Sisterly LOVE!

We had a Merry Christmas and here's to another great year!

I know...I am not the best at updating this blog. I swore when we adopted Everlyn that I would update the blog weekly. Obviously that has not happened. Gosh - I have not even blogged MONTHLY.... LOL

But as part of one of my "goals" for 2012 (I don't do resolutions...no one keeps resolutions...) I hope to blog more. But I plan to create a new FAMILY blog. More on that to come once I come up with a catchy title, layout, etc. :o)

I wanted to share some pictures of our Princess from Christmas though. She had a great time. Her favorite gift? A little pink broom! LOL!

My attempt at a picture of all 6 kids...

Everlyn in front of the tree...

Waiting patiently to open her envelope from Granny and Papa...

Wow....

I can't believe I have not posted since April! I get the "blog slacker of the year" award!

So much has happened since April! Everlyn has grown so much! Her brothers and sister have grown so much! And we have a new baby...Erickson Miles arrived on August 1, 2011. Everlyn LOVES having a baby in the house. She loves holding him and says "Baby" now without being prompted.

Everlyn has been home a whole year now - we came home November 2, 2010. Seems like yesterday..... She has adjusted quite well and we love having her smiley little self around!

I know you want pictures....so, here ya go!

In her Matilda Jane "Nest Dress"

More Matilda Jane! This girl LOVES pretty clothes!

Yep, more Matilda Jane....

All dolled up for school!

With her "little brother" Elliston (who is 3.5 months younger)

Dressed as a "cowgirl" for her first Halloween in America!

Such a pretty girl!!!

So many updates...so little time...

I have intended to update this blog about 101 times since my last post, but "something" always comes up. I know - excuses, excuses.....

First off, Everlyn was evaluated by our school district and "meets criteria for services" under the umbrella of "developmental delay." Super! We had her IEP meeting and she actually started in their preschool program the very next day! I was scrambling around like a crazy person that evening trying to get all of her school supplies. She is in a class of 20 children - half have some form of "special need" and half are "typical peers." Our district is inclusive at all age levels.... Everlyn LOVES school. She gets PT once a week, OT twice a week and ST twice a week. She has done very very well adjusting to her new school routine. She goes 4 afternoons per week for 3 hours each day. We applied to have Elliston enrolled beginning in the Fall as a "typical peer" and he was accepted into the program! So, next school year both of our 3 year olds will be in preschool 4 afternoons a week. YAY! :o)

Everlyn has been to see several more doctors since we have settled into our new home in Nashville. She saw her new pediatrician who ordered a repeat thyroid panel and started her on Zantac for some reflux.... Thyroid results came back EVER SO SLIGHTLY elevated....normal is less than 5.0 and hers was 5.1. We will have it repeated in a few months. She also went to see an audiologist to check her hearing. We had no concerns about her hearing, but the pediatrician wanted to get a baseline for hearing function. Children with Down syndrome can have decreased hearing due to several different factors. Everlyn passed with flying colors! We will return in a year just to check on her sweet little ears. She also saw the pediatric ophthalmologist. About 50-60% of children with Down syndrome will need glasses at some point in their childhood. She also passed this exam with flying colors! He did mention she had a very very slight astigmatism, but nothing he would correct at this point. He also gave us some drops to use for her intermittent "goopy eyes"....not pink eye....just goop. :o) She does not have to go back to see him until she starts Kindergarten! She also had her first visit to the Down Syndrome Center at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The developmental pediatrician we saw there was great and was pretty smitten with our Princess. We will return there in about 6 months just to monitor her development, etc. Last, we saw a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Peds GI clinic at Vanderbilt. She also mentioned how cute our sweet girl is...of COURSE she is! :o) Her first question was "Does she have mosaic Down syndrome?" Ha! This sweet girl has everyone fooled! The PNP changed her Zantac liquid to Prevacid solu-tabs (YAY!) and gave us Lactulose for issues....at the other end. :o)

So, as you can see, she has been a very busy little girl but has settled in amazingly well. If she wasn't (essentially) non-verbal, I would not consider her "special needs".....she is often my easiest child! LOL! She just goes with the flow....and I appreciate that. We can't wait to see how she blossoms in the coming months/years.

I know you want pictures....but I need to download TONS off of my camera. I will post some soon...I promise.

