Ahhh... better night

Although I never know what the cause is, every once in a while we DO get a good night's sleep -- all of us. Last night, Ellie only woke up once at 4:30 for a bottle. She awakened at 6:30 and I brought her to my bed and she slept another hour. Not a peep last night -- likely so very tired from the night before and her cold. Whatever the reason, I'm very thankful for it this morning. Josh, of course, is still asleep. Since it's only 8:00, I doubt I'll be seeing him for several more hours -- likely noon. And, when he wakes up, he'll see we've had a little snow here and it's snowing now. It's very pretty to look out the window and see snow falling and know that I have nowhere that I have to go.


Here's a sweet couple of photos of Ellie eating her breakfast -- bananas and Cheerios.

Sleep and Adoption

I've spent over an hour trying to put Ellie to sleep -- again. Kevin had her asleep once already, but we knew it wouldn't last more than 30-45 minutes the first time. Kevin is now on hour two of trying to get her to sleep. This is a regular occurrence and while we continue to tell our pediatrician, it seems to not be as big a deal to him as it is to us. Tonight, I decided we would try co-sleeping with her. We did it with Josh, but were convinced we weren't going to do this again. After a few months of no sleep, you'll try anything. And, not only that, I truly want Ellie to get good sleep as well. I don't think she is. She sleeps great during the day, both in her crib and in the car seat. She just has such a hard time at night. I've spent a lot of time online reading about sleep and adoption and have concluded that I'm just up against a wall that I don't know how to knock down -- for me or for Ellie. There are so many theories on what's right, but most experts will even agree that you have to find what works for you and then just stick to it. That's the problem: we can't find anything that works.

We've tried: lights on, lights off, night light; music, white noise, singing, quiet, fans; bed propped up, lots of blankets and different kinds, sleeping with lots of clothing on and little clothing on; we try baths every night before bed along with a massage; we try reading and no reading; we try rocking, walking, bouncing, laying in the crib, sitting in the room, leaving the room; eating before, bottles before, filling her up. Tonight during our attempt at co-sleeping, she flipped, flopped, got up, crawled off, kicked, slapped, pulled hair, cried, pulled the blanket and generally just could not be still enough to rest. I'm just at a loss.

The experts do make sense when they note that all the anxieties surrounding their early years from the orphanage and their fears of night and being alone typically all surface at night. But, what do I do to help with that. Yes, I know patience and time. But, in the mean time, we continue to start trying to get her to sleep at 7:00 and finally get her down sometimes as late as 11:00. Then she will want a bottle sometime in the night and will wake up crying/screaming sometimes as many as four times a night. Then, she's up, for good, usually by 5:30 in the morning. She cannot be getting enough sleep. I'm not -- but it shouldn't be about me. But ultimately, the better/more sleep I'm able to get, the better I'm able to parent and function.

I continue to read and am thinking of calling our homestudy agency (local) and talking to the attachment specialist there to see if she can provide some practical tips. And, of course, I'm WIDE OPEN for tips from other adoptive parents who've experienced this and have things that worked for them.

An Evening Dedicated to Hope

David and Jayne Schooler, LAMb International

and Possibilities International invite you to
.
An Evening DEDICATED TO HOPE:
Highlighting the Orphan Care Ministries in Central Asia
.
Friday, January 30 – 7 P.M.
Crossroads Community Church

3500 Madison Rd. Cincinnati, Ohio

513-731-7400

Saturday, January 31 – 7 P.M.

Living Hope Community Church,

1150 West Spring Valley Pike, Centerville, Ohio

937-433-2773
.
HOPE – that is all orphan children living in Central Asia have.

HOPE that tomorrow will be a better day.

HOPE that just their basic needs will be met.

HOPE that someone, somewhere will hear their cry and respond.

We invite you to join us as we share that cry of the orphan and how you can partner in hope.

You can make a difference. You can touch a generation to change generations.

LAMb International and Possibilities International are partnering together to meet the needs of children in orphanages and difficult family situations…needs like…· Nutritional care· Basic medical care, eye glasses, dental care, physical therapy· Clothing and shoes· Tutoring and other educational assistance.

