Jeffry Dwight - Family - Timeline - The Happily Ever After

First Western-style medical check-up today for both boys. Results will take a while to get back from the labs, but apart from the expected parasites and some fungus, both boys check out healthy and strong.
Zack has a slight heart murmur (probably a "flow murmur", and probably nothing to worry about). We'll follow-up on this after we get the results of his blood work.

Thu, 22 July 2004

Excellent news! All three of us are free from active parasites. The diarrhea and other problems are caused by bacteria, which is much more easily treated.
The boys' bloodwork came back superclean. Their BUN count is a bit low, but that's from the dehydration from diarrhea. No other problems! They couldn't be healthier!
Doctor's instructions: Feed them like crazy, have them drink as much water as they can, bring them back in two months.

Sun, 25 July 2004

Tonight marks one full week of being home together as a family.
It's been a bit rocky due to sleep issues and lingering illness, but overall has gone very well.
The kids are picking up English a little bit each day. I'm not pushing total immersion right now, because there's so much else for them to get used to.
The biggest priority for the coming week is establishing and maintaining a bedtime routine. I'm finished experimenting, and now we're going to try only one thing for a week to see what happens.
I have to go back to the doctor on Monday; the dehydration continues to be a problem, and I'm still dizzy and tired all the time, but it's definitely better than last week at this time.

Thu, 29 July 2004

Received US passports.
Sent UA passports and registration info to the Ukrainian Consulate in D.C.

Fri, 30 July 2004

Applied for social security cards

Mon, 02 August 2004

UA passports and registration forms arrive at UA consulate in Washington D.C. at 10:03 a.m.

Tue, 03 August 2004

First post-placement visit from the social worker this morning. The kids behaved reasonably well, and the SW had no problems with how things have been going.

Wed, 04 August 2004

Nicky's urologist says everything looks okay for now, but wants to test again if he has further UTIs.

Sat, 07 August 2004

SW confirms that we have to wait six months before doing recognition of foreign adoption. Although the recognition thing itself has no time requirement, the Texas courts don't have jurisdiction to order new birth certificates until residency requirements (six months) have been met.
First spontaneous English sentence today! Nicky learned the word for "today" today, and, while talking about spaghetti (by far his favorite food now), he said, "Today, please." It's not much of a sentence, but he put it together correctly and without coaching from words he already knew in different contexts. I, of course, said, "Yes!"

Mon, 09 August 2004

Social security cards arrived.
Ukraine consulate sent the return FedEx envelope with the boys' UA passports - should arrive tomorrow.

Tue, 10 August 2004

UA passports arrived back from the Ukrainian Embassy.

Mon, 16 August 2004

Certificates of Citizenship arrived. They left blank the physical descriptions, but got the names and birthdates correct. Good enough for a memento that does nothing except take up space in the fire safe.
Zacky decided last night was a good night to try throwing up. No fever, and no other signs of illness, but he's vomited a little clear fluid several times throughout the day today. I'm keeping him quiet and waiting to see if it gets better or worse.
I finished my third course of antibiotics, and think I'm mostly over whatever-it-was. No more fever or dizziness, althogh I'm still very tired all the time.
Last night marked the four-week "anniversary" of being Americans for Nicky and Zack. Yay!

Mon, 23 August 2004

Sent off the documents required for the Texas Recognition of Foreign Decree. The lawyers will fool around with papers for a while, then the judge will dither, and eventually I'll end up with two brand-new Texas birth certificiates for the kids.
The birth certificates will still show the place of birth as Gadyach, Poltava, Ukraine, so they won't be any good for proving citizenship, but I have citizenship covered by the IR-3 visa in their UA passports, their US passports, and their US certificates of citizenship.
The cool thing about the new birth certificates is that they'll be in English from one of the 50 good old United States. This will make life much easier when dealing with those who want copies of birth certificates but don't happen to know anything about international law or how US citizenship works.

Tue, 24 August 2004

Met with a team of seven from the school today to talk about Nicky and Zack's education. I'm going to enroll Nicky in kindergarten fairly soon, but Zack will wait until next year.
Everyone at the school was very nice, very professional, and very much on the same wavelength with me about getting Nicky the extra support he needs to make the transition into an English-speaking school.
I'm going back tomorrow to meet with the principal again, take some pictures of the classrooms, and let the boys look around a bit.
While I was meeting with the school, the boys had an afternoon out with Uncle Ratz. They went to McDonald's, then watched a movie and played with Ratz's dog.
I figured they'd be anxious about my absence, but they were having such a good time that they stayed an extra two hours just for fun! Poor Uncle Ratz doesn't know that he's just volunteered to be the afternoon baby-sitter for the rest of his life....

