthday cake (he just used his fist like a bulldozer and shoved it in) or try to take the IV tape off before his MRI today. Normally that would have been history in about 2 seconds. You can force his fingers open, but the fist returns immediately. He doesn't want anyone to touch it. He is also tilting his head to the left off and on. They scanned his brain to see if there's any rhyme or reason to him favoring one side. It's obviously a stress-related reaction, but if there's more to it I really want to know and having a brain scan could be helpful, since he is VERY sensory seeking and crashes often, sometimes very hard. He also would not cooperate well during his EEG, so if he had any seizures during the scan, they would show up. I am so glad I am not alone in this, I will inform his therapists and Neuro about this. Does anyone have any medical links I can use? I don't want to send them here, as I am new to the community and don't want to invade others' privacy here. I'm terrified he's going to stop using his hand permanently, he is such a creature of routine. TIA for your help!

Yes my son always had hands clenched in fist, I think an OT evulation is a good idea. My son would not hold pencil or use spoon or fork, at the time I just thought he was stubborn now I know better. We have lots of pictures with his fists clenched I feel bad it never occured to me this was not right. Get some help with this now, because it will effect handwriting later on. My son still does not like to use pencils and utensils. He is 12 with asperger's.

I started this thread in January.... so, an update.    My son's fist clenching has really reduced.     Now he only does it when his hand is dirty - like while eating something messy -  and he keeps it clenched to keep his cup clean, etc.

Here is what I did - for what it's worth.   I used to gently massage his hand open while we played, but I did not mention it to him, or even look at his hand.   I wanted it to be a non-issue.   I would just massage his arms or feet and casually massage that little fist open and then I would encourage a "give me five" game in order to keep it open.   He likes the slap noise of an open palm so there was a pay-off for unclenching. 

Also, I started suggesting we wash hands when he would get his fist all balled up for a long time.   The warm water, the soap, the massage seemed relaxng and distracting. 

Anyhoo....eventually it reduced considerably.

My 2 cents... and best of luck.

Post Placement

We had our post placement visit from our homestudy worker yesterday.  It went well, although we had to talk over E. singing "Happy Birthday" to everyone he knows.  We will do his readoption within the next few months and then we will be all finished with paperwork for him. We are expected to send in reports to the orphanage twice a year, but they just need to be written up by us, nothing formal.

We also found a washer and dryer!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited that makes me.  I have been doing laundry non stop since they got set up last night. Well, I did sleep for 8 hours, but you know what I mean.  

E. has been waking up early the last few days.  I think it's because it's summer and gets light so early now. He has a dark shade on the window in his room, but his bed is right under it.  He also has been learning how to stand on his bed and open his window.  Thankfully it has an alarm on it that buzzes loudly if it's opened.

Things have continued to go well with E's transition into our home.  I have been noticing how he holds his hands the last few weeks. He has been holding in hands in a fist or makes a claw like shape with his fingers.  Not sure what that is all about.  Stress? If I continue to notice it I will talk with the doctor about it at the next visit.  He's been taking the oral antifungal which seems to be helping his skin rash!  The rash on his cheek is gone, and the little spots on his scalp seem to be getting better.

My week- To do list and prayer requests

This photo is E. and I. (his best buddy in Haiti).  Lately E. has been crushing on I.'s sister~ they have been kissing each other and holding pretend weddings in Sarah's living room.  It's so cute!

My to do list:  
Clean the house, social worker is visiting on Thursday for a post placement visit -DONE

Fill out paperwork for social worker -DONE

Fill out paperwork for the kids' school summer expenses-DONE

Call my dentist to make appointment for crown -DONE

Get allergy shots-DONE

Get haircut-DONE

Do weekly check in and month end reviews for kids' school-DONE

Mail friend's daughter a card for graduation

Mail Phoneraiser box-DONE

Find a working, cheap or free clothes dryer (ours stopped working last week)-DONE

Go to Easy Entrees -DONE

Speech therapist visit-DONE

Pay bills-DONE

Remember to pray and read God's word-DONE

Call doctor to schedule appointment for L.'s sports physical-DONE

Go grocery shopping-DONE

Prayer Requests:

For E's friend to come home soon

For the people at COTP 

For the people at RHFH

For adoption expenses to be provided

For a dryer to be found -PRAISE, found washer and dryer on craigslist for $150 including delivery.  They're all set up with their first load being washed and dried!!!

For patience

For a doctor and hospital to be found for baby S from Haiti

Praise for this wonderful weather we are having

Praise that we are all healthy!

Praise that we will be having visitors soon, family that we rarely have a chance to see!

Praise for J's job, our home, friends and family

Praise that E. is adjusting so well in our home

Heavy Heart

I've been feeling very sad lately. Haiti and other countries have been pulling at my heartstrings. Certain world events seem overwhelming. Last night I was alerted to distressing news at COTP. A sweet baby, who J. and I have met, loved and interacted with several times, went to be with Jesus.  I feel so much pain for his family, both adopted and biological, and his caregivers.  It must be so hard to understand, I know it is for me.  Please pray for the people who will miss baby J. so much.

Social Security

I took E. to the Social Security office today to apply for his first ss number and card.  It will arrive in two weeks.  In a few months we will go through a readoption process and change his name (it really isn't Elijah) but he is already a US citizen and has our last name.  We are choosing to do a readoption so he will have a US birth certificate.  He has a Haitian birth certificate now.  He should get his ss card in the mail in a few weeks, and then when we have his name changed we will have to make another fun stop at the office to update them.

We were able to fix the pool and the kids had their first swim this afternoon.  It was a bit cold, but L, C. and K didn't mind too much.  E. went in for a few minutes and his teeth were chattering pretty quick.  He really liked running through the sprinkler and watering plants with the hose or watering can.