Kazapalooza

It is hard to believe it is almost time for Kazapalooza again. Every year we always wonder how we will make it work, we figure out what we are willing to go without so that we can go, and every year it is very worth it. There is something amazing about being around those with a shared collective experience that few people in our day to day life have. We are all so vastly different in terms of careers, religion, reason for adopting, financial stability, where we live, what our experience was like in adoption, but we all have one huge thing in common. We persevered through mountains of paperwork and red tape, because some part of our inner being drove us to go to one more USCIS appointment, to redo that form again, and to be fingerprinted by every possible agency just to prove we were not in fact criminals. We have all done something that was not easy, or normal, but what we as families knew to be the right path for us. Few of us have had flawless journeys, but that is what makes our families rich and helps (hopeful) our children know how much they were really wanted in this world.

Kazapalooza is only one weekend a year, but it also gives us the community (even if it is virtual for 362 days a year) to be a part of and lean on.

John and I are the ones this time wishing we could go ahead and pack our bags. Emerson was kind enough to remind me that there were still 10 more days until we leave. Isaac does not know about this event yet. I am trying to really prepare him for a vacation. It is still a little freaky for him to do things out of the routine. The last two big times he met a lot of strangers in a hotel, he lost what was his family or home life. I keep reassuring him that we are going as a family and we will come home as a family.

Our plan is to go to KP then up to Port St. Joe on the way back and enjoy a few days there before enjoying the summer with the boys and working on the buisness (The Backyard Pantry.)

Big Progress

Dear Readers,
I feel as though once again I should start my post with an apology. It has been too long again, and I would love to say it is because I am so busy. It is true I am busy, but there are other adoptive parents who are way busier and keep their blog up on a more regular basis. I will say, that I have a no scream policy at home, which does not help. When Isaac came home we diched the TV, and the computer at home is for me to look up recipies or put music on for the family. I think it is my guilt of working so many hours. Regardless of all my exuses of why I have been a bad blogger I am here... for today.

Let me start first with a progress report. I need to brag on Isaac and the power of family. If you have followed this blog since his adoption you will know that he was a bit of a mess when he got to us. He was on intense psycotrophic drugs, very under weight, could barely hear, did not have many words he could speak, he could not walk on uneven surfaces, he would hit, throw things and arch his back when hugged. He would wake up with night terrors or refuse to go to sleep at all.

We have come a long way since them. Isaac now talks up a storm (it is stil hard to understand him at times), he gives great hugs and even spontaniously will tell me he loves me. He is now on the charts and even 25th % for height and weight. He gladly will set the entire table for a meal (granted he does this becaue he has learned it means we eat sooner and the boy loves to eat.) He goes to sleep well and knows what to expect with his night time routine. He will often come out of his room in the morning dressed apropriately for the day, and he is great about cleaning up his room without me asking. The biggest news we recived in regards to his progress is his intelectual development. Isaac was labeled as developmentaly delayed. In the adoption world we know this term well, but there is always some worry that comes with it. We know as adoptive parents that our kids will be delayed, and we hope that with life experiences with family love our child will catch up. There is always the worry that there is something else causing these delays and that your child just might not catch up to their peers. This is the information we got from the school at his IEP meeting. When we took Isaac for his developmental screaning in August he was testing at a 26 month old level for a 3.5 year old. The great news is that last month he tested at a 4 year old level for a 4 year old. The folks at the international clinic were amazed. They said they have never seen a kid come from so far behind, to on target so quickly.

The one area we are still really struggling with is emotional age. Isaac, with me, reverts back to baby land regularly. I mean crawling on the floor, grunting and pointing, drooling, baby behavior... I will be honest, this is madening to me. I totaly get why he is doing it, I logicaly know he needs a mother (me) to make up for years of neglect. The difficulty is that he wants it but has no idea how to appropritely get motherly attention. When we go to cuddle he often pulls away, then 2 seconds later demands that I hold him. When he does not get his way, he reacts like an 18 month old. He hits, screams, pouts. I keep reminding myself that this imaturity will not always be so obvious. Yes, it is drastic to have a 4 year old acting like a 2 year old. Now a 40 year old acting like a 38 year old is not that big of a deal.