Hello from Disneyland!

Sorry, no pics tonight, but they will be up soon. I will start by saying we are having a blast! The kids are doing great, we've met characters, got on the rides we wanted, all is good. But I have one gripe and one precious story.

My biggest gripe: The Disneyland Hotel.

We decided to fork out the extra $$ to stay on property, thinking it would be closer for Ty and just a special way to celebrate our first vacation as a family of four. We are not rolling in money--far from it. I am so disappointed. The walk is just as long to the park as it is to stay off property. The hotel is boring at best. I had expected it to be a little more over the top disney, but it's quite bland. The pool, which is known for, was FREEZING cold. We only needed it on Monday, and we had one very frustrated little girl on our hands. We did have a fabulous dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. I'm so glad we came because Kacie is still young enough to love the characters, and Ty's eyes light up too.

And now the precious story: Tyson met Pooh!

Today I got pretty emotional. Tyson loves Winnie the Pooh and all that goes along with it. I was surprised when I saw pictures of his orphanage at Changzhoubecause it has paintings of the Winnie the Pooh characters on the wall. When we got home, I had a Winnie the Pooh and piglet stuffed animals for him, as well as a set of books of the four main characters. He has always enjoyed them.

Today we went to Critter Corner and while everyone went on Splash Mountain, I took Tyson to see Pooh and Eyeore. Ty saw Pooh and just lit up! But he didn't understand we had to get in line to visit him. But Ty seemed OK with that, so we just stood near the front outside the ropes and just watched everyone get their pictures taken. I tried taking him to the end of the line a few times, but he would just freak out. So there we stood, Ty in his stroller, and me beside him, watching him bask in the happiness of being 5 feet away from his beloved bear friend. Out of nowhere this lady, who was in the front of the line says, "Would you like to go ahead of me? I've seen you waiting." I said, "Oh, it's OK, he won't get out of his stroller, and he won't get in line, so it's OK, I can't get the stroller in there." Well, the guy working there said, "Hey, just let me know, and we can bring him in! I'll undo both ropes!" I was just shocked, "Really?" I asked. And the next thing I knew, the ropes came down, and the man said, "Pooh, we have a very special friend here to visit you!" And Ty was just beaming. Pooh was very sweet to Ty, even more so than to the other kids (I think anyway). Then we went to meet Eyeore, and he was just as enthralled. I didn't get any pictures, but I have the photo pass and will order them when we get home because to me, they are priceless. I had tears in my eyes and a joy in my heart like I could never imagine.

I was walking back, and I realized I didn't thank that lady who offered for us to go ahead of her. As we waited for our family to get off Splash Mountain, the lady came up to me and said how cute Ty was and how great it was to see him with Ty. I was glad she stopped so I could thank her and I told her I realized that I hadn't thanked her. She said seeing Ty's face was thanks enough. I then started to cry, and I just felt like I needed to share the story of why Winnie the Pooh is so important in Ty's life. I will never know if she was Christian or not, but I could totally feel God at work.

Then she had just started to walk away, I had tears streaming down my face, and my family and friends got off of Splash Mountain, pumped up from the big drop and laughing at Dan who was all wet. And there I was...so glad I didn't go on that ride because I had just had one of the ups of our wild ride with Tyson.

It's Spring Break!

We are off to Disneyland on Sunday night! I'll be posting from there next week to share pictures of our first official vacation as a family of four!

And as our family has grown, so has the need for a larger vehicle. I checked out some vehicles today, and I really liked the price and features of the Dodge Journey. I am hoping something works out after we get back from DL.

We had Kacie's conference this week. She wrote that her goal in life is to become a doctor for kids with special needs. My heart swelled. Yes, she struggles in some areas, but nothing we can't overcome with extra practice. I told her that the fact she has that big of a heart and cares for people, we are so proud of her!

Have a great weekend!

A Visit to Children's Today

We visited the cleft team for Tyson's 3 month post palate and ear tubes surgery. I was very pleased with the outcome, which might sound funny when I say that he has to get ear tubes again. Here's the gist:

Audiology: Ty wouldn't cooperate during the hearing test. But when they put the sensor in his ear to test for ear drum activity, it flat lined, meaning basically something is still blocking the ear drum.

Pediatrician: Very happy with growth and progress

Surgeon: Palate is healed! Praise the Lord! No new surgeries until we are ready for a lip revision. We are thinking maybe December 2011? Yeah, that far off! Yay!

ENT: Looked at his ears. There is dried blood blocking the tubes, so they are not working. The ENT said it's the first time in years he has seen this and he insists we redo the tubes, as drops aren't going to help. It's that bad. Ty is also very loud, and the ENT said, "Is he always this loud?" We said YES! He agrees, we have to fix this. PRAISE THE LORD! I was in a personal silent peril because I couldn't believe he had tubes and could still be as loud as he is.

