Super Extravaganza Auction Fundraiser!

My next BIG fundraiser is going to be an online auction on facebook! I'm looking for items to auction off. If you have anything you'd like to donate it would be most appreciated. 

 

Here's the link to the auction

https://www.facebook.com/groups/959029977453957/

 

I'm still working on getting things listed and set up.

 

 

 

Silas and landmark recognition!

Well folks, it finally happened. The weather got warm enough for us to spend hours outside! Silas and I have had quite the active day.

First we went to the pool for a little more than an hour this morning. Silas is really starting to get the hang of moving in the water. He was kicking and trying to go forward. And I had him work on his walking in the kiddie pool.

Then we had lunch and Silas napped.

After nap we pulled out the bike and went for a bike ride then played outside.

Then we ate supper and went back outside for another long bike ride/walk all the way to the post office.

Then we played outside and Silas used his toy walker to walk.

 

And this is where it gets interesting! The whole point of this blog post.

 

As we were walking down the muddy back lane Silas made it clear that he wanted to go to the playground, which he could see from where we were. He tried to make a direct path there but the fence was in the way. He got so excited when he realized that I understood that he wanted to go to the playground and that my redirection to walk further down the lane (to get to the gate) would get us there.

 

Once we got there he wanted to take his walker up the stairs! haha Funny boy.  He was nearly successful too.



 

And now for part 2.

 

Silas and the daycare kids attend a weekly preschool program called Better Beginnings at the school. Silas really seems to enjoy it, especially the time we spend in the gym. We almost always use the same entrance. 

So tonight while we were at the playground I thought we should walk on the cement that is around the school. Nice and dry and no mud, easy to push his walker.

 

Well! We sure didn't get very far! As soon as we started walking Silas made a beeline for the Better Beginnings door. He was insistent that we go in that door and play with the toys. He was trying to open the door himself and was quite upset at my attempts to redirect him to walk some more. I tried explaining that BB was "all done" using words and signs. I showed him how all the lights were off in the room and no one was there. It took a good 5+ mins to convince him that we couldn't go to Better Beginnings. Finally he climbed up into my arms and let me take him home. He rested his tired little head on my shoulder most of the way home. Awwww!  

 So it's neat to see Silas remembering places we've been and wanting to go there again.

Another "first" tonight was keeping a hat/toque on that doesn't have a chin strap! Usually if it doesn't have a chin strap he whips it off and throws it away. I've been trying to get him to wear this toque for a week now. I'm not sure why tonight was different but I'll take it!

 

After a quick snack and a bath Silas went to bed and fell asleep within seconds. Zonked right out! I'm sure we'll have just as much fun playing tomorrow. :)

Exciting News!

I just got word from my homestudy agency that my homestudy could be complete and ready to sign by the end of May! That's a lot sooner than I thought it would be!

But that means I'm going to have to start paying the big fees soon. I think I'll need about $6000 by the end of May/beginning of June.  You can see by the thermometer that I'm several thousand dollars away from that still.  I've also created another tab up there ^^^ (Fee Breakdown) that lists all the various fees and expenses so you can see where the money goes to.

Right now I have this Avon Bubble Bath fundraiser going on.

 

 

 

Garage sale

I also am still looking for garage sale items. If you're doing some spring cleaning I'll gladly take anything you want to get rid of! I'm planning on having the first sale on the first weekend in June.

 

Online Auction

This is something I thought of doing for Silas' adoption but then ended up getting fully funded before I had a chance to set it up.

Basically it's an online auction in a facebook group. I'm looking for people to donate items that can be auctioned off.  These can be craft items, new items you bought and haven't used and direct sales products (Scentsy, Jamberry, etc). It would be really great to get as many items donated as possible to make it a successful auction.

I will give credit to each donator unless you wish to remain anonymous. If you have an etsy store or website I can link to that in the description of the item you've donated.  

In the next few days I'll get the facebook page set up and start adding items. I'm pretty excited about this auction! I hope it will raise several thousand dollars!

 



Going for a walk!

Silas has a little toy walker that he uses to help him walk. On Saturday I took it outside and got some video of him walking and RUNNING with it. We did it again today (sunday) and he did even better.  I hope we can soon leave the walker behind and have him walk without it. Right now he could do it I think but he's just not quite confident enough yet.

It's a bit long (4 mins) and yes I did let him walk into a tree at the end. Opps!

Letter Announcement

This is the letter I sent out to family and friends announcing the next adoption. If you didn't get a copy I'm sorry you were left out! You can read it all here.
I decided it would be nice to announce it with a letter first this time around.

Adding an Ampersand

That's right!

I am so excited to announce that Silas is going to be a brother!

 

Ummm...no I'm NOT pregnant.

 

But I AM adopting again!

 

I have started the process for another little boy with special needs from Bulgaria.

 

We don't know who he is yet and we can hardly wait to find out!

 

My next post will be a copy of the letter that I sent out to as many people as I could. It explains why I'm going back so soon and what the process will be like. :)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Good things

Silas ate some popcorn! A sort of crunchy food! He didn't think too much of it but he chewed and swallowed two pieces.

I got about 15 seconds of solid eye contact from Silas at breakfast this morning. We're working on it!

He has learned to pucker up for kisses instead of doing it with a wide open slobbery mouth!

Well, it's a bit slobbery yet. Note the drop of drool on his chin! He was looking at the camera out of the corner of his eye too because this was about the 15th take and he was anticipating the camera shutter. I'm terrible at selfies! lol

We're getting a referral to an ENT who will hopefully give us some insight into what we need to do to help him hear better.

The Bad

Two weeks ago Silas started self harming again. He went two months without gouging at his cheeks. I really thought we were in the clear. So naïve I am.
There was something stressful that happened to him a couple weeks ago where he felt unsafe and scared and I think that that is the cause of this episode. He takes his thumb and just digs into his cheek and works at it until he draws blood. And then he cries because it hurts. But he doesn't cry while he's doing it. This afternoon I thought he was sleeping because it was quiet. I was going to have a shower but I thought I'd better check on him first. Good thing I did! He'd gotten out of his elbow restraints (more on that later) and had been plucking at his other cheek. So now both cheeks are a mess, though one is much worse than the other.

I ended up buying some of these elbow restraints http://snugglewraps.com/

But they will take two weeks to get here at least. So I made some of my own. They don't stay on very well but they're sort of working for now.

I'm also using essential oils on him to help calm him.

And various lotions on his face to help it heal.

The worst cheek was almost healed until last night when mom was here and I was at work. In the early morning he got both restraints off and he made a real mess of his cheek.  He must have been at it for a while because by the time he finally cried mom said there was dried blood on his face. :( 

It's just so hard to see your baby hurt himself like this.  When he has the restraints on he's pretty much his happy little self but as soon as they come off his hands go right to his face.

And that brings me to The Ugly.

Not that I'd ever call him ugly, but the wound on his face certainly doesn't look pretty! This cheek was almost healed until last night.

And to make matters worse he's now developed a cold this weekend! So his cheeks hurt, his eyes are watering and his nose is running, he's all stuffed up and can't breath AND he's got these stinking things on his arms to stop him from touching his face! I feel so bad for him. :(

This too shall pass! I love him so.