First Day of School

Luke and Maran were very excited about the first day of school.  Getting them up two hours earlier than what they were used to was not as hard as we thought.  Of course we started them going to bed early about a week before so it wasn't horrific. It was worse for mommy.  I was really nervous about the drive and not knowing how long it would take although we mostly go against the traffic flow.  I wondered if they (mostly Luke) would throw a fit when I drove up and they had to get out of the car.  The drop off was easy.   The hardest part was the 16 minute wait in the parking lot.  We had a great talk and once again I told them what I did every morning of Mother's Morning Out..."Be a good friend and a good listener".  Then we did our knuckle buster, lock it and blow it up handshake and our 'TEAM GIESER' cheer.   

After drop off I pulled around the corner of the school and thought 'wow that went well' and then I immediately decided that I didn't know how I felt about it.  I kept driving though.  I then figured it was a good morning to have some breakfast (not a breakfast fan am I) so I did.  After getting to the office I kept wondering how they were doing.  Our information packet said that we could call and see how they were doing and it was all I could do to not call. 

The teacher said to be in carpool line at 2:20.  I left the office and was in line at 2:07.  (Timing definitely had to be worked out).  I waited for what felt like an hour for them to come out. They came bouncing out and were so happy.  After loading the car they were both talking over each other and couldn't get it all out quick enough.  Luke showed me his stamp that he received and asked if he could eat his sucker.  I said yes.  I asked Marant if she wanted to eat hers and she said she didn't get one and Luke quickly said that she was 'bad'.  Turns out Maran didn't get a sticker either.  If I would have guessed the one who would have come home with 'no treats' it definitely would have not been Maran empty handed.  Luke is a very outgoing gregarious fella who often ends up in the wrong place and enjoys being the 'fun one in the group'.  (Not sure where this comes from.......).  The story continues to grow on what exactly happened and if any of the portions of it were true then I am pretty sure I would have heard from the teacher.  Who knows what did or did not happen but one thing is for sure the 'over pleasing' child in the group was the one who came home empty handed.  I kind of talk it up as Luke having a good day of  'not getting caught'.  He is not a bad little boy by any means he just likes to be somewhat of a prankster. Such a charming quality for a 4 year old. 

Here 's to hoping that the fun of Pre-K continues.  If it is anything like Day1 then this will be a very good year!

First Day of School for Luke and Maran in Pre-K ...the uniform will come later. 

The First Steps (POSTED LATE..SORRY MOMMY DAZE)

If I could only explain how incredibly BEAUTIFUL and gracious her first steps were sans cast it would be like the perfect moment in the BLIND SIDE when you just knew that you loved that movie or like when you realize that you can't listen to FOOTLOOSE and not have your foot taping (whether you want to admit it or not). 

I don't know that I ever thought that I would see her walk without that little foot turning all the way in.  I don't know that I pictured her in full view running track and not falling because I have always pictured her with a smile on her face and being happy. The legs "nimble" as lil' David calls them were not the focal point.   I have envisioned how I think she will look when she gets older and each vision has been such a lovely little lady cheerful and ready to please.  Although the steps were painful for her she tried not to admit it.  How precious she is.  With Luke cheering her on and Tefie (Maran's BCB Best Cousin Buddy) holding her arms her weak little legs carried her the few steps she needed to make and right into my arms.  What a huge grin she had on her face.

Today she is practicing her walking so that she will do really well when she has dinner tonight with her favorite Nammy and PopPop.  She puts lotion on her legs as often as we will let her because they do still slightly itch and of course the skin is still quite dry and rough.  This will be gone in a few days.

As we prepare for our family vacation we are so grateful that so far the surgery has gone absolutely as perfect as it could have.  Blessed with a wonderful surgeon (Kudos to her for being voted one of the TOP 100 Doctors) we could not have asked for anything better. Now we take it day by day and let the leg strengthen itself and go from there.  The imperfection in her legs will not slow her down in the future as it did not in the past.  What a gracious way to deal with something that has been dealt to you.  Amazing how we can all learn from a toddler!

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(Written June 23, 2011)

Luke's Gotcha Day.... Four Years Later!!!

Four years ago today our son was placed in David's arms in Guatemala City, Guatemala. So many STRONG memories come with today. The fact that our "IMMEDIATE" family began on this day and that my sister has been living with full blown MS for four years. (She had a HORRIBLE BOUT with MS when we were in Guatemala... add to that the fact that David was VERY SICK with the flu and it was a real eventful time). Our precious child has grown into such a little man. We received a VERY timid and shy little boy who was so serious about everything. He cried when his caretaker left him with us. Now he cries if we leave him (not all the time but still quite often). What a journey we have had. What a joy it has been to watch him grow into the outgoing gregarious toddler his is. He has brought us many many moments of joy and much laughter. He has consoled us when we needed it and has given to us countless hugs and kisses that could literally mend the world. All that in what WAS a little 12 pound 10 month old whom we named LOUIS GRAYSON GIESER and lovingly refer to as "LUKE"... our precious son. Happy Gotcha Day!!

