Happy Birthday Nikolas!!

Three years ago (May 5, 2009) in the small town of Dobrich, Bulgaria, a woman gave birth to a tiny baby boy.  I'll most likely never meet her, but I do think of her often, especially on days like today.  I wonder if she's thinking about the son she never got to know.  I wish I could let her know that he's doing well and that he is surrounded by so many people who love him dearly.

We had a wonderful party on Saturday to celebrate his third birthday (and his first birthday at home with a family).  I don't think he understood what we were celebrating, but he clearly knew that the party was all about him.  Thirteen of his family members helped him celebrate this special day with a cookout, presents and cake.  He was excited from the moment he woke up and saw the balloons to the time he went to bed that night.

It was a warm, sunny day that was perfect for grilling.  Jason grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and we also had chips, macaroni salad, an Elmo fruit tray and an Oscar veggie tray for lunch.  Putting together the fruit and veggies trays was so much fun.  I enjoyed having the opportunity to be creative with food.  My friend Valerie made an adorable (and tasty!) Elmo cake.  He also opened many great gifts that included a remote control car, a lawnmower that blows bubbles, a bowling set, a golf set, a dump truck, an ABC Dino, a water table, a small table and chair set, a Mickey Mouse piano, a DVD, glow in the dark bubbles, and some new clothes.  We're having a great time playing together with his new toys.

Last year at this time we were waiting on signatures at the MOJ while our baby boy was in an orphanage on the other side of the world.  Now he's been home with us for a little over nine months.  I enjoyed being able to celebrate this very special day and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays together.

Nine Months Home

This week marks the nine month anniversary of Nikolas' homecoming.  The last month has been a busy one for us.  We received our report from the therapists who evaluated Nikolas through the First Steps program.  The results were as we expected.  He scored below average in almost every area of development.  Since he was over 2.5 at the time of his evaluation, he does not qualify for services through the First Steps program, but he should qualify for services through the school system.  We had a meeting with a representative from the school system to talk about the developmental preschool program.  Although we won't know for sure if he qualifies until after their evaluation, the representative thinks he should based on his First Steps evaluation and the fact that he's still not talking.  He babbles non-stop and is capable of saying words, but he refuses to say anything other than hi and bye.  (He was speaking a little before his surgery last fall, but he stopped at that point and never started again.)  If all goes as planned, he will start in their developmental preschool program this fall.  He will go five days a week for a few hours each morning.  During school he'll also work one-on-one with a speech therapist.  They offer a bus service that will pick him up and drop him off in our driveway.  It sounds like it will be a great program for him.

His Developmental Pediatrician at Riley recommended some private speech therapy over the summer, so we're working on getting that set up.  We also scheduled a hearing test at her request to rule out any hearing problems.  We'll be heading back to Riley in a couple of weeks for that.

We saw his Orthopedic Specialist at Riley a couple of weeks ago.  She was very pleased with the way his feet have responded to the surgery, and he no longer has to wear his AFO's during the day.  He does still wear his brace at night when he sleeps and will continue to do that for at least another year.  He walks so much better now that he wears shoes that actually fit his feet instead of the larger shoes to accommodate his AFO's.  He doesn't fall down as much and he's getting even faster!!  We will see her again in six months for a follow-up appointment.

Nikolas celebrated his first Easter this month.  We visited my family on Easter weekend, and we went to Cincinnati the following weekend (Orthodox Easter) to celebrate with the Bulgarian community.  I love being able to expose Nikolas to Bulgarian people, music, language and culture.  They are such a friendly group of people.  Nikolas enjoyed being able to spend time with his friend Emilia.  They came from the same orphanage in Dobrich and most likely knew each other long before they came to the United States.  It didn't take him long to figure out how to hunt for eggs.  He still plays with his Elmo basket and plastic eggs every single day.

