The Birthday Boy.

Today Isaiah turned 3 years old. I can't say for sure but I'm assuming he had never had a birthday cake and celebration day just for him until today. He enjoyed every bit of the 2 cupcakes he was given. Isaiah's Godparents and their 5 kiddos helped celebrate so Isaiah loved all that extra attention he was given. Their 8 year old girl adores him to pieces.

Isaiah had an ENT appointment a few weeks ago and he will be needing his adenoids removed. He is a snorter, snorer, and still has horrible bad breath on and off. He also usually gasps for air after drinking. Hopefully this will all improve once the culprit is removed. His tonsils look fine so they will remain intact. Next week he has a urologist appointment to hopefully coordinate 2 surgeries at the same time. That common procedure that newborn boy babies have in the nursery by a regular doctor requires an older child to be under anesthesia and have it done by a urologist.

Isaiah has been home almost 8 months. Although he hasn't made leaps and bounds developmentally he has made some gains in many areas. He now goes up and down steps by himself. He has a few favorite toys with balls being the most favorite. He used to let the ball roll off his hands and how he attempts to throw them. He will throw certain things a small distance and crawl after it while giggling and making a game of it. He is into climbing up on anything his little legs can get him up. He waves bye-bye...signs more and eat and getting close to signing ball. Plays peek-a-boo, So Big, puts his foot out to me when I start saying This Little Piggy, Patty Cake, gives kisses and hugs, gives 5, attempts the actions to the song Hot Potato by The Wiggles. He still LOVES music. He imitates some sounds and still is a babbler. When he cries he "says" mom, mama over and over. I doubt he means me but I still like hearing it.

He recently got his orthodics and while I think they are a pain in the butt I know they are to protect the growth of his muscles and bones. Still have not found shoes that fit well with them. When we first saw him in the orphanage he didn't even know how to take "instinct" baby steps when holding his hands. Now he is walking around furniture, walking behind push toys and has taken 2-3 wobbly steps to us. He can stand and balance for probably close to a minute. He is so close to getting into standing position on his own. With all this unfortunately comes the bumps and bruises. The other day I had him standing up against the wall while I was getting something and he fell forward and put a hole in his lip. He was throwing a fit because I took him out of the highchair and he most likely threw himself forward but didn't plan on his tooth going through his lip :( Awhile back I noticed a front tooth has a little chip in it. I have a feeling there will be much more of this type of thing by the time he is a steady walker. :(

Eating....just when I think things are improving a bit then it gets bad again. I keep hoping and praying for the day I can say meal time is finally relaxing. Now and then we get one of those and it is so nice.

Early Intervention ended this past week with Isaiah turning 3 so now he moves into the school system. He will be getting 60 minutes of ST (speech therapy) per week and 60 minutes with the special education preschool teacher per week and 30 minutes of OT (occupational therapy). I still take him to Bismarck for PT (physical therapy) twice a month.

Now for a couple pictures...

5 month update

Isaiah continues to make progress even if it is small baby steps. He definitely NEEDS to be pushed and motivated or he would be content to just sit and look around most times. I'm not sure if it is a blessing or a curse for him that God gave him a "military sergeant" type of a mom but he got one as I just can't see him sitting around having no interest in anything. The past few weeks some of my (or Isaiah's) hard work is finally paying off.

I debated on buying Isaiah anything for Christmas as we have so many toys already that he could care less about. I took my chances and bought him a rocking type bike with musical buttons. It can also be turned into a sit and push type bike for later on. Anyway, the bike was a SUPER HUGE hit and he absolutely loved it. I hardly got any pictures as I was having fun videoing him as he was having a blast. In fact he was on for about 20 minutes straight and he was not happy when I took him off. Now him and Joey fight over this bike. Joey usually wins if no one is around to make him get off. Other times Isaiah will contently sit and watch Joey but as SOON as Joey gets off for a second to get something Isaiah QUICKLY takes his spot. That does not go over very well with Joey.




