WHAT'S GOING ON.....

HELLO, EVERYONE! SINCE OUR JOURNEY TO HALEY IS NOW COMPLETE, IT SEEMS APPROPRIATE TO END THIS BLOG!! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW ALONG WITH OUR "FAMILY HAPPENINGS".....

PLEASE VISIT US AT:
http://www.denicolofamily.blogspot.com/

ADOPTION ANNOUNCEMENTS...

We received the "proof" today of the adoption announcements we ordered! It is just too cute!!! I had to share it with you....


Over the years, we've had the great people at Mandy's Moon do ALL of our adoption announcements, thank-you cards, party invitations, etc.! If you're an adoptive mom (or multi-cultural family), you might want to visit their website! They're a small family-owned business, and they are WONDERFUL!!

http://www.mandysmoon.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi

FATHER KNOWS BEST....

Okay, I'm the first to admit when I'm wrong!! My husband obviously knew that we needed to get away and HAVE SOME FUN with the kids! I'll admit that I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of going camping when there was so much to do around the house, but.....we have been having a WONDERFUL time camping! It was a very NEEDED family get-away!!

It is Sunday afternoon and the kids actually wanted to camp ONE MORE night! So, my husband is staying at the campground with the kids until Monday morning! What a great dad he is!!!

I'm posting several pictures from Saturday! It was a HORRIBLY hot day (94 degrees) and it was the most miserable day to be outside...but we roughed it and...the kids didn't seem to mind the heat! Us old folks had a harder time, though! Thank goodness our camper is air-conditioned!! We took several breaks to go inside and cool off!!

Today is much nicer.....89 degrees and a nice breeze!! There was NO breeze yesterday....it was PURE HEAT!! MISERABLE HEAT!!!! Grrrrrr!!!

:)

Jessi and Andy stopped by...just in time for roasting marshmallows on the fire!!

They're back to being "best buds" (for the moment, anyway)!!
Dad had enough of the heat, and went inside the nice air-conditioned camper to catch the FOOTBALL GAME (what a typical MAN thing to do)?!!!
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You might notice from the pictures that I followed up Haley's bang-trimming with an all-around trimming!! I had to even up her hair! It was very uneven in the back....almost in the shape of a "V"!! So, I evened it up to the shortest layer and....it looks so adorable!! And, it is MUCH easier to wash, style and COMB through!!!
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Several of you have asked how Haley is adjusting. Honestly, my husband and I have said several times that she has never seemed to look back! She has fit in so well with our family, and I think she FEELS that she belongs with us! She is so happy and is adjusting very well. She had her moments last week (that's for sure), but we knew to expect that and we were ready to deal with it! But, all-in-all she is doing incredibly well! She is so happy and she is so easy to love!! I am still amazed at how easy SHE makes it to communicate! She is a very intelligent little girl and she has learned very well how to communicate with her hands! I love her to pieces!! I really do!!!

THE WEEK IN REVIEW....

Haley trying to figure out how to ride a bike! It was very frustrating for her! She kept pushing backwards on the pedals and it wouldn't "go" for her, so she got very mad!!

Enter "big brother Dylan" who has been Haley's knight in shining armor! He really looks out for her!!

She was able to ride the bike by herself for a very short period of time! Woo-hoo!! It will take practice, but I think she'll have it mastered soon (she's a very quick learner)!!

This is Lauryn, the little show-off! She was quick to point out that her bike is bigger than Haley's and it has no training wheels!
This was all on Monday! It was a great day!! Everyone was happy and everything seemed PERFECT!!

Then came Tuesday!! And, THIS is what we dealt with most of the day! CRYING, crying and MORE crying! She does NOT like to be told "No"!! She wants everything to be HER WAY or she's going to throw a fit! She got three time-outs on Tuesday and she did not like that at all! She cried the ENTIRE TIME that we put her on the time-out chair!! I took these pictures when she was put into a time-out in her BED.....we had taken all that we could from her that day and it was TIME FOR BED!! She carried on like this for at least 25 minutes!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!

Okay! You get the picture, right?!!!!!!

Wednesday was a better day! She seemed to be more understanding of "No"! She would push her lower lip out and stomp her foot, but she wouldn't throw a FIT like she did the day before! Most of our saying "No" had to do with her pushing, shoving or hitting Lauryn!! That is a BIG "No-No"!!!

