The Fanning Four

I feel like I'm living in a nursery rhyme like "Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean." Our version is, "Caleb Shen could eat SO fast, his sis could eat SO slow." We've had eating issues with Bethy since she got off of baby food. She used to have to drink Ensure because she didn't eat enough food. She could go a whole day and eat not one bite of food. She never, ever said she was hungry. We have come a long way since those days. She's moved up a bit in percentage for her height/weight for her age. She no longer needs Ensure. She expresses hunger. She eats food throughout the day. She even tries new foods occasionally. It's been a long road and it continues. She is an extremely slow eater. Lunch takes 45 minutes and would last longer if I didn't give it a time limit due to nap. Dinner takes her at least an hour. Sometimes she does eat at a "regular" pace.  We have started using a star system to help her stay on ...

Happy Chinese New Year! We're celebrating at a local Chinese restauarant tonight. I'll dress the kids in their Chinese outfits. Pretty low key this year. We're happy and excited about the year to come!

We're headed to the University of Alabama Children's Hospital next week to meet with their craniofaical team for a second opinion. The surgeon there has 13 years of experience and seems to be really great. We're hoping for some encouraging news, or at the very least, a clear direction for our next steps. My biggest concern is how this fistula (hole in the palate) will impact Caleb's speech. Caleb has made some progress. He is sleeping in a toddler bed- yay! Naps are going well. Nighttime is rougher but it hasn't been too bad. He has been making some new sounds- he says "uh oh", "mmm, hmmm", and makes the "Mmmmm" sound when he pretends to eat with our play food. We also think he is trying to say "hi" and "bye". He's very happy to be eating pretty much whatever he wants again. We also said bye bye to the arm restraints. He is having some attachment issues with Tom. If Tom is in the room, Caleb "demands...

Sometimes you look back on a year and think, "Phew, we made it!" 2011 is that kind of year and I am tired. But my heart and my home are full of love and joy. This precious girl started out her year with surgery, having her adenoids removed. She continued to struggle with asthma most of the winter and spring until we discovered allegra, got her off regular milk, and bought new couches. Now, she has been pretty healthy for months. She turned three in July and has been an absolute joy. She rarely gets in trouble, eats much better, has a huge imagination, is really understanding so much about God, and constantly make us laugh. She's quite the gymnast too and goes to gymnastics twice a week. She loves to play with baby dolls, do our hair, play dress up, run around outside, and has discovered the fun of computer games. She can say her ABC's but she gets tripped up on the letter "h". She can count to 13. She knows her address. She can sing a lot of different so...

Remember how Caleb climbed out of his crib two days after we came home from surgery? Yeah....good times. So, in order to keep him from getting too upset (in case he might start bleeding again and require another call to 911), we have spoiled him. He has been sleeping in our room with one of us each night. He falls asleep holding my hand. He hasn't shown any signs of bleeding in a while, so guess what's going up this weekend? THE BIG BOY BED! So, if you hear screams coming from my house next week, don't worry. Everything. is. under. control. I tried putting him on his crib mattress in our room last week. I even stayed with him. The phone rang. It was China. They asked, "What are you doing to poor Caleb? We can hear his screams all the way over here." Better go find those ear plugs........

On one of my trips to Nicaragua, we went to the city landfill to visit the people who work scavenging what they can find in the landfill. They live among running sewage. There is the stench of burning trash constantly. They live in places that make our kids' cardboard forts look like mansions. They are hungry, they are sick. They are desperate for hope. While I was there, I met a family that I will never forget. The Grandmother gestured to her daughters and grandchildren (dressed only in soggy diapers) and said to us; "I know you didn't ask, but these children, they only eat once a day." So, it goes without saying that it has been a rough month and a half for our family. But perspective is everything. I had mono, strep, and supposedly Lyme Disease but I have a husband who can take off work and still get paid. Caleb's surgery and recovery has been exhausting, challenging, scary, frustrating, and disappointing. For those who aren't on my facebook- he devel...

Hi neglected blog friends, Most of my readers already know everything from facebook but I didn't want to totally neglect those of you from other places that read. So, for you, I give you this post. Caleb is doing marvelous. He stays in childcare and with babysitters sometimes and there's no trauma or drama (most of the time). He drinks from a sippy cup (without the no spill plug). He can sign about 10 words. He pretends to read and makes sounds when he does. He's much more stable when he walks. He is enjoying playing on playgrounds. He is sleeping well. He still has some days where he has fits of crying and he gets easily overstimulated by new situations (and he is still terrified of elevators). But overall, we're so pleased with how he's doing. His surgery for his palate and tubes is coming up on Tuesday. Bethany is also doing well. Sometimes I forget she has asthma because she's been so well this year! We've made a lot of changes in our house, some i...