In other news, I am now 23 weeks pregnant with #6. We found out it's a BOY (of course! LOL)...so much for adopting a little girl to add some estrogen to this testosterone zone! We are excited to meet him in early August. Everlyn doesn't have a clue! It will be interesting to see what she thinks of a new baby in the house. We had some indications several weeks ago that he might have DS like his big sister, but an amnio revealed that he has 46 chromosomes...not 47.

So, life in general has been busy. I started working full-time in January as a nurse on the Child/Adolescent psych unit at Vanderbilt. Then in March, I moved into an administrative RN position on nights. Basically, I am the "house supervisor" for night shift. Always interesting.... We are still settling into our new home...I feel like I may never feel "settled." Working full-time and five kids don't allow for much unpacking, organizing, etc. Hoping my nesting instinct kicks in soon...and the kids cooperate! :o) The kids are loving school, making friends and doing great in their new environment.

That's our "update" in a nutshell. I will try to post pics soon!

Let her eat cake!!!

Happy Birthday sweet Everlyn Grace!!!

Today is our little monkey's 3rd birthday. I must admit, it is bittersweet. Of course, we are THRILLED that she is home with us where she belongs.... But today is also the day, three years ago, that her birth parents met her, looked at her sweet face, and decided that she wasn't going home with them.   THAT my friends breaks my heart. You see, not only is today her birthday, it is her "orphanversary"....the day she became an orphan.

This girl is perfect (minus some screeching here and there...LOL!). She is ours. And she is LOVED! :o)

Her party was Saturday and it was AWESOME! We celebrated with family and some very special friends! My friend Lori, who has a daughter with that "something extra" drove up from Atlanta to be here...and take some AWESOME pics. And another "new" friend, Tiffany was here too...with her daughter who was also blessed with that awesome extra chromosome. Yes, it was a GOOD day.

Here is a pic taken by Lori of Everlyn's "cake smash". Yes, I know this is a 1st birthday tradition, but if you think about it, this WAS her 1st birthday! Tiffany offered to bake the smash cake...which was ADORABLE!

More photos can be seen on Lori and Tiff's blogs.

So Happy Birthday sweet Princess! We love you so very much!

Tomorrow is a BIG day!

It is Everlyn's 3rd birthday party! If you want to get technical, it is her FIRST birthday party...I am sure no one ever acknowledged her birthday in the past. So, while our girl is turning 3 (on the 26th), this is her FIRST birthday in so many ways! :o)

We are letting her do a little "cake smashing" since she never got the chance when she turned one. Yes, we will post pics.

Stay tuned for an ridiculous amount of cuteness!

Poor Neglected Blog!

We are all still alive and well. It has been NUTS the last month and we are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

So, I thought I would do a Top Ten Excuses for Why This Blog Has Been Neglected:

10. We moved to a new state on December 18th.

9. We moved to a new state on December 18th with FIVE kids.

8. Christmas was December 25th. :o)

7. The kids are starting a new school TOMORROW (Yay!) so we had to get all of that paperwork turned in, backpacks bought, school supplies rounded up, etc.

6. There are boxes and storage containers taking up my side of the garage...still...calling my name. I am trying to ignore them, however.

5. I have been pondering Everlyn's 3rd birthday party in late January. Our little monkey has chosen a monkey theme. (OK, so Mommy and Daddy chose it but she seems to like it).

4. I start my new job at Vanderbilt this week. I have been trying to get things done before then...somewhat successfully.

3. I am sometimes too busy "parenting" to remember to blog. ((gasp))

2. I am just plain exhausted.

And the number one excuse for why this blog has been so neglected.......

I AM PREGNANT! :o) (And therefore exhausted, tired, worn out and generally feel like crap.)

**I still need to download pics off my camera from the last month, but when I do, prepare yourselves for picture overload.

Wordless Wednesday..

The results are in.....

We finally got the results back from Everlyn's "chromosome analysis." Surprise...she has Down syndrome. LOL!

Actually - we did get a bit of a surprise though. Before and during her adoption, we were told that she had "suspected mosaic Down syndrome" or "slight Down syndrome" or "Down syndrome, but not deep" (my personal favorite.) Well, she does not have mosaic Down syndrome after all. But she does NOT have non-disjunction Down syndrome either...that is the most common form accounting for about 94-95% of all cases. This is the karyotype you see with 3 pretty little 21st chromsomes lined up nicely at the 21st "pair."