Wed, 25 August 2004

right now!

Thu, 26 August 2004

Both kids sick today - bummer. Nicky's little sniffle has turned into a full-blown cold, and Zack's "not feeling quite right" has turned into the stomach flu.
I found myself holding a bowl under Zack's mouth and holding a tissue over Nicky's nose at the same time, trying to catch the flying fluids. Of course, both kids moved at exactly the wrong times.
Oh, my. Oh, my. 'Nuff said.

Sat, 28 August 2004

Zack was feeling almost normal by Friday morning, and by Friday afternoon was completely himself, so we took a trip to Dallas Lake in Lewisville to soak up some sunshine.
Nicky doesn't believe he's sick because the DayQuil masks his symptoms completely. The moment it wears off, though, he starts sniffling and coughing again. I figured bright hot sunshine would help him, too -- and we got it: 95 degrees!
This morning is exactly the opposite: only 70 degrees outside, and raining steadily. I have a feeling we're going to be stuck inside all day....

Sun, 29 August 2004

Zack's stomach flu thingamabob seems completely cleared up. Like the time before, it lasted about 24 hours with little or no fever, which makes me suspect food rather than flu.
Nicky's cold did not disappear. He doesn't have it anymore because he gave it to me. He woke up this morning all perky and chipper, and I woke up barely able to breathe.

Mon, 30 August 2004

Nicky's first day of school (one hour)

Tue, 31 August 2004

First dentist visit today. Both boys behaved extremely well.
Nicky's front-bottom two teeth are loose. His permanent teeth are going to come in soon. The dentist estimates Nicky has another 2-3 months until he loses the loose baby teeth.
Nicky also has three of his four "six-year molars." The fourth is budding, but quite a ways from being ready to show itself.
Both boys show weakened enamel from lack of flouride, but only have a handful of cavities each.
The dentist wants to put resin composite fillings in the cavities, and seal several teeth on each boy, but otherwise says they're in good shape.

Wed, 01 September 2004

Walked to the school this morning to play on the playground and pick up some books from Nicky's teacher.
I persuaded Nicky to go inside and say hello to his class. He wasn't a bit shy or nervous this time. He'd asked several times in the hallway for reassurance that we were just saying hello, so he had almost no stress.
I had him say "Good morning" to the class, and all the kids asked if he would be staying. When I translated that for him, he said he would be back tomorrow morning.
First taste of chocolate milk! Yum!
First eye doctor visit (opthamologist). Zack's eyes are in good shape, but Nicky's terribly far-sighted. He'll get his new glasses next Tuesday.

Thu, 02 September 2004

Nicky's second day of school (two hours).
Went out for dinner at a steak restaurant. Except for a cafe-like restaurant in Warsaw, this is the first time the boys have been at a real restaurant. They were fantastic -- very well-behaved and polite.
The boys met Grandpa Tom and Grandma Sandi for the first time at the restaurant. Grandma Sandi brought them toy cars and goodies for the tub, and they decided they liked her right away.

Fri, 03 September 2004

Nicky's third day of school. He spent some time with the teacher on the computer and really enjoyed it, but only lasted two hours at school before becoming overstimulated by everything.
Zack connived about a pound of carrots from a friend and ate them all. He pooped bright orange every half-hour for the rest of the day.
Nicky unexpectedly said "left" in English as we were turning left. Without thinking, I said, "Yes, that's right." The poor kid changed his answer to "right," so I changed mine to "left." We had to go around the block a couple of times each direction before we got it straightened out.
I never realized how often I said "yup" until the boys started echoing it. You haven't lived until you've experienced a five-minute chorus of "yup-yup-yup-yup-yup" from the backseat, followed by explosive giggles.
The boys met Aunt Judy for the first time. She'll be taking care of Zack during the mornings next week while I'm at school with Nicky. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see that Zack has stolen my cell phone and is trying to dial.

