Swimming

This is where we spend at least part of almost everyday - the pool. I told Maicol today I thought maybe they gave me fish in Colombia instead of boys! For children who said they had never been swimming, they have been fearless and learned very quickly. Maicol can swim the width of the pool and back. Juan jumped in and made it across once before getting tired. Andrew doesn't make it very far, but has no qualms about putting his head in the water and swimming. He loves to jump off the side - over and over and over again. They also like to go to the beach and play in the sand. It's not great sand - a manmade beach, but they really enjoy it.

We are off to Grandma's for a couple of days tomorrow. The boy cousins are coming too, so it should be a good time. We are hoping to go fishing. They have talked about this for many months. They have never been fishing before, but evidently it is a much desired activity. Not sure how they'll feel about squishing a worm on the hook and taking a fish off the hook, but we at least have to go once and give it a try. We'll go where there is a playground also, so if the fishing doesn't go well, at least we have the park to play in.

The days continue to fly. We are coming up on our 10 month anniversary with the boys. Hard to believe it has almost been a year already. This time last year we had no idea they existed. We had sent in our dossier a month before and were anxiously awaiting our assignment. What a difference a year makes!

Have a great rest of the weekend.
Karen


Juan and Andrew
Maicol
Maicol
Andrew
Juan
Juan
Juan - taken by Maicol I think.

Our Life

Ah, what to write about? Seems like we live such a boring life - no exotic vacations, winning the lottery, etc. Let's just give you the update on everyone.

Maicol - He has almost finished his first grade math book. He has also almost finished his first reading book. He is a smart little boy, but doesn't really care for doing schoolwork. He can swim the width of the pool and back, so now he is about ready to jump off the diving board without a life jacket. He's also about to break the 50 lbs. mark. I don't know how, cause he doesn't eat much - must be muscle from all the playing. Got his second round of immunizations without a tear - not thrilled with the 4 shots, but managed to get through it.

Juan - He now knows over half of the alphabet, the sounds the letters make and can write them. Schoolwork does not always come easy for him, so this is an accomplishment. His speech also continues to improve. He can make all the letter sounds, he was just too lazy to do it before. He loves going swimming and playing outside. Juan is a great strawberry picker. He likes to do it and is very good and discerning which ones should be picked and which should wait another day. Got his next 2 immunizations, but since he knew what was coming I had to drag him out of the corner and hold him on my lap.

Andrew - What can I say about him? He is as adorable as can be - and then drives you crazy the next minute. This morning he started out great - ate breakfast, played and then it went downhill. Juan injured him and he was crying, so I sat him on my lap and rocked him. Of course, he had no diaper on and in the midst of crying he peed on both of us. I changed both of us and in about an hour he's back in the kitchen with no clothes on. I sent him to get some and he came back with a shirt on backwards and wrong side out, but nothing on the bottom half. So after one more trip to his bedroom he now has pants on too. Didn't want to eat lunch or drink from the sippy cup. I've clean up enough messes of his to know I want him to still have the sippy cup.. He has great difficulty leaving the other boys alone while they do their schoolwork. I have tried giving him something to do with limited success. He is speaking in full sentences (and we understand most of it). He's just always into something - pouring out the laundry detergent on the floor, smearing antibiotic ointment all over himself after a bath, pouring out the shampoo into the tub, etc.

Dan - Took the toilet up and cleaned out the things Andrew had put down it - Bethany's razor, ping pong ball, cardboard, bobby pins and who knows what else. A very unpleasant job, but he did it and didn't complain too much. He is a great support - he always backs me up with the boys. They are still working on respecting me and listening and he has been great in reinforcing that. Splitting wood for the winter and working on the days I'm off.

Me - Still going to bed tired with aching feet every night. Well, I think on the days I work I don't go to bed as tired. Always wishing I could get more done in a day, but I know the reality of what is most important to accomplish and clean floors isn't it. :) Bethany has been a great help to us since she's been home. She cooks and cleans up and does some babysitting. I know the noise drives her crazy, but she has been wonderful.

But as they say on Jon and Kate Plus Eight - it's our life and we love it!

Karen

Starwberries, Pools and Progress?

No pictures since the charger for the camera battery seems to have disappeared. If it doesn't turn up soon I'm going to have to break down and buy another charger.

It seems that maybe summer is here. We have been to the pool twice so far and everyone has had a wonderful time. The strawberries are ripening and it is quite an adventure to take all of them out to pick strawberries. I usually end up giving Andrew a couple to eat so he will let the rest of us get the work done. He will pick anything, as he is not very discerning about what is ripe and what is not. Juan and Maicol are very good helpers tho. They have been very excited to see the strawberries grow and finally get to eat some.

We have had rain and more rain the last couple of days. Over the weekend we made a simple sandbox. We put a tarp over it to keep the cats out and with the rain we now have a little "pool" consisting of the tarp filled with water in the sandbox. Juan and Andrew had a lot of fun yesterday playing in it. They would stand on the corner seat and jump all of about 4 inches into the water. They put their hands up as if they are diving. They even insisted on goggles. They came in soaking wet, but at least they kept their clothes on. Evidently Andrew didn't the other day and Juan wanted to take his pants off to get in the "pool" yesterday, but I quickly nixed that idea.