Our Daughter's FOURTH BIRTHDAY!

What a great day yesterday was.  (July 3rd)  We celebrated Maran's Fourth Birthday and it was a blast.  We started out the morning with breakfast at Maran's favorite breakfast joint EDDIE'S PLACE (She gets that from me). Mommy and Maran then went to the Spa to have manicures and pedicures. After that we met the family at MELLOW MUSHROOM (aka Pizza Planet) for pizza, pretzels, meatballs and other yummies!  We ate birthday cake that Nammy had especially made for the occasion.  

After some gifts and video watching of the little Sassafras we calmed down and had a wild and crazy bath where more water was in the bathroom and not the bathtub.  What fun it was.  Maran and Mommy then put together puzzles and played dress up with new Princess costumes.  It was a blast. 

Numerous times throughout the day I couldn't help but to think of Maran's birth mother.  Does she remember this day?  Does she wonder how her daughter is?   I wondered if Maran's personality is that of her mom's or her dads and think it is amazing how she fits so well into our family.  There is no way we could love this child any more than what we do and it doesn't feel like she didn't come from us..... which is the way it should be.  We feel the same about Luke.  I watched her giggle, laugh and smile all day.  Incredible that she didn't know English eight months ago and now she is telling people to be cautious and how much she loves them.  Our blessings keep growing each and every day as our children grow from toddlers into young kids.  We couldn't be happier and believe that Maran feels the same way.  She still adores daddy with every ounce of energy her little body has and Daddy shows no shortage of doting over her.  Mom is left to the disciplinary actions which is fine.  Thankfully we don't have many of them with her or Luke for that matter.  We are thankful that her birth mother placed her under the bridge where she was quickly found.  We are thankful for the road worker who found her and cared for her for the short while he had her before turning her over to the police.  We are thankful for our Adoption Agency, China, Family, Friends and all who love our daughter as much as we do.  (The love is equally shown for Luke too .... and how could it not be... he is so stinkin' cute).   Maran is such a girlie girl and a lover of fine things like dresses, jewelry and spa treatments (Everything I was the opposite of as a young child).  It has been joyful, to say the least, with her being in our lives.  It is a true honor for us to be her parents.  

 At the Spa ...lounging

A girl MUST let her toes and fingers dry completely!

My favorite people... Cousin Dylan, Brother Luke and Cousin Tefie (I want my hair to be blonde and pretty Like Tefie's)

First Dessert of the Day from Mellow Mushroom

Lemon Cake that Nammy had made for me from Ms. Pumpkin's Bakery in Winston Salem, NC

Four BIG candles to blow out!

Balloons are also a party favorite!

A costume that I got from my mommy's friend Mary B that I just had to wear.  I also got Rapunzel's costume and hair piece.  I love playing dress up!

Spending her SPECIAL DAY with Nammy, PopPop, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Byron, Cousin Tefie, Cousin Dylan, Luke and Mommy and Daddy was perfect.

The REAL birthday party with kids will be in a few weeks.  We were waiting to see how her foot is healing and it is coming along quite well.... next blog post will give detals of foot and our wonderful vacation! 

To many more birthdays! 

The Cast is OFF --- A NEW DAY!!

Arrival at Ortho Carolina (we fell asleep in the car on the way there)

Waiting for someone to come in and see us. (See how she is clinging to her I Pod and Daddy)

The day finally came for the cast to be removed.  We were quite nervous about the whole thing.  Maran flip flopped back and forth between wanting it off and getting to really play and keeping it on so that she could still be carried around.  My arm voted for it to be off and I know Daddy's did as well.  Pretty sure our niece Stephanie voted for OFF too as she has carried Maran around an awful lot! The past eight weeks we have pretty much kept Maran inside and avoided outside due to the heat.  That changed last Friday.  I had her outside most of the day and she played like never before.  She was the dirtiest she has probably EVER been (at least with us) and she had a blast.  Since the cast removal day was then five days away I figured it was fine and that if it ACCIDENTALLY became wet then they would remove it and hopefully keep it off.  Well it didn't get wet but it got a lot of dirt on it and some much needed chainsaw grease and motor oil.  Yes she was helping daddy rebuild his chainsaw.  I am not sure that any gas or oil got INTO the chainsaw for that matter as it seemed Maran had it all on WHAT USED TO BE A PINK CAST.  The cast was not signed until Saturday as we had to keep it clean (or try to) due to graduations, parties and so on. 

She was such a trooper. She was brave and strong and a little scared once the cast was starting to be taken off and after it was off the pain in her knee brought some tears. 

Below are some pictures. I will add that some may be graphic (wow... can you say that on a blog?) So in case you have a queasy tummy.... STOP NOW! (They aren't that bad but I do show you the leg).   

