Rudy - The Best Dog Ever

Rudy - The most patient loving dog ever with his present from the Easter Bunny!

Easter Eggs Princess and Star Wars

After we got down with the festival we enjoyed some Easter egg decorating time. This year Nathan has been totally obsessed with Star Wars so his egg decoration choice was STAR WARS. ShayLa chose Princesses. They both did a great job and enjoyed doing their own things.

Julie

Easter Cont.

We started Easter weekend at a Easter Festival and Egg Hunt. Nathan, Nana and I have done this for the past 3 years. We skipped last year but thought with ShayLa celebrating her first Easter we would give it another try. It has really grown over the years but it didn't stop either of them from enjoying all the activities. Both the kids had a great time even with the long lines. Nana and I survived the long walk in and enjoyed watching them gather egg's and enjoy all the inflatable rides. We even got to see the Easter bunny.

Julie

Easter Pictures Attempt Number 3

Attempt number three at pictures. I seem to be doing something wrong but finally got two pictures to post. I will try more after this a quick note. We are in Chapel Hill with pre-op tomorrow morning. ShayLa came down with a cold over the weekend and so we might only be doing pre-op and not surgery. She seemed better tonight but when she got into bed she had a rash all over her feet. I have such mixed feelings about surgery. I know she really needs to get her palate repaired but I am not looking forward to seeing her in pain. Hopefully I won't cry along with her to much. We appreciate every one's prayers. I know God has His hand on her and is in control. Nathan mama misses you be good for Nana. Mom thank you so much for watching Nathan. We all love having you here helping out making my life so much easier. Dad thanks for letting Mom stay so long. I will update the blog tomorrow and let everyone know what they decide.

Julie

Easter

This is the first post for Easter. The week after has been crazy and action packed so I have not had to time to post. Easter was wonderful and so much fun. ShayLa came out of church saying
"He's Alive Mama" "He's Alive". She was so excited. The faith of a child and the truth of a Risen King. That made my Easter. Enjoy the pictures and I will try and post more later. Keep us in prayer this coming week as we prepare and have ShayLa's palate surgery on April 2nd.

Julie

Mommy I Cheerleader

ShayLa and I spent this past weekend at a cheer leading competition and all weekend I heard "look Mommy I Cheerleader." She can not wait until she can be a cheerleader. She danced and cheered all weekend. Thanks to friends she also got to swim and hang out with the big kids. We made our first trip to Build a Bear and she loved that. Pinkie Princess bear is now her new favorite stuffed animal and has gone with her to school and everywhere else.

We are coming up on our surgery date and I am excited that her palate will be repaired but also very nervous about the surgery and recovery. I've read and learned so much from the cleft yahoo group. Please keep us in your prayers. Surgery is scheduled for April 2nd and we will be in Chapel Hill on March 31st so we can be on time for pre-op April 1st. I know this is going to be so hard for her with all the needles and food restrictions. She hates shots.

I'm excited about Easter and so thankful to share Jesus with the kids. Nathan is so curious about things and asked some great questions. I love his innocence and faith. Hopefully we will have some more pictures to post.

Thank you to my new old friend Jim and Julie. It was great to hear from the both of you. Can you believe it has been over 20 years. Where does the time go.

Julie

Favorite Photo Friday

Nathan and Shay Mama Misses You! Nathan you always make Shay and I laugh. Shay I am so glad you love stuffed animals. Now I have a reason to shop for more. I'll be back soon. Thanks Nana for taking care of all the kids.

Zoo Trip

I had business in Columbia this past weekend so we decided to include a trip to the zoo as well. We had a great time and also met up with some friends. As you can see Nathan was more into his Star Wars character but he had fun and enjoyed the day. ShayLa was so excited to be with her friends and see all the animals. The weather was great and we had a wonderful time. Nana had the weekend to herself and was the offical dog sitter. Enjoy the pictures.

Julie

Introducing the O'Brien Kids

Introducing my two wonderful kids and dog -

ShayLa

• Loves to dress up as a princess or a cheerleader.
• Watch Barney
• Eat noodles, chicken, french fries and chocolate milk

Nathan

• STAR WARS STAR WARS STAR WARS
• Did I Mention STAR WARS
• Watch STAR WARS

Rudy

• Playing with his favorite toy
• Snuggling any time

Both of my kids are so different. Nathan came home at nine months of age. Most of the time our transition was easy. He seemed to bond well, slept great but as he grew his abilities to function in a group setting with other kids just never worked. At first I just hoped he would grow out of his behaviors but they never seemed to go away. This past November after seeing many different types of doctors and therapist he was diagnosed with ADHD, SID and PDD-NOS. He started taking medication and we got his IEP for school. I've spent the past couple of months research different types of ways to help him and trying to educate my self as best I can. From his IEP we learned and confirmed many things we already know. He is very smart, has many sensory issues and fine motor problems. His school has been awesome and I feel very blessed to final feel like we are getting the help he needs. From reading other posts and web sites we are very blessed to be at the school we are. They fully understand him and are making every attempt to help him reach his full potiental. I taught school when I was younger and he is the kid that makes teachers pull their hair out. Thankfully his teachers love him and are doing all they can to make things work. I would love to hear from other adoptive parents and parents with similar issues. How they are helping their children reach their potential and what to look forward to as he grows. I am very proud at how hard he has been working to be incontrol at school.

ShayLa has a cleft palate which we will get repaired on April 2nd at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC. I forget that she even has this issue. If anyone every thinks about adopting a child with this special need feel encouraged. She is doing great. Other than having a hard time understand her sometimes it doesn't seem to stop her. She is always singing, talking or trying to let us know what she wants. Her attachment and bonding have been a dream so far. She came in calling me Ma Ma and never looked back. Her language skills have come along so well. We are trying to keep her Manderine and attend class once a week. She loves preschool and is doing very well. Socially she is great and very well behaved. At home we can see her spicey side. She can give Nathan as much attitude as he can give her.

Together the kids are getting along very well. It has been hard with some of Nathan issues to give him the attention that he needs at times. We had a rough couple of months at the beginning but now after 8 months it seems that everyone has found their place and we have a pretty good routine in place. My mom has been the greatest help. She has stayed with us the majority of the past 8 months. I have to give a big thank you to her and my dad for letting her stay with us. They do not live close so it makes it hard on them.

That is a small look at our family. My family is so spread out that I really wanted to share with them how we are doing. I also have found so much knowledge and help by reading other blogs that I really wanted to join in the fun.

Julie

Thank You

Thank you Danielle for my wonderful first blog. I just have to figure out how this all works. I highly recommend Blogs by Danielle. Very easy to work with and so quick.

Welcome to our blog

I'm excited to start our new blog.