Funny Andrew stories - 1)we were out walking and saw a police car chasing someone. Maicol was very interested in what was going on. I explained that it was probably someone who had done something wrong and didn't want to be caught by the police (because they are bad they will go to jail - according to Maicol). Anyway, as Andrew is listening to this in his own version of things he tells me that it is a bad guy and the police will stop him and say "go to bed". Can you tell what happens to Andrew many times when he misbehaves? Don't criminals wish all they were told was "go to bed"! 2) I came out of the shower yesterday and he was sitting on the kitchen floor with a container of parmesan cheese. Actually the container was pretty much emptied - all over him and the floor. Not that funny at the time, but in retrospect it is. Honestly, we feed the boy - he just seems to be at the stage where he wants to "get into" things.

On the other hand Juan has spent very little time on his bed lately. He has been doing his schoolwork without hardly any complaining. He has been listening much better to Mami. He has changed in that if he is corrected it seems to hurt his feelings. Before he just got mad, now it really seems to matter to him that he does the right thing. He was very proud that he shared part of his dinner with Andrew last night without being prompted. Maicol has had a hard time lately. He had been becoming increasingly rude and mean to me and to Bethany also. It finally was enough to really punish him about 3 days ago. After he got done crying I sat with him in the rocking chair (he was very reluctant) and talked to him. Since some of this seemed to start around Mother's Day I asked him some questions about his "other" mother. Initially he refused to say much, but finally did talk a little. He has said very little about his biological family and his life before they came to us. His only real question for me was "Where is she?". I answered as honestly as I could since we don't know for sure. Dan and I repeated again how much we love he and his brothers, we are so glad to have them in our family, they are here forever, etc. In the end he seemed to be reassured and went off to bed happy. He has been much happier since then. Wish I knew for sure what was going on in that little head of his. He's a smart little boy and I know there have to be alot of things going on up there.

Not much else to tell. Life flies by for us just as it does for everyone else.

Karen

Two Steps Forward, One Step Backward

Soccer is over and the swimming season has begun. That is if it would get warm enough for the swimming season to start. Maicol insisted that it was warm enough to go to (and we couldn't tell him any different of course), so we took them swimming. It was about 73 here today I think and pretty breezy. They were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. Juan even insisted on starting his schoolwork early so he could get done and go swimming. (No, we didn't let them have the holiday off). They didn't swim long once they got there. Maicol complained that he was cold and was not happy that I was right about the temperature. He really, really likes to be right, win, be first, etc. Juan and Andrew lasted a little longer, but gave it up in less than 30 minutes I would guess.

We did some work around the house and in the garage. I ended up playing hide and seek in the house with them before bedtime since it was rainy out. Andrew hid in our closet and it probably took me 10 minutes to find him. He was quiet as a mouse and hidden very well. He was quite proud of himself. Of course, he continued to hide in the same place each time, so it got pretty easy to figure out where he was.

We met with our small group last night. The house we went to has a swim spa so the kids were very excited about that. They talked about it all day. Only problem is they had a terrible time listening and obeying. We finally told Maicol and Juan they could not go swimming after they were very rude and disobedient to me. It almost killed them. I got "you're not my mother" and "you don't love us" from Maicol. That took a little talking and holding, but I think we got through it ok. He apologized to me before he went to bed and admitted he didn't really mean what he said. We did talk to him about thinking before he says things like that, how much it hurts us, and in particular telling Juan that I don't love him. Juan asked me if I loved him, and seemed satisfied with my answers and explanation for why Maicol would say that. Andrew got to swim, so that probably made it even worse. They took awhile to get over it, but ended up having a very good time in the end. They got to play tag, pull each other in a wagon and ride a horse. A very good ending to the day, but it seems that it is always a few steps forward and then one back again.

We ended dinner today with watermelon. I put them outside to eat it. Nothing is quite as good as sitting on the porch, eating watermelon and spitting the seeds. :) Andrew couldn't figure out the seed thing, so he just spit pieces of watermelon. They are just hilarious sometimes!

I have one more day off and then it's back to the grind. These 4 days off have been great, but I think I need the rest I get by going to work!

Karen



After he scored a goal!

Juan

Juan and his "castle".

Big sisters are good for teaching pillow fighting.

Life goes on

Nothing new and exciting to report, but I feel like I should write something at least once a week. We have had two really good days of school this week. Maicol and Juan both did their work without complaining, whining, goofing off, etc. I finally asked them if they were sick since they were being so good! Andrew is interested in "school" too, so I have been working on colors and a letter or number with him. He thinks he is very important. Part of the improvement is that I actually worked with only one at a time. It takes twice as long, but they don't fuss nearly as much. I guess they really, really want my undivided attention. I can't even look at the computer or paper while I sit with Maicol. Even if he's doing something that does not require my help in any way he really just wants me to sit there and do nothing else. I'm a multi-tasker, so I really hate to sit there doing nothing.