You will see pictures and hear stories that will not only touch your heart, but change you.
For more information, contact David or Jayne Schooler at 513-228-2303 or jayeschool@aol.com

WHO YOU WILL MEET:
Lynn and Ruby Johnston – Founders of LAMb International (Saturday only)
John, Julie, Emma and Bekah Wright. John is the Director of the Sponsorship program for Possibilities International.
David and Jayne Schooler, LAMb missionaries to Kyrgyzstan

WHO WE ARE:
LAMb International, the sending mission organization for the Schoolers is committed to helping children, families and adults grow and develop into healthy individuals, spiritually, physically, socially and mentally. LAMb’s defining Scripture: Ephesians 4:12,... “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…”· Possibilities International, the sending organization for the Wright family is a Canadian based charitable organization that presently works in Canada, Central Asia, Guatemala and the Philippines. They desire to care for the hopeless, helpless and hurting children and elderly, and passionately connect North Americans to this cause! PI seeks out those who live on the edges of their society, bringing them hope, joy, laughter, love and a future!

What about the needs of people beyond orphans? There are thousands of families and senior citizens living in extreme poverty in this area of the world. LAMb and Possibilities International are reaching out to families, senior citizens, people in homes for invalid men and women to help with basic needs. You will hear how you can partner in hope for them as well. www.actofkindness.blogspot.com
www.dandjschooler.blogspot.com

We are looking forward to meeting some of the people that have done so much for us as well as doing so much for our daughter's country. They are "Ambassadors of Hope" to a place that needs it so desperately. Anyone that is in the Ohio area should try to make it to one of these events. It will surely change your life!

Weekend Updates

Well, no photos of Ellie at the basketball game because I never made it there. There was a shower for our friend, Amanda, who is having a baby in a few weeks. I was supposed to bring the plates, cups and napkins. After agonizing in Target over which kind to get, big surprise, I left them at home. UGH. So I went back home to get them -- causing delays in the eating process at the shower (sorry, girls!!) and then I didn't want to miss anything so by the time I left it was too late to make it half way across the world to the ballgame.

Instead, we met out at Opry Mills to look for some brown shoes for Ellie. We did not find any, but since I did find a pair that Elizabeth had given us while we were in Kyrgyzstan, it was not a huge loss. Ellie had her first ice-cream at Opry Mills, but sadly since she had a cold and ate from all three of ours (big mistake, eh?) and since we all shared a drink (we never do this -- for a reason), her cold has now been shared among the ranks. I think I'm still immune to it, but Kevin and Josh are coming down with it, and her nose is all crusty and she had a difficult night last night.

Needless to say, we didn't make church today. After Kevin got up at 6 a.m., I slept until 10:30. Then, he slept from 11:00-2:30. So, we are going to start battling it with fluids, saline spray, cool mist humidifiers and vapo-baths. Poor girl -- poor daddy and brother. Hopefully, I will stay well to be able to keep things moving.

We have our first post-placement visit on Friday. That should be fun.

While we were at Opry Mills, we used our gift cards from Build-A-Bear and Ellie got to build a friend for Curious George -- a pink monkey we named Mona Monkey. We thought George and Mona sounded good together. I can't tell you how much Ellie LOVES George. I got it for $5 at Kohls during Christmas and she just laughs and cackles everytime she sees him. Here are she and Josh playing with George last night.

Basketball Shirt

Well, now that we are nearly finished with basketball, I got Ellie a shirt made to wear to Josh's games. I've also made her (big surprise!!) a headband. Here's a preview of it before she wears it. I'll try to get some of her wearing it at today's game.

Josh-isms

Frequent readers of this blog know that one of my favorite topics is "Josh-isms". It ranks right up there with Happy Photos. For those of you who have raised curious children, you'll appreciate this story. For those of you who have young curious children, be warned. You too will get to experience fun things like this at some point in the future.

Tonight, when I went to the bathroom, there was some sort of pinky-red stuff in the toilet on the sides up near the top. Hmmmm..... I think. I thought at first it was candle wax because Josh is all about poking around in my candles and digging the wax out of them. (No, it does not make me happy when he does it either). Then, I realized, it was fingernail polish. What in the world? How did that get there??

I went into Josh's room (where he was supposed to be going to sleep) to find him stuffing a book under the covers. Folks, it's 10:30 at night. He should have been asleep an hour and a half ago. I say, "Josh, how did fingernail polish get in my toilet?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do."

"Well... [insert long dramatic pause here] ... it was sparkly."

"What?"

"It was sparkly, and I wanted to see it, and then it dropped."

"Oh."