Tue, 07 September 2004

Aunt Judy starts working with Zack in the mornings.
Nicky gets his glasses. Aside from sleeping, swimming, and trying to get Gozer to wear them, Nicky hasn't taken the glasses off his face since the moment they were fitted. His first word after looking through the for the first time was "Wow!" and that was about all he said for the next several minutes.

Tue, 14 September 2004

Took the boys to a pediatric ENT this morning. We ended up spending three full hours. Both boys have some thickening of the tympanni from multiple untreated ear infections in the past, but both are able to hear just fine. There's some slight loss of sensitivity due to the thickened eardrums, but nothing that will interfere with school or other activities.
Nicky's adenoids and tonsils are so enlarged they are cutting off two thirds of his air passage. It's no wonder he has obstructive sleep apnea, too. The tonsils and adenoids will have to come out. The doctor wants to do it right away, so we're working on getting a hospital date lined up.

Wed, 15 September 2004

full

great!

Mon, 20 September 2004

Visited Zack's school (pre-K, ESL prep for kindergarten) with the boys in the afternoon
Started gathering paperwork for enrolling Zack
Since I've been through this already with Nicky, I know the quirks of the Plano school district, and should be able to get all the papers together within a day or so
The school has already assessed Zack for eligibility, but wants to assess him for classroom placement next
Zack's personality is such that he won't have any problems transitioning to half-days at school�he wants to start right away!

Wed, 22 September 2004

One-year anniversary of deciding to adopt
Zack's first day of pre-kindergarten

Sat, 02 October 2004

Travel to Denver to visit Uncle Ken and Aunt Liz

Wed, 06 October 2004

Travel to Omaha to visit Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dan, and Uncle Jeff

Sun, 10 October 2004

Back home safely!

Mon, 11 October 2004

Nicky goes into the hospital to have his adenoids and tonsils removed

Tue, 12 October 2004

Everything went well with Nicky's surgery, and we are home recovering.

Mon, 25 October 2004

Nicky returned to school today�his teacher said he picked right up where he left off without any problems.
Doctor said Nicky can take baths again. After two weeks with only a couple of quick showers, Nicky was starting to get pretty whiff. Yay! Long bubble-bath tonight.

Tue, 26 October 2004

Signed new estate documents today.
Uncle Dan arrives!

Wed, 27 October 2004

Today we went before a judge in Dallas county and got the Recognition of Foreign Decree
We also confirmed the boys' names, citizenship, and (correct) birthdates, whice resolves a lot of confusion
Now we are eligible to get Texas birth certificates issued!

Thu, 28 October 2004

Sent off request for new Texas birth certificates.
Lawyer warned TX is taking 4-6 months to process new birth certificates these days

Fri, 29 October 2004�Sun, 31 Oct 2004

Drove to San Antonio. Stayed at the Embassy Suites (huge glass elevators! fun!), and went to Sea World all day Saturday. On Sunday morning, we drove home and the boys experienced their first American Halloween. They dressed as Little Bunny Foo Foo (Zack) and Peter Pan (Nicky), and had a wonderful time Trick-or-Treating.

Tue, 02 November 2004

Nicky lost his first baby tooth today (P, a lateral incisor, to be replaced with adult tooth #25 very soon).
It came out at school while he was eating an apple.
The school (which obviously deals with this all the time) put the tooth in a little plastic container and sent it home.

Thu, 11 November 2004

Zack came down with a cough and fever yesterday (croup), so he's staying home from school today and tomorrow.
He's really very cute when he's sleeping!

Fri, 12 November 2004

And now Nicky has a fever and a cough.
He's also complaining of stomach pain, but I think he was just hungry.

Sat, 13 November 2004

Zack is still coughing, but hasn't had a fever for over 24 hours now.
Nicky's fever went over 101 in the middle of the night last night, and he found it very difficult to sleep.
He tossed and turned from bedtime until around 2:30 in the morning, then was awake until 5:30, moaning quietly and coughing occasionally.
His fever responded very well to children's Motrin, and he eventually settled back down and slept until 8:30.

Mon, 15 November 2004

Up all night again with Nicky. Poor thing can't breathe from coughing so much the moment he lies down.
Since the fevers seem to oscillate between normal and 101-ish, they probably have viral croup.
Croup, however, typically only last four or five days, and Zack isn't showing signs of getting better.
Nicky's cough sounds like a foghorn!
Off to the doctor we go, to make sure it's not pneumonia or some other nasty. The school nurse tells me all sorts of respiratory infections are going around right now.

