Family Photos

Kids

Brothers

First time for these two dressed the same.  They loved it.  There is nothing cuter than Luk saying "my brudder". 

They are so sweet together.  Both such gentle boys. Kai even helps with Luk. Holds his hand to help steady him.  Gets him things so he doesn't have to walk as far.  Let's Luk have first turn or try.  When Kai wants to find Luk he hollars  out LUUU.

Kai didn't want to take his shirt off at bedtime.  :)

Meeting Kai

We invited our fcc friends to come meet Kai today.  Short notice and on a Sat.  Most of our little gang was able to come.  Kai did great.  He came to meet each family.  He smiled and enjoyed opening some presents.  Mostly he took off with the kids to play.  I thought he might stick close to me but we were thrilled that he followed the kids instead.  He loved the big snack layed out ;) 

We also got to welcome a new family adopting a little girl in a few weeks. Exciting for all of us to watch.  She's from Fei's SWI. 

As usual, I didn't think to take many photos. We didn't have enough time and it was over too soon. Dawn-Marie, Al and Rosa brought a flowering tree/bush that will bloom for Kai's forever family day each year.  Aww, so sweet.

We had Mom over in the morning to help with a family photo.  Never an easy task.  Jia isn't cooperative at the best of times. The boys are not interested in smiling on comand. Lili was whiney because she woke up with a sore throat.  We took 91 pictures.  I haven't gone through them yet.  Fingers crossed there is one decent one in the bunch.  Kai LOVED having a matching shirt with Luk and Jia.

These two played Lego for a solid two hours. Jia was thrilled.

Kai asked for a turn!

Catherine brought a big bag of new togs. Kai loved opening all the packages.  We squirreled it all away in his dresser right away.

A wind sock from Sherri and Mei Li.

Lili as a Jitterbug

Lili was in a theater song/dance tonight with Chalkboard at Music Festival.  She was sooo cute.  Fei and I went with Gramma and Grampa.  We had a great time.  Some really great performances.  Fun to see so many kids we know in their different dances. I had to BEG Lili to let me post this picture.  Killed me to not be allowed to take a stage picture. Music Festival rules.

Really upsetting to come home to hear that Kai cried from the moment I left until he fell asleep.  Poor little man.  He had such a great day.  Mommy fail.  Now wondering if I should crawl in bed with him to let him know Mama is home or let him sleep and hope for the best on him sleeping through the night.  Plus he wouldn't eat anything except a banana.  Sigh. 

I'm planning to stay home all day tomorrow. 

Kai's Jade is on!

Big moment.  Ow, owie, ow, yowser owie.  Eric did it for me.  Kai totally got what was happening!  His was a distinct brown and cream but since it's been on it's changed to orange.  Looks a bit pink next to Jia's red. Is there any better way to belong than to have your jade on your Mama?! 

Kai updates.

Lots of questions.

He does play with toys but not necessarily they way they are intended.  Mostly just packs them around.  True joy comes from moving furniture, slamming doors, playing with door knobs, opening and closing drawers, cupboards, garbage can and laundry hampers.  He doesn't 'get' silly but he's learning.  He sing songs most of what he says.  You can sort of tell what he is saying but he isn't properly pronouncing any words.

We took him off milk and his skin cleared up right away.  He thinks the vitamin D drops are poison.  He was avoiding stuffed animals but tonight he was all about the monkey he brought here.  Funny he would have a monkey when Luk is all about monkeys and they are the room theme. Also Kai brought a blanket with airplanes on it that is identical to Luk's blankie except his has monkeys on it.  Weird how that worked out.

Tonight we decorated cookies for snack and Kai was excited about that.  Luk actually made an effort and walked to the kitchen to decorate his cookie.

Kai is giving hugs and allowing us to kiss him.  He loves to hold hands and he is eager to sit on our laps.  He adores Fei.  He happily says goodbye to me now.  When I get home he gets so excited he does a funny little dance and squeals "HI Mama" and then he tries to tell everyone I'm home.  So cute.

All in all it's continuing to go well.  We're having a few friends over tomorrow to meet and celebrate Kai. Hopefully he has some fun.  We all went downstairs tonight to clean the toy room and Kai was thrilled to help clean.  Love it.

Almost a smile for a camera.

Luk is mostly imobile. He's in better spirits though.

Kai actually looking at the tv. Wearing the slippers from China that arrived in a package for him today.  He was thrilled.

Such serious business.

Luk Got Broken

For real. He rolled off the couch in the playroom onto four layers of carpet and still managed to break his collarbone!  Right at bedtime last night.  It was so hard to imagine but he was awfully dramatic so we decided he should go to the emergency. Of course they don't 'do' anything for a fractured clavicle bone so he was sent home with a sling.  He's taking Tylenol.  He can't move his right arm at all without screaming. 

The timing totally sucks. Not that any time is ever great. Kai is a big walking toddler.  He requires a lot of hands on help.  Not potty trained, no self care skills and can't really feed himself.  Now Luk is in the same boat.  Our hands are super full now.  Reading online and it looks like 3 months for the bone to heal.

Poor wee boy.  He really is delicate.

Esmei

Esmei 7mo. Fei just texted me the photo.

Jia's Ramblings

Miss Jia is telling me that Lili and Fei are both 13, the boys are both 4, Dad and I are not the same but almost (E will be 50 in July) and she is the only one that is six so she doesn't have a match. She'd like a six year old sister named Isabel. Cute. I've told her our Isabel IS 6 just like her already, so she does have a match. Let's hope the dog sister is enough ;)

A Wee Walk

We made it out today.  We didn't get past the dog park.  Everyone was cold.  It was a nice change of pace though.