"Well, I didn't drop the brush thing into the toilet [aren't I thankful for that???] just some of the paint."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know." [big surprise here]

"Ok. Go to sleep. Don't read."

You see, there was no reason to bother fussing at this point. It was done. As I went back to clean it out (yes, fingernail polish remover works on toilets, by the way), I looked at the bottle of polish. Well, surprise to me ... it really is sparkly.

Curious George has nothing on my boy.

Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba

Does this translate to "Bubba"? Josh thinks it does. He is convinced she has said "his" name first. We will just allow him to think whatever he wants. *smile*

Enjoy (and ignore the "pile" of toys in the corner -- I promise we do clean them up, occasionally).

Disappointed!!!!

Today I FINALLY went to pick up the photos from the camera we got from the orphanage in Kyrgyzstan. Imagine my surprise when she said, "They were all blank except one." Well, just before I gave them the camera, I took a photo of Ellie sitting in the cart and it was there but all the other frames were just clear on the negatives. I actually thought I was going to be sick right there in Walmart.

I'm not sure what could have happened. I don't know if somehow they got "erased" going through some x-ray machine or something in the airport. I know the camera was always in the diaper bag with us.

I'm very disappointed, but am trying to hold on the the fact that I have photos of her from right after she was born, at age two months and several from other families who were visiting, so that's truly more than many kids who are adopted have of their early years. I just SO wanted the photos that the caregivers took. It's something I can't replace.

Happy Photos

I've accumulated a few funny/happy photos that I haven't posted in a while. Here you go.

I don't think words are required -- the photos speak for themselves!!

It's Like Christmas All Over Again

Ellie is growing, at a pretty average pace, I suppose. She was gaining about a pound a month in the orphanage, and she's been home about 2.5 months now and has gained 3 1/4 pounds since she's been home, up to 15 lbs, 8 oz at the last doctor's visit. So... she has finally progressed from her 0-3 month clothes that we brought her home in, to a very snug 3-6 month clothing size. Since some of the Carter's 6 months clothes were fitting her, I told Kevin I thought it was time to head to the attic to bring down the storage tub of 6-9 month clothes.

Oh.My.Goodness.

It was like Christmas all over again at our house!

I was like a kid in a candy store, because, realize I haven't seen most of these clothes in 4-5 months since I boxed them up and stored them in the attic before Ellie came home. I've pulled out the things that I think will fit her now (17 outfits - yes, I know) and left the 6-9 and 6-12 month sizes for later. Let me just say I'm really excited about the 6-12 month stuff that's in there.

So tomorrow I'm going to go through her clothes and remove all the 0-3 month clothes and the 3-6 month clothes that are too short or too tight. I'll keep the "special" outfits that I just want to keep and the others I'll wash and store in a storage tub until the appropriate consignment sale time rolls around. Thank goodness I won't be doing jail time now due to selling used infant clothing on the black market. *smirk* (sorry, I couldn't resist).

Stay tuned for Ellie to be sporting some new duds (well, you know, new to us but gently used to the consignment store folks I bought them from) in the next few weeks.

Oh, and the best find in the box??? The Valentine shirts and jeans I bought last year after Valentine's Day. The shirts and jeans were a mere $.49 each -- 90% off. YAY!! I got excited all over again just remembering the bargain I got!! I had just been looking at Targ*t's Valentine's clothing last week and thought I wasn't going to pay retail for a Valentine's outfit. Looks like I was right.

Since Josh got new clothes at Christmas, I just have to get his blue jeans taken to the cleaners for alterations and both kids will be in business for, well . . . at least a little while. I'm so very glad that I bought the clothes I did at the discounts I got them for while I was waiting. It's so much better than having to be under the gun now and buying them full price. Not to mention that shopping with a baby is just a little more difficult than I really want to tackle.

Ellie's first party

The birthday boy, Caleb

Ellie was invited to her friend Caleb's first birthday party on Saturday. We had a great time visit at their home and celebrating this wonderful event with Caleb. Ellie got to play with Caleb and Addy. Addy was born a month before Ellie and Caleb, of course, was born three months before Ellie. The three of them are going to be a force to be reckoned with in a few years!!

Caleb, Addy and Ellie. Notice Addy and Ellie are just totally ignoring poor Caleb.

They are busy playing with his toys.