Isaiah has been exploring more on his own where before he would follow Joey most places. I have to be aware of where is at because I have found him in rooms with the doors shut. He goes in and closes the door and usually does not hollow to be found. I look forward to the day he empties my Tupperware drawer...something that I was SO tired of Joey doing at one point and could not wait for him to stop.

Isaiah loves the dishwasher, clothes dryer, and vacuum. He likes putting his face next to all of them when they are running. He just recently started climbing up on the dishwasher door and I think before long he will be climbing into the dryer too. He is finally able to climb up on the couch too.

Chewing has improved somewhat but will still swallow big chunks of food that are slippery. One night after supper while I was doing dishes I kept him in the highchair and gave him a celery stick thinking it would last all of 2 seconds but he loved it. He chewed and chewed and actually ate it but I made sure he didn't swallow the bigger stringy pieces...not sure how well the Heimlich would work for something like that and I wasn't about to find out. He had 2 pieces and his hand was all wrinkly like he was in the bathtub too long.


I've been getting tougher with him with holding and playing toys. I know, sounds mean, but like I said he NEEDS to be pushed. It was worth it because he will now hold and actually play with certain toys. Music is still a big motivator. If we are in one room and he hears music coming from another room his whole mind is in the room where the music is.


He has weekly Early Intervention home visits and monthly occupational (OT) and speech therapy (ST). He gets physical therapy (PT) twice a month in Bismarck and I work on muscle strengthening a couple times a day most days. I can really start to see the progress from that too. I will start him at the bottom of the stairs and he is up to the top within a couple minutes IF no one is by him. I have him stand up next to a wall so he can't plop down on his butt. We have our own version of "up downs" to work the legs/hips and also do the exercise ball to strengthen the core muscles. All this is needed to be able to walk someday and he is now able to stand and balance on his own...sometimes up to 30 seconds. He pulls himself to a stand much quicker now. I can definitely see he is getting much stronger.


Another VERY exciting thing that happened this past week was he learned his first sign...more. I used food for the motivator for this word. I've been working on this for weeks. Now I'm working on the word eat. A few weeks ago he learned to wave Bye bye but stopped doing it after a couple days. He does Peek-a-boo, So Big, gives 5, gives kisses (but they can be hard to get). He is starting to imitate certain play activities. Here he is signing more.


Isaiah is still a good sleeper but has started throwing a fit when I put him in his crib. I took his Nuk away because he was getting too obsessed with it by constantly playing with it and chewing on it. This is one thing that kept him from playing with toys. His hands needed something else to do. His teeth grinding has improved about 95%. Maybe it was a teething thing....who knows...but I'm super glad I don't hear it much anymore.

One thing that TOTALLY amazes me is how often he will pee/poop on the potty. I'm pretty sure he was "holding it in" back when he had all the constipation issues so I started putting him on the potty after breakfast and lunch and most times he would poop. He would always pee within seconds. The orphanage had to have been putting him on the potty for a long time for him to be able to do this. He still has constipation and I'm assuming always will due to Down syndrome so I give him something to keep things going everyday. He still poops in his diaper if he doesn't go on the potty so I don't at all call him potty trained.

Sometimes I'm not sure if he knows we are his family because he has no fear of strangers and growing up in an orphanage (well, 2 1/2 years anyway) with having all kinds of "moms" and all kinds of "siblings" makes me wonder if he knows we are his and he is ours. Last week we went to a wrestling match and he was just relaxed laying back on me looking around. Just then I was watching our 13 year old wrestler walk out to the mat for his match and I could tell Isaiah was looking in that direction and all of a sudden he sat straight up and stretched out his arms (something he does when he is super excited) and started making noises. There is no doubt that he saw Austin and KNEW it was someone who belonged to him. It is "little" things like this that are "HUGE" gifts to me.

