I know that I have been MIA for awhile. Things are busy. Life is busy. So what have I been up to
1) I registered Kiya for preschool. Yup my baby girl is eligible for actual preschool in the fall. We sent in the form and should find out soon if she will be going there. We did select a private school for Miss Kiya. I am nervous about changing schools but she will still go to daycare at her current school and then 2 days a week preschool at her new school if she gets in. Kiya doesn't always do well with change but this is the school we really want her to go to and hoped that change at a younger age would be easier.
2) I shockingly accepted a promotion at work. This definitely changes what I had thought the rest of the year would look like but it was a good opportunity. It is a lot of responsibility and pressure but I am excited and ready for the challenge.
3) I don't have an adoption update other than I am super frustrated and sad about the whole thing. There has been zero children given emigration permission from Korea so far this year. 0. So not right and so not okay but alas there is nothing we can do about it. We have our provisional I600 approval and all necessary paperwork is on its way to the US Embassy in Seoul. In theory you would think this would mean we were closer to Katie joining our family and in a way yes she is but we need the Korean government to give her emigration permission. There are lots of families ahead of us waiting for this as well. It could be longer than 14 months from referral to travel. In fact I would be surprised if we travel by September. Sigh....
4) Plane tickets purchased. Rental car rented. Baseball tickets ordered. We are headed to spring training in a few weeks in sunny Arizona. Go Brewers!
So there you have it. Not very exciting but an update nonetheless.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
10 months old :)
We got pictures :) We had gotten an update about sweet Katie and it was said to have pictures but they weren't there. Here is my lovely girl at 10 months old. Those eyes are just drawing me in and that look. Man oh many we are in trouble. It looks like I will have two strong willed, sassy girls on my hands.
We also learned that she is crawling and pulling herself up to a stand. She walks if you hold both hands and is a very content and happy child. She weighs 18lbs and is over 28 inches long.
I can't wait to hold her. We did just get our provisional I600 approval from USCIS. We are still waiting on the Korean government to grant Katie her emigration permission and thus granting us travel approval. We are hoping it won't take until September but it could. Some time this year I get to hold my daughter and I carry that hope with me. I know she is doing well and that helps.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Hope and Hugs
Today was cast #6 for Kiya. Kind of hard to believe but they we were ready for our normal to come back to us. Cast off is sadly not our normal anymore.
We showed up bright an early and honestly I didn't have a whole lot of hope. You see we have never really gotten good news on cast day. So I was expecting the to hear pretty much the same thing we had heard for the last 5 casts. The one thing I was super excited for was being able to hug my friends.
I have said this before but I am so very blessed to share this journey with some amazing women and two of them and their kiddos shared cast day again with us. I have shared so many cast dates with Catie and Sarah that it just doesn't seem right if we aren't together for a new cast. We were all surprised when Chrissy showed up for moral support and some super great hugs. We were definitely wishing our friend Kelli among others could have been there too but that just wasn't doable this time.
Okay back to the story...We typically are 3rd to go back to surgery on cast day. They tend to take the kids in order from youngest to oldest so 3rd has been our place, we get it. We accept it. Well to our surprise we got bumped to 1st. One other little cast kid was sick and couldn't make it so they bumped Kiya up. We have been first only once and that was on cast number 1. We were thrilled and a little out of practice with the faster flow of the day but we figured it out. Gwen as always was there to save the day. Gwen is truly an angel and we are so grateful for all she does. I am so glad she was there today. She was missing for cast 5.
So we headed to x-ray with our favorite x-ray tech. Tom is a shining star. He is so great with the kids and the kids all know that once they are done with the x-ray the get a stuffed toy and stickers. We then went to pre-op with Ruby. Ruby is one of a kind and really sweet. She helped finally get Kiya to take her versed and was so patient while Kiya screamed.
5 minutes to 8am Kiya went back to surgery to get her new purple cast on. And then we waited. We ate some breakfast, had some coffee and waited for the lights to flash on our pager. It seemed like it took awhile but the lights finally went off.
I went to the door and waited for it to open. I was met by our amazing advocate Linda. She is just awesome. We chatted about Kiya, her heart murmur, her casting, it was nice. We were both just waiting for Dr. H. She finally went back to get him.
Dr. H came out and in true stoic form, started with the "well we are about where we have been, she is about 46 now. We would really like to see her straighter out of cast." Hold the phone....did he say 46? She was around 60 degrees, 12 weeks ago. This was seriously the best news we have ever heard on cast day. I then asked if she was basically straight in cast to which he replied yes. He seemed shocked by reaction. I was over the moon to finally have hope again. To know that the decision to cast in order to try and correct her curve was starting to finally work. It may not next time and it may take a few more before we get good news again but it doesn't matter. We finally know that good news is possible.
