February 2010

We were finally squeezed into International Adoption Clinic at CHEO to have Reuben checked. Overall, he's doing well. As per his bloodwork, nothing serious was found. He is low in Vitamin D and Iron (but not anything significant). They did find some lead in his system, but it's not accumulative. They did a urine and TB test and we will go back Thursday to get the results confirmed. As well, it was recommended that we up his calorie and fat intake (in other words, they said butter and cream....hmmm, go figure, the two things I'm trying to avoid), and will refer us to a dietitician. They charted his weight and he's on a good curve, albeit still under the American averages. If they go by his weight as to when we received our little boy and compare it to today, they said that he's actually slightly over the curve so hopefully they will continue to see this improvement at the next check up, scheduled 3 months from now. They found that his speech is delayed but felt it was due to the age that we picked him up and lack of stimulation. His head and face are all proportioned to his body and they found his lungs to be clear. We have to return with a 3 day stool sample....uuuhhh, nasty, as well as to provide all medical background information within our records. Due to Reuben's lack of history, they suggested a Genealogist which will likely do a blood test and review the chromosomes. Sounds interesting, and as much as it may answer some of our questions, I must admit, I have some hesitatancy. Maybe, fear of the unknown, not sure. Well, our little man is starting to learn more words and has added "hat" and "out" to his his list. Coincidentally, I believe he learned "out" from Portia, who continually orders him out of her bedroom. Too funny!!

January 2010 Update

Okay, I know I've been negligent in posting photos. One of the problems is actually getting a photo of Reuben not moving. Most of our Reuben photos are blurry. For every 1 photo we take of Portia, we usually have to take about 10 of Reuben and then it still doesn't come out, so this is all I have right now.

January 4th was our 5th Year Family Day Anniversary. Portia has been part of our lives for 5 whole years! What a blessing!

What's new?? Alex is on paternity leave and has been able to spend more quality time with the children. Okay so Portia is 3' 8.5" tall and 40 pounds now. She had her eyes checked and we found out that she's near-sighted, therefore will be getting glasses. Oddly enough, she seems to be okay with that. I was concerned that some of the children might tease her, so we rehearsed some lines she would likely hear, and what she could say back. There was no need, no one bugged her and infact she got compliments more than anything else. Go figure! Reuben had an appt. with a respirologist and he is definitely asthmatic. Unfortunately, asthma, allergies and eczema usually go together and he has all three. The good news is that they are all presently under control. We've tried so many creams on his sensitive skin and were extra careful in what we used to wash his body with. Believe it or not, vaseline came to the rescue once again. We went through the same thing with Portia and it was vaseline that soothed and restored her crocodile-like skin, although in her case it wasn't eczema. Reuben is currently on the orange puffer. Apparently children under 6 should not be on it, but it seems to be the most effective one and has less side-effects. Reuben is going through that lovely whinny stage right now and has mastered crocodile tears, and we are certain he had the best trainer in teaching him. No one other than the Professional herself...his sister. It's funny how life is. Portia is heading out of that stage and Reuben heading in. We just can't seem to catch a break. Reuben has started saying some words now, but believe it or not, he's gotten pretty good at la-la-la-ing and even singing some words to the Mamma Mia movie, on cue no less. Too funny!

We finally got Reuben's hair cut and he actually looks older and more like a boy (it was pretty long). He was so good about the whole thing and sat there in a quizzical state, as our family barber (Corrado) did his thing. He was treated to a lollipop in the end for being such a good boy. We learned quickly that he loves lollipops but also loves to rub them all over himself and in his hair. Ewww!

December 2009

It's been a very long time since we've posted. Life is anything but boring these days. It's been very busy with our family of four, and for those out there that have more than two children, I tip my hat to you.

REUBEN...Although he has only gained very little weight since our last update, (he's up to 18.2 pounds now), it's always a move in the right direction. He has also grown another 1/2 inch and is up to 2 feet, 4.5 inches tall. When we first held him, he was wearing 3 month sized clothing. He is now comfortably wearing 12 month clothing, so we consider that a huge leap. He started running (we'd like to say walking, but somehow he missed that step) the last week of September and hasn't stopped moving since. He has two speeds...1. Sleep and 2. Run. He has no fears and climbs up onto everything. If he can't get up, he finds a way. Everything somehow has become a step ladder to him, even drawer handles. He's a very determined big man in a little body. He doesn't take no for an answer and will try, try, try to accomplish his goal until he achieves. He has an absolute obsession with the toilet. YES THE TOILET!! He loves to climb on top of the toilet, sit on the seat cover of the toilet and even hug the toilet. He has discovered the toilet brush and now wants to clean his beloved toilet ALL THE TIME!! We have other stories, but they are not for the weak. Let's just say, he has likely developed a strong immune system. Yes, we will be going out and buying one of those thing-a-ma-bobbies that lock the toilet seat down, especially now with his ability to open the bathroom door and lift the toilet seat cover up, ALL BY HIMSELF! On a positive note, he can count to six, but won't do it in front of others, therefore making you look stupid. He has added other words to his vocabulary and has an amazing ability to mimic noises around him. I'm proud to say he loves dancing to Abba, but hands down, Abba has nothing on the Wiggles. It's amazing how children have the ability to want to watch/listen to the same thing over and over again, without feeling a need to smash their heads into a brick wall. For the rest of us, we are haunted by Wiggles songs constantly turning in our minds. Perhaps there is a support group out there, somewhere...we can only hope.