Tue, 16 November 2004

The doctor felt that the boys had signs of a bacterial infection rather than a virus, which would make their disease whooping cough instead of croup.
Considering that Nicky's fever peaked at over 103 in the afternoon, we put them both on antibiotics just to be safe.
Either they were starting to get over it already, or the antibiotics work very quickly, because last night was much better for both boys, and this morning neither one has a fever.
We'll see how it goes tonight. They're both still coughing quite a bit (Nicky more than Zack), and not quite up to snuff in the energy department yet.

Wed, 17 November 2004

Zack returned to school, but Nicky still needed to stay home. His fever broke at 3:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday, so it hasn't been a full twenty-four hours for him yet.

Thu, 18 November 2004

Nicky's night-time cough was so bad, I went out in the middle of the night to buy a vaporizer and cough drops. They made a huge difference. The steam by itself didn't help all that much (huddling in the bathroom with the shower blasting full-hot hadn't helped much, either), but the Vick's vapo-stemo-chemo-stuffo helped a lot, and so did the Hall's cough drops.
Nicky ended up sleeping through the night finally, and went to school (tiredly and reluctantly) today.

Fri, 19 November 2004

Both boys are feeling a lot better.
Uncle Tim arrives from Minnesota.

Sat, 20 November 2004

Uncle Tim from Minnesota spent one afternoon, evening, and morning with us.
He brought the boys toy cars (yay!) and took them out for ice cream.
The boys really enjoyed meeting Uncle Tim at last. Now they have a personality to match to the pictures.

Sun, 21 November 2004

Visited with Aunt Linda in Grand Prairie again. The boys had a wonderful time, and were so pooped out that they fell asleep right after dinner.

Thu, 25 November 2004

Zack wanted to sleep in a box last night, and Nicky wanted to sleep in it this morning. I didn't have the heart to turn on the lights to take a picture, and the flash would have woken them, too, so you'll just have to imagine two boys, two stuffed dogs, a couple of toy cars, a pile of pillows, and a blanket all in a cardboard box about two feet square. The word "adorable" comes to mind.
After getting Nicky situated in the box with Zack, I tried to go back to sleep. I got in bed and pulled the covers over my head to block out the light. A few minutes later, I felt a small hand on my shoulder, and a tiny voice asked, "Daddy, whatcha doing?"
I pulled the blanket down and stared at Nicky. "Did you just say, 'Whatcha doing'?" I asked.
He grinned. "Yup!"
The boys have been asking about "Turkey Day" all week, and now it's finally here!
Of course, they wanted turkey at 7:00 a.m., and I had to explain (for the thousandth time) that turkeys take a long time to bake.
They helped prepare the turkey, and now are waiting impatiently for it to cook.
Every half-hour or so, all day long, Nicky came into the kitched to check on the turkey and ask if it was time to eat yet.
The boys finally went to sleep, as stuffed as the turkey had been, around 8:30.

Mon, 29 November 2004

Back to school after a five-day break. The boys are sad, but Papa's okay with it. Even though I'll miss the boys, I'll be able to catch up on sleep!

Wed, 01 December 2004

Zack woke up this morning to find a dozen birthday presents waiting for him.
He gets to open one this morning, one after school, and the rest tonight at his birthday party.
Congratulations, Zacky-boy! You're FIVE YEARS OLD TODAY!

Tue, 14 December 2004

Preliminary meeting with Zack's school today to discuss getting a developmental assessment.
Our main concern right now is speech, specifically his ability to form certain consonants properly.
Of secondary concern are other delays, including psycho-social and cognitive.
He's catching up well in most areas, but needs a little extra help right now with expressive speech.
The assessment will form a good overall baseline to help us track future development.

Thu, 16 December 2004

Happy Birthday, Nicky Lee! Seven years old today!

Thu, 30 December 2004

Finally got to McKinney, Texas (about ten miles north) to apply for the correction to Zack's social security card. They claim the processing will take only seven days, after which time I can apply for the revised passport.

Sun, 02 January 2005

Nicky has another wiggly tooth. No sign of the replacement yet.
Took down all the Christmas decorations yesterday, and are embroiled in the Great Cleanup of 2005.
How can two little boys (and one not-so-little Daddy) collect so much absolute junk?