 This is the machine that helps to take the cast off.

Maran is shown how the drill will NOT cut her skin.  The NA actually put the drill to her hand and proved how it will only cut through her cast and WILL NOT GO NEAR her skin.

 The First Drill cut is made into the cast.

 After cutting the cast is peeled away with something that looks like an oversize nutcracker.  Here safety scissors are being used to carefully cut away the gauze.

Removal is interesting and scary at the same time. Peeling away the cast and the gauze.

We are quite fascinated and are

 being quite patient.

 

Separation anxiety from our cast sets in.  We are full of tears and we are scared.  It was the pitiful deep meaning cry that we don't hear very often but when we do it is simply heart breaking. 

 The leg appears and Daddy and Mommy are nervous.  We had no idea what to expect.  No idea of the incisions or anything.  We were pleasantly surprised.

 This is the button on the bottom of the foot.  What it did was anchor (on the outside) the tendon that was transferred across the foot. (The Dr. actually pulled it off with her hand).  It was like a bandaide... kind of weird.

Now I am really upset.  My cast is gone... my knee is hurting and I am just not happy. Not even Daddy can cure this but he can help in trying.

A Resident Dr. shows up and looks at the incisions and says "This looks good. I will have Dr. Casey come in and look and we will decide how high the cast will go and about a boot". I gasp knowing that we are going on vacation in 4 days and cringe thinking "ANOTHER CAST"? I said very quickly "We vote for a boot". Dr. Resident leaves and I say to Daddy "If they want to do a cast then we will come back in a week and get it". I could not imagine putting Maran through a cruise and beaches with a cast on. It just was NOT going to happen. I start to plan our escape from this office as my stomach is churning and I am just all over the room wondering "What did I miss about the surgery details especially the POST SURGERY procedure(s)?" Dr. Casey arrives and looks at the leg and is extremely happy with the outcome. She has Maran move her toes, her foot, bend her knee and so on". She quickly says.. "OK see you in six weeks - she can go swimming and have fun." Sheeewwwwwww nannnnnnyyyyyyyyyyy! She then said at the six week point we will decide if we need therapy or a boot or anything further.  She also looked at her right leg and said that typically the 'BAD' leg is the larger of the two but that in Maran's case her bad leg is the smaller of the two.  The left leg is significantly smaller (skinnier).  The left foot is almost one whole size smaller than the right.  It MAY OR MAY NOT catch up in growth.  Stride Rite prefers it to NOT catch up but Mommy feels differently.  Every dime we spend on her is worth it but it does get a little icky when you buy two pairs of shoes and get only one pair.  (Yes we have to buy two different sizes because of the huge difference in each foots size).  MORE THAN WORTH it to keep her feet in as good of shape as possible for sure but not so good when you get a pair and literally they are too small in a month.  However, if this doesn't work itself out then it will be fine... she will be worth it all the same! 

We leave the Dr.'s office sporting an Elmo sticker (it was all they had and believe me she would NOT have picked Elmo.. sorry Elmo).  We offer her ice cream, a frosty, chicken nuggets and candy but she decides that she only wants a Sprite... A SPRITE... the child is offered anything and she chooses SPRITE!  Bless this child!!!

What's the Outlook? 

• Six week visit will tell us if therapy is needed.
• Her right leg will MORE THAN LIKELY heal itself with growth.
• She will be good as new in a few weeks.

The TENDON TRANSFER so far was a success!  What a happy day!!!  Our daughter is on her way to being able to walk without falling down all the time.  I am sure she will NOT miss the intimate relationship she has had with the floors and cement since birth.  She will walk now and people will not stare at her because of her club feet they will just stare because she is so stinkin' cute.  The staring and falling down NEVER bothered her. It bothered me because it made me sad and I was so scared that she would get hurt. 

This child is just a joy.  She asked only ONCE for her cast to be taken off.  After surgery she complained of pain only once.  After the cast was off she cried and said her knee hurt but did so only once.  She has a high tolerance for pain and just deals with things....much like I am guessing she dealt with things in the orphanage. 

When we got home Luke came running up to her and hugged her.  God has blessed us with two very beautiful and loving children.  I don't really know what life would be like without them and don't want to know.  Life before them is like non-existent.  They are what matters and the love they have given to us is the best ever.  There is no better love than that of a child.  At bedtime Luke hugged Maran again and told her that he loved her.  She said "I love you too Luke".  Luke has been truly concerned about Maran and her leg and this show of concern is just adorable.  It will more than likely be gone in a day as we wouldn't want to put that sibling rivalry to rest this early in the game.

Lighten your heart and enjoy the laughter and love of a child. 

Final Day of Cast

Maran woke up this morning and held up 1 finger.  She had a super size smile on her precious little Porcelain Doll face.  She then said "Mommy, tomorrow it will be this".  (She then held up her fist tightly closed showing ZERO DAYS LEFT!).