Happy Baby....

Slava and Will

3 weeks home!

Yesterday was 3 weeks since we brought sweet William home... at times it still feels so new yet it's hard to imagine what life was like without him. We had to take him for a couple more tests yesterday but we should be finished now, at least for a couple months. All the tests, so far, have come back normal and we are so thankful for that. We have a meeting on Tuesday with an Early Intervention specialist, recommended to us by our pediatrician, to assess whether or not he qualifies for any therapy. A child must exhibit a 30% delay to qualify for the program. While he has made such progress since he's been home, we want to make sure we are providing him with every opportunity to "catch up" and reach his full potential. Will let you know what comes of that...
Not much planned for this weekend... having some friends over on Sat and then just family time. It has been soooo hot here that I haven't wanted to take the kids outside much. Hopefully, it will cool a bit and we can venture to the park or zoo soon. I haven't gone out much with the baby (one time, to be exact) because he's been sick but I think we are in the clear now.
William turns 10 months old on Saturday... I know time is going to fly and soon enough he will be turning 1! I feel so blessed to have him at such a young age... to watch him grow and develop every day. My heart breaks that we weren't able to bring Slava home until he was 17 months... the thought of him being so tiny and not getting the care he needed makes me a little crazy. However, our soon-to-be 4 year old is doing so well and is the happiest, craziest, sweetest little guy in the world.  Our boys birthdays are only 2 days apart so, needless to say, we will have a lot to celebrate in August!!!

Love my boys!

Some recent pics of our gorgeous boy...

Boy oh Boy!

What a weekend! William had his first real Dr appt this past thurs. He is in the 1st percentile for weight and the 12th for height. He had bloodwork and 3 vaccinations... he was a trooper but pretty pooped by the time we got home and took a nice long nap. Little did we know, that would be the most he would sleep for the next 4 days!! He had a really rough time with the vaccinations... fever, fussiness, no appetite and would not sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. Poor baby... he was so agitated, uncomfortable and tired. After several calls to the Dr and a trip to urgent care this weekend, looks like our sweet boy is starting to feel a little better. Apparently, the effects of the shots can last up to a week - yuck! Anyway, he slept thru the night for the first time last night and is still sleeping. I'm hoping he wakes up nice and hungry this morning... he is so tiny and can not afford to lost another ounce!
Slava, on the other hand, had a great weekend with Dad! Marc made sure Slava had lots of play time with the neighbor kids and he swam for about 2 hours last night... his eyes are still red today!
On a very unrelated note, we received Charlie's ashes this weekend and they are now placed on top of our mantle. It's been so crazy lately that I haven't had time to think about it... or haven't let myself think about it. I still can't believe he's gone... I swear I still hear him walking around the house at night. It's going to take a long time for my heart to heal... he was our first baby. Everytime I look at his ashes, it hurts my heart a little but I do find peace that he is with us now, forever.

Checking in...

I am not exactly where the time goes these days but I blink my eyes and it's time for pajamas and bed time! Things here are going really well... I am actually a little surprised with just HOW well things are! William is wonderful. He is (almost) sleeping through the night - he likes to wake his mama up at about 1am each day to give hugs and snuggles... then back to sleep. He's taking 2 short naps and eating very well. His favs right now are turkey/rice and anything mixed with sweet potatoes. He isn't too keen on the fruits... surprising to me but we are working on it. He has another Dr appt this Thursday for shots, bloodwork, hearing/vision tests, etc. It's going to be a hard day for our little guy but I will feel so much better once we have all the info we need to move forward and make sure he is getting all the care he needs. He is seconds away from crawling and he is doing great walking (when you hold his hands). So proud of how well and quickly he is adjusting to his new life!
We just got back from the Dr for Slava - turns out the first gift his new brother gave him is Strep throat! I'm .not surprised he got it considering Slava is never more than an inch away from Will's face! Slav was up until 4am last night with a 104 fever... yuck. He is on medication now so he should start feeling better soon... just need to keep him away from the baby which will not be an easy task!
Father's Day was great... we attempted to take the boys out to lunch but after waiting an hour for our food, we got it to go and ate at home. We had some great friends over later in the day and just relaxed.
We are all settling into our new routines and new lives... even with sick babies and sleepless nights... LIFE IS SO VERY GOOD :)

Happy fathers day!

All my babies...

Progress

Yesterday was a great day! Will is eating, sleeping and pooping like a champ! He went to sleep at 10:30pm last night (YAY!!!) and is still sleeping now - 8:45am. He was all smiles and giggles yesterday - truly warms my heart to hear him laughing. I have some video that I will post of him at dinner time... he had me belly laughing! Slava is doing great - he went back to preschool yesterday and is there again today... it's summercamp time so he spends his mornings playing sports with his friends. Slava, Will and I alll took a walk to the park yesterday which was great. William loves being outside and Slava loves pushing the stroller. Going to give William a couple more days to make sure he is all better and then start introducing him to my friends. Call me old-fashioned but I believe sick babies need to be protected and stay home... away from other kids, germs, etc. I hear him stirring upstairs so I must run!

Oh sleep... how I miss you...

