B.J.'s Certificate of Citizenship!

Today BJ received his Certificate of Citizenship! We are so relieved as we started to think it would never show up! This certificate will be the proof we need to apply for different things such as passport, readoption in the U.S., etc. We already have his social security number so that is one less step we need to take. Although he was a citizen upon entry into the U.S., the only proof he had of his citizenship was his Polish passport with the U.S. visa stamp. Now he has documentation. It is so exciting to see these loose ends being taken care of.

On another note, poor B.J. has been sick for over a week with a runny nose that doesn't quite and a whole lot of congestion. On Thursday, he came down with a 103.5 fever. It terrified me as I have had several students out with "Influenza a" and fevers of 106! Yikes! We called the doctor right away, but there wasn't much she could do. She checked his ears and throat and they did a strep test, but it all came back negative. She said to keep the fever down and if he still has it in a few days we need to take him in to get some blood drawn. Poor little guy, he is working on his fourth day with a fever, but at least we have been able to keep it down. Hopefully he'll wake up and it will be gone! No trick-or-treating for him this year, although we did have a darling costume for him that he absolutely hated wearing. I suppose it all worked out fine for him. He isn't old enough to realize that he missed something and he didn't have to wear that "dreaded costume!" Although, mommy has to get pictures so you can bet that costume will show up again sometime soon!

On another note, James is recovering nicely from his surgery. He says his heart feels smoother than it has in years. That is a "very" good thing! Thank you for your prayers and concern! We know they were working!

The Article Was In!

BJ's article was in the paper this past Sunday! You can view it at the Register Mail. The whole top portion of the page was a big picture of BJ peering into the plastic lid of one of his toys. It was so cute! The above is a picture from the online article! The article, I feel, was well written, but there were several discrepancies. The time frame was a little off and with some other minor things. However, I was disappointed as the paper left out everything we said about our faith and the importance of our church family. I'm not sure why, as the views in the article were strictly ours and obviously not those of the paper! So why would they leave it out when we mentioned several times that God was the most important aspect of our adoption? I have to admit that this was/is very frustrating!

On another note, we have had a very busy week. BJ has (undoubtedly) come down with his first cold of the season. We had to take him to the doctor Friday because the poor little guy could hardly breathe he was so congested. She put him on an antibiotic because he had the beginnings of an ear infection and because she wanted to be safe and make sure his cold didn't turn into something worse. So as of now, he is a "Vick's" baby! He's so little that they won't let him take any decongestants! So we are constantly sucking, wiping, and rubbing on Vick's baby vapor rub! Poor little guy. I have a feeling this will be a long winter for him!

Yesterday, James finally had his long awaited heart surgery. It sounds worse than it was, but it was pretty scary. James was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response about three years ago. He was treated with medication, but that didn't always work. He was told that the Ablation surgery would take care of it, so they finally got him on the waiting list. Monday was the big day and the doctor feels like it was a success! However, only time will tell!

BJ is doing better with the whole separation thing. But he is still very "lovey" when I get home from work. I have to admit, I love it! What can I say, he just melts my heart! We also had some announcements made that turned out absolutely adorable! A company called the First Glimpse designed them for us and I'm adding the link so that you can see it! They added the Polish flag and a really cute poem. Here is his announcement! Hopefully I don't get in trouble for putting this on the blog! Anyway, I recommend them. They are really good and very timely!

Thanks again for the support, love and prayers! We feel very loved!

Adjusting To The New Routine

Well, I suppose it's safe to say that things are back to "normal" at the Kochersperger household. Mommy is back to work and BJ is on a new schedule. I do believe however that BJ is doing better than mommy is! I'm so exhausted and after being back for only 4 days, I have come down with a terrible sore throat and head cold. I have had so many students out sick with countless illnesses, that I didn't even want to try and fight it, I just got on some antibiotics right away. I feel much better, but now I am concerned about BJ. YIKES!! The poor little guy! Who knows what I'll be bringing home to him! On a good note, my kindergarten students are great! They are such a nice group of children and gave me such a warm reception. It makes coming back to work a whole lot easier!

BJ is doing well at grandma's and grandpa's house for the day! He's loving all the attention he gets and grandma and papa Joe enjoy taking him around town. They said that he doesn't go to very many people like he used to and they have noticed he's become a little more clingy. We've noticed the same thing. When I left for work the first day, he didn't seem to care much at all. I got a kiss and that was that. However, the next day or two he began to realize that I was gone all day and has become quite upset upon my leaving. Part of me is thinking "Yes! He loves me and actually cares when I go!" The other part of me thinks "I don't want to leave him! He needs me!" The emotions are crazy! BJ has also become very clingy when I arrive back home in the afternoon. He cuddles and coos, crabs my legs (and doesn't let go), and constantly wants me in sight. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE when he wants me to hold him, but I am beginning to get concerned. The intensity of his separation anxiety is building with each day that I am gone. I'm hoping the weekend will help ease his mind and confusion. Any ideas?

On another note, BJ is learning more everyday! His eating skills are so much better, not spitting out as much food as before. He still doesn't prefer milk (or Pediasure), but will down a whole container of yogurt in minutes! He is walking more and more everyday and we are waiting for the day when he starts, running around the house! He has also picked up a very impressive skill! At least I think it is! BJ does not like food stuck to his fingers. He is a very clean eater. So we have been trying to show him how to wipe his fingers on a napkin rather than getting upset and waving his hands around in the air. So last night, while he was eating, he got a clump of food on his hands. I held up a napkin and he took it. He not only cleaned off his fingers, but then wiped his face with it! We were so impressed that we clapped and cheered for him. He of course loved it and 10 napkins later he finally stopped cleaning his fingers and face! What a riot! I told James that we need to be careful because this little guy copies EVERYTHING we do!

