October 29

Yeah!!! We just finished our 3rd postplacement for Justin. Now we just have 1 more left to go. Justin is growing up so fast. He has changed a lot this year. He learned how to make the clucking sounds in August. He loves to play his guitar and sing at the top of his lungs. I will post a clip of him doing it. He just got 2 teeth pulled this month. (Over the summer he fell really had and hit his teeth. This month they had gotten so senstive that it hurt him to eat and drink.) Justin is also going to speech thearpy 2 times a week now. He is making lots of progress, yet he has a long ways to go. He loves his preschool class and riding the bus. Things Justin doesn't like, well, just mention soup for supper and nap time. He does not like to wait for anything. His favorite phrase " wait all day?". Just a few minutes seems like all day to him. I know that pictures speak louder than words, so enjoy.

May 2010

So much time has flown by since I have last updated and this time a I have a couple of pictures to post. Justin does not like his pictures taken, so it is hard to get good ones of him. Justin started preschool a few weeks ago. He is an IED student. So he gets speech therapy and OT therapy at school. I also have him in private speech and ot therapy. He is struggling a lot with speech. I can understand about 50% of what he says, strangers can understand about 10%. I am just happy that he is trying to learn. The first year he refused to try. As a dear friend told me, that was his silent year. Which is common in some adopted children. He is doing very well in school. Whatever they do, the wear him out. He comes home hungry and exhausted. I haven't figured out how an easy way to make it through the day. He is use to getting a nap in the afternoon, but now he is at school during that time.
Okay, the pictures I am about to post are of his first day of school. He is waiting for the bus to come and pick him up. The hair cut, well that is due to grandpa Akers. That is what we get for leaving him alone with grandpa! Don't worry the hair cut only lasted 2 weeks.

8 months already!!

So many things have been going on here at home, that I have not had the chance to update. We are in the process of trying to sell our home still, and we are suppose to move to Ohio early next month. So many changes are in store for Justin, sure hope they don't set him back far.

Justin is doing well. We have our really bad days and then some really good days. I have never had such a strong willed child, so this is a learning experience for me. He understands english VERY well. His is saying more words, but not nearly as much as he should. He is very funny that way, he just refuses to speak English at times. He loves to point to his mouth for a drink, although I don't give him one. I usually say, " wow you have a tongue and some teeth in there." He can say drink, juice and water (if you listen closely). He says, NO, Yeah, Mom, Dad, Joel, no way, why, eat, bye bye, hi Julie, Mandy (whenever we catch him saying that, he goes back to saying Mimme)for Melissa he still says Meme. We did catch him saying Hello once.

He seems to test me a lot, but through some counseling I am learning on how to handle it. The biggest help I have been told was to remain calm at all times. When I raise my voice and Justin hears anger it just makes him want to keep doing bad things. He doesn't like it when I remain calm. Funny how that works, it is not at all like that with the other 3.

I still have not gotten a card reader for my computer, so I don't have new pictures to post.

Till next time

Long Time

I had no idea it had been so long since I posted. Sorry. So much has happened and is still going on in our lives.

For starters:
we completed our 1st post-placement home study,
we put our house on the market,
we finally got our kitchen finished (took over 2 years to remodel),
and the deck is fixed.

Justin's update:

We will celebrate 5 months with Justin this weekend!!
He understands English very well,
he is still behind on speaking English (about 10 words),
he gives hugs to brother, sisters, and Mom and Dad
he is very shy around strangers in public (except church),
he has become a very slow eater (talks and plays around),
his food intake has gone down a lot (he knows there is lots of food),
he still does not like ice cream or anything frozen (he had enough of that in Siberia),
he is a very good sleeper at night,
he lays down well for naps (doesn't mean he always falls asleep)
he is still does not care for the pool (it takes 20 minutes to get him to stand in the kiddie pool on his own), and he can't stand to get his face wet.
He loves to sit in Mom's lap to pray and any other time he feels like it (2 min max),
he loves to go for bike rides (he sits in the bike trailer).
He loves to wear his flip flops (Has a hard time keeping them on though),
He likes to jump on the trampoline (he doesn't like taking turns),
he consistently puts his clothes on backwards, and
he does have a temper and thrives on consistency

Speaking of consistency, Justin usually goes with me to pick Mandy up from school. I had forgotten Geoff was going to pick her up, and I showed up at the school to get her. Geoff had beat me there, and Justin was very unhappy when we left the school without Mandy. He kept saying Mandy (actually "Mim") and cried all the way home. Whenever I go by Geoff's work and he is not there, Justin gets upset.

I have lots of pictures to share, but my smart card is not working. I have to wait to use Geoff's computer. Till then..