March

Busy month for us!

  

Maria got her driver's permit!  She and I have an agreement that she will take driver's education prior to graduating from high school. She is rather nervous about driving and getting into an accident.  Which I'm glad she is concerned verses thinking it won't happen to her.  One of my plans this summer is to look into what kind of hand controls will be the best for her and to slowly get her behind the wheel and start some car basics.  

We also are gearing up for track season which starts next week!  Personally I'm not ready for the track meets, but I'm excited to see how Maria does this year.  I have a feeling Ella will get a kick out of watching Maria too.

The other weekend we ended up meeting up with some friends a few hours away for the weekend.  They were in the state for a robotics competition and we took advantage of spending time together.  At one point I was in charge of 5 kids.  We ended up having fun and playing in the pool at the hotel.  This was the first time Ella has really gotten to spend time with these friends.  She was very hesitant at first and did a lot of crying when they first approached her.  Fairly quickly she warmed up to them, especially their almost 8 yr old son who requested hugs and kisses from her all weekend.  He said she was his "angel from candy heaven" and a "marshmallow with caramel on it".  She also likes their older daughter who is 13.  We spent the last night avoiding the rather loud crazy wedding party in the hall, while the kids turned off all the lights and had a major glow stick party of their own.  I'm not sure who had more fun, but Ella was right in the thick of it yelling whenever someone opened the bathroom door.  They all had lots and lots of fun.  

We are finishing up spring break too.  A pretty quiet weekend at home.  We did a have a full day with specialist.  The good news is Maria doesn't need to see Ortho or neuro surgery for 1-2 years!  Ortho was happy with how Ella was doing, but also said she will need a new AFO soon because when hers was made, it was harder to keep her foot in the neutral position.  She also gets to wear her AFO to bed at night....so far she isn't objecting much to this.  I did get to talk with neuro about her shunt some and I hope she will be able to use the same neuro surgeon that Maria has had.  

Maria also got to do some climbing this week.  She loves climbing and it is a place that is very accepting of others.  It isn't unusual for others who are climbing to come up and talk to Maria and her friend like equals.  In fact this time, Maria was waiting for the rigging to go up for the equipment she normally uses.  She was watching some climbers climb on the wall and asked if I thought she could do that.  I said I wasn't sure, but to ask the gal in charge if she could try.  Well, the said yes and made a path 7-8 feet high with lots of hand holds.  Maria had maybe two spots where she needed help, but was doing the rest of it herself (with breaks of course).  

Track clinic

We did a whirlwind less than 24 hours in Chicago this weekend.  It was exhausting.....too many hours in the car for all of us.  We ended up getting to the Chicago suburbs around 9:30 Friday after a full day of school, work and daycare.  We went straight to bed and woke up at 7am.  Had breakfast at the hotel and checked out.  Then drove to Lake Forest for GLASA's track clinic.  One of the things about racing chairs is pushes and strokes.....something to learn on top of making sure you are positioned correctly.  I know Maria needs some help with positioning, which I think we have figured out this weekend.  Most wheelchair track athletes actually are positioned with their legs directly beneath them...Maria can't do this due to one of her legs only being able to bend as far as 90 degrees.  So she has to sit in the chair.  She was able to try out a roller, which was neat for me to see......Ella liked it too, however she got in trouble for pushing Maria's wheel while Maria was in the chair, which made Maria and the chair drift off the roller.  Thankfully I was right there to catch Maria and the chair.....Ella learned not to touch the wheels during workouts.  

We ended up finding out that for Maria to really be in the correct position she needs an additional strap for her back too.....but this is something that would be beneficial for other racers too.  

After getting done at the track clinic we went to the Bulgarian grocery store in Des Plaines to pick up some goodies.  The girls were thrilled with the treats.  Maria was excited that they also had Martenitsas for Baba Marta Day too.  

