10 1/2 weeks home

The boys have been with us for 10 1/2 weeks... crazy~ Time flies! Things have been going really well. We do know that they are feeling more comfortable since they are pushing their limits with us quite often now. They are also going through a phase of boycotting all their main staples during meals... yogurt, apple sauce, Pb and J, grilled cheese, fruit, graham crackers, go gerts... yup- we can't rely on them like we used to.

Griffin...
Fin is working with a speech therapist to improve his articulation. It's been going really well and he does talk quite a bit, it's just hard to understand him. In fact, "sit down" sounds like "shut up." Not good for when he goes to "school." ha! He says a lot of words unprompted and repeats most everything we say now, just in his own little way. Maks still takes the cake for chatter box though. Fin is also working with a therapist to imprive his eating. He doesn't use the back of his mouth to chew and tends to store a lot in his cheeks...an easy task, considering how big they are. ;-). We went and had his ears and hearing checked... he needs a tube in one ear and has a hole in the other, so working on improving all of that. His adnoids are quite enlarged and could be causing some of the issues as well. They are also causing him to breath quite heavily and could be disrupting his sleep. The adnoids are being taken out, alnog with the tube being put in his ear at the end of the month. That can't come soon enough, with the hopes of seeing improvement! Along with all of this... Fin is working on his potty training. whew- spending quite a bit of time in the small closed-in bathroom is not fun. We've been busy, if you can call it "busy"! Personality wise- Fin is a total bruiser! Just loves rough play!

Maksim...
Maks is doing really well with his English. He has a very large vocabulary list now and really does try to say everything we are saying. Some of the funny ones: shoot, I fell over, woops, be right back, etc. We just get a kick out of his tone with it too! Maks likes a lot of attention, of course. When the speech therapist comes to work with Fin, it's funny to watch Maks try to get some of the attention. Maks has had some trouble with his ears and breathing as well. He'll have his adnoids taken out the same day that Fin does, with the hopes of improving his breathing, better sleep, fewer colds and illnesses, and all around feeling better. We are still working on the rash/ dry skin on his face, that tends to come and go. Maks is the more gentle one of the two... he tends to cry more often and doesn't like it when the playing gets rough. On the other hand, he is Mr. Smiley.

Each month we are required to submit "post-placement" reports to our agency. It's a form you need to fill out, answering questions on how the boys are coming along and how they are adjusting. We also are required to submit candid pictures of them. For some reason, Fin always has some kind of ding on his face, so that must look wonderful from their end. ha. At the 6 month, 1 year, 2 year and 3 year marks, we are required to have our social worker come back to the house to visit and assess their adjustment. Crazy to think that our 6 month mark with the boys being home is approaching soon and we've already scheduled the day she'll be coming here.

All in all, we are doing great!