For perspective at 1st cast Kiya was 52 degrees. Then we had to take a long break due to the nasty sore. At 2nd cast she was 64. 3rd cast she went down to 62 so basically the same. 4th cast she went up to 66 and at 5th cast she was 60 ish. So our path has been filled with not so great numbers. Today restored my hope. Hope that we may see straight.
I was glad my friends were there to share in our joy today. Casting is not easy. It just plain stinks really and we have all had good cast days, okay cast days and really horrible cast days. Together we stand strong and hug and get each other through. I know that we are never alone. These cast moms have picked me up on our horrible days and celebrated with us on our good day today. I can only hope to do the same for them. I will shout from the mountains when there is good news and be there with a hug, support and anything else I can offer when not so good news comes.
With hope and hugs, friendship and love.
We showed up bright an early and honestly I didn't have a whole lot of hope. You see we have never really gotten good news on cast day. So I was expecting the to hear pretty much the same thing we had heard for the last 5 casts. The one thing I was super excited for was being able to hug my friends.
I have said this before but I am so very blessed to share this journey with some amazing women and two of them and their kiddos shared cast day again with us. I have shared so many cast dates with Catie and Sarah that it just doesn't seem right if we aren't together for a new cast. We were all surprised when Chrissy showed up for moral support and some super great hugs. We were definitely wishing our friend Kelli among others could have been there too but that just wasn't doable this time.
Okay back to the story...We typically are 3rd to go back to surgery on cast day. They tend to take the kids in order from youngest to oldest so 3rd has been our place, we get it. We accept it. Well to our surprise we got bumped to 1st. One other little cast kid was sick and couldn't make it so they bumped Kiya up. We have been first only once and that was on cast number 1. We were thrilled and a little out of practice with the faster flow of the day but we figured it out. Gwen as always was there to save the day. Gwen is truly an angel and we are so grateful for all she does. I am so glad she was there today. She was missing for cast 5.
So we headed to x-ray with our favorite x-ray tech. Tom is a shining star. He is so great with the kids and the kids all know that once they are done with the x-ray the get a stuffed toy and stickers. We then went to pre-op with Ruby. Ruby is one of a kind and really sweet. She helped finally get Kiya to take her versed and was so patient while Kiya screamed.
5 minutes to 8am Kiya went back to surgery to get her new purple cast on. And then we waited. We ate some breakfast, had some coffee and waited for the lights to flash on our pager. It seemed like it took awhile but the lights finally went off.
I went to the door and waited for it to open. I was met by our amazing advocate Linda. She is just awesome. We chatted about Kiya, her heart murmur, her casting, it was nice. We were both just waiting for Dr. H. She finally went back to get him.
Dr. H came out and in true stoic form, started with the "well we are about where we have been, she is about 46 now. We would really like to see her straighter out of cast." Hold the phone....did he say 46? She was around 60 degrees, 12 weeks ago. This was seriously the best news we have ever heard on cast day. I then asked if she was basically straight in cast to which he replied yes. He seemed shocked by reaction. I was over the moon to finally have hope again. To know that the decision to cast in order to try and correct her curve was starting to finally work. It may not next time and it may take a few more before we get good news again but it doesn't matter. We finally know that good news is possible.
For perspective at 1st cast Kiya was 52 degrees. Then we had to take a long break due to the nasty sore. At 2nd cast she was 64. 3rd cast she went down to 62 so basically the same. 4th cast she went up to 66 and at 5th cast she was 60 ish. So our path has been filled with not so great numbers. Today restored my hope. Hope that we may see straight.
I was glad my friends were there to share in our joy today. Casting is not easy. It just plain stinks really and we have all had good cast days, okay cast days and really horrible cast days. Together we stand strong and hug and get each other through. I know that we are never alone. These cast moms have picked me up on our horrible days and celebrated with us on our good day today. I can only hope to do the same for them. I will shout from the mountains when there is good news and be there with a hug, support and anything else I can offer when not so good news comes.
With hope and hugs, friendship and love.
Friday, January 6, 2012
3 years ago....
January 6, 2009 will always be a day I remember. I saw this sweet face for the very first time. I can hardly believe it has been three years. She was so tiny, so scared and yet so tough. You can see the fight in her eyes. She still makes this exact grumpy face. I love it. She never hesitates to let you know what is on her mind.
I pause today to also think about Mama Zinash. She is the reason I saw this face and I will never forget that. As Miss Kiya gets older she is looking more and more like her mom. Her eye brows, her eyes, her nose look just like her mom.
She was 5 1/2 weeks old in the above picture and weighed a mere 6lbs and was just so little. She is still tiny but very tall. We will find out soon just how much she weighs again but likely about 31 lbs and probably close to 40 inches tall.