After that we stopped by a friend's home quickly to drop something off and then we're on the road again.  We finally got home around 8pm.  It was a long trip, but worth it.  On a happy note Ella did much better on the longer car ride than I expected!

Skiing

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=pSM6QhPm0m8

Our friend took a nice video of Maria skiing down the large hill.

Maria

Maria continues to do very well at school.  She is excited about archery and continues to make improvements.  She is also getting ready for the upcoming track season.  In fact this weekend we are going to a clinic to work on strokes and pushes....completely a wheelie thing.  Maria got to go skiing recently.  She did well with it and had a lot of fun getting to experience this sport again.  Maria has really grabbed onto sports and loves the accomplishments she gets from her experiences with them.  She continues to really favor climbing right now.  

It is hard to believe that in a few short months Maria will be done with middle school and moving onto high school.  She has been studying hard for her driver's permit test (which slightly scares me, but she also needs to do for herself).  It is so hard to believe she is the same quite girl I brought home close to 4 years ago.  She is growing into a lovely young lady.....I just hope and pray she continues to have the successes she has already seen.  I know how hard change can be for her and this mom does worry about the changes coming in the next few months and years.

New KAFO finally!

Skiing with the amazing LT as an instructor!

Balance is extremely important!

Archery competition.....almost done with the season!

Almost 6 months home

Friday will mark Ella being home for 6 months.  Wow, it has been a busy p, crazy 6 months.  Life with a toddler is more than I expected in some ways and not in other ways.  Ella is growing....she has grown to 33 inches tall and is now 22 pounds.  She loves to talk and exert her opinions and wants.  Usually these are in 2-3 word phrases.....sometimes she will use more words.  She loves daycare/preschool!  She is always happy and excited when I pick her up.  She is even starting to participate during circle time answering questions correctly!  She identifies her name and a few other letters.

One of the biggest things to me was when she started actually cuddling with her dolly at bed time!  When Ella first came home she would throw everything out of her bed.  She didn't want any comfort items or even a blanket.  Slowly she began requesting more item and now closely hugs her dolly to her while she is falling asleep.  It is quite cute to see.  We have struggled on and off with sleep.....Ella tends to scream and cry while in bed.  I have wondered if it was growing pains, muscle spasms, and nightmares......nothing really worked.  Due to the lack of sleep we made the change that Ella's bed is now set up in a different room of the house.  This is working better for all of us.  She is sleeping better and not waking up crying and we are getting the much needed sleep we need too.  

Ella continues to be very attached to the whole family!  She seeks out cuddling time with me.  Frequently requests Maria to pick her up and hold her.  Loves her time with grandma, seriously she is becoming quite the grandma's girl.  She also is learning how much fun her cousin Kru is.  She finds him to be very funny and he loves making her giggle.  And oh does she giggle!

Ella pretty much will eat anything.  She continues to love all soups and pastas.  Oh and if she asks for "mms" she is wanting M&Ms.  She is a good eater, but likes to eat slowly and I have learned I have to make her eat specific things (usually protein) first.  

I'm so proud of the changes and ways that Ella has come out of her shell.  I frequently get comments on how cute she is and how well behaved (so glad she knows when to behave).  We love Ella so much....even when she cries.

Our first family picture last year on trip one....Obviously Ella wasn't as sure about this whole family thing as we were.

Ella and her dolly

Playing at grandma's house

Hanging out while Maria was skiing

Frequently she requests that we brush her hair

A new year

Life keeps happening......I feel like for the most part I have mastered juggling work, home and 2 kids (still had I won the powerball last week I wouldn't be complaining).  The girls and I have our routine which sometimes gets thrown off.  But we seem to have a balance most of the time.  However, when that quiet time comes at night, I find myself needing to relax, talk with a friend, do a little knitting or just turn my mind off by watching a funny tv show (by the way Maria has finally discovered Big Bang Theory).  Blogging has taken a back seat to life.....but I also know people are interested in this crazy world of adoption and life after the kids come home, so I'm going to try to do monthly updates.