Caleb's mom and dad made him a lovely train cake (that I think they said took four hours to put together -- go Danny and Michelle!!), and Caleb seemed to really enjoy his cake!! He got really cool presents and had a great time. Ellie had a great time going to her first party!! Here are a few cute photos.

The cool train cake.

The only picture we could get of the birthday boy and Ellie.

Notice that neither of them are interested in looking at the camera.

Addison -- does she not have beautiful blue eyes???

Harrison volunteered to blow out the candle, but he gave Caleb a birthday kiss first.

Isn't that so sweet??

Caleb eats cake.

Caleb and his mom open the presents

Basketball Pix

I'll admit it -- I can't take basketball pix. There is something about the lighting in the gym, the speed of the game and, well, just ME, I guess that just can't get it right. But, I always try to take some so that Josh will have some to look back at. Here are some of the acceptable ones. It's no secret -- Josh will tell you -- his basketball team just isn't any good. I think they have won one, maybe two games this season. I doubt they'll win many (if any) more. Somehow, they just don't form a team or something. But, Josh enjoys playing the game; it's good exercise and we support whatever he wants to play. And really, that's all that matters. I'll try again next week. Who knows -- I might get better.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

Last night, Ms. Ellie slept from 9-2:30 (took a quick 12 minute respite for a bottle) and then slept until 7:00. We feel like new people at our house. Granted, we were still late for church -- how is that?? We hope desperately that this sleeping trend will continue.

She went to the nursery at church today by herself. It's the same room the her MDO is in so we felt it might be familiar enough to leave her. Josh went back to check on her once (sweet boy) and I went back once. We were told by several people as we went back to get her that she did very well. She even took a nap with Ms. Brittany, who remembered that I told her Ellie likes to go to sleep hearing hymns so she sang to her and she fell out. That's another funny. When I got ready to try to sing to her at night, I realized no songs were "coming" to my mind. That's funny because I know the words to almost every song I've ever heard (it's freaky tidbit for you). Finally, I remembered hymns. We now go to sleep with, "I'll Fly Away", "The Old Rugged Cross", "Trust and Obey", "Great is thy Faithfulness" and "Jesus Loves Me". Usually by the time I've run through all the verses I know she's out. Little stinker.

And, lest I forget, I hope to be able to post basketball photos from Josh's game yesterday sometime today.

Updates

Seems like life must be boring around our house the last few days, but if that's the case why am I so tired? *smile*

Thursday was Ellie's first day of MDO. She had a great day and I was told she even took a 40 minute nap. Since she had had an hour and a half nap before we went, I'm thinking that's pretty good. I felt very good when her caregiver, Ms. Amanda, made a comment that she'd read on the blog that she was clapping her hands! How wonderful that someone who knows "her story" is able to provide care for her while I am working a few hours a week!! It provided a huge level of comfort for me knowing that she is at our church with people who know and love her.

A funny story I want to capture so I can remember in years to come. In the backseat where her carseat is, we have a mirror so I can see her (she is still rear facing) and she can see herself. Everytime I put her in the car, she sits forward, looks into the mirror, gets a huge grin on her face and says, "HI!!" to the little girl in the mirror. It is so funny; it's like she thinks it's her friend who is there waiting for her. And it's not sometimes she does it, it's every single time. Funny!!!

When Kevin got home tonight at six, I was so incredibly tired that I fell asleep on the couch and didn't awaken until 11:00. It's now 11:30 and I'm going back to bed.

Josh reports a good week at school. He has a basketball game tomorrow, and I'm hopeful to get photos to post of him.

Ellie and I will be attending our friend, Caleb's, first birthday party during the morning/early afternoon, and we are very excited to be going to Ellie's first party, especially since Caleb was my "practice baby" while I was waiting for Ellie. How can he be one???

Kevin is going to work on the disaster room we call an "office" and see if he can make progress there. We have our first post-placement visit scheduled for January 20 and I'm a little freaked about getting all the things "ready" that need to be. Since Ellie has started to crawl like a banshee, it's time to start baby-proofing things. I don't want to have to say, "No" to her all the time. However, she has been very good about understanding (and obeying even) "No" lately. It's mainly been from chasing the cat or trying to play with the computer cords. I'm going to have to work on a solution to hide them, apparently (the cords, not the cats -- the cats can hide themselves!!).

