Winds of Change

A lot can change in 6 months.

Six months ago today Ivan arrived to the United States. He became a U.S. Citizen. Our older kids welcomed him with wide open arms into our home, our family, our lives. These last six months have been filled with laughter, tears, frustration, joy, sleepless nights, babble-filled days, and a "fullness" that words can't explain.

Six months ago we had a boy terrified of animals--especially our less than 10-pound dog, Zizou.
Today we have a boy who carries Zizou, tries to walk him on his leash, lays down on him to suck his thumb and squeals with delight at the sight of ANY animal...no matter how large.

Six months ago we had a boy who was wobbly and unsure on his feet.
Today we have a boy who literally gallops around our house. He climbs everything and runs and runs and runs until he is either out of breath or laughing so hard his feet can't move anymore.

Six months ago we had a boy who only said "Nyet!"
Today we have a boy who is jabbering non-stop, saying quite a few word we can understand and about 6,532 we can not ;)

Six months ago we had a boy who was often clingy and a little nervous.
Today we have a boy who is full of life. He is confident, funny, brave (a little TOO brave sometimes!), charming, mischievous, and basically owns every crowd he is in.

A lot can change in 6 months.

The winds of change are blowing in our "family-life" as well...

First of all, I now look like this: (It still shocks me to see!)
AND, our family is moving to Texas! We are headed to the Dallas area in mid-summer for my husband's new job there. It has been a wild few weeks, but things are coming together and we are feeling hopeful about our new life and adventure there. We've sold our house here, I leave next week to house-hunt there, we are looking into programs, schools, etc. and trying to imagine ourselves in Texas...

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of this new adventure is that we will be less than 2 hours from Ivan's little girlfriend! Though he hasn't seen Ashlyn since they were together in an orphanage on the other side of the world, I am certain they will fall in love, go to prom, and perhaps get married :) Of course I am kidding (kind of), but we are over the moon excited that they will get to see one another again and for me to meet Tracy, (her blog is here) who has been a treasured friend through our adoption of Ivan from Nizhny Novgorod.

So, as I said, things are changing. And the changes are feeling O.K. We certainly feel like we have our hands full, but our hearts feel very full as well. Sometimes change is good. Maybe even very good.

Whoa!

I honestly had no idea just how long it had been since I posted. It seems impossible that 6 weeks have gone by. And I realized that I have a few more "major" things to share in the coming days and weeks, so I better had do a little catching up or I never will. (And the only reason for the above picture is that I felt it needed to be shared. My son is a riot.)

First things first:
Ivan is 2! He had a fantastic birthday celebration with many beloved family friends on a gorgeous afternoon--it was prefect! He also had a special "bracelet night reunion" with the students who literally helped to bring him home. Here is a little proof of our memorable celebrations: (Please note that the same balloons that later "attacked" Ivan brought him great joy for many hours. Please also note that I had to photograph the attack before I attempted to rescue him.)











Ivan got a few cars, trains, and clothes for his birthday. He has a strong affinity to his red Thomas shirt that he nearly jumped out of the cart in T@rget for so it was only fitting to wear it on his actual birthday. And it clearly went well with the rain boots. And the thumb I think...don't you?Ivan has also started speech therapy 2 times a week and works with an infant teacher 1 time a week. All of this is going wonderfully and we feel so thankful that he qualifies for these amazing resources. For the record, Ivan REFUSES to speak for his speech therapist, but is quite chatty between her visits. She doesn't seem too shocked or irritated by this, but I find it mildly frustrating. It could be that the toys and books she is using are AT LEAST 3 decades old...but I am not entirely sure ;)

On the home front things have been a little busier than usual. We just finished a bathroom addition (inside an existing room so it is more of a re-model I guess). It was a long time coming...we have only had 1 bathroom for the last 8 years. It is fantastic to have 2...Although now there are 2 toilets beckoning Ivan for a "dip".

Just as the bathroom project started, we all got really sick. A nasty little virus with a lingering fever and canker sores all in the mouth. This is a modern day plague I am certain. We were sick for 3 full weeks. I literally asked my pediatrician if he could admit my oldest son to the hospital because he was so miserable. He smiled at me. I then asked him in all seriousness if he could admit me until the plague passed. I probably got my first gray hairs during all of this.

Speaking of hair, I gave away 12 inches of my hair to Locks of Love last week. It was honestly shocking to see the thick braids of hair be cut from my head. I have not had short hair in over 5 years. There are lots of double-takes when I see people. Let's be honest, I even double-take when I see me.

Also speaking of hair, I still have not cut Ivan's. I can't. His soft blond curls are too precious. And I will tell you that I work on a college campus and the mullet is coming back. And you might be shocked to hear that so is the rat tail...WHAT?!

This post is very random I recognize. I just needed to post or I feared I never would...Well, I am happy to report that we are healthy and happy here at the Wolf casa...all smiles as you can see!

Little Cheeser

We have quite the little ham on our hands. Even this morning over at my office, Ivan was laughing it up with one of my colleagues. And he never seems to tire of any game that makes him giggle. But for sure my new favorite thing is when he sees a camera and automatically sits down wherever he is and says, "Eeeeeeez". It really is so strange, I mean the kid has HARDLY EVER had his picture taken ;)

(He is also the only one of our kiddos who could ever get away with having an outside riding toy in the family room...cute little stinker!)

