Easter Week

Happy Easter, Everyone!

The Turpin's have been having a wonderful week here in Calgary!

If I pick up where I left off, we did take Jakob to the doctor and he said everything looks fine so far with Jakob. I still have to take him to a different clinic to get some other immunizations done and also take in a stool sample (not to talk poop again but his pattern is off so have not been able to time it correctly yet!). When the doctor weighed Jakob, he was 26.5 pounds and he was only 22 when we got him. So, he has gained almost 5 pounds in 1 month!!! That put him in the 40th percentile in weight (as opposed to the 5th percentile). The good news is, the kid loves fruit and dairy products, so it is not junk that is fattening him up (now if we could just get him off of buttermilk...yes, the only milk he will drink as it is most similar to what he had in Russia...yuck!).

Jakob and I have a pretty good routine going here. I usually get up before he does and get ready, then we have breakfast together, clean up, play and usually go out somewhere...whether it is the mall, a park, walking the dogs, something. Then we have lunch, he naps and I get lots of stuff done (or nap as well...it is hard to pass up when our bedroom has the afternoon sun hitting it and it is nice and cozy), we then have a snack and either do some sort of craft thing (if I've been adventurous), play, go to the park, etc. Then Dad comes home and the boys go upstairs so Wayne can change and I usually hear running, screaming, tickling and laughing going on. I'm usually making dinner by then and we eat together, Dad gives Jakob his bath and one of us puts him to bed. The dogs have been pretty lucky in that they still usually get their daily walk / run at the dog park.

Jakob has really started getting better at the playground (and walking at the dog park). What we realized is that he has never really been on uneven ground or really been on playground equipment so when we first brought him home, he was hopeless at the park. He could barely walk and could not climb on anything to save his life. His poor little legs did not have the strength to do it. So, I've been working with him everyday at the park (and having to say no a lot to picking him up and carrying him) as that is the only way he will get better. He was even hopeless at the dog park because of the uneven ground and hill, but now he is a champ running through the park! It is amazing to see his progress in just 2 short weeks! If there are a lot of kids at the park, I can now pretty much just stay and talk to the moms while Jakob runs and plays with the others (of course, I keep an eye on him)...he is still a bit slower than them but he is getting there.

Jakob has also just started saying 'yes' and 'no' to food. Before, it was always "yes, I want that, please give it to me!" Now, he is actually particular about what he wants and when. This is HUGE for him as he now realizes that the food will always be there, he does not need to store it in his little cheeks (like he had been doing in Moscow), he does not have to eat every tiny morsel (no more crumb eating), etc. He is still a very good, hearty, eater.

For the long Easter weekend, we took Jakob to the zoo on Friday. It was pretty good, very crowded, and we are not used to being at a zoo where most animals are inside (since it is so cold here). Jakob really loved seeing all the animals and eating a big hot dog! On Saturday, we had breakfast at the Farmer's Market and then took him to his Brilliant Beginnings class. It was an Easter theme and he seemed to enjoy the class. He was actually copying what the teacher was doing this time, so I think he is getting the hang of it. He is still not fantastic at sharing toys (what 2 year old is?). On Sunday, he came into our room and saw his Easter basket. Not sure what he really thought of it, but having a chocolate marshmallow egg for breakfast seemed to be okay with him. We hid some eggs for him downstairs and he found them all straight away so he seemed to be getting the concept that you find them and then put them in the basket. We had our friends, Josee and Colin, over for dinner and Jakob really enjoyed that. It was the first time he had dinner our our big dining room table. He also seemed to rip into his toys that evening...playing with some that he had never really been interested in. This may have been due to the massive chocolate dog that Josee and Colin brought him. Luckily, we all shared it with him, but it was a true sugar high for about 45 min. (actually pretty interesting to see).

We had our friends, David and Laura Anne, over for dinner tonight along with their 2 boys Andrew (5) and Robert (3?) and Jakob LOVED it. He was not sure what to think of the boys at first as they made themselves at home and started playing with his toys, but by the end of the night, the boys were chasing him and tickling him, he was laughing and running around, etc. He really loved having them here.

The dogs continue to love Jakob when he is eating and tolerate him the rest of the time. He just gets SO excited around them and wants to pat them really hard, squeeze them, pull their legs up in the air, pull their tail, etc. But he has come such a long way with them. He does not mind too much if they lick him (which they don't try to do hardly at all unless he comes up to them) and loves their cold noses.

So - that is an update from our side. I am counting down the days until my mom comes for a visit (Apr 4-12) as I just can't wait for her to meet him and vice versa, plus have someone to hang out with during the day. Jakob will also start a swim class and mini-music makers class during that time which will give us something fun and exciting to do during the week!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and we will post again in another week or 2.

Love,
The Turpin's