COC

When the children touched US soil they became US citizens. With all the rights and responsibilities that includes. For those of you who have asked, they will not receive green cards or other immigration paperwork simply because they are considered citizens. One of the long waits for USCIS paperwork included the appropriate applications. Today we received one of the most important documents. Their COCs, Certificate of Citizenship. With these fancy certificates they can get social security numbers and be recognized as citizens. Previously if both parents did not travel this step was much more difficult and had to be completed once home.

Luckily the government did streamline this part of the process. And for that I an grateful. It's been busy having two young children in the house again. I don't believe Joseph will be attending pre-k this year after all and we will instead be able to concentrate on blending together and learning English. Jewel stood without any help or holding on to anything this week. I still think she may take her first steps on Christmas. It's been her own miracle that after being so physically delayed she has made such strides in her crawling development. Only 7 weeks ago she couldn't even sit up. With no motivation there she lay in a crib all day just sleeping and watching the world around her. Now she is mobile and wants to know everything that goes on around her.

At her 1 month checkup this week she has gained 3 pounds. That's a 17% weight gain in only 1 month. She and Joseph both love to eat any vegetable. Although she is limited by her lack chewing ability. Once she gets more teeth I can tell she is after those raw carrots. A favorite food is broccoli. I steamed a bag of cauliflower and broccoli and the kids just split it in two and didn't leave any leftovers. That's one aspect of their previous life I would like to retain. Jewel is also learning the fun of finger foods. Mostly we still feed her. But her pincher fingers now understand about getting Cheerios and broccoli picked up and into her mouth. I have been shopping at the Asian market for noodle bowls still. Ramen noodles may look the same but obviously do not taste the same to either child.

One month home

We are doing great. Thanks for asking!

Jet lag was not as bad as we had worried about. But it was still a rougher week than usual. Both kids sleep about 12 hours per night and I think that plays a big part in our great transition to a family.

Jewel continues to be a wonderful baby. Rarely cries, naps well and seems to be attaching to everyone in the core group. The older boys cannot keep their hands off of her. Extra sets of hands make life easier. She is extremely close to taking her first unassisted steps. Just last night I thought it might be the day. Hard to believe only 6 weeks ago she couldn't even crawl or sit up. Laying in the crib with no motivation is definitely what was keeping her behind. Now she is eating more than she probably ever has in her life and spending time building up muscles. I will not be surprised next week at her checkup if she has gained considerable weight. With all this exercising and growing she has kept her two 2 hour naps per day. She needs every bit of the rest to have the energy to work on walking and other development. When Jewel naps we have uninterrupted time with Joseph which is great for his development too.

Joseph is such a ham. He seems to be a typical 4 year old with likes and dislikes. So far our biggest challenge with him is sometimes he regresses into a baby. Then we have two. LOL His English is growing in leaps and bounds. Just this week he has doubled the number of words he says. Although he understands much more. When we communicate I would say 95% of the time we each know what the other wants. We may not want to do it, but we understand. His once a day nap is returning now that we have a more stable schedule and he doesn't like that. At the store he has a cot within sight of me at all times and several cozy blankets. His first blood transfusion was Friday. It went ok. Not great but I expect it to get better next time. There is a learning curve with the procedures here in the U.S. Such a brave boy. Our medical procedures are much different than he has previously seen. This must be frightening for him sometimes. With the weekly blood draws, since we have returned home, he usually just sticks out his arm and waits. No being scared of needles when you have had monthly transfusions for 4 years. His mama and baba are with him and he does seem comforted. Who knows who was with him previously, if anyone.

I would like to give a plug to the Red Cross here. If you have been putting off donating blood please consider doing it now. You can give blood every 6 weeks. The discomfort is minimal and it does save lives. Joseph has a type and cross match the day before his transfusion to find the closest match to him possible. This week he did break out in hives. The Dr. said it was a reaction to the donor blood. If more people donated the selection would be an even closer match and help prevent hives in the future.

Other than Thalassemia the kids are doing great. Joseph will start his medicine to remove iron from his blood and organs in the next two weeks. Exjade is a wonderful medicine not available in China that is expected to help Thalassemia patients live long lives here in the US. Jewel will only require yearly blood tests to monitor her health and no transfusions. Yeah!!! Both kids are very low on the US growth charts as expected. But they are in proportion with their height which is more important. Joseph will most likely be waiting to start pre-k school until next year. The program is full at our local school and we think he will benefit by going next year. Can you imagine learning an entire new language. In Mandarin he seems to know his colors, numbers, shapes etc. He is super smart and I am amazed at how quickly he is learning English. Must faster than I am learning Mandarin. Although I do know more now than I did.

Now that we are home posting to the blog has taken a backseat. Sorry. Our Internet access is spotty at best and I just don't make blogging a priority. I know some people wanted to see how we were adjusting and the word is GREAT! Better than expected. I'll try to add some photos later. I'm sending this from my phone.

Jennifer