Lovin' the Pacific

Ivan has been home 4 months today! I love celebrating all of these milestones. The next milestone we will celebrate is a HUGE one...someone will be turning 2! We have already began teaching Ivan the appropriately cute response to "How old are you, Ivan?" The holds up his two index fingers together and says, "Ewww" ('Two' without any 'T' sound at all...adorable!).

Since I mentioned all of the many "firsts" Ivan has been experiencing lately in my last post, I would be remiss if I did not share his first beach experience with you. Now, our family loves to journey to the beach (although Phil and I both are not very fond of the sand...), and we have been excited to share the beach with Ivan. He is such a water-lover these days we knew he would love to see the water and the occasional planes flying overhead and birds EVERYWHERE would only be bonuses for him. I wish I could have captured his first moments in the sand. His confused intrigue was priceless! He made the "Oh My!" face a lot, and we smiled so much our cheeks hurt. After quite a few minutes of wallowing in the sand, he spotted the water. He made his little surprised look at me and asked with his eyes if he could go check it out. I suppose my smile and raised camera gave him the go ahead. We fully anticipated him to touch his toes to the frigid Pacific Ocean and quickly backtrack to warmer, dryer sand. We were very, very wrong. I am certain that if Phil had not been there to rescue him, he would have gone in neck deep. My toes ache right now remembering how cold that water was and our little man could not get enough of it! He smiled and giggled, wanted to touch it and sit down in it. When his blue chattering lips made me feel like a bad mommy, I scooped him up in a warm towel and took him up to the sand for a yummy mouthful of sand. oops, I meant snack. He rolled every bite of snacks into the sand and loudly crunched the sand between his teeth and was absolutely delighted!

We might have a little beach bum on our hands...we are truly looking forward to many many more sandy beach days...

Stepping Stones

February was very full and March is off to a similar start. We will have our 1st post-placement report done this next week, it seems hard to believe that court in Nizhny was a little over 4 months ago already. The report must be in Russia by the 6 month court anniversary date, so things have to get started a bit sooner here to get the report completed, apostilled, and then sent off for translations, etc. As I have been for much of these almost 4 months since returning home with Ivan, this upcoming report has made me very reflective. There has been so so much in these last few months. There are days when everything seems just like our "normal" life, and then days when I am amazed by all of the newness. Everyday still holds plenty of "firsts" for Ivan. Every week we see tremendous strides in his growth and development. There are many little stepping stones with each and every day.

On that note, I began the process to have Ivan assessed through our state (actually regional center) for qualification into the "Early Start" program. about a month ago There are amazing resources available to children in need of speech, language, physical therapy, etc. My main concern for Ivan has been speech. He understands EVERYTHING--recognizes words, obeys simple directions, knows and uses many signs, etc. He is also trying to use some verbal words, but his expressive language is definitely delayed for a child who will turn 2 in a few weeks (I can't believe his birthday is almost here!). The assessment was wonderful. The therapists and specialists were so kind and helpful and very encouraging actually. We won't find out until the end of this month when the regional center has the IFSP meeting to assign services, but the therapists' recommendation was for 2 days a week of speech therapy and possibly 1 day a week of physical therapy (with an infant teacher), primarily for fine motor skills.

They put Ivan at a 13 month old overall developmentally--he has some scattered skills all the way up to 24 months, but is missing a couple here and there down to 13 months. His expressive language was put at 9 months old, as he is not consistent even with what he calls Phil and I. He definitely knows who we are and is actually very attached to us. But we are not sure when we wake up if either of us is "NaNa", "DaDa", DaDee", "MaMa", or some combo of these. He does have words for a few things and is honestly learning so much with every passing day, but we are excited for the help he should be getting soon and are eager to begin!

On to more entertaining news...Ivan has his own little way to do things...he sees new possibilities and uses for typical household items, places, and events. He always keeps us busy and guessing, rescuing and cleaning up after him...here are a few examples:

Clearly the dishwasher is for FAR more than cleaning dishes.












Dirty clothes belong in the trashcan (as do MANY other items we are unfortunately finding out) because little boys belong in laundry hampers.




Trains are fun, but their storage bin is WAY more fun. And obviously, lunch is better if you are standing ON the table!


















Now, I have seen a lot of things in my motherhood. My kids have all done silly and crazy things. I am happy to confess that all of my kids have played in the toilet at one time or another. But never have I seen this. Never. It needs no caption. We are just hoping it too is a stepping stone for...well, something.

With Sadness...

Some of you have already learned the tragic news that Brad and Arja's sweet little Jacob went to be with Jesus on Saturday, February 28th. Today was the memorial service (which we were not able to attend but certainly have been praying for all day).

Thank you for your prayers for them. Please continue to lift them up as they navigate this tremendous loss.

Prayer Request

I want to pass along a prayer request. A friend from college, Arja, and her husband Brad need our prayers for their baby boy, Jacob. Jacob and his twin Sawyer were born on January 10 at only 27 &1/2 weeks. Little Jacob has recently began to struggle with what they now know is an "unusual congenital kidney syndrome that his very serious".

Please pray for Brad, Arja, and little Jacob (as well as Sawyer though he is going great). This precious couple has already endured tremendous hardship and loss in previous pregnancies.

We are asking God for a miracle for this family. Please visit their blog:
www.regiertwins.blogspot.com