Before and after...

We are home from Emma's surgery! Dr. Chariker worked on her for 65 minutes and said that everything went fine. We go back in 2 weeks for a follow-up. We are hoping (and praying) that it was a successful repair and that there are no leaks that will have to be fixed. He said we will know in 1-2 years if the muscles are attached properly and if her speech will sound normal. In his words, "if not, I have a procedure for that." He took a look at her lip and felt it looked pretty good but he wants to re-evaluate at the 1 year mark (November). He is thinking that he will go back and adjust it a little bit. His comment to Rick and myself, "I want her to look as perfect as possible before starting school." This made us laugh! We are so thankful we waited for both surgeries to be completed here!

So, the dumbed down version of what he did: build a floor for her nose (she had nothing, if you stuck your finger in her nose it would go down to her mouth), attach the muscles that she will need for speech and then connect the palate. He actually had to scrape skin from the bone to help with the repair. Everything he used was already in her mouth, isn't that amazing?!?!?!?!

We feel she is doing well. Last night was her second night and she only woke twice, both times she was do for pain meds, which is why she probably woke up. She took a 3.5 hour nap today and has eaten 3 meals. She has played like normal although she is way crankier than she is normally. Here are some before and after pictures:

Waiting to get started. They didn't start until noon, and she hadn't eaten since the night before. She kept asking to "eat" and was signing for milk. It broke my heart!!!

She was laughing with daddy and I got this "pre" picture of her palate! It was opened like that all the way to her gum line, which also has a split in it.

She asked for her cup as soon as we saw her and would NOT put it down! She drank a whole cup right away!!

Here it is...the after. Looks gross, huh?!?!?! She had egg for breakfast yesterday and last night we thought that yellow stuff was egg. Rick wanted to poke it out and I actually suggested getting tweezers to pull it out. Can you imagine? She would've screamed in pain and we would've screwed up Dr. C's hard work. Thankfully we didn't follow through with either of our stupid plans and realized today that this is NOT egg. I googled a picture online, and the little guy's mouth looked almost exactly like this.

So, we have another lip surgery in our future and a surgery for her gum line when she is around 8-10 years old. The doctor did say that her teeth are lining up nicely, so that was great to hear! Please pray that her palate is fixed and that we don't have to do anything else!

A few recent pictures...

This entertains my kids for hours!

Making mulch soup... not looking forward to cleaning this out when it is time for sand!

My big boy... love him so much

This was from a recent event at my school. AF looks like all of his teeth have rotted out.

The boys enjoying a spring day!

MF at his first Tball practice

This kid loves to eat... enjoying a cupcake (that he stole from me!)

He is such a handsome little boy. This picture makes me laugh because he took the hat off the boy and put it on the dog.

There are no words for the love that we have for this little girl. She is beyond precious and I simply can't imagine NOT having her. So thankful that God had her planned for our family.

TF looks confused, EG was smiling on command

EG with her great grandparents.

New blog address

Well, hopefully you found us! I decided to make my blog public again, and because of that I wanted to change our blog address. I didn't want our last name and location to be public.

So, I haven't posted in over a month. We are just always so busy it is hard to keep up with all the stuff I did in my stay at home days. I think this blog is important because it keeps track of my kids and their milestones and it is a heck of a lot easier than writing in all their individual journals, which is something else I have been horrible about! I have also lacked motivation because since I have gone private I don't think anyone read our blog. But, now that spring break and summer vacation are in our near future, I want to get back in it again.

EG continues to do great. Her palate surgery is scheduled for this Tuesday and I am a nervous wreck. I want to fast forward these next 2 weeks so we are out of the yucky recovery stage and life is back to normal. She is WALKING now and getting stronger each day. On March 2 I took my kids outside and she walked for a solid 45 minutes because she couldn't knee walk or crawl on the concrete. Ever since, she has been walking. She leads with her belly and if we are being honest, it is a very ugly walk... but she is doing it. So thankful she did this before her 2nd birthday! To think of the milestones she has hit since coming home is overwhelming to me. She could NOT stand with support the day we met her. She felt like spaghetti. In 5 months, she has learned to stand with support, pull to stand, cruise, stand without support and walk. It is really amazing! She is feeding herself and communicating so well. She does a lot of sign language and is trying some words. She is the most wonderful, precious little girl that I have ever met. To say that I am completely and totally in love with her would be an understatement.

AF is doing well in school. He was identified as potential for the primary talent pool. I wasn't surprised. When it comes time to test in 3rd grade we will know if he qualifies for the gifted and talented program. He is a smart boy and definitely has a mathematical mind, so we will see where it leads him. He is going through one of his stuttering stages right now and it is about ready to kill me. His speech teacher says it is normal. He is learning so much and his mouth can't keep up with his mind. We have been down this road before and it is a short-lived stage. We don't say anything or point it out and we let him stumble through his sentences. It is hard for me and I am sure it is frustrating for him. He told me the other day that some boys in his class are telling him to go away and they don't want to play with him. I hope this is just normal kid stuff and them not picking up on the fact that he can't hardly get his words out. Always something to worry about. After much begging and pleading from his parents, AF decided to play baseball again. He is really very good at it and he is LOVING it. I can't believe he threw such a stink about not playing.