Speech: This is a long story, so if you're not into speech, the gist is he is making the sounds well but needs speech to get rid of old bad habits. The long story is that Ty can make the sounds! But, he makes compensatory sounds called glottal stops in his vocal cords, so he's not using consonants to make syllable stops. For example, for "Rocky" he says, "Ah-ee" even though he can now make the "k" sound. If he were a regular developing two-year old, we wouldn't even be talking about speech. But, we have to work on eliminating the glottal stops. Also, due to his hearing loss, he is straining his vocal cords. Therefore, once the new tubes are in, we will be doing some behavior modification regarding his voice level. This will be well worth it!

So that was our day! It's always a long one, but I always come home feeling so blessed and happy we chose to adopt Tyson. He is one amazing little boy!

3 month check-up coming up!

Today I am doing report cards, but I really need a break. Your brain starts to play tricks on you and all the little boxes start looking the same. I also cooked dinner, and listening to the kids from the kitchen has been quite a joy, or not.

K: OW! It hurts when you hit me with the hammer. (Play hammer, of course)
T: Oh. you OKaaaaaayyy?
K: Yes, I'm OK
T: OK. Sorry
and they continue playing, until he does it again. Yes, I know you are thinking that I should take away the hammer. Honestly, this is minor, and at least he's showing remorse. That is a huge step. There is peace, and it's beautiful. No hammer incidents in 10 minutes now.

And it's funny...he can't make the "K" sound to say any words except "OK". The good news is that we know he can make the sound.

On Monday we head back to Seattle to see the cleft team: pediatrician, nurse, surgeon, ENT, speech path, and an audiology visit to recheck Ty's hearing. Tyson is incredibly LOUD ALL THE TIME, so I'm a bit concerned about this. I try to look at his palate, but I really don't know what I'm looking at. I think it looks fine, but what do I know. I also wonder if we'll be talking about another surgery.

On this trip, my mom will be going with me because it is a quite stressful event to drive to Seattle with Ty on my own. On the last trip he weaseled out of his carseat straps twice! We have also had a last minute change...Kacie will also be going with us! It's a half day of school, and I'm not sure if we'll be back before daycare closes, so I thought this would be a good chance for her to see what we do with Tyson and to see the hospital. I think it's important that she is kept informed and involved, as she has been impacted by not just the adoption, but the ongoing care for his special need, such as sitting in the waiting room of speech therapy playing Nintendo DS, farmed out to other families during surgeries, etc...

Honestly, for our family--speaking only from MY experience, cleft lip/palate has been a very manageable special need. It does take resources, time away from work, therapy visits, etc...but for us, Ty fits in perfectly. He's Tyson first, and we deal with the cleft issues when they arise. This is not to say Ty is perfect...who is? He has his toddler challenges, no doubt. The screaming during diaper and clothing changes is back. He pushes the limits, tests the boundaries, just as any toddler would.

By the way...he will be 3 in three months...I'm not talking about that right now.

Please pray for us that we have safe travels and a successful visit to the cleft team. Thank you!--J

The new stats!

Dan took Tyson to the dr today for well child visit. Here are the new stats. Tyson will be 33 months in one week.

Height: 35 3/4 inches, 22nd %ile
Weight: 33lbs, 75th%ile
Head Circ: 19.8in, 81st %ile

Can you believe it? Here is a link to his prior stats and why we think Tyson's growth, particularly head circumference, is truly a miracle. http://powellfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/2009/12/small-head-circumference-and.html

I also copied and pasted them here so I could add the new ones. I had to convert inches to cm to keep with consistency. Keep in mind that Ty's palate surgery was at 30 months. His lip repair in China was at 10 months.

Length/Height:
8-9 months: 63.5cm, below the charts
16 months: 75.5cm, 5th%ile
22 months: 81cm, 5th%ile
*26 months: 83cm, 5th %ile
27 months: 84cm, 5th %ile
30 months: 86cm, 5th %ile
33 months: 90.8cm, 22 %ile

Weight--it's amazing what enough food can do!
8-9 months: 6.5kg/14.3lbs, below the charts
16 months: 8.5kg/18.5lbs, below the charts
22 months: 10.5kg/23lbs, 5th%ile
*26 months: 10kg/22lbs, below the charts
27 months: 12kg/26.5lbs, just under 25%ile
30 months: 30lbs, 50th %ile
33 months: 33.5lbs, 75%ile

Head Circumference
8-9 months: either 40cm or 41.5cm, all below the charts
16 months: 44cm, below the chart
22 months: 46.5cm, between 5th and 10th%ile
*26 months: 48cm, 25th %ile (I measured to confirm it too and watched 2 nurses as well)
30 months: 49.5cm, 50th %ile (based on my own measurement)
33 months: 50.3cm, 81st %ile

All in all Tyson is doing great! He is now jumping without holding anything and can climb stairs without holding anything. In February he had a pretty good speech explosion; this month it's gross motor skills. He loves buses and trains, and his favorite of anything continues to be "Cars".

Now if we could get him to quit picking on his big sister...hmmmmm...
Enjoy the pics!

