Fun Times! (and Pics!)

We have been really busy lately.We went to a cultural event at our local library and the kids LOVED it. Micah and Sitota got to wear their Ethiopian outfits and looked so cute. Delson dressed as an American since we have No Haitian outfit :). All the kids loved the food, playing drums and watching the dances. We also got to bring the kiddos down to meet their Great Grandpa for the first time. He was Thrilled to finally meet our latest additions and show them around his nursing home. They loved meeting him and especially seeing the cat and birds they have there. We finally broke down and bought a minivan. Yup...we are one of those people! It is very nice to be able to go as a family of 5 comfortably in one car. Today at church the kiddos got to go upfront and wave their palm branches, they all did a Great job! Here are some pics of the fun times we have been having! Melissa

Luck without a leprechaun

We have had a very busy week. Monday was Delson's first day of pre-school. He did pretty well, but the true test was Tuesday since that was his first day without me there and his first ride on the bus. He did cry for a bit on the bus, but then had a pretty good day. Today he had a Great day at school and came home excited to show me the contents of his backpack which included a pencil and stickers for St Patricks Day.
The kids and I made a leprechaun trap this weekend and put it out last night, but we had no luck catching one. We did get some gold coins and stickers...oh well, better luck next year :)
We have been enjoying this nice weather and LOVE playing outside. I really will post pictures soon...as soon as my laptop is fixed :) Enjoy - Melissa

Ages and Names and School...Oh My!

It is only Wednesday, but already has been a busy week. Between the dentist, doctor, school conference and lots of other little errands and updates, I don't know which way is up :) The first update I would like to give is on Sitota's age. We had the hand x-ray done on Monday and the results were in today.....it appears she is about 9 years old! Since we know her b-day is July 12 (the date is not in question, only the year), the doctor has written a letter that concludes that she is currently 8 years,8 months old currently. We have been talking with her about her age and how the picture of her hands would help us to better know how old she is and she seems to get it. She will still remain in her same grade level at school since she has a lot of catch up to still do.
The next update comes with names. As you may recall, I had written a post a little while back regarding Sitota's middle name. She had not liked the original middle name we had chosen and had decided to use my middle name instead. She would never write her full name out using the middle name and just did not really seem attached to it yet. About 2 weeks ago she brought up that she really wanted Sara to be her middle name and proudly writes her entire name all the time now and also writes LOVE after it :) So there you have it official name will be Sitota Sara Troedel. While we are talking names,let's talk about Jean Delson. Most people will read his name as Jean (Gene) and think expect that he is a girl. We ran into this with school, doctor and dentist so far. He is not real attached to using the Jean part of his name and more listens for Delson. We have asked if he would like to be called Delson and he said Wee (AKA Yes). So his name will be officially Delson Scott Troedel.
Sitota had her first parent teacher conference yesterday and the teachers had nothing but good to say about her. They absolutely LOVE her and she loves them as well. She is doing well catching up with reading levels and is working hard on math as well. She will be able to attend summer school as well, which will help her further advance. Delson will be starting the 4 year old program at Head Start next week. I am excited and nervous at the same time...I really think it will be a great way for him to learn and hope that all goes well.
That is all for tonight! Take care...I will post some pics soon!!! Melissa

Growing like Weeds

Today all 3 kiddos went to the doctor and here is where they are at:
-Micah had his 2 year check-up. He is now 37.5 inches tall(97%), 28lbs.(50%) and his head is still huge :) (97%)! He is doing great and they were really impressed at how much talking he does! They did hear a little mummer on his heart, but may have been caused by his cold but they will keep an eye on it.
-Delson gained 2 pounds this month. He had a HUGE amount of wax in both ears and that may have been affecting his speech and balance issues. They cleaned them out good and we will see if there is a difference. We are going to continue to work on some things with his sleep, but otherwise there are no other changes for him.
-Sitota grew 2.5 inches and gained 10 lbs in 2 months!!! She is now 4'7" and weighs 70 pounds! It has become very evident that we are still off on her age, so to be most accurate we had them do a xray of her hands and that should tell her "true" age. It will be very interesting to find out the results!

Baby talk

Here was my conversation with Micah today:
Micah:"Micah's mom and dad have baby?"
Me:"haha, ask your dad!"
Micah:"Micah ask Santa!"
Me:"That sounds like a great idea!!"

What's going on???

I bet you are all wondering what has been happening in the Troedel household lately. I noticed it had been awhile since my last post, so here is a little update on everyone:
Micah - He is doing Wonderful as usual. He has started to really get into tickling lately, he loves to be tickled and to tickle others. Too funny. He also has started singing a lot. He does concerts where he will play the guitar or piano and sing songs for us. His favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle, the ABCs, Baa-Baa and Happy Birthday. He really wants to go to school because Sitota is going and he hears us getting Delson prepared, but I convinced him I will teach him some things while the others are at school and he is happy with that.
Delson- I am not sure if he is calming down slightly or if I am just getting used to the constant movement :). He has found some things that interest him: stickers, blocks, and dress up are is favorites. He really thrives on getting one on one attention and is not too keen on sharing my attention. He LOVES Micah and gives him kisses and hugs all the time. It is so cute. He also loves Sitota, but what he LOVES is to annoy her and knows just how to do it! Just how a little brother should be :). He is going to be starting pre-school in a few weeks and will go 4 half days per week. I think this will really help him with language.
Sitota- She is doing Great. Still a happy girl and so smart. The teachers are always saying how impressed they are with her. We have her first conference at school next week, I am excited for that. She has been ice skating a few times and really likes it. It is fun because she has no fear of falling and does pretty well on skates. She also talks to us a lot about things in Ethiopia and is going to try to teach me how to make Injera. I am excited about that!
Family over all - We had our first post placement visit with the social worker this week. It went well and she is impressed with how far the kids have come in such a short time. We have one more visit in 3 months and then we can finish up both adoptions stateside! Then NO MORE SOCIAL WORKERS!!! YIPPEE :) We also had our first family meeting tonight. We hung up the family rules and also went over some things the kids can do to earn money. They all seem excited to help out and to make some $$! Scott and I are having a date night this weekend and are SUPER excited about that. (Thanks Karen and Kara!!!) Over all we are getting used to the new normal and things are improving!! Here are some pics of dress up time! Enjoy - Melissa