Sometimes the past 5 months seem to have gone fast and other times it feels like forever. I knew adoption would not be all fun and games. Sometimes I find myself almost in a way mourning my old life but I just remind myself that I didn't do this for me but for God. I didn't ask Him if I could adopt as much as He asked ME to do it for Him and for Isaiah. Just like I can't imagine my 5 bio kids in some other family I can NOT imagine Isaiah in any other family but ours. Isaiah may be harder than I imagined in some ways but he is much easier in other ways and those are big blessings to me. He is such a sweet lovable kid who is so easy to take with me wherever I go...just like Joey. He gets so excited when he sees me getting the coats and shoes out and when I put him in his car seat he is SO excited and can hardly contain himself. If I'm holding Joey I can almost guarantee that within seconds of Isaiah seeing us he will be in my lap too and most times Joey is the one motioning for us to get Isaiah too. Isaiah is more of a "taker" at this point but he is always there to "give" love and smiles. There are times that I don't at all feel worthy to be the mom of these 2 boys who give and receive love so unconditionally but I am thankful God did pick me. My life may not always be "easy" but it is "good".

I was recently reminded of the bible verse Jeremiah 29:11..."For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not to harm you, plans to give you a future full of hope."

Isaiah's 3 month update.

Today it has been 3 full months since Isaiah was carried through our door and in 2 days it will be one year since we officially committed to him on Reece's Rainbow.

The biggest change since Isaiah has been home has been less time alone for me but I'm totally fine with that as being a mom is my ministry and it continues to make me "die to self" more and more which helps keep me "grounded" from conforming to the world. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2

Isaish is starting to become a little explorer...not so much on his own yet but with his "partner in crime". His favorite person in this house would have to be Joey. They can make each other giggle and giggle and Isaiah loves following him around.

It has been 3 weeks since he got his glasses and what a difference they've made. It was so neat to see him look around when he first got them. I'm sure he felt like he was in a whole new world. His eyes must have been pretty bad as he hardly ever takes them off. He has been braver with trying to walk behind his "walking wagon". Still has a long way to go before walking but every little bit helps. He's been doing good with finger foods and even some baby steps with chewing. I got braver to try different chunkier foods which are nearly impossible to swallow as soon as they enter his mouth. He will choke/gag now and then but I think we need to go through this stage to get to being a good chewer. He still cries/screams after most meals. This habit can take a hike anytime now...3 months is long enough but I have a feeling it isn't going anywhere anytime soon :( He is not a picky eater which is a blessing. I sit between Joey and Isaiah and I have to fight to get Joey to take bites and then turn to Isaiah and fight to make him slow down (well, I'm feeding him but trying to limit his bites to slow him down...he still prefers FAST feeding).

His teeth grinding is a day to day thing...some days I hardly hear him grinding but then the next he grinds all...day...long. The chewing finger/hands habit has gotten much better and he has even cut down on his need for his nuky. Bedtime and naptime are a must though and he will suck his thumb then too. I can handle that. He is a very noisy sleeper as his suck is so loud but he is a good sleeper.

Isaiah is getting more and more into toys but has a long way to go here too. But from how he started out to not even knowing how to hold a toy he has come a LONG way. He loves music and will go pull to stand up by the TV.

He loves people and loves to be held and cuddled. We had a BIG milestone about a week ago...he learned to clap on his own. We worked hard on this and it finally paid off. He is so proud of himself. He knows "So Big" too but won't lift his arms alone but if he is holding our hands he will lift ours up. He is understanding some English obviously like clap, so big, Isaiah, no no, stop...I'm sure he knows way more. Some days he babbles and babbles and then the next not so much. His consonant sounds are beeeeutiiiiiful!!!! I say this because I haven't heard them from Joey since he was one. :( :(

Still trying to figure out his constipation issues. I just can't get a system down to get him going daily but I will not give up. I started putting him on the potty chair as his peditrician thinks he is withholding. Much to my surprise he goes pee almost everytime and even has pooped about 5 times. I really think he was put on a potty chair in the orphanage as he acts like he's been on one before. His stool culture came back really good...NO parasites or anything icky!!! His bad breath has gotten much better too...most days I don't notice anything unless after sleeping or not eating for a while. I read how constipation can cause bad breath and since I brought in the "big dogs" (Joey's old way of enemas) to help break up some major backups things really improved!!!!!