PORTIA...She is doing very well and on many levels has shown signs of maturity. She weighs 38.2 pounds and is 3ft 8.5 inches. She continues to progress in french immersion and feels comfortable having simple conversations in french with Alex. She is still too shy to speak Italian but understands simple tasks when spoken to. Her current favorite movie is Mamma Mia and she knows most of the Abba songs word for word. Alex (not an Abba fan) is thrilled. (That's sarcasm incase you didn't pick that up.) Portia loves her new bedroom and has become protective of it, well, mostly if Reuben tries to get in, and trust me, he's working on getting into Fort Knox. Sometimes Reuben will sit quietly at the door until Portia decides to come out and then practically knocks her over trying to make his way in. I'm not sure if Reuben just happens to like Portia's room or if it's because she just happens to be there. She is still his world and she has the ability to control many of his emotions. For instance if she's laughing, he will laugh, although he doesn't know why. If she's crying, his lip will quiver and pucker out and cry along side her. It's sort of sad and funny at the same time. I'm just so happy that he loves his sister so much. We'll see how well they get along in their teenage years.

The Rock

Since the first day of school Portia has been coming home and saying "I have a gift for you." She would have me close my eyes and put my hand out and once I opened my eyes, there in the palm of my hand was a rock. I'll admit I thought it was sweet and that maybe she had a new found interest in rocks. Or perhaps there was something pretty or sparkly about the rock that caught her eye. Finally tonight as I was putting her down in bed, she said "I love you mommy. Tomorrow I'm going to bring you home a rock." I smiled and thanked her and then asked her why she always chose a rock to bring home to me. This is the part that melted my heart and made me feel so loved, like I've never been loved before. She said, "It's because it's the only thing I can bring you. I can't draw you a picture." You see, since junior kindergarten Portia has always brought me something, even if it was a teeny tiny picture she drew, but now that she's in grade one, they don't have arts & crafts every day so she has nothing to bring me. She told me that she couldn't come home empty handed without having thought of me, so during recess, she'll stop from playing with her friends and actually tell them that she has to go get her mom something. Then she'll pick up a rock in the school yard and hide it in her coat pocket. Once back in the classroom, she takes it carefully out of her pocket and hides it in her desk since she's afraid if she doesn't keep it close to her, it will get lost. Then when the school day ends, she transfers the rock from her desk, and slips it back into the security of her coat pocket until the safety of it's delivery to me. I'll admit I've hung on to a few, but some sadly have been tossed into the garden, but as from this day forward I will cherish my new rock collection. I will never be able to look at a rock the same way. I LOVE my rocks and the little girl that was able to take something as hard as a rock to soften my old heart.

September 2009

Sept 21st - Reuben weighs 17.77 pounds. He's gained 1 pound in the last 3 weeks! He has a healthy appetite and has grown approximately 1 inch since we last checked, so he's up to 2 feet 4 inches tall. He's not crazy about drinkiing out of a baby bottle but seems to enjoy his Sipster cup. In the last week, he's started to take more steps and be more confident in standing and moving around. He's learned how to go up and down the stairs and say words like "Dad, Mum, Hi, Bye, Up, Down, Zia, Oh-Oh" etc., and absolutely loves to dance and sway to music. His hair has started growing in so he's startng to look less like a baby monkey. Actually his hair has gotten quite long and is considered a mullet by most. Due to the large soft spot, we've held back from shaving his head. The soft spot is finally starting to grow in, so it's just a matter of time.

Pictures from August 2009

September 2009

Portia started school full-time and loves it. There are now 24 children in her class so almost twice the size of last year. She wore a dress she picked out in Vietnam. Not only is it a bit too large for it, but definitely not my taste. Someone told me, sometimes we need to pick our our battles. So, she won this one. Tomorrow she is wearing good old jeans and a t-shirt. Reuben and I spent about 5 hours at an Emergency Clinic. The doctor there is not certain but is treating Reuben as if he has Asthma. After experience with Portia, I must admit it sure does sound like it, but I'm not fully convinced that it's asthma or that perhaps that is the only issue here.

Reuben woke up worse than yesterday so off we went to CHEO. After a few hours, we were told that he has bronchialitis. He's very stuffed up so they had to suction out the mucous and by the sounds of it, so far, he appears much better. We'll see how the week goes.