He is doing so much better with playing with toys.  He prefers trucks, balls and his little laptop computer.  He's also getting better at puzzles.  Yesterday I asked him to pick up his toys and came back to find both of the puzzles completed with the pieces all in the right spots.  He's struggled with puzzles, so it's great to see him finally figure them out.  His new favorite television programs are Go, Diego, Go! and Blue's Clues.  He also likes Elmo.  Nikolas turns three on May 7th, and he'll be celebrating with his family with an Elmo-themed party next weekend.  He continues to be an active, happy little boy who is thriving in his new environment.   
  

Passport Time

We decided it was time to get Nikolas a US Passport. He's changed so much since July. The picture on the left (Bulgarian passport photo) was taken after a rough 7 hour car ride through the Balkan Mountains. The picture on the right (US passport photo) was taken last week. He truly is a different little boy.

Eight Month Update

Nikolas has been with us for almost eight months. He continues to grow and become more comfortable with his surroundings every day. He is learning to feed himself with a fork and spoon, starting to use the potty like a big boy, and becoming quite the problem solver.

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We had him evaluated through the First Steps program, but unfortunately because of his age, he won't be able to take advantage of their services. The therapists who evaluated him said that while he does have global developmental delays, it is obvious that he is very smart. They were surprised that he has only been home for such a short period of time. They will help us transition him to the school system's program where he will have another evaluation to see what services he qualifies for. We're hoping that he qualifies for their special needs preschool and can start that program in the fall.

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We met with his developmental pediatrician at the International Adoption Clinic at Riley this week and she was very pleased with his progress. His height and weight look great on the charts and he is developing nicely. His receptive language is great, but he still isn't speaking much. She gave us an "official" speech delay diagnosis so we can get started with some private speech therapy. We have a couple of options, so we're going to see which one works best with our insurance. Both the First Steps therapists and the developmental pediatrician think he'll really take off once he starts speaking.

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I also started putting him in the Kids Club at the gym this week while I go to my aqua fit class. He'll be in there three times a week for 1.5 hours. I'm hoping that being around other kids his age will help with his speech. It's also good for him to be able to run and play with other kids. He did great when I left him earlier this week, but he cried a little this morning. I guess that's a good sign of attachment. One of the employees said he was fine as soon as I left the room. He was running around playing with another little guy when I went to pick him up and didn't even notice that I was waiting for him.

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Last weekend he had his first night away from home since he's been in the US. Jason went to Iowa for the weekend, so Nikolas and I went to Dana to spend a couple of days with my family. We went out for lunch at the restaurant in town, went shopping, had dinner and played at my brother and sister-in-law's house, went to church and visited with my grandparents. He did well and only fussed a little at bedtime and naptime. It took him a couple of days to get back on track when we got home, but we expected that to happen. He does okay in the car for about 1.5-2 hours, but after that point he starts getting a little grumpy. Short trips are fine, but I don't think we'll be taking a long trip anytime soon.

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We've been enjoying the beautiful weather by playing outside almost every evening. He loves playing on his swing set, throwing his ball and going for walks to the pond. He's doing great and continues to learn new things every week. I can't wait to see what happens once he starts working with the speech therapist.

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Then and Now

Nikolas has been home with us for six months now. He is weighing in at 26.5 pounds (up 6.5 pounds) and is 36 inches tall (up 5 inches). The photo on the left was taken before bed on July 25th at the Radisson in Sofia, Bulgaria. Nikolas had been with us for only a few hours. The picture on the right was taken last week in our living room before bed one evening.

He's come so far in the past six months and we're so proud of all that he's accomplished. Six months ago he couldn't focus on one activity for more than a couple of minutes (unless it involved food). He didn't know how to play with his toys and had no interest in television. All he wanted to do was eat. Now he has a much better attention span, loves playing with his toys and gets excited while watching his favorite television shows. He's a happy little boy who laughs often. He enjoys cuddling with us and with his cat. He gives lots of hugs and kisses every day. He continues to sleep well and enjoys a wide variety of foods. He has bonded to us very well and we're so thankful for that. He still struggles with his speech, but he will be evaluated for speech therapy as soon as our doctor finishes the paperwork. We love having Nikolas as part of our family and are so excited to see him become the little boy he was always meant to be.