As another sign of our wonderful economy, Kevin's company has reported there will be no raises or bonuses during the first quarter. Of course, that's when Kevin's would be due. As I reminded him, let's be thankful you have a job. There are so many who don't. We aren't sure if/when raises will be reinstated. He works for a great company though and has gotten raises every year, so we have been blessed.

Making Second Hand Clothes Illegal?

Here's the link for the information I'm about to share with you. I'm FREAKED OUT because as you know I LOVE LOVE buying Ellie's clothes from thrift and consignment stores and shopping at consignment sales. There is NO WAY I would spend the kind of money it would take to buy these cute outfits at regular retail -- even on sale. So, this new law, the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act), which will go into effect on February 10, 2009, puts forth more stringent safety measures for products for children under the age of 12. This is also affecting places that sale handmade items (many SAHMs) on places like Etsy.com.


"The broad scope of the complicated law, and it’s interpretation by CPSC has effectively made it illegal for parents to resell their children’s clothing and gear at a garage sale, on eBay, Craig’s List, through consignment stores or annual children’s consignment sales. If donated to a nonprofit like Goodwill or Salvation Army, those organizations can’t legally resell it, as of February 10th. That’s right. Hand-me-down clothing for kid’s age 12 and under will be illegal to resell. It will be a banned hazardous product. The fines of $100,000, potential jail time and label as a felon for violations are stiff."

In order to contact your Congressman or Senator online and send them an email (pre-generated so it won't take a long time), click here.

Help save The Princess' wardrobe (*smile*) along with many, many wonderful clothes being tossed into a landfill, jobs lost, companies closed and revenues lost.


UPDATE ON THIS STORY:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lead7-2009jan07,0,6917858.story

Why We Had to Lower the Mattress

Keep in mind that I do not normally have my daughter in a TIARA in her crib. However, I was TRYING to get a good photo of her with the tiara and the shirt that says, "Treat me as you would the Queen." And, while I was trying, Ellie was dancing. Another video . . . enjoy.

Mother's Day Out

For those of you who were following along and wondering how Ellie's first Mother's Day Out experience was -- well, it wasn't. We had a really bad sleeping night the night before so I decided to stay home (it was raining cats and dogs) and nap with her during her early morning nap. We got up about 9:30 and spent a couple of hours getting ready, eating and so on. Then we went to the church and signed up. I was so pleased to know that her teachers on Tuesday and her teachers on Thursday both go to our church and are women I know. I know they will know "her story" and will feel comfortable calling me if anything happens or if she gets too upset. Turns out the director and my son are friends, so it was a small world. Ellie stayed in her room for a little bit while I did paperwork and she played and had a good time. I am hopeful things will go well for her Thursday on her first "full" day -- or at least however long she will stay. The "day" is from 9-2. I suspect I will spend a lot more time worrying about her than she will thinking about me.

Ellie at MeeMee and DeeDee's

Today while I volunteered at school, MeeMee kept Ellie. She slept pretty much the entire time I was gone. Afterwards, we had lunch with MeeMee and DeeDee got home. Mee Mee took some photos before we left and imagine my surprise when she got one that shows her two bottom teeth!! I've tried and tried. It is also good to show how spiky her hair is looking.

Enjoy!

Is it too late for Gingerbread Houses?

I bought a Gingerbread house prior to Christmas for Josh and I to build. He has always loved doing it since he was little. Unfortunately, with all that was going on, we never managed to make it before Christmas or during the break.

Today, when we got home, he asked if we could build it. I agreed and we set in. I think it turned out ok. Granted, neither of us will pass for Martha Stewart, but it was decent. Mr. and Mrs. Gingerbread man and the tree have already fallen to teeth and tongue, but the rest is still intact.

They are just as fun to build in January as they are in December, by the way!!

Clap Clap - Pat Pat

Ellie's latest things to do are to pat whoever is holding her or nearby. We'll say, "Pat Pat Brother" and she'll just pat his face or arm or leg. She does "pat pat" to people, animals, photos, pretty much anything.

And today, she finally learned how to clap. Since she came home she has been fascinated with the cheerleaders at Joshua's basketball games (stay tuned this weekend for photos from his team's game). I've always "helped" her clap with them. When she first came home, her hands were little fists that I would just clap together. Slowly, they opened a little and now they are fully open and trying oh so hard to make the clapping noise. Here is a photo of her taken tonight as she sat there just clapping and smiling.

And, hopefully, there's a short video of her doing it below.