Catching Up

What a whirlwind life.  We need to slow down a bit.  Eric and I ran errands with the boys yesterday. I'm hoping we bought enough groceries to last the weekend.  Not planning to leave the house except for a walk later if the weather holds.

Kai continues to do amazingly great.  Kids are amazing and just so incredibly resilient.  For the first two days he was all about Eric but that has switched and I'm the new go to.  He is such a sweet boy and a little gentleman.  He holds the gate for me :)  He is following me and trying to help with everything I do. My plan right now is to plant myself in the family room as much as possible so he isn't covering a million miles behind me all over the place.  We've absorbed his things into the house and he seems pleased with each place that is found.  Trying to make him feel a part of each room. His clothes are sorted in the dining room, planning to put them in his dresser today.  Just need to harass Eric to bring it upstairs. He's been a little busy.

When we got in Walmart yesterday Kai was jumping and squealing in his very high pitched voice.  Apparently he likes shopping. Or being around that much food.  He had a riot in there loading the cart and putting it on the conveyor at the end.  Even more fun still at home helping put it away.

This morning Kai and I cleaned Jia and Luk's desks and crafting drawers.  One full black garbage bag of papers and bits left. Then we set up drawers for each kid. So we have a clean slate.  We are short a desk but they haven't noticed yet. I'm glad Jia was still sleeping because she hates to see anything go in the garbage. 

If anyone has questions about Kai, ask away.  shelnel@blforest.com

The homestudy for Kai has been swift.  We still have to finish with our social worker but I think all of the paperwork gathering is done. Truly amazing what you can get done in a time crunch.

For now we're trying to be gentle on ourselves.  Everyone is bathed. We're managing meals.  Dishes and laundry are a constant.  A family of seven generates a LOT of both.

Speaking of baths.  Kai hates being wet.  He rejects getting his hands and face wiped.  I've offered to let him help me with dishes but even though he's right beside me he won't make the plunge. He was scratching at his neck so Eric told him he was having a bath.  He screamed his head off through the whole thing but didn't fight him.  Eric held him and I quickly washed him.  He was quiet the moment he was lifted out.  I've read about kids being dunked in cold water and super quick washes.  Would be nice if we knew what he was used to. He survived it and was even pleased to let Eric brush his hair after.  It's going to long haul getting this kid in water willingly.  Fei and Luk also came to us with HUGE water aversion and they're both water babies now.  Kai will have no choice in this family ;) Luk had a bath this morning and Kai was right there watching. I asked him if he wanted a bath and he left the room pretty quickly!

Sleep.  Kai needs someone with him to go to sleep.  Alone he just lays there staring at the ceiling and then gets up.  If we sit or lay with him he is asleep in two minutes.  First three nights he was up at 4am,  then 5am and today he slept until 7am. Fingers crossed for a continued 7am wake up call.

The big kids are doing OK.   Lili is a bit dismayed that Kai won't stop going in her room.  Too funny.  She says she has the other two trained.  Lili also said the Eric and I are dropping the ball because we forgot about her dance class on Wed. night.  Too funny. She made it on time.  I leaped out of the tub and drove her in a nightie with soaking hair.

Jia is missing Luk a bit.  Kai can keep up with her and they play more involved games but she is getting tired. The never ending play date. Today she closed the door to the living room and announced that she needs alone time.  I've never heard her say those words before. Luk is melting more than usual and also trying to find some quiet time.  He's used to playing alone a lot.

Food. Kai is an eater.  He delves in and gorges but then is done with a reasonable amount.  When we first saw him eating we thought he might have some more issues.  Hoarding, stealing etc. Thankfully he isn't trying to control food. He is just learning how to use a spoon.  He holds it sideways and tries to tip it into his mouth.  He is always grateful when we take a minute to help him get it in.  He is chubby and his hair is coarse. Better nutrition will help that and hopefully he'll continue to slim down with more activity.  I have to say though, after our four skinny kids Kai is refreshing.

You can see in the one photo that he has lined up the water bottles.  He moves Luk and Jia's water constantly to the same spot.  Too funny.

Lili won an award.

Lili won an award at music festival and she has been invited to play one of her songs at the Music Fesitval High Lites Gala!  She'll be playing on a very expensive grand piano for a mere 700 people.  Nothing to be nervous about at all. We're so proud of her. 

Introducing our son Kai

Introducing our son

Gao Liang Liang

From Nantong Social Welfare Institute

Nantong City, Jiangsu Province

People's Republic of China

Born Sept 3/2011

He is four, 20 days older than Luk

His new name is

Kai Bo Liang Nelson

Placed in our care Feb 15/2016

We are so excited.  Such a welcome sudden surprise for our family!

Special thanks to Sunrise for placing our fifth child with us.  We are eternally grateful.

Saturday, the day we met. Feb 13/16.

Monday, home with us!

Two Teenagers in the house!

Fei turned 13 on Monday!  We celebrated mostly on Sunday.  Knowing the big events of Monday would over shadow her day.  We took her to a mall where she got a manicure and then a little shopping.  Where she got to pick her own stuff.  Times change.  I can no longer pick her clothing out.  Then we went to the Spaghetti Factory, a family favorite.  The owner adores our kids and has watched each of them join our family.  We told him we were  celebrating a couple events and he surprised us by comping our meal.  So nice.  Also funny, it was valentine's day so we took a really early reservation and ended up sitting beside two families from our little fcc group.  So that was pretty funny.  Small, small world.

On Monday the kids all stayed home from school.  Fei picked supreme nachos for dinner.  She made her own cake and Gramma and Grampa came over in the evening for dessert and presents.