Tue, 04 January 2005

looooong

Mon, 10 January 2005

Nicky lost his glasses yesterday.
I don't mean lost as in "misplaced," but as in "dropped them over the side of a bridge and watched in despair as they swirled away down the river and disappeared."
Alas, insurance only covers damage to the lenses and frames, not wholesale loss.
We're off to buy more glasses. Oddly enough, I was just thinking yesterday morning how well Nicky was taking care of his specs. When I was his age, mine were cracked, taped, and dangling most of the time.
So today I took Nicky out of school for a half hour to run to the optician and pick out new frames.
Wouldn't you know it, we went back to the park after school and found his old glasses in the stream.
They're broken, but (remember that insurance?) can be fixed.
Since I've already paid for the new pair, I guess he'll end up with spares. Probably a good idea, but I wish the glasses weren't $300 a pop.
Zack's corrected social security card arrived in the mail today.

Wed, 12 January 2005

Now, when I get a spare moment or three, I can apply for Zack's corrected U.S. passport.

Thu, 13 January 2005

Nicky lost his next baby tooth (Q, a lateral incisor), and #24 has broken the gums behind it.
Daddy goes into the hospital for stomach surgery.

Sat, 15 January 2005

Daddy gets home from the hospital.

Thu, 20 January 2005

Applied for Zack's updated passport today. Able to do it all by mail (FedEx), except now that I've sent the package off, I have a terrible feeling that it will come right back.
The instructions listed all the documents necessary, and I checked them off one by one as I assembled the packet, but the instructions didn't mention new photos.
Unless they're planning to amend the information without issuing a new passport, I suspect FedEx will be bringing the paperwork back in very short order.
Daddy goes back to the hospital (dehydration).

Sun, 23 January 2005

Daddy gets home from the hospital again.

Thu, 27 January 2005

Zack's passport came back today. They truly didn't want the photographs (I guess that's why they weren't on the list of things to send), because they didn't reissue the passport at all.
Instead of reissuing with the correct information, they computer-printed a correction on the very last page.
I can't imagine anyone would know (or think) to look there, but I suppose that since I know, it's good enough.
If we ever have any trouble about his birth date being wrong on the passport, it'll be while I'm standing there talking to some official. In that case, I can flip to the last page and show them the amendment.

Sun, 30 January 2005

All of us have colds. I think it started with Zack and he shared his germs with everyone else. Thoughtful lad!
This is the kind of cold that makes one's nose drip just a little tiny bit at all times. One walks around clutching a tissue, blotting rather than blowing, waiting for one's upper lip to peel off from the constant irritation.
Both boys have a nighttime cough that doesn't interfere with sleep or appear during the day; probably post-nasal drip.

Mon, 31 January 2005

Had Zack evaluated for speech therapy at his school. They did a fairly thorough initial evaluation of developmental milestones, and agreed with me that speech is the biggest area of concern right now.
As requested, they had a Russian speaker on hand to verify that Zack's difficulties are with language rather than with English. Zack does indeed mispronounce things the same ways in all languages.
The school will follow up with some standardized tests in the next couple of weeks to pinpoint specific things to work on.
When I was a kid, this kind of evaluation led to parents having to practice "Sally sells seashells by the seashore" with their kids; today, one hopes better methods are available.
It was both funny and somewhat sad to hear Zack reply only in English when asked questions in Russian. Funny because the interpreter was so surprised; sad because I fear Zack will lose most of his Russian/Ukrainian eventually.
I only use Russian or Ukrainian at home now when the boys don't understand something, or when they're not listening. Zack runs about 50/50 English/Ukrainian, and Nicky is about 90/10. Unlike Zack, however, Nicky treats English words as synonyms for the Russian words rather than replacements, and thus is likely to keep more of his Russian long-term.

Tue, 01 February 2005

Zack's cough is getting worse, but everyone else's cold symptoms are either the same or better than the past couple of days.
Met with Sara (Nicky's teacher) to go over Nicky's progress during the first half of the school year.
Is it possible that Nicky is halfway through kindergarten already? The time is going too fast, too fast! My little boy can't be closer to first grade than pre-school. He just can't! But spring vacation is coming, and after that the summer hols, and then first grade. Oh, my.
Contacted a private investigator in Ukraine to discuss finding information about the biological parents of the boys.