MF is doing great as well. He is loving school now and transitioning great everyday. I don't feel like he is learning as much as AF did in preschool so he is going to be my project this summer. He is still my goofy and sweet boy that loves to cuddle and give kisses. I have never met a child so laid back and sweet. It is unbelievable how patient and loving he is towards his sister. I think he would take the clothes off his back and give them to her if she needed it. We were so thankful that our Little League friends agreed to let him play, even though he is not quite of age. R is coaching his team and he is doing great, for being the youngest one there! I can't wait to see him play ball this summer.

TF... what can I say about him. He is 17 months old and he has one word... EAT! No mama, no dada, no uh-oh.... it is eat. And boy oh boy does that kid love to eat. He screams a lot, throws a lot of tantrums.... but let's face it, we really rocked his world when we brought EG home. I try to be extra patient with him. I spend more time rocking him at night and kissing all over him. It is hard for him to share his mama with another baby. He can be so sweet to his sister, but he can also be a big bully and sit on her. (yes, he actually pins her down by sitting on her.) I think he is frustrated by the lack of talking, but we have been down this road before with our oldest. He will talk and he does probably need speech. That is another summer project, to get hooked up with therapy. But, AF had 25 words when he was 2.5 years old, and now (other than the stuttering...) communicates just find and does well above average in school. It's just one of those things. I am thankful I have walked this path before so I know not to get too upset about it. He really is a handsome and sweet little boy, he has just had a rough few months!

OK- my promise to keep up with this blog better. I know it is boring to read all these updates, but guess what... it is for my kids not you :)

What we have been up to....

Life has been crazy busy around here. The kids have been sick and as soon as we THINK everyone is healthy... someone else gets a fever. We just can't win! Rick missed a day and a half of work last week, my mom had to sacrifice some of her work time to pick up Timmy from the babysitter, and I am missing a day and a half of work this week. You throw in a bunch of snow days, and we have no routines, no consistency and lots of grumpy people because we are stuck inside with all these germs! I feel like everyday we are in survival mode... we just think about one day at a time. I never know what is for dinner, laundry is piled up, my house is disgusting, and the list goes on and on. A few warm days and some SUNSHINE would make everything better! But, on a positive note, life as a family of 6 is starting to feel more normal. Although things are always busy and chaotic, we do manage. Emma has been the perfect storybook adoption. She is amazing. She is happy, she loves to eat, she loves to play, she catches on to things so quickly. She is attached to Rick and myself and her babysitter. She is growing and thriving. I can honestly say that I feel like she has been here forever. I really don't know how I managed to live without her. She is so stinkin' cute and sweet, she makes me want to get on a plane and go get another one.

Speaking of that... Rick and I have decided that the only way our family will grow from here on out is through adoption. We are finished with the baby stage and we feel comfortable with that decision. So comfortable that we have gotten rid of everything. For the first time since we have been married, we do not have the desire for anymore babies. I feel so fulfilled with that stage of my life, that I am ready to move on. I can honestly say that we WILL adopt again, but not for several years. These babies are quite the dynamic duo. Until they get older and more independent, I am not sure how we could possibly handle another one. We will continue advocating and supporting orphans until it is time to step up and adopt again. Thankfully, my very dear friend is having a boy this June. And I have an insane amount of baby boy clothes for that season. So, they all went to her and Timmy's clothes went to her sister. You know that you are done having kids when you don't feel an ounce of sadness giving away your stuff.

Even with my 4 kiddos and a crazy life, I am so thankful for my job. I love it. It keeps me busy, but without that outlet in my life.... I might be making these posts from a special home of mothers who have lost their sanity. Rick's job is causing him to go gray faster than he wanted, but I know he likes it. Andrew loves school, Timmy and Emma are so attached to their sitters and Matthew.... well, he survives. One more year and he will be at school with me.

Here are a few pics of life around here the past few weeks.

Yes, my dear... I feel the same way. I would match rather be by the pool working on my tan.

Trying out the snow

This is one of my favorite dresses on Emma Grace. She is so adorable in it!

The boys wanted to sleep in our bed. This is how we found them when we came up to go to sleep.

Look mom, no hands! Emma is standing all the time. She has PT and OT once a week (another complication to our busy lives, scheduling that in) I have seen her take up to 11 steps across the room. She is wobbly, and those ankles of hers are still so weak. She is now over 18 months. I took her to the doctor yesterday and she weighed 18 lbs 10 ozs. Ugh. I was depressed. A few weeks ago I took her and they weighed her with shoes on, fully clothed and her winter coat and she was almost 20 lbs. I was so excited that she had gained that much... but looks like it was the clothes. Sometimes I get a little down in the dumps that she is still so tiny and not walking, and she will be 2 in 5 months. But, I have to think about where she came from, the health problems she has had to overcome and how much progress she has made in 3 months. My goal is walking by 2... her PT says walking by Easter. We'll see.

A few snow pictures

A few pictures

There has really been nothing big and exciting around the Fischer house. Just a lot of snow and a lot of sick people, so you haven't missed much. Sickness or not, I keep the camera going, so here are a few pictures of my awesome crew!

Look at all those beautiful children!

Timmy and his blanket... don't touch it or he will scream at you!

His eyes are so sensitive in the sun!

Snow day!

Showing off her new skill!

Baby girl is getting so big! She has gained over 2 lbs since coming home 3 months ago! She is standing all the time and wants to walk really bad!

Emma was so proud, she can climb on the train table like Timmy!