Nope - our girl has to be a bit more complicated. She is believed to have a Robertsonian translocation 21:21. What does THAT mean? It means instead of having the nice little trio of 21st "chromies" lined up, she has something more to the effect of "siamese twins and a singleton." Yep - two of her 21sts are stuck together, sitting nicely next to a third 21st.

What does this mean for Everlyn's health and development as opposed to mosaic DS? Not a darn thing really. :o)

Our tiny dynamo has gained TWO lbs in the past 6 weeks! WooHoo! Grow sweet girl grow!!!

And because I know you love pics, here are a few new favorites!!!

Holiday Card Sneak Peek!

Here's a peek at our holiday cards. A special shout out to my friend Hillary for helping a stressed out mama (me!!!) out with these!

Holiday card side:

Adoption announcement:

I will try to post more soon. Our big move is in a week, but I do have a job lined up! YAY! I accepted a position on child/adolescent psych at Vanderbilt. :o) I will fill you in more in a bit.

Grab a Kleenex...or three....

This song is so appropriate for us this Christmas since Everlyn now has a family...to tuck her in, to celebrate her (January) birthday, and so much more!

We've been home more than a month!

I can't believe it! We have been home since November 2nd. It seems like we JUST got home...but also seems like Everlyn has always been a part of our family. Odd....

We got Everlyn's Certificate of US Citizenship in the mail! It's official! Some days I still have to pinch myself....(perhaps I am just shocked we survived it all! LOL)

I have to apologize for the lack of pictures on the blog recently. Life has just been NUTS lately with the move and everything. I promise to be better once we are settled - and I am sure I will have lots of Christmas pics to share! :o) A good friend took the pics for our holiday cards so I will post a "sneak peak" when I get those back...

I hope everyone in blog-land is enjoying the holiday season. My shopping is DONE...okay, I have to pick up one more item...but I know what it is and that is half the battle. I just need to wrap it all and get it under the still-needs-to-be-decorated tree. Geesh...always something to do. :o)

doctors, doctors and....more doctors....

Everlyn is a trooper. I have taken her to just about every doctor you can think of...and have upcoming appointments for the ones you can't even think of...

General ped - Everlyn had her first visit with our awesome pediatrician the day after we got home. I think I posted about this appt, but she did well and we were told she looked GREAT! :o) And they took 6 tubes of blood...or something like that. It was a lot from such a small person!

Ped cardiology - We saw a terrific pediatric cardiologist at one of the local children's hospitals. The doctor was very sweet and could not hear a murmur at all, but wanted to check her over more thoroughly. They did an EKG (which was normal) and an echocardiogram. The echo showed that Everlyn was born with two holes in her tiny heart - a PFO (patent foramen ovale) and a VSD (ventricular septal defect). We were told about the PFO while in Ukraine, but we were told it had "resolved" on its own. The VSD was a surprise. Well, it turns out BOTH tiny holes have closed on their own so Everlyn needs no intervention and no more trips to the pediatric cardiology center. YAY!

Ped endocrinology - We got lucky and this appointment can wait - her initial labwork our pediatrician ordered showed that her thyroid is doing its job. We were told in Ukraine that she was hypothyroid. The physician who did her Embassy medical exam even said her records indicated she was taking a low dose of Synthroid. Well, no one at the orphanage ever mentioned her being on medication so who knows........ So, we will repeat this bloodwork in a few months and see where we are then. Until then, this appt can wait! :o)

Allergy/immunology - We think Everlyn is allergic to "something". Milk maybe? We aren't sure, but sometimes she spits up. Other times she breaks out, especially on her little hands. The allergist ordered some bloodwork that I have not had drawn yet...I am waiting to see if any of the other doctors we plan to see want labs so we can minimize the needles for my sweet girl.

Ped opthalmology - When we were in Ukraine, Everlyn's eyes "dripped" almost constantly, especially her right eye. And they would get "goopy" at times. I wondered about a blocked tear duct. Now, it seems better, but I plan to still take her since children with Ds can have issues related to their eyes, vision, etc.

