7/26 - Oh, how are lives have changes in many, many ways. Our daily lives continue, but now we must work around a two year old's schedule. I went back to work full time at the beginning of the month, when Dan's work pretty much shut down. I get up early, head off to work and am home around dinner time to help with feeding and then I have evening, bath and bedtime duty. Dan has been working about 2 small loads a week, so he has morning, dress up and breakfast, most doctor appointments and lunch. I don't think he imagined this much kid time when we decided to adopt. Kimberly gets to go for rides a lot with him while he is running errands and of course, the four-wheeler is still a favorite. She still sees Grandma Carol once or twice a week and my parents in the evenings.

Kim-Kim is doing well; we have two more doctor's appointment next week and then she is done for a year. She passed the hearing and dental exam. Tomorrow she goes in for some more shots and the cardiologist on Thursday. She has grown a few pounds and her personality is emerging. We had her evaluated at the beginning of the month by early intervention. They determined she was behind in gross motor skills and speech and suggested some therapy. The therapist was on vacation, so she just came out this past Thursday (2-1/2 weeks later). By now, she has improved and doesn't qualify for therapy. I guess that is good and bad at the same time. She still doesn't jump and doesn't like to swing - we're working on that. The first counselor gave us a book to follow and we've been working on their suggestions. I've seen a difference with her development in the past two weeks. She still babbles words or phrases that we don't understand, but has added more english to her vocabulary. She can identify and say "mama", "dada" and "papa". She still can't pronounce Grandma or the cousins names, but she definately knows who they are.

For the most part, she is a happy, playful child. She is becoming interested in TV - which meant nothing to her when she first came home. She now has a little sandbox to play in and is learning the phrase "the sand stays in the box". It sounds just like "the rocks stay in the garden" and "the water stays in the tub". Occasionally, she also needs to be reminded "do not lay on the kitty". She is warming up more and more to new people as we meet them along our normal day. A few weeks ago, we were reprimanded by our adoption agency for taking her out too much. Oh well, that's not the first time we have been in trouble. Last weekend she went to the Ox Roast Fair, which is a carnival in our town. She didn't mind the loud noises of the tractor's pulling heavy weights. She liked the lights and sounds at all of the games, but she didn't have friend to ride with her. Kimberly comes down to the barn with me occasionally in the evenings to clean stalls. She is comfortable playing in the barn and helps lead the horses in from the pasture. She likes going out to dinner and is well behaved, so we try to do that once a week and meet different couples. This coming week she is going to a nature program for two years old with my parents. She still eats like crazy, loves to play in the water at bath time and sleeps peacefully all night long. Nap-time can be touchy. If she's tired she will fall asleep quickly. If not, she will play quietly in the crib for an hour till she finally falls asleep. We will continue to work with Kimberly on her speech and gross motor skills and expect continued improvement in all levels of her development. At this time, Dan will continue to stay home with her, since there is no point in putting her in day care yet.