Adoption Update

Ten days ago we started our adoption paperwork. That was the day we got our fingerprints done and sent off to the FBI and the SBI. We also got criminal records checks. Since then, we have gotten back all the paperwork we needed to turn in to our social worker for our home study and we gave it to her at our first visit today. The only thing we still need are our three references and those should be to her by the end of next week. Once she gets those she will finalize our paperwork, drop by for one more visit and we will be done!

Just in case you are not properly impressed, let me explain a little about home studies. This is when you hire a social worker to come out to your home and look it over. They are looking to make sure it is a suitable environment for a child (ie. no rusty nails laying about, no piles of garbage all over the floor). They also need a huge amount of information and documentation. Criminal background checks, family's names and contact information, medical letters stating you do not have any health problems that would cause a shortened life expectancy, tax returns, paystubs, references, birth certificates, pages of questions about your marriage, children and attitudes on adoption, budget.... Normally the process takes about 3 months to complete. It looks like ours will be done in less than one. Yay!

This really is going to happen. We are going to adopt a child. I can't wait!!!

Putting an Octopus in Pantyhose

I took Doodlebug to church by myself today. He goes to his class during the sermon, but we usually pick him up early and take him back in for the last couple of worship songs. As we came back to the sanctuary I noticed that people weren't singing yet, but since one of our friends was holding the door for us I decided that slipping in the back should be okay. Nope. It was totally silent for a moment and Doodlebug decided to annouce his arrival by yelling "Hi!" to everyone. Nice.

So the singing started and we went back to our seat. Doodlebug was, ahem, slightly restless. You know the kind where toddler's try to flip out of your arms headfirst onto the floor. That kind of restless. I finally held him upside down. That worked well for about 30 seconds. Now he is wanting down so badly he's pushing against me trying to get away. Unfortunately for me his hands happened to be on my throat so I got a bit strangled.

Now I'm getting dirty looks from the childless couple across from me so I decide it's time to move to the back of the room and put him down. Maybe he will wander around quietly back there. Ha! No, he thought it would be a better idea to head for the door and try to slip out, only to fuss when I prevented his escape.

So we headed to a different spot in the back of the room that is away from the childless glaring couple and the door. No dice. He did change from fussing to happy noises when he saw his friend. At least the singing was loud enough that most people could not hear him.

Finally I picked him up and just held on for dear life while he wiggled and squirmed. I am beat. It would have been easier to put an ocotpus in pantyhose.

My last post I said I would be back to blogging. And then I was gone for two weeks. Life does not always work out the way I plan it. I'm not sure when I will be back to blogging more regularly because I am really busy filling out adoption paperwork.

Wait, did you catch what I just said?

We are filling out adoption paperwork!

Like I said, life doesn't always work out the way I planned.

I was in the kitchen one morning and noticed it was awfully quiet, so I went to check on the Doodlebug. I found him sitting in our great room on the floor studying something intently. I didn't see anything there so I just stood back and watched him for a minute. Can you guess what he was doing?

He's trying to pick up the sunlight off the floor.

He stares at the patches of sunlight on the floors, puts out a hand to grab them and comes up empty handed. So he leans over to see them up close and they promptly disappear (since he's now between the window and the sun on the floor). He sits back quickly in surprise and presto! They're back. He's pretty perplexed about the whole series of events.

I love watching him explore the world and see things for the first time.

Update on the Doodlebug

So we had our 18 month well visit to the pediatrician. I had a page long list of questions for him, almost all of them about Doodlebug's development and if he feels like we can still postpone all the genetic/metabolic testing and MRI.

Right now we really want to wait and see if Doodlebug's able to catch up with therapy and some time. We are also trying to get into another pediatric neurologist for a second opinion. The doc we see now won't give us a clear answer on why she is ordering all of these tests other than he is delayed. Both my husband and I have spoken with her and feel like there is something she is not telling us. Bottom line, we don't really trust her. She knows way more about neurology than I ever will, but I know way more about this little boy than she ever will. We have to work together on this, and if she won't work with us, then we will find someone who will.

We have picked a new neurologist after talking with several moms who have children with special needs. Our referral information was sent over a month ago. Just last week we got several forms to fill out and mail back in, which we did. But still, no appointment date. And from what we understand, it will be early 2011 before we can see this doc. But this also gives us the time we want to see how much progress Doodlebug can make with therapy over the next six months.

One thing I love about our pediatrician is that he tells us like it is. This is a double-edged sword though because when I have hard questions to ask I get really nervous about going to see him because I know he will tell me the truth. So here it is...

• as long as he's making progress it's okay to put off the genetic and metabolic testing
• keep the appointment in October with the geneticist, since we made it in February and October was the first available appointment
• go see the other neuro for the second opinion and then decide how to proceed
• it's still possible that Doodlebug is still just a "late bloomer"
• all bets are off if he starts stops progressing or starts regressing

Our physical therapist says he is catching up. His skills are not age appropriate yet, but he is not as far behind as he was when we started. Go Doodlebug!

As for his speech, it's a little harder to tell if he's catching up. He is making progress but at this point we are not sure if he's getting closer to catching up with other kids his age or if he's still just as far behind. The good news is that shortly after kids learn to walk they typically have a language explosion where they progress very quickly in a short amount of time. We are almost at that point with Doodlebug. I have to say, I can't wait to be able to have a conversation with my boy.

So we are still waiting and still hoping. I was really hoping to be done with all the waiting and worrying by the time he turned 18 months, but that's just not how it turned out. It's been bittersweet watching him hit the milestone of being one and a half and knowing he is much more like a one year old than a child his age.

Looking ahead is still hard. Doodlebug is a very unusual child. In a lot of ways this makes him very easy. But then I wonder if that's just a quirk of who he is, or are we missing important signs of a bigger problem? And I just don't know.

So for now I'm just trying to enjoy my silly boy

I'm Back With Some Updates

I have managed to sell some stuff on Craig's List as well as on a mommy's website that I am a part of. I also participated in a community yard sale, but that was a whole lotta work for very little money. At this point I am really just selling to clear out the house. Making some money while I'm at it has been a wonderful, and motivating, bonus. I guess it's more of a drawn out yard sale than it is a business.

My impossibly cute, sweet boy turned 18 months old. When the heck did that happen???

I have realized two things about my blogging. One, I really do like it and miss it when I don't blog. Two, it takes up a lot of time. So, I am going to continue to blog, but cut back a bit. I won't be updating as regularly, but my goal is to post two or three times a week.