That concerned little girl pictured above is now my feisty, sassy, smart, compassionate big girl. She has come so far. Her journey hasn't been easy but it definitely could be worse and while scoliosis still sucks, I am grateful that is all we are dealing with.
I am thankful for this little girl. She is my shining star and I am so very blessed to be her mom.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Pictures!
Sweet Katie is 9 months old and just so completely adorable. We got 3 new pictures today. I am only posting 2 since the third is with her foster mom and out of respect to her I am not going to post it.
Friday, December 9, 2011
3 year check up
I took Kiya in for her 3 year check up. It has been one year since we have seen her pediatrician. Kiya (knock on wood) doesn't need to see her regular doctor often. She gets the sniffles or a slight fever but nothing we haven't been able to manage. That said she does see a few doctors every 12 weeks so I think we are good on the doctor visit quota.
So here is what we learned while at Kiya's yearly check up.
1) She is VERY tall. Everyone couldn't believe just how tall she was. She wasn't being super cooperative so at a minimum she measured in at 39.5 inches tall but is likely closer to 40 inches maybe more. On record she is 39.5. That puts her well into the 90th percentile for height.
2) She is super skinny. She weighed in at 33 3/4lb in cast so we have to subtract about 3lbs. She is in the 25th percentile for weight once you adjust it down to factor out the extra weight the cast adds.
3) She has super dry skin in the winter. The doctor wants us to really work on it and keep in touch if our ideas don't work. We are using the Aveeno baby lotion twice daily with a layer of aquaphor on top and that seems to be working.
4) She is a trooper when it comes to getting shots. She just got the flu shot this year but was so great. One scream and done. Of course the princess sticker helped :)
5) Scoliosis and her treatment were definitely on the agenda. We got caught up on the casting and the progress or should I say lack of progress. We discussed long term what could happen and at what point we are willing to stop casting and go to bracing and or surgery. She and I both agree that as long as Dr. H agrees to keep casting her that we will cast as long as we can. Then if feasible we will brace to allow her time to grow and get older before pursing rod surgery. Our ultimate hope is to not have to have surgery at all but if we do then we would hope to be able to delay it so we could do permanent rods and not growth rods. We are so far from this point in Kiya's treatment but it was nice to lay it all out there too.
6) Ok I saved the big issue for last. The heart murmur. We discussed it at length and she listened a few times and heard nothing. She is of the opinion that it is possible that Kiya has a benign flow murmur which can't present in children when sick, stressed or dehydrated. It is harmless and something she will outgrow. She does not feel that an EKG or an echo cardiogram are necessary at this point but will support us if we decide differently. She also said that if she did have an actual heart murmur it wouldn't be heard sometimes and not others. At this point we can't do tests in cast so come cast off week in January, we will go back and see her doctor again and see if she hears the murmur when Kiya is out of cast. We will decide at that time if we need to pursue further testing.
So here is what we learned while at Kiya's yearly check up.
1) She is VERY tall. Everyone couldn't believe just how tall she was. She wasn't being super cooperative so at a minimum she measured in at 39.5 inches tall but is likely closer to 40 inches maybe more. On record she is 39.5. That puts her well into the 90th percentile for height.
2) She is super skinny. She weighed in at 33 3/4lb in cast so we have to subtract about 3lbs. She is in the 25th percentile for weight once you adjust it down to factor out the extra weight the cast adds.
3) She has super dry skin in the winter. The doctor wants us to really work on it and keep in touch if our ideas don't work. We are using the Aveeno baby lotion twice daily with a layer of aquaphor on top and that seems to be working.
4) She is a trooper when it comes to getting shots. She just got the flu shot this year but was so great. One scream and done. Of course the princess sticker helped :)
5) Scoliosis and her treatment were definitely on the agenda. We got caught up on the casting and the progress or should I say lack of progress. We discussed long term what could happen and at what point we are willing to stop casting and go to bracing and or surgery. She and I both agree that as long as Dr. H agrees to keep casting her that we will cast as long as we can. Then if feasible we will brace to allow her time to grow and get older before pursing rod surgery. Our ultimate hope is to not have to have surgery at all but if we do then we would hope to be able to delay it so we could do permanent rods and not growth rods. We are so far from this point in Kiya's treatment but it was nice to lay it all out there too.
6) Ok I saved the big issue for last. The heart murmur. We discussed it at length and she listened a few times and heard nothing. She is of the opinion that it is possible that Kiya has a benign flow murmur which can't present in children when sick, stressed or dehydrated. It is harmless and something she will outgrow. She does not feel that an EKG or an echo cardiogram are necessary at this point but will support us if we decide differently. She also said that if she did have an actual heart murmur it wouldn't be heard sometimes and not others. At this point we can't do tests in cast so come cast off week in January, we will go back and see her doctor again and see if she hears the murmur when Kiya is out of cast. We will decide at that time if we need to pursue further testing.
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