Open wide

The boys had their first dentist appointments on Tuesday and they were troopers. Ezra volunteered to go first and Addai was more than happy to let him! Neither of the boys had ever had any dental work but we explained what was going to happen and the dental hygenist was great. She said she had never seen so much plaque build-up on any child before. Not really what you want to win first prize at but hey, we'll take it. It took a full 30 mins for her to chip through the tartar but both boys teeth look great now. The dentist didn't see any decay but said Addai will definitely need braces in the future. We asked him if he agreed with the boys ages. He said he thought they were pretty close dentally. Ezra has his 6 yr molars but hasn't lost any teeth and Addai has lost his four bottom teeth but doesn't yet have his molars. Like I said, these boys are night and day.
Ezra's ears are so much better and we are so thankful that they have recovered so well. We return to the doctor on Friday to see if both infections have cleared up.
We are truly amazed with the progress the boys have made in this short month home. They are speaking more clear "American" english, eating American food with more ease, playing like real brothers, and just basically blending right in. Ryan and I are also equally amazed with our new Liberian English prowess. We had watched a video online about Liberian rap prior to leaving for Liberia. We couldn't even believe at the time that the boys that were singing were speaking any form of English. We re-watched the same video today and caught almost every single word. It is just unreal how your mind and your ears adapt and we find ourselves speaking to the boys more in Liberian English at times than in American English!
I always have to include at least one comical kid story, so here goes. The boys take a nap everyday anywhere from 1 to 2 hours long (jealous anyone?!). Well today after about 40 mins I heard something in their room. Ryan was walking past right then so I asked him to peek in on them. He stood at the door for a few minutes and gave a slight signal with his head. Come to find out Addai had been caught in the act! He had climbed the ladder to Ezra's bed and had Ezra's Yertle the Turtle midswing towards Ezra's head! That little booger. Just as Papa opened the door Addai looked back and Ezra was saved from Yertle! Back to bed he went and Ryan came away from the door barely able to suppress full out laughter!
Ryan and I still can't belive how blessed we are by these children. Hope you also get a good chuckle from their many antics!
In Christ's Love,
Steph

Oops!!

So the boys hair has been getting long and we took it upon ourselves to cut it, as you can see. Papa took the first swipe on Addai when we realized that the clipper guard was a little too short to say the least. Well then mohawks it is, all around. Kinda forgot that our social worker comes in 2 days for our follow-up appt to the adoption. Hope she has an open mind or is gullable enough to think it is a "tribal" thing!

The boys are okay with the haircuts and Papa goes to get his mohawk done in a few days. Ezra really requested a star and Addai a cross, but hey we only have so much talent in this house!

Finally found a food that at least Addai is crazy about, PB&J. Go figure. I gave him one half sandwich at lunch figuring it would go over like a lead balloon. When he had finished, in record time, he asked for 2 more!

We watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from the Chronicles of Narnia tonight. I have read a few of the books but have never seen the movie. It was really great and the boys seemed to enjoy it. About 3/4 of the way through we paused the movie and explained to them the parallel the story has with the Bible. They really know their Bible stories and I think they really understand a lot of the meaning behind the movie. It also made it less scary for them to put it into these terms, Jesus versus Satan.

Ezra's ear infection is getting better and his hearing seems a little better. We follow up with the doctor in about another week and are praying for his hearing to return to 100%.

That's all for now from the Lew Crew. I am sure there will be new adventures tomorrow to report!

Steph

Vitameatavegamin Anyone?

That title is a shout out to my wonderful Aunt Cindy, a loyal "I Love Lucy" watcher (I think that show has been in syndication for, what, 50 years or so?!). It is also a small hint about my latest kiddo story. I know you can't wait!

First off, we went for a follow-up doctor's appt today to see how the boys bloodwork came out. Both boys are free from any of the major problems sometimes seen in children from this part of Africa. No HIV, no hepatitis, only 1 parasite that we are taking meds for, and no sickle cell traits. We found out they are both slightly anemic and Ezra has a trait which will make him anemic throughout his life. On the bright side, a multi-vitamin with iron should be all it takes to help keep their hemoglobin up.

So this is where the title comes in. I started the boys on a chewable vitamin tonight because of the doctors recommendations. However, being the clever new mom I am I told them it was candy. They both popped it in their mouth and began to chew. Boy am I smooth. I turned around to Ryan as I walked away and gave him the 'ole wink-a-roo. Another fight with the boys avoided right? I didn't get three steps, or very far into my victory dance, when Addai pipes up "We call these vitamins Mama". Ryan could not contain all out laughter at this point. BUSTED!!! I guess this is what you get when you adopt 5 year olds, they already know most of the tricks of the trade!

Okay, one more funny Addai story and I promise to let you go. Eating today at Taco Bell, my Valentine's request, and I give Ezra his medication for his ear infection. Did I forget to say that what we thought were hearing problems turned out to be a double ear infection which even turned the docs stomach? We had suspected this but couldn't get into the doctor and he had no symptoms besides a lack of hearing, but I digress. So, Addai says he wants some of Ezra's meds and I tell him no because there is nothing wrong with his ears. He waits a few minutes then gets my attention. "Mama", he says, "my ears are hurting." Mama replys "No son they are not, now keep eating." To which he promptly replies "Eh?". I say "Keep eating", to which he says "Eh?". I think you see where this is going. He continued this charade for the next 30 minutes, even pretending not to hear the cashier at Wal-Mart! Such a sly cookie, but no he didn't get any of Ezra's meds. Okay, I'm lieing, but it was only 1 drop to see what it tastes like. What can I say, I'm a softy sometimes believe it or not.

All you readers, please continue to pray for our transition as a family. These boys bring us the greatest joy, but as any parent knows there are also struggles. You can't help but second guess yourself, especially knowing all these little ones have seen and gone through in their very short lives. Pray that we parent them the way God wants us to and that they see Christ in us daily.

In Christ's Love,

Mama

Settling In

Not much news on the kid front. We went snowmobiling on Friday after getting about 4 inches of new snow, supposed to have been 8-10 but oh well. The boys had a lot of fun and we even gave them a little bit of throttle time. Let me just say they are at an age called FEARLESS and it scares this Mama. They went full throttle all the time but we always had a hand near the brake just in case (that was a disclaimer statement for my mother, HI MOM!). Ezra had a small collision with a tree while sledding. We forget that there is still a language barrier. Ryan had warned the boys to "jump off" if they were headed for a tree or any large inanimate object! What we failed to realize is they had no concept of what jump off meant so as he was careening downhill towards the tree and we were screaming the magic words he had a clueless grin on his face. Luckily he was unharmed but the neighbor boys sled was ruined. Chalk that up to another lesson learned, and boy are there plenty of those!

The boys continue to make us laugh. In the van (seems to be a funny place so far) the other night the boys were singing the songs they had learned at the orphanage. They sang for a solid 30 minutes and I think the repetoire was running thin so they started singing songs they weren't so sure of. One, two buckle my shoe, three, four pick up sticks, five, six kick the lion, or something like that! As Ryan was trying to correct the boys with the right words Ezra continued to sing incorrectly but just louder. Addai tried to correct Ezra and finally gave up yelling "Be Quiet" to which Ezra responded "Addai, you're confusin' me!". Ryan was laughing so hard he was crying and had to pull over on the side of the road.

Currently the boys are playing with Playdoh unsupervised, seems safe enough right?! Gotta go!