A BIG, BIG Catch-Up Post... Pictures, Too!!!

Wow... I haven't been away awhile or anything!  In the busyness of post-adoption life, I just now took a look at my blog to see when I last posted.  The day before I left for Bulgaria to pick up the kids!  Yikes!

So, as a peace offering to anyone who may still be following along, here are some pictures from Bulgaria!

Leaving Denny's orphanage... the best feeling in the world!  And in true American form (at least, as far as my dad believes), he's wearing his first pair of Chuck Taylor's!

Denny was so overwhelmed, and wanted desperately to hold my hands the entire drive.  He did so well, all things considered.

Viki ran straight to me, calling "Mama!"  There were many happy tears that day!

You can't see it in the picture, but the kids and I left Viki's orphanage by walking through water that was poured out on the stairs.  The director, a beautiful woman with a kind heart, told us it is a Bulgarian tradition, signifying a new beginning.

I realize now how tall Denny looks in this picture, but these are 2T clothes.  At 6 years old.

Viki decided she loved the camera after all!

Some of our first snuggles!

If we were in the apartment, she wanted to color.  I was glad I brought three books, because she used them all up!

My sweet little man... he wasn't a fan of anything loud or exciting, and this spot on the couch, scratching his nails against the pillow, settled him.

And a glimpse of the first three months home...

Viki loved swinging at the playground near her orphanage, so it was no surprise that she wanted to swing at our house, too!  If we're outside, this is where you'll find her!

Denny had resigned himself to rough sisterly love...

And FREEDOM!

Both kids went to a pediatric ophthalmologist, and we discovered that Denny needed glasses!  He wasn't thrilled about wearing them at first, but the whole drive home, he kept looking around, like he was seeing everything for the first time!

Our cat, Hardy, loves to climb into Denny's lap.  And Hardy isn't a very social cat.

All five of my loves... HOME!

We joined a pool for the summer, and Denny loves to sit at the spout and splash!

Viki loves it, too!

After dinner, toes are the best dessert!

Viki drew a picture of herself, and a smaller picture of Denny.  We adopted spiders, FYI. :)

Storytime for the littles happens in Sadie's room, and she is THRILLED that Denny gets to share that time with her!

Viki is quite the artist!

Okay, so no hard feelings that I've been MIA?  Life has been busy, and not only from having the two newest kiddos home.  We've had appointment after appointment for them, between the pediatrician, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, dentist, the list goes on.  That's just part of the process.  We needed to make sure we had all the health stuff out of the way first thing, especially with Viki having Type 1 diabetes.

Learning how to manage Viki's diabetes hasn't been the easiest thing, but I've got a workable plan, with the endocrinologist a phone call away, night or day.  I've figured out how much extra insulin she needs if we're having cake at a birthday party, and I know that 12 animal crackers will keep her glucose levels stable overnight if she's low before bedtime.  We just attended a JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) event, and learned more about the technological advances coming out in the future.  Viki will need eye surgery, to correct some damage caused by diabetes, but the ophthalmologist wants us to settle in, adjust, and then we'll talk surgery.  

When I picked Denny up from the orphanage, he had no idea how to suck from a bottle.  The food just ran down, and he sounded like he was aspirating.  By the time we flew home, he had great tongue thrust, and was eating more than what ended up on his clothes.  Once we were home, and I had access to a blender, he started getting some jam-packed nutritious smoothies, and gained four pounds.  After a month, he graduated from bottle to silicone sippy cups, and would clap when I brought out the blender.  He was loving this food thing!  During the second and third month, we really worked with Denny on eating solids, and it was a slow process.  Last week, he grabbed a fry and shoved it in his mouth!  To say he's come a long way in three months is a gross understatement.  He still has so far to come, in terms of communication, but we're seeing more and more personality from our little guy!  Oh, and he's in a 4T now, and those Chuck Taylor's are too small!

Okay, there's a catch-up post, and I hope to be back to blogging a little more regularly now!