He had his big hearing test last week which turned out good. The health of his ears was awesome. WhooHoo!!! Two kiddos with Down syndrome who both have great ears (at this point) is a huge blessing. Everything tends to be smaller in kids with Ds and many are prone to ear infections and needing tubes. Joey had 1 or 2 infections in his over 5 years of life...not bad.

I painted this shirt when Josh was a baby (19 years ago) and all the boys wore it. It says "My name is not NO NO".
He was just going to clap. By the way, he is standing up against the fridge and balancing really well. It was the first time I did this and will do it more often to help strengthen his legs. This week he has a PT consultation on possibly getting ankle braces or shoe inserts for his weak ankles.
A roll of garbage bags they found in the bathroom.
Isaiah's "partner in crime".

Somedays it is hard to believe that it has been 2 years since I first saw this little boy dressed in pink and now he is crawling around OUR house.

My Thanksgiving baby turned 9 today...

...and what an entry into the world he made. One morning, 3 weeks before my due date, after the 2 oldest kids left for school on the bus I thought my water broke but it turned out I was bleeding...and not just a little. It was enough to warrant a call to 911 which sent out the Napoleon Ambulance. They took me to a nearby small town hospital. I was then transferred from that hospital via their ambulance to a bigger town hospital but getting farther and farther away from the hospital I needed to be at. After bleeding was slowed down I was finally transferred one last time to the hospital of choice and Noah was born the next morning. After he was born I needed an emergency surgery to stop the bleeding which normally should stop on its own after birth. I will never forget the look on my doctors face when he told me he would be right back after he went to talk to someone (he consulted with another doctor on what to do). He came back and I was taken into surgery within minutes. I was THE happiest mom on earth when I woke up ALIVE and heard Noah was alive and doing well also. I never got to hold Noah right after he was born as he swallowed blood and needed extra care and attention. This was the day my adoption dream started as I was NOT going to go through THAT life threatening experince again.

God had other plans and sent us Joey a few years later....which then led to Isaiah (that whole story is in the beginning of my blog posts). I love putting God's puzzle pieces together...connecting the dots.

Back to Noah...he was a very naughty baby. We always said he came into the world causing trouble and it just kept continuing. We joked that maybe we should have him rebaptized as maybe the first time something went wrong. I would hardly ever let anyone babysit him as I felt so sorry for the babysitters. I thought only a mother should have to endure what he had to offer back then. MANY times the ONLY thing that worked was to put him in his baby seat in front of a TV with a static station turned up really loud. I love the teeny tiny baby stage but I wished that away many times.

Fortunately things changed as time went on. I've been on so many "adventures" with Noah as his love of life and having fun and his never ending imagination takes us many places. Being the 4th boy born to our family he is the first to like action figures...it started out with dinosaurs...then to Spiderman and super heros...then just any ol' "guy". Those are still his choice of toy to this day.

He also loves sports. His first career of choice was going to be either a pro football player or basketball player or boxer, etc. That changed into being a priest. He talked about that for a couple years. He would make a good one who could talk off the cuff no problem. When asked a question he never has to think about an answer. He loves talking. I was his kindergarten CCD teacher and before I was done even asking a question his hand was high in the air. Since Isaiah came home Noah changed his mind and decided he NEEDS to have kids and really wants to be a dad. He knew priests do not get married so he thought he could just adopt kids then but when he found out that would not be possible he decided he couldn't be a priest. He recently told me that his family is going to live in Napoleon because he just can NOT live far away from his brothers Joey and Isaiah. And that his family is going to come to my house every Sunday for dinner because he wants his kids to be with their Grandma. He also asked if I could give him a key to my house like my mom gave me one. His mind never shuts off.

Noah has a huge heart and love for kids. For as much as he has to help me with his 2little brothers he doesn't complain a whole lot. And what amazes me the most is that nearly everyday he asks me to "get" another baby.

Just a few pictures throughout the years.