Smile Pinki DVD-- I watched it

My "Smile Pinki" DVD came in the mail yesterday. I have been waiting for months to watch this. I can vividly remember last year when this documentary won an Oscar because I was also impatiently waiting for our LOA to adopt Tyson. I had never seen his "before" photos of his unrepaired lip, and I had no idea what to expect regarding the wideness of his palate. For those who don't know, "Smile Pinki" is a documentary backed by Smile Train that depicts the journey of people who travel to a city in India to get their cleft lips and palates repaired--for free.

This documentary is amazing, and I think every human being needs to see it, and here's why: I firmly, 100% believe that people are selfish and greedy and need to learn compassion. I am included. I was completely convicted while watching the documentary.

You see, I tell my students that it doesn't matter what we look like on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts. I believe that and I try to live it. I can look at children with cleft lips, and it doesn't phase me at all.

But then I saw him. The documentary shows a young man, maybe a teen, with a protruding cleft lip--the most severe I've ever seen, even in pictures. I believe the documentary said his nose was protruding 2 inches. I gasped. I hope I was feeling compassion, and I think I was, knowing what kind of life he had been leading. But I was also shocked. I am laying it out here because I remembered how people feel when they see a child with a cleft. I felt the reaction.

How can I expect people to not react to cleft children just because I don't? I have to remember, I have a very vested interest in the subject. However, if it's something I believe, it doesn't mean I don't have weaknesses. I know how far I've come in the time that I've been learning about facial and cranial deformities, and I know how much research and exposure it has taken to get me to that point. And I'm still on my journey.

And this is why I think everyone needs to see this documentary. My daughter watched it with me, and she ignored the subtitles. I was reading them to her, and she said, "Mom, I don't need them. I know what's going on just by watching the people." Enough said.

It's only 45 minutes. If you want a copy, you go to the Smile Train website and request one. A donation is nice too, but not required. I've heard it said, "We all have special needs." This is true, we are all unique individuals. Compound that with a facial deformity--something everyone can see on the outside. I don't think any of us can quite comprehend what that must be like unless we live it. But what we can do is have compassion for those who face challenges beyond what we understand. One of my favorite songs is "Mighty to Save" and the first line is, "Everyone needs compassion..." It is so true.

As I watched, I thought about Tyson's lip repair in China, and I wept. I wish I had been there for him when he woke up. I hope the doctors treated him as lovingly as the doctors in this documentary. I am so thankful for organizations like Smile Train and Operation Smile. I don't know who is responsible for Tyson's lip repair. I hope someday I'll know.

Shake your booty!

We are having one insanely crazy night at our house. First, Ty woke up with nightmares early AM. Then he had way too much energy all day, and at daycare he got put on coloring restriction, meaning all he could do was color, because he kept throwing things at kids--toys, magnets, you name it.

Tonight has been one of those crazy nights where thank goodness we are home and not in public. As you can see from the video, he is one goofy crazy boy! As Kacie was putting away dishes, he jumped on the chair and started shaking his booty! Kacie grabbed the flip camera, and we got it on video. Too funny!

Luck (Warning--photos may be hard to look at)

Sorry for no new pictures of Ty lately...really I have no excuse. I should be taking more pictures.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up--I was reminded by the Shamrock milkshakes advertised at McDonalds "OH-NOs" as Ty calls it. This got me thinking about luck. I want to write about something that comes straight from my heart regarding luck.

We are told once a week, "Wow, he is one lucky boy," or something along those lines. I always smile and say, "No, we are the ones who are lucky!" and give Tyson a hug and a kiss. I don't say and do this to make others feel bad, but to send the message that Tyson is a gift and blessing to us, and it is NOT the other way around.

Tyson did not choose to not be raised by his biological parents. We praise God everyday his parents chose his life. But, he did not choose to be adopted. He was born under circumstances that we will never fully understand, as hard as we might try. As he gets older, we will deal with his insecurities and questions. We are prepared the best that one can possibly be prepared I guess.

God blessed us with the opportunity to become Tyson's parents. That is how we truly feel. It isn't about luck...it was about putting our faith in God that this little boy that we only knew on paper would be joining our family. There was a discussion on RQ awhile back about "meant to be" and it really got me thinking. Was Tyson "meant to be" in our family? I haven't quite resolved that one in my head yet. What I do know is that somehow our lives became connected, meant to be or not.

When a baby is born, do people say to the parents, "Wow, this is one lucky baby?" Not often, but I know it is sometimes said. Nevertheless, I do not believe that is the norm. If anything, it is the parents who say, "Wow, we are so lucky to have this healthy baby." And I guess that's true...you do feel lucky as a parent to have healthy children. But what if they're not healthy? Just something to ponder a bit...

I have decided to scan two pictures of my daughter when she was a preemie in the hospital back in June of 2001. I know it's hard to look at. Yes, she did survive, and no one said, "Wow, she's lucky to be here," because that would have been really a rude comment. And that is how we feel about Tyson. He isn't lucky, we are because he is one awesome boy! And if you know our daughter, she has one of the biggest hearts of any human being I have ever met in my life. She teaches me more about giving to others everyday.

Neither of my children chose to enter the world in the circumstances which they did. But here we are, one crazy family...and I'm feeling pretty lucky that we all have each other!