When It Rains...

Well there is a reason I haven't posted in so long - not that I'm a frequent poster anyways. It has been a tough couple weeks though!

First, like MANY others, the kids all decided to get sick with a nasty cold except for Emily. Never ending coughing, fevers, snotty-noses, cranky kids, and being woken up at night left this momma very cranky too. Yup, I think I have spent the last two weeks being annoyed at someone every waking minute.

We have also hired a guy to finish all our reno's, and as much as I will love having everything complete it has made each day that much busier. I've had to clear out my pantry, the bathroom, bookshelf in the hallway, and our bedroom - and find places to put everything in the meantime (king mattress behind the couch, dresser in the living room, etc). Most meals I am having to search through boxes to find what I need. Having to go downstairs to use the bathroom (and wipe dirty bottoms) has also taken more time, especially with having to pass the baby gate. He is also drywalling the hallway so I have to section that whole half of the house off everyday from the kids - which means all of us limited to the living room and kitchen everyday. Then when the work day (for him) is over, I start the daily cleaning and vacuuming in the 'construction zone' in order to allow the kids a few hours in the rest of the house. And then painting some evenings...

And puppies! We had a litter born March 9th and another born March 13th. The first litter came with some compilcations, so we lost one pup and then after bottle feeding another every 4-5 hours day and NIGHT for about 10 days it died too. Thankfully everyone else is doing well and bottle-feedings have ceased. I finally managed to update my webpage last night and start advertising to get them all sold. So now the emails should start.

Anyways, reno's should be done by the end of this week and the kids are now getting their health back. Our bathroom upstairs is also now in functioning order. English too is continuing to slowly get better. Alexander now is up to using about 3 word phrases which I understand most of the time with ease. One today that had me puzzled for a few seconds was 'Alexis markers Eli'.... which meant that Eli was getting into the markers that Alexis was using. Also understanding the words they mis-pronounce is an added challenge. So, all in all this week should be better than the last! Better go get your cheese though cause this was a lot of 'whine' :)

Eli's Bath

As I am sure I've mentioned before, at first the boys were all scared of having a bath. That changed quickly with Alexander and Carter, but Eli has been slower to come around. The change this past week has just been heartwarming, and also sad in a way...

Although Eli had stopped crying at baths, he still has been very uneasy - basically doesn't move, will just hold a toy, wimpers and whines when I pour a little water anywhere on him, etc. Two baths ago we had some break throughs. He started the bath gasping for air everytime I poured some water down his shoulders, tummy, or back. I then got him actually playing with a toy and after that he started to 'experiment' a bit. He would kick his leg a little just to see what it felt like. He would look at his wet hand and then very gingerly put it to his mouth to feel and taste it, and then stare at it some more. I also managed to get him to play a game where I would put a wet cloth somewhere on him and he had to pull it off (although he was quite unsure of this at first, it did catch on). And then tonight at bathtime something amazing happened... he was SPLASHING! A bath or two ago I started to grab his hands and smack the water with it to make little splashes because he usually acted like he was scared to touch the water. Tonight he started doing it (repeatedly) all on his own. No gasps tonight, lots of playing, and more exploring! He would put a wet toy in his mouth and then look at me to make sure he wasn't in trouble. He initiated the cloth game. He held out his hand over and over again for me to pour water on it. It was almost like he was enjoying a bath like a typical 20mth old, except discovering everything for the first time.

It was heartwarming to watch him discover these new sensations, have fun, and lose his fear. It was sad to thing of what it must have been like 'before'. Aaron saw him the other day with a toy in his mouth and asked me if it was okay - normally I wouldn't really like it, but I know that he was not ever allowed to do that in the orphanage, and how much babies use their mouths for discovery (and simply enjoy it) - so it is okay for Eli. It is actually great for Eli.

While we are on Eli, we picked up his glasses a couple days ago. They are a little big for him so slide down his nose constantly, but were the smallest they had. He looks very cute in them, so here is a picture I took after his bath tonight. No troubles getting him to smile when I pulled out the camera!