Update

Goodness, I'm not even averaging one post a month at this rate. I keep waiting for life to return to a sense of "normalcy"; where the boys will be on a set schedule and I will have a consistent daily routine so I can do things like exercise, blog to keep people updated, cook a decent meal, etc. However, hard as we might try we are still yet to reach that point. Since it has been so long and a lot continues to take place, I'll try to just give a quick update on the boys.

Jack-
Jack is a very passionate little boy. He works very hard at all he does all day and right now he is working very hard on being two. For all you parents out there who have had two year olds you know what I'm talking about, but for us this has been a complete shock. The tantrums, hitting, biting, whining, crying, have been a huge challenge for us. I'm very thankful for the honest Facebook posts I see of people who have toddlers and the things they deal with because it has helped me see that Jack is simply being a toddler and that he's not possessed. Throw on top of it the fact that he is most likely still dealing with a lot in that little head of his, and I guess he's doing pretty good. As far as health goes he does pretty good. He is slowly gaining weight, but is still very small (he's 22 months and 12 month clothing is a little too big). He went from being unable to sleep on his own and crying every night, to falling asleep by himself without any problem, to all of a sudden going back to crying every night. This came out of nowhere and created a pretty miserable experience for all of us every single night. We worked on a new bedtime routine and for the last two weeks or so he has been doing much better in that area (praise God). He still only says a few words (more like sounds) and will be beginning a program where he will have speech and cognitive therapies.

Hank-
Hank continues to come alive more and more all the time. He will be turning one in July, but is capable of doing things that 6 months old do, and not much more. He works so hard every day though. Right now he is trying so hard to crawl and that's all he wants to do all day. He too went through a time of not sleeping that great. For quite a while he would wake up at 2am and stay awake until about 4am- like clockwork every single night. He was also not falling asleep until about 10pm, so needless to say I was not getting much sleep and was on the verge of crazy. He still sometimes wakes up at odd hours, but is doing much better in that area. His health still seems to be an issue though. His reflux went from great to horrible and he began to spit up/ throw up every thing he ate and drank and even began to lose a little weight. He went through some vigorous testing where he screamed and cried as I helplessly watched :(, and so far the tests have come back to show that all his anatomy is good, he just has severe reflux. Most babies who have this outgrow it by the time they are 12 months, but due to his prematurity the doctor said it could be more closer to 15 months. It took awhile to get it set up, but he is finally receiving some therapies. He is enrolled in a program where an educator and physical therapist come to our apartment to work with him every week. The most helpful has been the educator who works with his communication and expressive skills and gives us lots of ideas on things to work on throughout the week.

Areas we need prayer:

Jack-
Jack seems to attach to us a little more as time goes on, but I still don't feel that he understands who we are as "Mom and Dad." Please pray for him in this area. Please pray for our patience with him as well and that we would all find a way to truly bond with each other.

Hank-
One of the ladies who is working with Hank each week mentioned that a lot of foster children she sees who are babies are often shut down emotionally because that is how they were able to deal with all they had gone through. She mentioned that she felt some of that from Hank. When Hank first came to us he resisted eye contact and very rarely smiled. He is doing much better in those areas, but still at times it takes everything we can do to force a little giggle out of him. Please pray that whatever part of him he shut down during those first few months, God will bring life and joy to. Please also pray for his health and for God's peace as he still has several doctor appointments and more tests to come in the following month.


Us-
Finally please pray for me and Justin. That we would be Godly parents and be the mom and dad these boys need and deserve. Also please pray that we would be able to have time with each other to invest in and encourage each other.

Thank you to those of you who have encouraged us through calls, messages, and prayer. It means more than we can say to know that we are being prayed for in this journey.