SAVING VIKA

Who is Vika?? She is an adorable little girl who was recently transferred out of a baby house into an institution. She is only 4 years old. She does not have Down syndrome but cerebral palsy which appears to only affect her lower legs. While we were visiting Isaiah in the orphanage we were always on the lookout for other kiddos who were listed on Reece's Rainbow. I was SO excited to see her being pushed in a stroller outside one day. I was SO nervous to go "talk" to the nanny as we were suppose to basically "mind our own business" but Darrell gave me the push to go...so we did. The nannies were very nice and allowed me to take some pictures. Vika, however, would not offer a smile as she was too busy sucking on a piece of a leaf. She has the most gorgeous eyes. She had casts on both legs due to a surgery which was offered free of charge by an organization from Switzerland.

If Vika is not adopted soon she will remain in this institution for the rest of her short life and most likely not be offered anymore medical care. Please consider helping her so this does not happen. The number one thing that prevents a family from following through with a calling to adopt is money. A few families who've adopted from this orphanage or will soon be are joining forces to try to raise her a full grant. This has happened a few times in the past where a full grant is raised in only a few short weeks and within a few days of that happening a family commits to adopt that child. It is a beautiful, wonderful thing that God is DEFINATELY involved in. We, alone, can not raise a full grant ($25,000) but God has a way of softening hearts and opening eyes to help the least of these. If after reading this you feel called to help in a small way (but HUGE to this child) click HERE and you will be taken to Vika's own blog. That is where you will find a chip-in to donate to help save Vika. It is a very easy process with just a few clicks of the mouse.

If after reading this you do NOT feel called to help save Vika but would like a chance to win a $800 gift card from Best Buy click HERE It will take you to the same blog and same chip in. The same few clicks of the mouse and then comment in the comment section your name and number of chances. This is a great giveaway just in time for some Christmas shopping. $5 for one chance or $25 for 6 chances. Can't beat a deal like that especially if you happen to be the lucky recipient of that great gift card.

No gift is too great or too small. All donations are tax deductible as they will automatically go to Reece's Rainbow and will be given to the family who steps up to commit to Vika.

THEN if you would so happen to feel called to link this blog or Vika's blog to your Facebook or email to family/friends that would be another AMAZING gift you would be giving. Please help spread the word. The families joining forces only know so many people but those people know people and so on.

Here is a picture we got when we saw her in July, 2010.

Your act of kindness will not go unnoticed.

Please consider donating so Vika can be the little girl running to her new parents like in this video and NOT the little girl at the end of the video.

Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

Amazing young man....Day 24.

His message could NOT be any closer to the truth to what happens everyday...everywhere...and it is THE biggest reason why we wish we could protect our 2 little boys from the cruelty of people with no compassion for those who are less-abled. I know the video is quite long but it is so worth it...at least I think it is ;) You might learn something.

I failed my 1st challenge :(

BUT...I made a goal to do at least 21 out of 31 days and IF I do one every day for the rest of the month I will only have failed by ONE. I will try my best even if the posts aren't directly related to information about Ds.

We have a BIG milestone happening for Isaiah. Two frustrating issues with him were his lack of doing anything with his hands except chewing/sucking on them and his lack of patience while eating. He is slowly but surely coming around with doing more with his hands and will hold toys now and actually look at them and put them in his mouth and even attempt to push buttons to get music to play. He has a long way to go to catch up to age appropriate but he will get there...on his own time.

A couple days ago I did something I've never done before with any of my kids except for birthday cake. I confess...I don't like big icky/sticky messes all over kids or highchairs or floors but I sucked it up and went for it in hopes of Isaiah trying to pick up pieces of food to finger-feed himself.

Yogurt...to start off with even just licking or mushing his hand to his mouth to taste food. He had NO desire to even try until I got it started and even then it took me to force his hand into the yogurt and to his mouth. And then I added puff cereal snacks to the mix and he was able to grab them with his fist and work them into his mouth.
Today I gave him chunks of bananas and prunes (he still has a major constipation problem going on) and he was much more willing and successful at it. He was even able to grab the puff cereal much easier and had more success getting them into his mouth. He EVEN attempted to chew everything which is HUGE for him. He has no idea what the concept of "chewing" means and EVERYTHING goes straight down...big chuncks and all. Very seldom will he choke/gag. I've never seen anything like it.