Six Months Later... (part 1)

This weekend marks six months since we brought Elijah & Josephine home. What a whirlwind our life has been since then... and what a blessing! I'm going to take a few posts to tell you about how things are going for us, and how they've changed.

In general, I’d say we’ve settled into routines – although sometimes we have a wrench thrown into things (my surgery, vacation, etc). The kids are growing and learning. The differences in all three kids in the last six months is nothing short of amazing!

Food:
Both Elijah & Josephine eat well. Elijah is a little more tricky because he’s not a fan of vegetables, but we’ve figured out a few things that work well, that doesn’t frustrate any of us or end in tears. We’re finding this summer, with our fresh garden produce, that he eats his veggies REALLY well if there’s dip. We just have to make sure he’s actually taking bites of the veggie instead of licking off the pile of dip he puts on each tiny piece. If we have any kind of tougher meat like steak or chops, we have to cut them up really tiny for both kids, and smother them in ketchup for them to eat it – yuk! But a small price to pay to get the nutrients in. J Josephine is probably our best eater. I didn’t think it was possible, given how good of an eater Kaylen is, but she’s not learned to be picky like Kaylen is. There are only a few things she won’t eat. Sandwiches are the funniest to watch E&J eat – they’re so messy. Josephine usually ends up taking hers apart (or it falls apart) and she eats the pieces separately. Both of them like to take them apart and lick off the mayo or butter or ketchup before proceeding – although less than they used to. I still think their favorites are applesauce, yogurt, bananas, and any grain – noodles, bread, rice, etc.

Health:
Josephine & Elijah are both healthy. At last check, Elijah was still borderline anemic but hadn’t changed in two months. The doc said to just continue making sure he’s eating proper nutrition, and no supplements are needed. Both E&J have received what they can of their vaccines, given the CDC-prescribed catch-up schedule. I think Elijah will have another one or two this fall when they do his 4-year check-up, and I think Josephine’s good until her 4-year check-up as well, which will be next spring. We will probably request a check for another type of parasite that is not part of the common checks. We heard from another family that their adoption medicine clinic tested for it, but most docs don’t know to check for it – and one of her sons tested positive. Yikes! So many things to consider. I’m so thankful for the community of adoptive families that I’ve come to know via the internet!