Ped dentist - Everlyn had her first dentist appointment already. She and her siblings...yes, I took all FIVE kids to the dentist at the same time...came out of there without one single cavity! WOOHOO!!!!!!! She is just now getting her top incisors and is missing a baby tooth in the bottom right side. Dentist says it could mean it is just missing...it could mean it is late coming in. He also said she may or may not have that permanent tooth. We opted to skip x-rays since it doesn't really matter and there was no real reason to "traumatize" her with more "baby torture" that day..... :o)

Ped GI - I need to make this appt. Poor girl has some GI issues. Not sure what exactly. She spits up, has oddly icky-smelling poo (aren't you glad you read this blog entry...?), etc. We shall see what the GI doc has to say... I am stumped really. Maybe the milk thing? I will keep you posted.

Dermatology - Yep, this poor little girl has eczema and gets random rashes. I haven't taken her to a derm yet, but I need to make an appt for her. ((sigh))

Genetics - We likely won't have to see a genetics doctor, but we did have a chromosome analysis done. I was told it can take 2-3 weeks to get those results. We were told she had "suspected mosaic Down syndrome", "slight Down syndrome" and "Down syndrome, but not deep." (I am sure something gets a bit skewed in translation. LOL! Basically, because she is "healthy" and rather high functioning (other than speech, it is hard to find a "delay" with her), it could just be assumed it is mDs as opposed to Ds. Out of curiosity, we just want to know for sure...and it should go without saying that the results do NOT matter to us. We just want to know.... My pediatrician says his money is on mDs....we shall see!

Did I miss any???? :o)

Aside from all of that...which is NOT a big deal in the grande scheme of things...Everlyn is doing so so so well! I can't wait to see her face when she sees our Christmas tree for the first time! Eric has it put together (at our new house in TN), and it is just waiting for me to decorate it. It is a 12 foot tree so she will either be mesmerized by the lights, or terrified by the sheer size of the darn thing. Either way, it is fun to experience things for the "first time" through her eyes.

I have a couple more weeks of work. My last night is December 17th. We move on the 18th. Ahhhhhh............ In the end, it will all be worth it but right now my head feels like it may explode with so many "to-do" lists and such. Pray for my sanity! Moving with 5 kids (one being new), to a new state, a week before Christmas...it should TOTALLY be illegal!

Today I am thankful....

...for these five amazing blessings! :o)

I love naps!

I personally RARELY get one, but nap time just might be my favorite time of day.... You know that feeling...when the moon and stars and the entire universe align and BOTH 2-year-olds nap at the same time. Ahhh.....bliss! Of course, I generally spend this time doing laundry, straightening up, etc. Not exactly "down" time, but fabulous nonetheless.

Here is a pic from nap time today. Is there anything on Earth sweeter than this? I think not...

Our poor neglected blog....and some updates for you!

Well, I get the "Crappy Blogger" award. I had the best of intentions. I had planned to blog every day, or at least every other day, once we returned home. Well.....I am WAY too busy these days.

Here is a little glimpse into what is going on in our world....

1. Eric has a new job. He LOVES it and it is going very very well. (He manages a natural stone company - granite, marble, etc).

2. Eric's new job isn't in St. Louis. It is in Nashville, TN...aka NashVegas! :o)

3. Eric is already working there.

4. For now, I am a pseudo-single-parent to five kids ages 8 and under. Yeah, fun stuff!

5. We try to make it to Nashville as often as we can for a few days here and there.

6. I still work full time nights as a charge nurse on an adolescent psych unit in St. Louis. (My mom watches the kids on those nights...no worries).

7. We are MOVING to Nashville in December, right before Christmas.

8. We have a new house there.

9. We need to sell/lease our house in St. Louis. (UGH doesn't begin to describe it.)

10. I need to find a job in Nashville...something part time would be good. And something I love is strongly preferred. :o)

11. We are adjusting to a new family member - that is going very well!

12. Everlyn has some doctor's appts to go to in the next few weeks (ped cardiology etc) so stay tuned for that update.

13. I am usually done or almost done with Christmas shopping by now. Nope...NOT even close this year.

14. I am sick. I am always sick. I have been sick since a week before we left for Ukraine. I can't seem to totally "kill the funk." 4 rounds of antibiotics isn't doing the trick. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. :o(

15. I need to get the kids enrolled in school in TN. They are SO excited to start at their new school and meet new friends. (And I am excited FOR them). I think a fresh start and "change of scenery" is going to be great for the entire family.

