Almost 2 years with Nicholas

Can you beleive that it has been almost 2 years since Nicholas joined our family. Its like he has always been a part of us. His speech progress is amazing despite that he will need another surgery this winter. He says 4-5 word sentences abd it come sout pretty clear. He is getting taller but still not gaining weight. The drs dont seem concerned as it is just an effect of being so mal-nourished when we brought him home. He starts kindergarten this Fall and he can't wait to ride the big boy bus!!! He is so smart and seems to be very mechanical minded as he has to figure out how everything works. Attatched is a picture of his preschoold graduation. We are just so blessed to have him.

update

I thought I would take a moment to update the world about MR. Nicholas. He is doing great and actually growing!:o) His speech is coming slowly and new words come out every week. He fills our world with smiles, goofy faces and constant movement.

We just got back from the lake. Nicholas loved the water and playing playing with his siblings. He is covered with mosquito bites as am I. We took him fishing in the boat which he enjoyed. His grandpa is determined to make a fisherman out of him yet! Take care and have a safe summer.

Springtime with Nick

Hey All...yes it has been forever since we have updated this. Nicholas is doing awesome and yes he is actually growing! He is now 28 pounds (23 pounds when we brought him home) and has almost grown 2 inches. He healed from his surgery and started speech therapy in March. His favorite question is "Whats that"? and asks it a million times a day. He speaks a little bit clearer but is pretty quiet around strangers yet loves to talk during church. He loved Easter and finding eggs. Now that it is nice out, he likes to play ball but still loves his "machinas". He has brought so much joy to our lives and we are so incredibly blessed to have found this little boy. Every night I thank God for WACAP because without them, we would never have met Nicholas.

A sore little boy

Good Morning All....
Well...Nicholas had his surgery and it went pretty good. They took him in at 10:45am and he starting crying. I think he thought that he was being taken away from us. Dr. Hussain came in at 12:30pm and said surgery went well. We got to see him at 1pm and he was really out of it. They were concerned as his blood pressure was really high (150/84). Eventually it went down. Starting at 4:30 he began vomiting blood. He did it 6 times, finally the last one was at 10:30pm which he did all over Mom. Ah...the joys of motherhood. He has a pretty quiet night and got up 2 times for the bathroom. So far we got him to take 6 sips of water which is normal. Right now they are trying to find a happy medium for the pain medication. THe dose yesterday kept him asleep. He is more alert today but is in more pain. Hopefully they will call the Dr today and see if they can give him some tylenol. He has to wear arm splints so he does not touch his mouth. He will have to wear them for 2 weeks. He also in an oxygen tent but it is used for moisture. HE is not too thrilled being in there as he wakes up scared. Last night Ron and Lynn H. came to see us which was great! The staff and the hospital are phenomenal. We are so impressed with the care they are giving Nicholas. That is it for now. Keep us in your prayers!
Nicholas, Stacy and Doug!

Nicholas - Surgery

Hey all...
Just a quick update to let you know that Nicholas will be having cleft surgery this week (on Tuesday) and will be in the hospital for 5 days. We are having the surgery done in Sioux Falls, SD. We are anxious as he will be somewhat uncomfortable for the first 3 days. Say a prayer!

Stacy and Doug!

A Update

First of all...Happy New Year! It has been ages since I have had a chance to update this as life is very busy. Having three active kids makes life very hectic but very good. My. Nicholas is doing great. He has grown 2 inches and gained 2 pounds since being home. He is trying to talk up a storm and still does not know what the phrase "quiet" means. We had his cleft pallate looked at and will propably have surgery within the next couple of months. We meet with the surgeons this week at Children's Hospital.
We had a wonderful holdiay with our new son as well as the other children. Highlights include the school christmas program, going to Iowa, going to the Santa Claus 3 movie, visiting Santa a the bank, cookie baking with Grandma and decorating our two Christmas trees. The only bad thing was I was in the hospital for 5 days (12/19 -12/24) with acute asthmatic bronchitis. Doug did fine with the kids except Sarah said that "Dad cooks weird".

Nicholas turned 5 on December 30. We are having his pary tomorrow. Of course it is a "machina" themed party. I am looking forward to making his cake. Take care!

Nicholas and Fall

Hello All. It has been forever since I have updated this as life has been very busy now that I am a mom to three. Time for myself is a rare thing. The children are engrossed in a movie and chicken nuggets with fries. Doug is up deer hunting (beware Bambi!) and I am catching up on emails.
Nicholas is doing great. He has grown an 1 1/2 inches and gained a 1 1/4 pounds in 8 weeks. He is thriving and loving being part of our family. The speech is still very delayed but that does not stop him from communicating. Chatterbox is more like it. Everyone comments that he is so animated with expressions and gestures. I still look at his sweet face and that great smile and thank God for him. He was the missing piece of our family.
Fall highlights have included going to the orchard with Miss Julie(from Mom's office), going to his godparents farm for a weekend and spending a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's home in Iowa. He has not spent much time with Grandma as she spent all of September in California caring for a family friend. After spending a weekend with her, lets just say they are in love with each other. He cuddled in her lap and fell asleep while Grandma beamed with love.

Nick now is going to preschool 4 mornings a week which he loves. The school staff has commented that they feel he is intelligent and that he loves to learn (and they said he was retarded in Russia). We went to the cardiologist and Nick's heart is fine despite the small hole. We go to the U of M cranial/facial clinic on December 6th. The only other thing that we need to do is see the eye doctor which we are waiting for his understanding of English to be a bit better.

I can't wait for the upcoming Holidays as our new son experiences all the magic for the first time. Is it too early to start decorating?? Just kidding! Take care@