Normal and Routine

We know it's been too long since our last update but we've just been enjoying normal life as a family of five.  We have fallen into a new routine taking each day as it comes.  When life becomes normal and routine, it's easy to think there's nothing new to share but given the journey of the last year, we know normal and routine is something to celebrate.  Ashlynn has transitioned so well into our home and family.  Looking back at pictures, it's amazing to see the twinkle that has come into her eyes since we first met her.  Her personality is everything an almost two-year-old's should be.  Her smile and excitement at the simplest things make each day fun for all of us. 

Since our last update, we shared our first Thanksgiving and Christmas with Ashlynn.  Despite not feeling well on Christmas Day, Ashlynn still quickly learned the fun of opening presents (hers and those of anyone else willing to share).  December also marked two important milestones for Ashlynn.  First, she gained some much desired independence when she started walking.  We are relearning what it's like to have a toddler around the house.  Secondly, Ashlynn learned to suck, a skill that was impossible for her until her cleft lip and palate were closed during her surgery in September.  It took time and attempts with every style of sippy cup available but she mastered it.  At our follow-up with the University of Minnesota Cleft Clinic also in December, the doctors were pleased with how Ashlynn is healing following surgery.  They will continue to see her every six months.  She will eventually have a few additional surgeries as her face grows and her teeth come in.

The new year brought some more changes for Ashlynn.  In January, Ashlynn's physical therapist informed us that she had met all the goals set for her last fall.  Her therapist recommend we make her speech therapy our new primary focus.  Ashlynn now has speech therapy once a week with her physical therapist checking in every few weeks.  Ashlynn is still not speaking many words yet but has started to say one of the most important word, "Mama"!  She understands most of what we say to her and can respond with the few signs we've taught her or nodding and shaking her head.  And she has found her own ways to get our attention when she needs it.  We feel confident the words will come when she's ready.

One of our favorite changes in Ashlynn is her willingness to show affection.  She now gives great hugs and the occasional kiss (she still prefers giving a high-five instead).  She cuddles when she's sleepy.  She gets very excited when we arrive to pick her up from daycare and when she sees her brothers after school.  She can also throw a good temper tantrum when we don't see things her way.  And she has gotten very good at giving her dad the best pouty lip when she disagrees with him.  It's so cute!

We are just two weeks from her second birthday.  We are excited to celebrate with her for the first time.  And in another two months, we'll be celebrating the first anniversary of her Gotcha Day!

Here's a some pictures of our normal and routine . . .

November is National Adoption Month

We couldn't let the month go by without recognizing that it is National Adoption Month.  Adoption has been such a blessing to our family.  It was just a year ago that we first realized what a gift it is.  It was late on November 1, 2012 that we received a referral from our adoption agency telling us the story of an amazing little seven month old girl living in a China orphanage waiting for a family.  We'll never forget seeing her beautiful picture for the first time and how quickly she stole our hearts.

 

The Owatonna People's Press (our local newspaper) has been writing a series titled "A Home to Share" in their weekend edition for the month of November bringing attention to adoption.  We were honored to be asked to share our family's story in their second article.  A link to the article is below.   



A Home to Share: Kleckers complete family with adoption

 

Thank you to our families and friends who have and continue to supported us through our adoption journey.  We look forward to the days when Ashlynn can read this blog and be reminded of how loved she is by so many. 

 



Our weeks following surgery

Thanks to all of you who have been asking about Ashlynn.  Let us show you how well Ashlynn is doing in the weeks following surgery . . .

First experience in the corn box during
harvest on Grandpa & Grandma Lanoue's farm

 

Carving pumpkins with our "little brother" Matthew



 

As you can see, Ashlynn is back to her energetic, determined, lovable self.  We are amazed by how quickly she has healed following surgery.  She also has quite an appetite.  She wants to feed herself whenever possible and is usually willing to try new foods.  She wants to eat all the time!  She is still learning to suck (something that was not possible with her cleft lip/palate in her first 18 months of life).  We are told this skill will come in time so for now she continues to drink from a bottle that we must squeeze for her.  She is also not saying any real words yet but we know she understands more and more of what we are saying to her.  This is great progress as she probably had not heard any English until we met her five months ago.  We will be getting some language services through the our school district to help her catch up.

 

Ashlynn has resumed physical therapy and is making great strides.  She continues to crawl everywhere and has started to pull herself up to standing and even take a few steps.  She impresses her physical therapist with her progress each week.  We are feeling confident she'll be walking before the end of the year which is really nothing short of a miracle given where she was when we brought her home in May.  And her brothers have no idea how that will change things around the house!

 

We have all enjoyed introducing Ashlynn to some great family traditions.  We spent five days on Brandi's parent's farm in October.  She loved spending time with her grandparents and cousins.  She liked playing in the corn box but was too scare to take a Ranger or combine ride.  She also wasn't sure what to think of the jack-o-lantern that Daddy carved for her.  We're sure she'll be more interested next Halloween.  And trick-or-treating was so fun.  She loved filling her candy bag at Grandpa and Grandma Kleckers and her uncles and aunts.  She really didn't know what to do with the candy but she liked playing with all the wrappers.  We suspect this will change by next Halloween too!

Day 4 - We're home!

We're home and it feels great!