16. I have to pack up our entire house. Let me just tell you...five kids accumulate a LOT of stuff. We are de-cluttering some things, but man oh man, we have way more "stuff" than should be legal....

17. I need to get Christmas pictures done. We plan to send out a dual Christmas card / adoption announcement this year. :o)

18. And even with all of this to keep me busy....I have started thinking about Everlyn's 3rd birthday party. Even though she is going to be 3, she has never had a birthday party. She has never had a birthday cake, she has never blown out candles, she has never had birthday presents...or balloons. I wonder if anyone has ever sang Happy Birthday to her...or even acknowledged her special day? Well, she is going to have a party in January, and I am trying to decide what exactly we will do to celebrate her "first" birthday with us!

I will try to be a better blogger, but forgive me for the next month or so as I try to "survive" the madness that is my life right now. But....life is good!

Our Adoption Journey Photo Montage

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Homecoming Pictures!!!

Well....here they are. A few pics of our homecoming will follow this brief blog post! :o) All along, I had planned this big elaborate homecoming post, but honestly....I don't have time to give great detail. LOL! I will say it was a LONG day (that started off terribly), but Everlyn was an angel on the flights and in the end, WE MADE IT HOME...and that my friends is all that matters!

We are adjusting to life as a family of seven. So many changes for us (with more to come) but Everlyn is adjusting VERY well and the other kids love having her around. Life is hectic...and laundry is never-ending! LOL

OK - here are some pics:

Home at last!

Happy to be done with planes!

Meeting her siblings and cousins for the first time!

Emersen was so excited to meet her new "baby sister" that she cried...which in turn made Mommy cry!

Mommy with her 5 kiddos. Daddy is absent from these pics because he had to go out of town for work at the last minute. :o(

This is one tired girl after a 30 hour day with just a couple of naps....

Busy...busy....

Welcome to my new normal....BUSY! :o) We were busy before but I think busy is just our "normal".... Surprisingly I am not super stressed out (yet)...although my house does look like a bomb went off...and it does bother me. But I am trying to embrace the mess... LOL!

We got home around 630pm last night. I will save the "homecoming" blog post for a time when I have more pics to share. My awesome friend Hillary took some for me and I am waiting to get them from her....

Here is a sneak peek from my sister though. Me with my 5 kiddos! :o)

I took Everlyn to see our pediatrician at 9am this morning. Dr. Carney was very impressed with her immunization records and said she looked GREAT! He heard no heart murmur (she reportedly had a patent foramen ovale at one point but it has "resolved") and said she was 75% for height and almost 50% for weight on the Down syndrome growth chart! YAY! She would have been the 5% and 3% respectively on the "typical" growth chart. He did order some labwork to check her thyroid since she is actually on Synthroid for hypothyroidism (although no one mentioned this to me until our medical exam for the Embassy appt - lovely.) He also ordered a CBC, lead level, HIV, RPR, etc etc etc. She was such a trooper despite having FOUR tubes of blood taken! We did not do a karyotype at this time but will in the near future...this is a chromosome test to determine if she does indeed have mosaic Down syndrome (as opposed to "traditional" Trisomy 21). Our pediatrician is thinking she does indeed have mDs just by his examination of her but who knows... And honestly, it does not matter one bit to us!

Here she is leaving the pediatrician's office. Two shots and four tubes of blood won't keep this happy girl from smiling!

We had a busy day on our first day home. My sister and her 3 kids are here. We ventured to the mall. Oh wow - poor little pumpkin isn't too sure about the mall. I think she gets a wee bit overstimulated at times. And who can blame her....the 4 stark white walls of an orphanage are vastly different that a busy shopping mall!

Here is Elliston and Everlyn cruising around in their stroller. Elliston loves his new sister but doesn't love strollers... LOL!

Here is a shirt I found on the clearance rack at Gap! YAY!

I am sure tomorrow is another busy day so I am going to head to bed. Detailed homecoming post will follow in the next few days I am sure.... :o)

We're HOME!!!!!!!!

I am beyond exhausted, but we did it...we made it back HOME!!!!! Yay!

Everlyn has her first pediatrician appt in the morning (bright and early...ugh!). I will have a LOT of blog about tomorrow. But tonight, I need SLEEP...in my own bed! :o)