We have been home for 3 days now and while we've made some strides in the sleep/jet lag dept, we still have a ways to go. William went to sleep at midnight last night and is still sleeping now - 9am. The night before he was up until 2am and the night before that - 4am. So, we are making progress but needless to say, Marc and I are tired. By the grace of God, Slava has decided to start sleeping in a little which has really helped.
Speaking of big brother, Slava, he is doing GREAT and adjusting so well to the baby. He loves him and wants to help with everything. We are trying to teach him "gentle" and "quiet" but he is 4 yrs old... he is learning and we just need to keep a close eye on him. Marc and I are taking turns each day doing something with just us and Slav... whether it's a lunch date, trip to the park or swimming pool, we are making sure he has his alone time with Mom or Dad.
Will is finally starting to feel better - thank god for antibiotics! He is no longer tugging on his ears and his cough has substantially subsided. His teeth are still really bothering him... he's gotten one tooth in the past week and is working on a couple more. He is still super sweet and happy... only cries when he is tired or hungry.
Marc goes back to work tomorrow and Slava has preschool... back to reality! It will be good to get back into a routine but I will miss having Marc around all the time - he is a great partner, in every sense of the word.
Off to have my second cup of coffee and do my 20th load of laundry!!!

Bath time

Settling In...

We made it home! The flights were, surprisingly, EASY! William slept for about 8 of the 11.5 hours. We were a little concerned bc we had requested the bulkhead w/ bassinet but once we were on the plane, they told us they "got rid" of the bassinets we needed. They suggested we just build him a little bed with lots of pillows and blankets on the floor and it was AWESOME... he had space to move around (he is a restless sleeper) and slept like an angel.  We, also, were able to catch up on some much needed sleep and when we landed... we were all feeling well rested.
Now for the not so good news... the night before we left, Will's temperature spiked to 103 degrees and he was coughing terribly. We were able to get his fever down with ibuprofen and gave him benedryl for the cough. It was a long, stressful night... to see your baby in pain is the most helpless, horrible feeling ever. Given all this, we were even more surprised that he did so well on the flight! We took him to our Dr today and he has a double ear infection and strep throat... nothing some good antibiotics can't fix. He was up until 4am last night and now we know why - poor baby!
I am truly amazed by how strong our little guy is... he is teething, sick and was constipated (hadn't pooped for 6 days but today went 3 times!!!) and he is still a joy to be around. You would never know he was sick.. what a trooper he is!

Looking forward to just spending time with the 4 of us this weekend. It feels so incredible to be home... at times a little overwhelming, but so good. There is such a peace in my heart knowing that our family is now complete. After 7 years of up and downs, we have landed exactly where we were meant to be. We persevered and tried to make the best of every situation that was thrown at us. I am so excited for all the future holds with my beautiful boys, amazing husband and the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for. I know my mother is looking down and smiling... she is the one piece missing from this puzzle... but William and Slava have their own, personal angel for the rest of their lives.

another video....

June 5, 2012

At Last.

Sitting in bed right now as William sleeps away in the next room.... the sound of him breathing is heavenly. Yesterday was a whirlwind but could not have been any better or gone any smoother. We met his foster mother  - an incredibly kind and caring woman who clearly loves Yu Chieh. We also met his birth mother. She is a young woman who clearly wants the best for her child... she was very calm and sweet with Will and seemed at peace with the decisions she has made. I did not know how I was going to feel meeting Will's birth mom... as we did not have the opportunity to do so with Slava. However, I am so grateful we were given this gift. We now have pictures that we can share with Will and can tell him that we witnessed, first hand, the love his mother has for him. The staff at New Hope were so incredibly kind and supportive. Truly, we could not have imagined a better experience.
William is doing great. He has a bad cold but is on medication and should be feeling better soon. He went to sleep last night at 9:30 and is still sleeping now at 6:20am. Combined, I think Marc and I have checked on him about 50 times! I can not wait for him to wake up so we can play! We have his visa appt today at 9am and then maybe a little sightseeing later in the day - depending on how he is feeling.
William is so sweet... we are seeing a side of him that never came across in the pictures and videos... he LOVES to talk and laugh and he is super snuggly. He ADORES Marc... does not take his eyes off him.
We leave for home in 2 days and I can not wait for everyone to meet this amazing little man that now owns an enormous piece of our hearts.
PS - we have found it MUCH easier to post pics on facebook but will try to upload some more on the blog!

Introducing William Yu-Chieh Turco!

Sunday - June 3rd (A day late)

Had a nice, relaxing day of sightseeing and shopping. We went to the Jade market, Flower market, Heritage Center and Taipei 101 (Taipei's largest sky scraper). This city is spectacular... the people are warm and welcoming and everything is clean and organized. It's still pretty early here but we are calling it a night... we have a long and crazy day ahead of us tomorrow and the jet lag is rough! Here are some pictures from the day today...

Today's the DAY!!!

In less than 4 hours we will meet our baby boy for the first time! We just got back from breakfast and are packing our bags for the long day ahead. We have a 3 hour ride (each way) to pick up William. We didn't get much sleep... a combination of jet leg and nervous anticipation didn't make for a restful night. We will post pics as soon as we can... I have had some issues uploading pics on the blog but Marc will figure that out today. I posted our pics from yesterday on facebook. This city and country are so beautiful... from the people to the landscape... so blessed to be here. It's time to go meet our baby... here we come, William!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it...

Just checked into the Howard Hotel... Feels so good to have our feet on the ground. At the bar, having some cocktails and Taking in the local culture. Tomorrow is a day of sightseeing and then off to meet William on Monday!