She plays very well by herself, and she actually PREFERS to play by herself! She loves all of her toys, and plays with them for hours!!


When she's not being a STINKER, she's actually very adorable!!


She also loves to look at pictures! Did you notice the bangs?!! I had to do it!! I couldn't take that hair falling in her face anymore!! And, it would not stay in the barretts!! She would come up to me every half hour and motion for me to pull her bangs back into the barretts!!


I think she looks adorable with bangs!



She has also become very fond of our cat, Abbigail. If she is quiet enough, she can sneak up on Abbigail!! But, usually she gets so excited when she sees Abbigail, and she starts SCREAMING...which sends poor Abbigail running for cover!!!
Here's Haley giving her infamous "peace sign"!!

So, Carli has been sick all week with a head cold! She is feeling better today, thank goodness! Too many sleepless nights this week for mom and dad! Dylan was sick last night (stomach flu)! So, all of this on top of working, grocery shopping, trying to unpack and get things settled in, cooking, cleaning, TONS of laundry.....COULD I GET A MARGARITA, PLEASE?!!!

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It has been very hectic to say the least! Haley is a doll, don't get me wrong! We love her to pieces! And, I think with time everything will be great! But, she certainly has an attitude that we need to work on, and she needs to accept the fact that things aren't always going to go HER WAY in this house!! She does NOT like Lauryn to touch ANYTHING of hers, and she is very jealous of any attention that Lauryn gets!! If papa picks Lauryn up, Haley will run over to him and motion for him to pick HER up...and then arm wrestle Lauryn for who gets to put their arm around papa!! It's really quite irritating!! Haley and Lauryn being "best buds" was very short-lived!!

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And, just when the weekend arrives and I feel like I can RELAX and get some unpacking done (I didn't get a chance to do much this week)......my husband informs me that he wants to go CAMPING! So, he and the boys are already at the campground! They are going to camp tonight, and the girls and I will join them tomorrow!! There will be no relaxing for me this weekend!! And, I guess the unpacking can wait until NEXT WEEKEND!!

ALL IS $@**

Okay, was my last post REALLY entitled "all is well"?!! Hmmm....well, take away the "w" in well and add an "h"....that's how this week has been!

I am terribly sorry..I have not abandoned any of you! Don't you just hate it when you follow someone's blog for MONTHS and then...once they get home with their child.....they disappear and stop blogging all together?!! Shame on you people who do that!!!

I promise you all that I will update later this evening! I have lots to share with you, and many pictures! So, please check back!!

In summary....Carli has been sick all week (terrible head cold), Dylan got sick last night (throwing up), Lauryn has been extremely jealous of the attention that Haley gets, and Haley has been a little STINKER....okay a BIG STINKER!!! Austin has been our shining star this week (if you can even BELIEVE it)!!!!

Hugs to you all!! I will post later!!

ALL IS WELL....

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post since we got home from Michigan. It has been a very busy couple of days! I will have more time to post later this week. When we returned home from Michigan, there were 113 email messages!! I have answered some of them, but please do not be too upset if I haven't replied to YOURS yet! And, the phone has been ringing off the hook here! So, please just give us a few days to settle in!!

I can share a few things with you....

When we first showed Haley her room (that she shares with her sisters Carli and Lauryn), we pointed to HER bed. She walked over to it and pointed to it, and then to herself....as if to ask "IS THIS MY BED?"!! When we shook our heads YES...she began to clap her hands and scream with excitement! Then, she began jumping up and down, and still clapping her hands! It actually brought a tear to my eye!! She was soooooooooo excited about her BED!!!

After we put the girls to bed last night, I checked on them several times. My last check at 12:00 p.m. found Carli and Lauryn sleeping, but Haley was wide awake playing with all of the stuffed animals and dolls that I had lined her bed with! STUPID ME!! I didn't even THINK about taking them off the bed before she went to sleep! She must have thought this was an open invitation to play in her bed all night!!

Today, we showed her the bicycle that we had for her (training wheels and all)! It was quite obvious that she has never ridden a bicycle, or even SEEN anybody ride one! She got on the bike BACKWARDS!! We of course laughed because it was pretty funny, but....she didn't like being laughed at! After she got done pouting, she got back on the bike and attempted to ride it, but.....she kept pushing backwards on the pedals instead of forward! But, that's okay! She's a fast learner, and I think she'll have it mastered in no time!

