I have several updates, so instead of a few small blogs, I'll just write one long one!
Our puzzle fundraiser is off to a good start. We've sold 234 pieces of our 1000 piece puzzle, so that means 766 pieces are still available. The pieces cost $1 each and your name will be written on the back of the pieces that you purchase. Your name will also be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card for each piece purchased (20 pieces = 20 entries). We will draw for the card once all 1000 pieces have been taken. To donate to this fundraiser, please use the Paypal link to the right of this post. If you do not use Paypal, you may also mail a check to our home address. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards our first trip to Bulgaria, which should be coming up in a few months.
We've had some delays, but our adoption plans seem to moving in the right direction now. We were able to successfully transition to our new agency without too much extra work. We were fingerprinted for our USCIS approval in late February. We had filed our I-800a form on a Saturday and received word that our agency was going out of business on Monday, so we had to send our officer an updated home study reflecting the agency change once we had been fingerprinted. We got pink slipped because our officer didn't like the way one sentence of the approval section of our home study was phrased, so after a quick fix by our social worker, an addendum was notarized and sent to back to him. We anticipate receiving our approval this week.
I took all of our other Indiana dossier documents to the Secretary of State's office this past week to be apostilled. Since my birth certificate was issued by the county and not the state, they wouldn't accept it. I ordered a new one online through the state and hope that it comes quickly. The website says 4-6 weeks, but the lady at the Secretary of State's office said it typically takes about 10 days. If' that's the case, it should arrive by the end of the week. So for those of you in Indiana, be sure to order a birth certificate through the state and not through the county where you were born! We also had to redo our medical letters due to a notary error, but we already have the new ones in our hands.
Once our I-800a approval and my birth certificate arrive, I'll head downtown again to have the last four documents apostilled. Then our completed dossier will be off to Bulgaria after a quick stop at our agency in Washington. Once in Bulgaria it will be translated and registered, and then we'll wait for the official referral of the the little guy we requested back in November followed by travel dates to go meet him for the first time.
We've been working to get things ready for our new arrival. His new dresser has already been assembled. Jason and Nikolas put together little brother's bed this afternoon. We're hoping that adding a second bed to his room will help Nikolas understand that he's about to have a roommate. We know his English comprehension is great, but the concept of a little brother might be hard to grasp. In his most recent receptive language evaluation, Nikolas scored only three points below average for a child his age. That might not even be entirely accurate since several of things things he refused to do were things he knows and just didn't want to do. His verbal speech is continuing to develop but is still very delayed for his age. He now has over 50 words that he uses regularly and adds words daily. He is also starting to put together two-word phrases. He talks more at home than he does out in public, but we're hoping that will change soon.
His gross motor skills have also been improving nicely. He met all of his PT goals for the year at school and did an amazing job on his most recent PT skills test. In the past three months, he has gone from a 21-month level to a 37-month level in one area and from a 25-month level to a 31-month level in another area. Nikolas loves his physical therapist and works well with her most of the time. We will repeat the test again in three more months so we can monitor his progress. His fine motor skills also continue to improve just as quickly.
He's starting to enjoy playing games (like Memory) and likes to color and do art projects. He likes to play with his cars and toy kitchen, and he loves to read books. He's very smart and his memory is incredible. He doesn't seem to forget anything, except for the fact that he's not allowed in my office!! He is beginning to count and can sometimes name the colors. Once we master colors and numbers we'll start working on letters. We see him starting to do more age-appropriate activities all the time. He's fully potty-trained during the day and is excited to wear big boy underwear. He normally stays dry all night, but we're not completely there yet.
He's starting to get a little too bossy these days and doesn't like to be told what to do. We're working hard to control his negative behavior and teaching him to be respectful. We're going through a phase when he thinks he's in control of every situation, so that's been a little challenging.
Overall he is doing well and continues to grow and learn new things all of the time!
Ray is the ringleader and the only male of the bunch. He is very curious and gets into lots of trouble. He enjoys jumping on the table, climbing the Christmas tree, and digging the dirt out of my house plants. He likes to eat and spends a lot of time in the kitchen. The vet thinks he's going to be a very big boy when he grows up.
Lucy is the jealous one. If she hears one of us talking to any of the other cats, she runs into the room to get some of the attention for herself. She's a sweet girl who likes to cuddle, but she does have an issue with biting our elbows and toes. 
Molly is the shy kitten of the bunch. When she first came inside, she spent the first ten days hiding behind our couch. She would run out to eat and use the litter box, and then she would run back to hide. Once she learned to trust us, she became the sweetest one of the bunch.
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