Loving Lydia

Getting to Know You

  This weekend we took the rats outside to check out the great outdoors. They really seemed to enjoy the change of scenery and it gave Lydia an opportunity to get to see them better and interact more with them. I really like the rats a lot. I've gotten some criticism from friends about them, but they really are gentle, very smart and fun. Each has their own unique personality. Karloff (pictured with Liddy) is extremely active and very inquisitive. He's brave and loves to play. Bela is quiet, shy, standoffish and (ironically) the alpha rat. Karloff lives for Bela and spoils him bringing him food and grooming him repeatedly. Ben (our youngest rat) is my favourite. I know I shouldn't have favourites, but he's my baby. He's very loving and cuddles with me often. He gives me little rat kisses (yes, rats kiss) and loves to play with toys and explore. I love my dog, I love my cats and I gotta admit, I love my rats too. They are fascinating pets who are clean, well behaved and loving and I doubt we'll ever be without rats again in our home.  

Ben

  Ben, the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With a friend to call my own
I'll never be alone
And you, my friend, will see
You've got a friend in me

Ben, you're always running here and there
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
If you ever look behind
And don't like what you find
There's one thing you should know
You've got a place to go

I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
Ben, most people would turn you away
I don't listen to a word they say
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I'm sure they'd think again
If they had a friend like Ben

Pumpkin Guts

  It's my favourite time of year. I love fall, and I especially love Halloween. Lydia too is becoming quite the fan of Halloween. Carving and painting pumpkins was a blast!

Autumn

Pumpkin Patch

  More pictures to come soon.

Still waiting for test results

We should be getting the results of Lydia's blood tests tomorrow. Hopefully she'll be cleared for potential Melamine exposure. The brand of formula she took in China was one that was tainted, but it is also one that has had a low incidence of illnesses due to the melamine. (In addition a candy recall just happened with Sherwood Brand Pirate Gold Candy...so just be aware of that as well during this festive candy eating season.)

I took Lydia's most recent stats and plugged them into some growth charts.  One is from SE China, one from Vietnam, and one from the US.  The Vietnam is surprisingly close to the US chart and may just be the same chart (Differences may be attributed to the poor quality of the chart copy from Vietnam, while the U.S. had an actual "Calculator), so it may be meaningless.  The SE China chart was compiled from children in Hong Kong.

Lydia's Height- 3 feet, 2 inches
   SE China - 25%
   SE Asia - 10%
   U.S. - 14%

Lydia's Weight - 32 lbs
   SE China - 50%
   SE Asia - 25%
   U.S. - 24%

Lydia's BMI is 15.6 which is at 56% for her age and height (right in the middle)
Overweight is over 95%
Underweight is under 5%

So she's doing very well (but a little on the short side.)

UPDATE: Her results came in...she is practically perfect in every way! (If only we could rid her of her need to rule the world!)

Melamine exposure now including 2005 adoptions

Important Recommendation from American Academy of Pediatrics for China Adoptive Families

16 October 2008
Dear Families,

In recent months you’ve most likely heard about the infant formula tainted with Melamine in China. According to reports from China, this tainted formula has resulted in some babies developing kidney stones, and in a few extreme cases, experiencing kidney failure. I know we are all saddened by this situation, and by the suffering of Chinese children and their families.

We are writing today to advise you that recently we have heard from three families whose children were diagnosed with kidney stones. Two of these children joined their families as early as 2005. WACAP immediately contacted Dr. Dana Johnson, an adoptive medicine specialist at the University of Minnesota’s International Adoption Medical Clinic, to seek a recommendation for families who’ve adopted from China. Dr Johnson consulted with the section on Adoption and Foster Care of the American Academy of Pediatrics and advised us of the following: "...the consensus is to do urinalysis and BUN/Creatanine on all children adopted from China from 2005 onward and if abnormal, get a renal ultrasound."

We know this information comes as a surprise and may be upsetting. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully and advise you of any further recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. As we continue to place many children from China, especially children with special needs, we will continue to be in contact with the CCAA as well regarding this issue. We are sending this e-mail to all families who have adopted from China since January 2005 for whom we have an e-mail address. If you know of other families that may benefit from this information, please feel free to forward this on.

We had Lydia's 4 year old checkup and shots today...and she did have a urinalysis done, but not a BUN Creatanine. We'll be calling her physician tomorrow to follow up on this though.

Bela & Karloff

Ever wonder...?

What you would have looked like if you'd been born at a different time?

   

Wo ai ni from firstmommy

Lydia was at the dinner table and then out of the blue she says: "I talked to firstmommy last night." "You did?" I reply "Did she come visit you?" "No she called me on the phone." she returns "What did she have to say to you?" I ask. And then she began to sing me this song from You tube. It gives me so much hope Lydia thinks so positively of her first mommy and daddy. We are careful to only speak positively and try to let her set the pace. Hope you enjoy the video, it's personally one of my favourites.

Opening her birthday presents

  Lydia made out like a bandit this year for her birthday. In addition to the scooter she bought with her birthday money she also got some barbies, books, a doll and a barbie "laptop". All and all a pretty good haul for our newly crowned four year old.

Scooter

  "I wanna be a Toys R Us kid." Every year for her birthday we take Lydia to Toys R Us to pick out one special gift of her choosing with her birthday money. This year she spent her birthday money on a scooter. She wanted a skateboard, but we convinced her a scooter might be a better choice, and the princess scooter was practically perfect.

Mommy and Daddy hangin' with the fairy crowd

When fairies turn four

Pictures coming soon

Sorry, been awhile since I've been on here...Dracula has been kicking my butt. To say we've been having "issues" with this show would be an understatement. But it opened tonight and the show was a hit. We had a standing ovation with a sold out house, so I'm much happier now.

Russell is doing okay. Withdrawl has been a bit of an issue. He's become addicted to percacet and he's working on not being addicted to it anymore. He's weening successfully, but it's definately a process and while I envy his willpower I don't envy his situation...so I'm just trying to be supportive and I'm looking forward to his next doctor visit when he should be drug free and will then find out the next step of the process towards his recovery.

Today was Lydia's birthday. (I say was because it's actually 1 am the next day.) She had a party at daycare with a Giselle (from Enchanted) cake and princess treat bags. We took her out to dinner and she opened two of her gifts. (Great timing from Grandma and Grandpa as well as Kitty and Papa as her cards/gifts arrived today. She'll be opening them on Saturday though.) The two gifts she did open though were a tub toy boat and a Barbie "laptop" which she loved. It's a fun electronic toy that teaches about letters, words and numbers.

So to my friends who've written. Lydia and I are fine. Russell is doing better. And I hope with the show up the blog should resume. I have some cool pics to share from today but haven't uploaded them yet so stay tuned for photos featuring our FOUR year old. (Hard to believe!!)

P.S. Michelle, you're in Kentucky??? Where? Probably nowhere near here as I live in the sticks, but write me at the8rchik@aol.com and if you are near we can try to meet!