Last week was a very busy week and I have lots to report!
On Tuesday Scott and I drove two hours each way to Nashua, NH after work to purchase our future daughter's bedroom set. We found a beautiful set slightly used on Craigslist and went to see it. It was perfect!! It is cherry and consists of a crib and a combination dresser/changing table. We were very excited to get such a nice set at such a low cost. This weekend we cleaned out the spare room that consisted of my "stuff" such as photos and craft items. We put the set in there along with the bed that has always been in there for our guests. It felt so good to start preparing the house for our second baby! Speaking of Sarah Kate, the birthmother is 30 weeks pregnant today and only has 10 weeks left to go! We talk with her monthly and things are going very well. Of course I have to add my standard disclaimer that we have to be "Cautiously optimistic" as she can change her mind up to 2 days following the birth. The plan is that she will call us when she goes into labor and we will then fly to Florida as soon as possible. We will have to be in Florida for a week so we decided that we had to bring Nicholas too as we would miss him far too much and a week is too long for him and us. Therefore we also decided if we were going to be managing a three year old and a newborn we have better bring some skilled help. So...Scott's parents are also coming with us...YEAH!!
Then on Thursday Scott and I had a team meeting on Nicholas at the public preschool. They had tested him in December in the areas of speech, gross motor skills, and preacademics. In speech he has come so far!! He is still behind but only slightly in terms of word usage. His articulation still needs some work as his speech isn't clear when he is forming sentences. His gross motor skills are also behind but also not at a significant level. He needs to work on improving his jumping, running, and balancing abilities. Nicholas' delays are developmental meaning they are simply a result of his time spent in the baby home in Russia. He obviously wasn't exposed to English for the first 20 months of his life and he really didn't have much opportunity to move, climb, and walk. The team agrees that he will probably be all caught up by the summer! We did decide to enroll him in the public preschool starting March 3rd. He will go two mornings a week for two and a half hours per day. The speech therapist will work with him as well as a physical therapist too. Nicholas will benefit the most from the social component and having language modeled to him by his peers. (By the way, they stopped testing him in the preadacademics when he reached the level of a 4 and a 1/2 year old because he was getting tired...what a little smartie!) He loves the Early Intervention play group he goes to once a week and I'm sure he will simply love preschool too. I'll let you know...
On Friday we finally had our appointment with a Ears/Nose/Throat specialist. It was confirmed that Nicholas has HUGE tonsils and adenoids. His tonsils are a 4 on a scale of 1 to 4 and are nicknamed "kissing tonsils" because they actually touch. His adenoids are also too big. The doctor said that this is the reason he is always congested and has a runny nose. Apparently the fluid can only come out as it can't fit up through the adenoids. It is highly recommended that we have both removed. We decided to go forth with the surgery and on Wednesday, February 17th, Nicholas will have it done. Due to his age he will have to be in the hospital for 24 hours. Apparently older children and adults can have it done in day surgery. I scheduled it during my February vacation from work so I could be home for a handful of days after it was over. Of course I am a little nervous for him to have it done, but I just know that it will make all the difference to him. He doesn't know what life is like without having his nose blown constantly! My poor baby :-)
Lastly, on Saturday, we got together with three other couples and celebrated Russian Christmas! Christmas in Russia is celebrated on January 7th as they follow a different calendar. We had a great time. We went to one of the couple's home in Rhode Island to celebrate. We had a wonderful meal with some authentic Russian food, the children played together, and we shared a lot of laughs. Here is a cute photo of all the kids. Nicholas is on the left, then Ella who is 4, Dennis who is 3 1/2, twins Joey and William who will be 3 in March, and Ella's brother Hunter who is not Russian :-) We are going to make this an annual event and I'm sure it will be especially nice as the kids get older.
I told you it was a full week, oh my!! I'm going to close the post tonight with some really cute pictures of Nicholas in the tub. What a little cutie pie!!
No comments:
Post a Comment