The weather has been decent enough to get outside some. We jumped on the trampoline, had sword fights, played soccer and rode bikes yesterday afternoon while Dan was off working. Bethany was home and made dinner for us, which is really, really nice. It is so nice having her here and since she likes to cook, that makes it even better. She has even learned to clean up the mess afterwards. Yeah!

The days just continue to fly by. Maicol has been "better" lately. I have been on him a great deal lately it seems for being disrespectful to me. I have spent some time talking to him about it, correcting him every time he speaks rudely to me, trying to spend more time with him after the other boys are in bed and trying to spend more time playing with him. Maybe that has helped, maybe time has helped - I don't know. But he has been telling me frequently in the past few days that he loves me. He has been more cooperative. I think in some ways he just seems happier. Or maybe he's just being nice because he knows his birthday is in about 6 weeks. :)

Andrew is having his terrible two's I think. He really likes to say "NO" very loudly and frequently. He has decided to just fall to the floor if he doesn't get what he wants. I generally just go on about my business and let him decide he's tired of lying on the floor. Juan is having a little of that too. He threw a fit when we were on the trampoline yesterday. Laid down and just screamed. We just kept on jumping and ignored him. He finally got tired of it. Maicol was concerned because Juan told him his stomach was bothering him. I told him all that screaming is the problem and sure enough in a few minutes he felt well enough to play soccer with us. I sure hope they get tired of this temper tantrum stuff soon. At least it's warm and I can either go outside or inside to get away from the noise, although I can usually just ignore it and go on.

Even with those things they are just wonderful kids. They still insist on being rocked before bed. They wants hugs and kisses. What a change from a few months ago when they loved Dan and tolerated me. Now sometimes they even prefer me! Yeah!

I've been lazy about taking pictures lately, so none today. I should have taken a picture yesterday of Andrew riding his "bike". His legs are finally long enough to pedal the little plastic tricycle he has. He was very proud of himself.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Karen

Happenings

What has happened in the last week or so? Well, Bethany is home from school. She has moved a few things into her room, but I think most of it is still in her car. The boys are trying to get used to having her around and she's trying to get used to them. All in all it has gone pretty well. She and Maicol worked together today preparing several packages of strawberries to eat and freeze. Andrew is still a little leary of her, but hopefully he will come around. When I'm home he doesn't want to have much to do with her, but when I'm gone he likes her. I haven't figured that one out yet. They were very interested in her guitar and we impressed with her ability to play.

The weather has been good and bad. Beautiful one day, then cold, windy and rainy the next. We really wish spring would come to stay! There has been a good amount of trampoline jumping and playing hide and seek. We were out on our bikes a little today too.

We having been having fires in the firepit when possible. Hot dogs are so easy to do for dinner. And of course you have to have a few marshmallows too. They are getting better at not "lighting them up". And it's a good way to get kids to pick up sticks in the yard (they are still falling for that one).

I for one am glad Mother's day is over. Not sure what the deal is, but none of the boys were happy yesterday. I'm beginning to think that we need to not celebrate anything for awhile. This day wasn't really about them (like birthday's are), but they were still grouchy, fussy, obstinate. Is it the celebrating or does it have to do with the fact that it's Mother's day? Wish I knew. We really aren't big on celebrations. Just had all the kids here for a home cooked lunch and dinner, so it isn't like we made a huge deal of things. We took naps, played a little and I made Batman type capes for them. They painted the pictures at the end of the blog too. Father's day is coming, so now we need to figure out what to do about it. Do we celebrate it, or try to skip it? Will a day to celebrate Father's be different than Mother's? Any words of wisdom?

Other than that it's the usual. Today was a good day - the boys were so much different (happy, cooperative). We ran a few errands and had Chinese for lunch before coming home to play outside until time to fix dinner. Of course the rain is coming back, but we got in a couple of good days. :)

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Karen

Bethany trying to teach the boys a little guitar.

(Maicol) Where Dan and I want to be?

(Andrew) The Sun (I think)

(Juan) Mama and Papa and a rainbow.

Then and Now

I've been thinking about the progress the boys have made since we met them last August. I just thought I'd give you a few "then and nows".

Then: Maicol's English was limited to "Mother" and "Father".
Now: Maicol rarely speaks any Spanish.

Then: Even Colombians had difficulty understanding Juan Pablo because of his speech problems.
Now: Juan has learned to say many of the sounds he did not say before and is progressing nicely in his English.

Then: Andrew spoke only a few words of Spanish and mostly communicated by pointing.
Now: Andrew understands most of what we say and talks up a storm (in English).

Then: Maicol was his brother's caretaker; told him what to do and not to do and how to act.
Now: Maicol has pretty much turned over the job of parenting Juan to us.

Then: Juan Pablo was extremely jealous of and often hateful to his little brother.
Now: Juan loves Andrew and is often proud of what a "good brother" he is to Andrew.

Then: Andrew was more potty trained, often more obedient and quieter.
Now: Andrew is more charming, loving, energetic, and fun to be around.

Then:

Now:



And we wouldn't have it any other way!
Good evening,
Dan