A Visit with the Shands Cleft Team

On Thursday of this week we had a 4-hour visit with the Cleft Palate team at Shands Childrens Hospital in Gainesville. We were seen by a Plastic surgeon, Dentist, Oral surgeon, Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor, Pediatrician, Geneticist, Speech Therapists, Audiologists, Psychologist, and Social Worker. These are all the folks who will follow him into adulthood with his different surgeries (nose revision at age 5, bone graft to his gums at age 8, more surgeries as needed, regular hearing and speech tests, etc.). Thanks to Papa/Rea for watching Emily in The Villages the entire day while we were with David.

David did pretty well considering it was a very long day. Thank gosh for Gerber snacks and Cheerios! The team was very happy with David's development since his adoption, and will schedule his surgery very soon. David is 34 3/4" tall and weighs 25 lbs

Being a Parent to Two

So what's it like, you ask? Here are some highlights...

- Seeing them touch or tickle each other and smile...sweet songs from the car seats behind us...being together at mealtime...a famiy of four cuddling and giggling in the same bed.



- Watching green beans, then carrots, followed by chicken bits hit my freshly mopped kitchen floor. The chicken is gobbled up quickly, but the dog steps on the beans and carrots instead, mashing them into my freshly mopped floor.

- Waking up to a family of four in the same bed, wondering who??, how??, and why my arms are so numb from such small bodies taking up so much space in a king-sized bed!

- Taking a 10-second break from watching David only to hear a splash splash in the next room and realizing it's David in the dog's water dish. Slipping on the wet floor to retrieve a yelling, soaked toddler while the poor dog stands nearby, perplexed and thirsty.

- Feeling like my eyes will remain permanently crossed, and that I'm about to have a stroke from the stress of raising two...



- Changing the poopy diaper of a screaming, kicking 2-year old, and seeing a little hand move past me with a diaper wipe and clumsily but gently dab at David's naked bottom. Realizing it's Emily, trying to help...and I just melt...

Get Well, Chloe!

Little Chloe Ming Bolton (at left), sister of Abigail, had her palate surgery today and is recovering. (Chloe, also from Tianjin, has the same degree cleft lip/palate as David.) She'll spend the night in the hospital and go home to face "no-nos" (soft arm restraints the kids have to wear for weeks after cleft palate surgery) and a liquid diet. But, hopefully the palate surgery will help her sleep better, eat better, breathe better, and speak, just as we hope David's will. We love you, Chloe!

Farewell to Casey Kane...

Sadly, Uncle Joe and Aunt Carol Kane lost their Golden Retriever Casey this week. What a sweet, gentle soul he was. Our condolences go out to Joe and Carol in their time of grief. These are folks who rescue animals and give them great lives. Casey will surely be waiting for his beloved owners at the Rainbow Bridge.