Mon, 07 February 2005

Colds have cleared up, except that Zack still coughs a bit at night.
After going to bed last night, Nicky got a nosebleed. Poor kid had no idea what to do. He woke Zack and sent him to fetch me, then went to the bathroom and bled all over the sink and floor.
I taught him how to hold his head back and pinch his nose. It took about five minutes for the nosebleed to stop, and after that he was fine.
Zack was a little freaked about all the blood, but calmed down when I reassured him Nicky was okay.
It's been very dry lately, so I set up the vaporizer and started running it. I also told Nicky to stop picking at his nose and tell me if he's uncomfortable.

Wed, 09 February 2005

Uncle Geoff and Aunt Norma came to visit.
The boys were very excited. Uncle Geoff is the only one of my brothers they hadn't met. They waited outside for the car to arrive (it was very cold), and greeted Geoff and Norma with hugs and kisses.
We all went out for dinner (Red Lobster, but the boys didn't want lobster), and then the boys went to bed and the adults stayed up talking.
Geoff and Norma will stay until Friday, so the boys will have lots of time to get to know them.

Fri, 11 February 2005

Decided to go ahead and hire the private investigator in Ukraine. She will attempt to find the biological parents of the boys and get more information about their lives. I'm really hoping she can also get some baby pictures of the boys.

Mon, 14 February 2005

Sent money and documents to the private investigator in Ukraine. She is offically hired as of now, but won't be able to start on my case until the week of 21 February.

Wed, 23 February 2005

Zack has a cough, with snot streaming out of his nose. Looks like he's getting a nasty cold just in time for spring break.

Wed, 02 March 2005

Zack's cough turned into a raging cold. He's been home from school all week with a fever up to 102.6 at times. Poor little guy is miserable. I'm running the humidifier, keeping him hydrated, and trying to make him less uncomfortable. Every time his fever goes down and he starts feeling better, I think it's over, but then the fever comes back. If he still has a fever tomorrow morning, I'll take him to the doctor.

Thu, 03 March 2005

Zack was doing much better yesterday afternoon, but at bedtime his fever spiked back up
Even though he's fine again this morning, he has to go 24 hours without a fever before the school will let him back

Fri, 04 March 2005

Zack still has a cough and a runny nose (amazing quantities of snot, actually!), but no fever
He went back to school today, just in time for one last day of school before spring break next week
Nicky doesn't appear to have caught the cold, but I think I have; oh, the joy, the joy!
Next week, we're going to visit some friends out west of Ft. Worth, and also going to San Antonio for a couple of days

Sun, 06 March 2005

Zack is almost over his cold; he still has a runny nose, but almost never coughs
Nicky and I aren't quite so lucky, though
Nicky got the cough, and I got the runny nose; I imagine we'll be trading symptoms around during the next ten days
Oh, yay! Just in time for spring vacation and our upcoming trips!

Thu, 10 March 2005

As we were getting ready to leave for Weatherford (west of Ft. Worth) on Tuesday, Zack came down with an earache
His fever also went back up, and it was clear he was miserable
I took him to the doctor, who diagnosed a secondary infection, this time bacterial instead of viral
We put Zack on antibiotics and cancelled the trip
By midday on Wednesday, Zack was feeling a lot better and had no fever (all hail Zithromax)
Aunt Judy took the boys to a movie with her kids, and I took a long-overdue nap
Since Zack is very close to normal, and since Nicky's cough isn't getting any worse, and since my cold/sinus infection is getting slightly better, we're off to San Antonio today
The forecast keeps changing, but the last time I looked, the weather was supposed to be excellent all weekend

Mon, 14 March 2005

The weather was excellent all weekend, and we had a wonderful time
We wandered the mall, rode the boat, and walked along the riverwalk on Friday morning
Friday afternoon, we went to the Children's Museu, then went swimming in the hotel pool
On Saturday, we strolled through the San Antonio Zoo, then saw a movie and went swimming again
The boys absolutely loved taking our first road trip in Homer (the Honda Odyssey van), and were exceptionally well-behaved all weekend

Mon, 21 March 2005

Received preliminary report from private investigator by email. The final version, along with photos, will arrive via FedEx in a week or so.
I have scans of some of the photos, including one baby Nicky picture, and pictures of the boys' Ukrainian relatives.
The information about how the boys were placed in the orphanage contradicts the police reports, the NAC summary, and the orphanage's records, but since all those things contradict each other, who knows what the true story is?
The boys appear to have three aunts and three cousins.