He has also taken a huge interest in books and especially loves non-fiction with the "real" pictures in them. His favorite is "Goodnight Baby!" He giggles and points especially to the ones he thinks he knows like his friend Caroline! He is trying to talk and can put the syllables in place, but still not much that is recognizable. The teacher in me is trying not to push, but the poor little guy is having the colors and alphabet recited to him on an hourly basis! However, I suppose he doesn't mind! He just thinks I'm being goofy and laughs at me!

Well that's about it for now! We will post some more pictures soon! He is changing everyday and has finally started to gain some weight! He is at 18.6 pounds and gaining! Our goal is to graduate from size 12 months to 18 months by spring. Oh well, he sure is cute being so tiny! As long as he's healthy! Thanks for your prayers and support! BJ has come such a long way in a short time! God has truly blessed us!

Interview/1st Visit To G'ma G'pa Kochersperger/Another Miracle

Time goes so fast! I can hardly believe I'm going back to work next week and I'm already missing my little boy! I can rest assured however, that he will be in good hands with his grandma and papa Joe that love him so much! I am amazed by how much he is learning and by what he accomplishes daily! He is now choosing to walk, rather than crawl everywhere! He is doing great, but is still a bit "off balance." His falls are always controlled and he can easily stand up again without holding onto anything! Yeah BJ! Keep up the good work! He is also very independent when it comes to feeding time. He will insist on a fork or a spoon and uses them with ease! The spoon is a little trickier as sometimes the food just slides off before he gets it too his mouth. His expressions are priceless! He is talking more, but usually just babbles. He imitates us quite a bit, especially when it comes to voice inflections and tones. He recently started counting 1,2,3 with daddy as he would get ready to throw him in the air. You can almost here the word "one" but the rest are just tones. It is very adorable and I'm still trying to capture it on video!

The interview with the paper went very well! The photographer took some excellent pictures of BJ and I was really wanting to ask him for some copies. BJ played well and was consistently trying to get the reporter to hold him! He finally got a hug at the end! She asked us some basic questions primarily about the process, being in the country, and the costs. I was able to tell her about our agencies and the organizations that helped us out with some grants. I was a little nervous as I didn't want to leave anything of importance out. There are a lot of adopting couples in our city and I wanted our story to hold the same key principles as theirs. Hopefully we did okay. They are going to run the article either at the end of October or the beginning of November. The article will include adoption statistics from around the world some other interesting adoption facts all in time for National Adoption Month! We are thrilled and honored to be featured!

This past weekend BJ visited his grandma and grandpa Kochersperger in Jeffersonville, IN (across from Louisville). He of course loved them and and all the attention they gave to him. He also enjoyed his grandma's cooking! He ate like a horse! We also visited their church (James' church before we were married) where grandma whisked him away to introduce him to everyone! He of course got showered with more attention! The church has been following our journey and were anxious to see him live and in person! I would certainly say that BJ is lucky little boy! One thing we noticed, was that when we returned home, BJ went crazy! It was almost like he new he was "home." We thought that while in Poland, he was never in the same place twice. So leaving and then coming back to the same place, might have helped him realize that his is 'home" and is were he belongs!

Finally, the MIRACLE I have been excited to tell you about! As some of you know, BJ was a sickly little boy during his first year of life. One reason we didn't get his referral until after 15 months of age was due to his recovery and treatment. However, his referral gave him a clean bill of health with only some minor things to watch. So at his first pediatrician appointment we were referred to several specialist to follow-up with all the medical findings from his Poland records which were of course written in Polish. Our pediatrician was also concerned about his head shape and recommended we see a craniologist. This made us quite scared and we were wishing even more that we could read those Polish records. BJ had contracted the CMV virus at 2 months of age. Although he was treated, there are still some things that needed to be monitored. His head shape was something the doctors in Poland looked at carefully with an Ultrasonography and a CAT scan. It all came back normal, but of course the results are written in Polish. Becasue BJ was also diagnosed with a PFO and and a slight atrial fibrillation (just like his daddy), we were also recommended to visit a pediatric cardiologist. So here is the miracle! Knowing that we needed to read these record, we were getting geared up to find a translator and pay the big bucks to get all (50-60 pages) of his medical records translated. However, Praise God, He had other plans. It turns out our Pediatric Cardiologists just moved here from Poland last July! She absolutely loved BJ and not only wanted to read his records, but wanted to translate them "all" for us! I told her that we of course didn't expect her to do that and that we would be grateful if she could just point out the reports on his CAT and ultrasonogrpahy. She said that it wouldn't be any trouble and the she would prefer to do it, because the translator might not know "medical terms." We were completely overjoyed a couldn't believe what a blessing this was. We don't believe in luck, we believe in MIRACLES from GOD! If we had any doubts about whether or not GOD was going to take care of our little boy, they are now all out the window! This is definitely a GOD THING! You guessed it. Dr. Kulikowska in Peoria is getting a great recommendation from us! As it turns out, everything so far is great and BJ is still a very healthy little boy. It seems we really do have nothing to worry about. Now we just have to get him "plumped up!