Ashlynn had a pretty good last night despite the interruptions.  From the moment she woke up, she couldn't wait to get back in the wagon.  We should have been counting the number of times we went up and down those halls!  She also showed off by crawling despite the No-No's on her arms.  Late morning our plastic surgeon and the pulminary doctor clear us to go home.  We were sent home with only some pain medication and no more antibiotics or nebulizer treatments.  Ashlynn will have a post-op follow up next week.

We got home mid-afternoon while the boys were still at school.  Ashlynn seemed glad to see her familiar surroundings again but she was more frustrated than she'd been in the last day with her No-No's.  She just can't play with her toys the way she is used to.  When she sat in her highchair, she expected to get her usual favorites.  She was disappointed to only be offer apple sauce and pudding by spoon and no finger foods.  She's unhappy about losing some of her hard-earned independence.  Hopefully the next ten days will go quickly!

Ashlynn gave the boys a big smile when they got home.  It's heart warming to see the bond they have already formed.  It's great to have everyone under one roof again!  And seeing all the "sick" kids at the hospital these last few days has reminded us how truly blessed we are!!

Thanks for all the prayers sent for Ashlynn's recovery.  We are thankful to have this week behind us!

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This is the best thing about this place!

Let's go home!

And you thought these "No-No's" would slow me down

 

It's good to be home!

Day 3

It was a good day!  What a wonderful change in Ashlynn.  She had a pretty good night of sleep last night so she was awake most of the day.  She wanted to play with toys, look a books, and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV.  She took a couple of wagon rides through the halls again.  This time she waved at all the nurses.  No real smiles yet (it probably still hurts too much) but she would nod when people talked to her.  This afternoon we wheeled her to a rootbeer float party in the hospital lobby. She ate two cups of ice cream!  We suspect the cold of the ice cream felt good on her sore mouth.

Ashlynn's pain is decreasing slowly.  We were able to eliminate one of her pain medications today; however, she is still on two others and we can tell by her mood when it's getting to be time for the next dose.  She seems to have accepted her "No-Nos" (arm restraints).  She's gotten pretty creative with them already.  And she still hates any unfamiliar face in the room.  She cries whenever a nurse walks in.  Some of them have tried so hard to get her to warm up to them but Ashlynn's just won't give them a break.  After what's she's been through this week, who can blame her for not being quick to trust?!

Our plastic surgeon believes we'll be ready to go home tomorrow.  It'll be so nice to all be home together again.  Derek and Mason have been such good sports about the crazy routine this week.  A weekend home together will be good medicine for all of us.

Visiting with Grandma Lanoue, Aunt Kim, Brok, Hallee,
 and Great-Grandpa Leonard over Skype

Day 2

Ashlynn continues to improve as the day little by little.  She took a lot of naps, finally getting some much needed sleep!  She seemed more at ease and comfortable than she was last night.  During one of her naps this afternoon, we caught her with her mouth closed and breathing through her nose.  This is something most of us take for granted but for Ashlynn, it's a first.  She's never been able to fully close her mouth or breath only through her nose.  It's just another thing her body is having to re-learn.

The Pediatric Pulmonary doctor saw Ashlynn again this morning and felt there was less congestion in her lungs.  He reduced the frequency of the nebulizer treatments (one less reason to wake Ashlynn during the night) and believes she should not have to use a nebulizer after going home.  Ashlynn's plastic surgeon also visited this morning.  She was pleased with the fluid Ashlynn was willing to take in from the bottle and encouraged us to keep offering her pureed food by spoon.  After a few failed attempts today, Troy was able to get her to eat nearly a whole jar of baby food tonight.

Ashlynn also got to see the outside of her hospital room today.  We were able to give her a wagon ride through the halls of our floor.  She must have enjoying it because she wasn't happy when the ride had to come to an end.  She also got her first visitors today.  Derek and Mason along with Grandpa and Grandma Klecker drove up to see us this afternoon.  Ashlynn's concerned big brothers were glad to see their sister, even if she is still not quite herself.  Thanks to John and Jan for your visit and for bring the boys to see us.

We are hoping for a good night's sleep for everyone and more progress in Ashlynn's recovery tomorrow.

Our tough girl

Our tough girl has been through a lot in the last 24 hours.  We are hoping the worst is behind us.  Last night when Ashlynn was running a high fever, our plastic surgeon had a chest x-ray and called in a Pediatric Pulmonary doctor to review it.  He saw the potential start of some fluid on the lungs but nothing too concerning.  As a precautionary measure, he ordered some IV antibiotics and nebulizer treatments.
It was a long night as Ashlynn just couldn't rest comfortably.  It has taken some trial and error (and really helpful nurse) to get the right combination and timing of pain meds.  She is wearing "No-Nos" (that's really what they are called) to keep her from putting her fingers in her mouth.  The lack of mobility is really frustrating for her.  She also needs oxygen as she is having to re-train her body to inhale and exhale.  When her lip and palate were open, there was little resistance to move air.  Now that her cleft has been closed, her diaphragm has to work hard to move the air.  There was a seemingly endless stream of nurses coming in and out of Ashlynn's room.  She is unhappy with every unfamiiar face.  This all meant a sleepless night.
Ashlynn has been able to sleep a bit better this morning.  She was happy to see her Dad when he returned this morning after going home last night to be with Derek and Mason.  We're hoping some more sleep will help her be willing to try some pureed food today.  She has been good about drinking clear liquids from a bottle with a special nipple.  Eating from a spoon is another important milestone before we are able to go home.
Thanks again for all the support of our family!