We went out to eat at the Chinese buffet tonight. She would have NOTHING to do with the Chinese food! She wanted chicken nuggets and french fries! And, then she tasted mom's sauteed shrimp and....had two big servings herself!! She really is a good eater, much to our surprise! But, she wants nothing to do with any Chinese food! I just think that is.......pretty odd!!!
Haley has her first doctor's appointment on Friday. I don't know if we will learn anything about her hearing impairment from that doctor's visit or not! But, I will surely keep you all informed about what we find out! I hope there is a way to have her hearing restored, but...honestly, she is just perfect the way she is!

Some of you have asked if we have had trouble communicating with Haley. I can tell you that it reminds us of our early days with Austin when he joined our family at age 6 from Russia! We didn't speak the same language, but...we found a way to communicate and we "understood" one another! This is much the same with Haley! She has already picked up on several "signs" and we are so proud of her! She is a very quick learner! So far, everything is going GREAT...much better than we had ever imagined!
:)

HALEY & LAURYN WITH GRANDMA MARY BEFORE WE LEFT MICHIGAN!!

LAST POST FROM MICHIGAN!

This was our last day at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Tomorrow we will drive home to Indiana!

Haley had another sleepless night last night! She woke up at 3:15 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep! Her morning was very rough today....very crabby and tired! So, we decided that Haley should not go to the car show downtown! Haley, mom and Lauryn stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house while everybody else went to the car show!

But, Haley got her second wind this afternoon and everything was fine! She was happy and bubbly!!

We had our cook-out tonight, made a fire in the fire pit, and uncle Robert even brought some fireworks!!

Here are a few pictures from today..

This will be my last post for a couple of days! We have a lot of unpacking to do tomorrow when we get home, and....Monday is back to work for mom!! Dad has the entire week off from work (what a lucky guy)!!!

Lauryn and Haley

We're going to a car show downtown today with Grandpa, and then having a cook-out tonight! I'll have lots of pictures to post later, but I wanted to share a couple of brief video clips of Lauryn and Haley! This is how they are ALL day long...they're inseparable!! It is soooo adorable!!

A VERY BUSY DAY!

Haley didn't sleep too well last night, which is no surprise! Her little time clock is all messed up! So, mom and dad shared "shifts" with her through the night!! I am amazed at how well she has adjusted to this family of ours! She just FITS RIGHT IN!!

I think I know why Haley is so little and skinny! She does NOT like Chinese food!! Michael told me that she would not eat Chinese food, but I could hardly imagine how that was possible! It's true! But, let me tell you...this little girl LOVES the American food and she can eat like CRAZY!

Today for lunch Grandma and Grandpa made a ham with scalloped potatoes, and she had TWO servings....and then wanted MORE about an hour later!!

She ate a very good breakfast too (scrambled eggs and bacon)!

Today the "cousins" came over to Grandma and Grandpa's house and they all had such a great time playing outside together! Lauryn still holds onto Haley's hand wherever they go! They're almost inseparable!

The boys (Dylan and Austin) decided to spend the night at their cousin Hunter's house. So, Michael and I took the girls to the park for a while. They had a lot of fun! We also stopped at the A&W. Haley pointed to French Fries on the menu!! She might not be able to speak, but we have had no problems understanding what she is trying to convey to us! So far, it has been much easier than I imagined! She is such a LOVING little girl and has such a kind heart! She is enjoying her new family and is just so amazing in every way! She is truly a "gift"!!

This was Haley on the way home from the park! I think it's safe to say that she was "pooped"!!

I know it's almost impossible to tell from the pictures, but "mama" actually gave Haley a haircut this morning after her bath! Dad was right...her hair was TOO long, and dry, and very uneven!! She didn't seem to mind at all, and was sure proud of her hairdo today!!

It's getting to be bedtime here for the girls! I don't have much time during the day to get on the computer, but I know how it is to be on the other end of the blog and WAITING for updates! So, I wanted to post some more pictures for you all and let you know that everying is going SO WELL for us! Thank you for all of your comments, your well-wishing, and your prayers! We love you all :)

Lauryn has been such a GREAT sister and friend to Haley! I am so proud of her!! I told my husband today that we are TRULY blessed!! There is no other word to describe it...BLESSED!