This picture was just taken a few days ago. I love it. Kai wakes up starving. So we give him a bowl of dry cereal to eat in the morning so I get a chance to wake up and drink a half a cup of coffee. His is Kai wanting a refill and bringing all of it to me to get it! He had a little tumble down the stairs the day before. You'll notice the little bump on his head.
We made a trip downtown to the circle in Indy to put the letters to Santa in his special mailbox. Elizabeth is so full of magic this year!
Here they are in Kai's first experience with the sprinkler. He actually had a good time, although it is hard to tell by his face!
This smile was captured while we were visiting an old neighbor of ours. She was throwing his "Teddy" up the slide and Kai waited to catch him at the bottom. He thought this game was great!I wanted to just put a couple of pictures on here for those of you that still sometimes check the blog. I had such good intentions to update it more, but just could not find the time. Before opening this post to work on it, I re-read the last post. I am truly amazed and just floored by how much Kai has changed.
He has grown so much and changed my life in so many huge ways. It is really too much and too emotional for me to really post here. I can say that I have never in my life felt so incredibly blessed and grateful. It feels so good to say this, because you know, if you have read the other posts that I promised to be honest and not sugar coat our experiences.
Let me just share a quick list of things that I think are just amazing:
1. We did take Kai to the International Adoption Clinic and had an appointment with the Pediatric Developmental Specialist there. I was so nervous for this appointment. Would he need therapies? Would she find other problems? The end result of our 2 hour appointment was that she and the woman from First Steps (government provided services for developmental therapies to children under 3), said that he is one of the best kiddos they have ever seen coming out of China and in an orphanage for 2 and a half years. There were a few question marks on Kai's initial referral that we had to take a leap of faith on. One being an issue with his ears. Most likely it was nothing the reviewing doctor had told us, but we had to be prepared for a possibility of hearing loss, a degree of deafness, etc. Do you know what it was? Ear wax. He has a lot of ear wax! There were a few other question marks that were resolved as well. I flew out of the office that day.
2. All of his blood work that had to be redone came back great. No vaccinations needed to be redone. He just needed the ones that China never gave him.
3. We had to consider the condition of his teeth. 2 and a half years in an orphanage with only rice and occasional fruit and egg can leave teeth soft. Many kiddos need a lot of expensive work on their teeth when they get to the United States. Kai's teeth are fine! Not only are they fine, but he has no cavities either. When we accepted Kai's referral we had no dental insurance. We knew that it could be a really big expense but we just said we'd make it work. Upon our returning home, Josh received a job offer which has great benefits, one being dental insurance!
4. Kai and Elizabeth-This relationship has been sort of rocky for the two of them. Elizabeth was working her little heart out, but still just found it so frustrating. Kai is trying to learn a new language, be a part of family, and learn all these new rules of our home. He was getting frustrated as well. I was worried and exhausted. Would my kids get along? I wanted so much for them to enjoy being together. I took a deep breath, regrouped and made a new plan. The last 2 or 3 weeks something in both of them and maybe myself as well, clicked. They are playing together and finding ways to resolve problems. Just this morning Elizabeth asked if she could sing a song to Kai before his nap and tell him a story. Kai has to have a hug and a kiss from Elizabeth before he can ever go to sleep. I am so proud of both of them. They still have their little fights, but there has been such a change.
5. Kai is sleeping through the night. He used to get up 2 sometimes 4 times a night and walk into our room. We would just pick him up and put him back to bed. He would fall right back asleep. We wondered if maybe he just needed to check and see if we were still here. In the last week, this has also stopped. He will get up around 4am now. I put him back down and he'll sleep until 5, then we get up together.
6. He is totally and completely our son. I share this because I am not the personality that immediately falls in love with anyone. Anyone I ever dated a tried NOT to first. I can remember people asking me when I was pregnant with Elizabeth "Oh, aren't you so in love already?" No, I wasn't. It was interesting, certainly a new experience, amazing and I was excited, but I didn't feel in love yet. I felt guilty about that and sort of worried. Was that wrong? I felt the same way with Kai. I was scared to death that first day with him. Would I love him as much as I loved Elizabeth? I do. It grows and I am there. I have been there for awhile. But I share this because I believe too many times we put others expectations on our shoulders. Others may fall in love immediately. It is ok to take a little bit more time.
7. He fits into our family beautifully. I prayed each night that he would transition well. I wondered what he would be like. We are a pretty affectionate family. Elizabeth loves to snuggle. I had read that many times it takes awhile for some children in orphanages to handle physical affection. It is so funny that I was concerned with that, as Kai loves hugs and kisses, giving raspberries and being held.
8. This is much longer than I meant it to be. One last comment. Last year at Christmas time I felt such a heaviness that we may have to wait another 12-18 months for our child. I wanted was another child so badly. This year I am so incredibly grateful for Kai the entire adoption experience. I could go on for pages and pages about the many blessings this experience has brought to our family. But maybe another time as I am already too long-winded!
Merry Christmas!
Kate
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