Fri, 25 March 2005

It takes anywhere up to six or eight months to get the packets returned. As usual with government stuff, some people report getting their packets in a couple of weeks, while others wait for years. The average appears to be running seven months....

Mon, 28 March 2005

Received report from private investigator via FedEx
I now have photos of the great-grandmother, the grandmother (and her siblings), the bio mother, bio father, aunts, uncles, and cousins

Sat, 02 April 2005

Nicky's two front top teeth (E and F) are loose and wiggly. Numbers 8 and 9 are on their way!

Mon, 04 April 2005

Got nice signed "Welcome to America" letters for each boy from Duyba and Laura
Sure, I requested them, but what the hey? The boys will enjoy looking at them someday
Zack's private speech therapist started working with him today
She'll work with Zack once a week in our home for a while

Wed, 06 April 2005

Nicky gave Zack a bath tonight
I stood just around the corner, listening
It was so adorable! Nicky gave him instructions, and helped him wash, exactly the way I do
Zack didn't think it was quite so adorable, but he went along with it

Fri, 08 April 2005

Nicky counted to one hundred�in English�without mistakes�without help�for the first time today. He's also been working on counting by tens.

Sat, 09 April 2005

We were supposed to go to Paris, Texas, to meet some friends; I turned the wrong way on the expressway
After about an hour, I realized we were going west instead of east, and it wouldn't make any sense at all to try to get to Paris yet today
So instead we went to the Ft. Worth zoo!

Thu, 14 April 2005

Nicky lost his right front top tooth today (child tooth E) while at school
It'd been loose and wiggly all week - so loose that it stuck out sideways from time to time - but still connected
His ESL teacher couldn't stand it any more; she gave it a big tug, and, with a spray of blood, it popped out
No sign of the adult tooth yet!
Nicky's other top-front-middle tooth is loose, too; it looks like he'll have a nice wide gap for the near future

Mon, 16 May 2005

Nicky lost his other top-front tooth tonight (#F, to be replaced by #9 eventually).
The tooth has been dangling and flopping and twisting in the breeze for a couple of days, but stubbornly refusing to come free.
Tonight, Nicks was playing outside and took a tumble. When he came up, he was plus one abrasion on his knee, and minus one tooth.
#8 (the replacement for the other top-front tooth) is peeking through the gums, but there's no sign of #9 yet.
Also had a check-up at the eye doctor for Nicky today. His prescription has changed a very tiny bit (less far-sighted), but not enough to mandate new lenses.

Fri, 20 May 2005

Last day of school for both kiddos! Zack is finished with preschool, and Nicky has graduated Kindergarten.
The boys have a week off before they start summer school.

Tue, 31 May 2005

First day of summer school
The boys are attending a special school this summer, designed exclusively for immigrants or others needing extra help with language
For Zack, it's mostly the same-old same-old, doing pre-Kindergarten activities designed to make him more aware of language
For Nicky, it'll be something old, something new, somthing borrowed, er, whatever; mostly, he'll be playing games that emphasize the alphabet, word recognition, and other pre-reading skills
The neat thing is that they finally get to go to school together! For my boys, this means a lot. We'll see how they feel in a couple of years, but for now, they absolutely love doing things together.
Zack had a nice surprise -- two of his classmates from his pre-school are going to be in his class
Nicky expressed some anxiety about the new environment and new people, but no more than any kid his age might; he'll do fine

Wed, 01 June 2005

Happy half-birthday to Zacky-boy!
Five-and-a-half years old today

Thu, 16 June 2005

Happy half-birthday to Nickerdoodles!
Seven-and-a-half years old today

Sun, 19 June 2005

Our first Father's Day together. 'Nuff said.

Wed, 22 June 2005

Off to Denver to visit Uncle Ken and Aunt Liz on the way to Omaha (only an airline could think that Denver was on the way to Omaha from Dallas).

Fri, 24 June 2005

Denver to Omaha, arriving at dinner-time.

Mon, 27 June 2005

Daddy comes back to Dallas, leaving the boys with Uncle Dan, Grandma and Grampa for a week.