what a weeks!

Like last time, I skipped a week for updates. A lot happened the last 2 weeks and not all fun.  My father, who is visiting from the Netherlands, had a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotic that was prescribed to him the week before and he was very sick from it, such that Marc spent a night with him in the emergency room where he had to get rehydrated.  He was running a 103F fever for 3 days and was covered with a rash that only now, 10 days later, is starting to disappear.  The doctor in the emergency room told us that he might not have made it through the night if we would not have come.  Luckily he is doing much better now although he still is very tired.   They were a few very stressful days though, both for my dad as well as us and of course Hannah and Ivan felt there was something wrong and were also not their own selves.  But it is all over now and we have resumed our normal lives again.

The next big event was that Hannah started day camp last Tuesday.  She was very eager to go and even wanted to go to bed at 6pm the night before because I had told her we would go when she would wake up.  She has been doing very well the whole week and came home with a bag full of artwork she did during the week and a lot of compliments from her teacher, especially her music teacher.  She was so ready to go and be able to play with other children her age.  We could notice that she was getting bored at home and even at the park where all children were a lot younger than her.  She especially loved splash day yesterday. I didn't get a chance to see her but since they have splash day every Friday, I hope to be able to get some pictures.

Ivan got evaluated for speech therapy and I am pretty sure he will qualify although his speech is improving. He is starting to say more words and speak clearer.  But compared to other children his age he is still far behind.  However, his motor skills are right where they are supposed to be.  Hannah English is still improving every day. She hardly uses any russian anymore except for a few words here and there and speaks in whole sentences. I am sure being at camp will help her improve even more!  Coincidentally, there is another little boy (named Vanya) in her group. He got adopted 2 years ago so Hannah won't be able to speak russian with him but.... what are the odds!

Today was the last day of gym of the season and we had a show day where all parents,grand parents etc could come and take pictures. And both got a medal and a certificate.  We were of course very proud of them too!  They both have improved a lot over the 2 months they have participated in the classes, mostly in the way they participate. Hannah was mostly sitting on the side the first 2 weeks but is now close to fully participating, especially in the gym part of her class. Ivan runs around as if he owns the gym. 

We also bought a little pool for the back yard and they both love that and it is on the wishlist of activities every day. It is amazing how much they both love the water. I still would like to take them to the pool but the public pool only opened last week and Marc has been out of town most of this week. Maybe sometime during the coming week. Anyhow, next weekend we'll have a pool party at a friends house so we'll get our chance!

And the biggest news is that we have decided to move to Washington DC.  We both love the area and we decided if we wanted to do it now would be the best time.

So...we are still doing wonderful and couldn't be happier as a family of 4!  We really got some amazing children.