December ended with Christmas with our family.....well, this year has actually been different than past years.  Early in the summer my mom and dad separated, they still see each other frequently and care for each other, but it just was no longer healthy for them to reside together.  Because of this the holidays were odd for me.....Maria commented on it too, but she was still happy.  Christmas Eve my brother, his kids, my parents and my family gathered together to open some gifts and have a nice lunch together.  Afterward the girls and I went to my mom's home to spend the night and celebrate Christmas Day together.  We started a new tradition of new pjs on Christmas Eve for the girls.  Ella was also excited that grandma got her a super soft fuzzy blanket (she had been stealing the soft Sherpa blankets Maria and I have prior to this).  Christmas Day brought fun items to play with....Ella loved the magna doodle I got her and Maria was super excited about the Nike Fuelband (only fitness watch we have found that works for people who use wheelchairs).  My grand parents came by for a short time too.  Grandpa (who turns 90 next month) said the highlights were Ella sitting on his lap and Maria playing cards with him.  Overall it was a good day and we loved making memories together.  Also during break Ella had her first of four post placement visits/reports.  We met with our homestudy social worker and talked about what had been happening and where Ella was.  Everyone agrees, Ella is a fairly typical 3 yr old.....some delay in her speech but it is hard to tell if that is due to still learning English or due to being in an orphanage.  Afterward we ended up meeting Maria's friend and went climbing.  Climbing continues to be one of Maria's favorite things to do.

Since break ended Maria has had 2 archery competitions.  She continues to increase her score each competition.  The most recent competition she scored 201 out of 300.  She was happy, but still wanted to score higher.  She is enjoying her new bow and archery equipment she got for Christmas.  Maria has also ended her first semester in 8th grade.....gotta brag she had all A's!  She is doing wonderfully.  In fact she is only going to ELL every other day and I have a feeling she really doesn't need that support, but we will wait and see how she does on her ELL testing this spring.  She is also starting to think about high school.....they have met with some of the high school counselors and have already selected courses for next year (not sure I'm ready to have a high school student).  With going to high school I have had to do some research regarding courses required to enter the university we think Maria will want to go to.  Most state universities require foreign language to me take for 2-4 years in high school....with Maria still learning English, I have wondered if adding yet another language is good for her.  I'm researching different possibilities to see what can be done so that she is able to strengthen her Bulgarian and if at all possible use that as her foreign language requirement.  Maria has mixed feelings about high school and growing up......she is looking forward to the fun classes and events with her friends, but she isn't ready to leave home yet and doesn't want to get older.  We work through these moments when they happen.  

Ella continues to do well at her preschool/daycare.  They started attempting to potty train her, but she isn't having much success yet.  She is saying more and more words all the time.  She does not like snow at all, but will play in it if she has to.  She continues to be quite stubborn about not using her weaker hand (which I suspect will be a life long issue for her).  I am trying to encourage her to use it with highly motivated games and activities.  We got some fun magnets that she and Maria are both very interested in, but she has to use her weaker hand with them.  She isn't fond of that and if my back is turned will attempt to use her stronger hand.  I'm anxious for summer to come when I can really focus on a few things she needs to work on and be consistent with them.  Her current daycare is very consistent but I also haven't asked them to attempt to make her use the weaker hand.  I do know it will come with time and at some point she will understand the need to use it.  Ella has also moved into a big girl bed!  She does like it!  She has also decided that grandma is a favorite person.  She still prefers Maria and myself, but grandma is up there.....probably because grandma lets her eat non-stop and gives into her every demand.  Ella is quite busy and into everything, like typical 3 year olds.  I'm also working with her on getting out of bed when she wakes up and coming to get me.  Her typical behavior is to whine, cry and scream until I come in.  Now I can call her name and tell her to come to me....this is helping because she isn't crying as long and is less likely to wake up Maria.  Overall it is working well.