Summer Fun Working on Gross Motor Skills & A Medical Update

I love these moments when these two love being brother and sister. Trust me, they are balanced out with moments of fighting over toys and invading each others personal space by poking, splashing in the bathtub and hugs that turn into boa constrictor squeezing.

I am really working on getting us outside as much as possible. Sophia has amazing fine motor skills, but is way behind Elijah's abilities with gross motor. She goes very slowly down stairs, she takes them one at a time..making sure that two feet are on each step before moving on to the next. She doesn't have a lot of muscle tone in her bottom and legs. So we are working on outside play to improve this.
The slip and slide is a huge hit. She doesn't slide down it, but she splashed in the water and runs around in it.


I am taking them to the park. The one nearest our home has a big wooden play structure with all sorts of activities. Eli leaves Sophia behind on this because she is so slow, but I am hoping that by the end of the summer she will be climbing around and moving at his speed.



You all know that we love to fish out here at the lake and Sophia loves it too. She has a little Barbie pole that she can cast out (Tyler taught her how to cast) and she reals in the rubber butterly tied to the end of her string. She loves it and repeats it over and over.

We went to visit our pediatrician this week and everything looks good. He said that she still has a slight murmur in her heart but that it is normal and he thinks her surgery was successful. He said no one can repair a heart to the perfect condition God makes them in. Her TB test came back negative and her urine test came back clean. I am working on collecting 3 separate stool samples to check for parasites (not a lot of fun). And I have to take her to have her blood drawn to be tested for pretty much everything. My pediatrician wants her immunizations re-done. He said there is a type of ramp up schedule for children who start their shots at a later age. I hate having her poked while I am trying to build up her trust in me, but I have no choice. I still need to get her into our cardiologist. Then we will know for certain that her heart repair was good and we can move on with her childhood.

Happy 17th Birthday to my son Zachary...

I love you Zach. Happy Birthday. You are still and always will be... my sunshine.

First Post Since China...

These are our red couch photos taken at the White Swan Hotel. We were in such wonderful company on this trip. The families with us were truly inspiring. It seems like we have been on the run since they were taken. Our trip home went well for us, but we all are just exhausted. Tim, Eli and I caught some type of flu in Guandzhou. Thank goodness for Z Packs. Eli and I recovered pretty quickly, but Tim did not.
We are struggling to get back onto some type of a normal schedule. Last night was the first night everyone got to bed at a normal US time and woke up at a normal US time. Sophia will not sleep in her bed. She will nap on the living room couch, but will only sleep if I am with her at night. So, this throws Eli off too because he needs things to be fair between him and Sophia. So, he is now napping on the living room couch and refusing to sleep alone.
I cannot complain though. Sophia acts like she has always been with during the day. We are not having any issues with her as of yet. She eats normally and is very outgoing and affectionate. We haven't seen her seeking out anyone else for love or comfort in an unhealthy way, she seems to understand that we are her parents and is happy with us.
She and Eli and definitely quite a pair, enjoying the love and frustrations of being siblings. Zach and Tyler absolutely adore her. She is surrounded by love.
I will blog as I can. Today is the first day that I feel almost like myself again.