One of these videos is Kaycee signing the alphabet in sign language. She does not have all of the alphabet down, but she is trying. Her pre-school class at Dinosaur Den is not only learning Spanish but also Sign Language. Take note of the outfit she has on, we had to hide it because she wanted to wear it everywhere. The other video is Kaycee & Emilee having fun on the slip n slide in the backyard. Oh, to be young!

I can hardly believe that it has been two months since I made an entry. Time has flown, along with the summer. We spent a lot of time at the pool this summer, both girls are like little fish in the water. Kaycee started the summer by not even wanting to put her body in the water, then she gradually worked up to putting her face in the water, now she jumps into the deep end, and does flips in the water, she is trying so hard to swim like her sister - it will come! We went to Texas for the
4th of July - Kaycee loved the fireworks! We also ventured north to the Omaha Zoo, and we all enjoyed the animals and the awesome weather. Emilee showed a horse in Oklahoma this summer, so we rode tripped to Stilwater for a weekend. We went out on Aunt Julie and Uncle Tony's boat and got to go tubing and swimming in the lake. We got a slip 'n slide, so during the week the girls would spend the evenings on the slip n slide. Emilee went back to school last Thursday, and Kaycee is in Pre-school at Dinosaur Den. Emilee goes to Dino Den before and after school, so it works out great. It is amazing how much Kaycee has grown this summer, things are really clicking now. Kaycee can count to 100 (with a little help), recognizes all of the numbers up to 10, recognizes must of the letters of the alphabet, can identify all of the colors and shapes. Kaycee is learning Spanish and sign langage at Dinosaur Den. She does not seem to be too far off developmentally. Though I must say she is definitely testing us to determine what her boundaries are! Kaycee has not gained any more weight, so I think that her body finally understands that there will always be enough food. Her favorite things to eat are scrambled eggs, watermelon, apples, yogurt, noodles, rice, chicken, hot dogs and beef sticks. Kaycee LOVES to sing, and unless she is sleeping, she is probably singing - I have heard her singing in her sleep. She no longer sings from her Chinese CD's, she would rather listen to her sister's music - Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift - and of course Emilee hates that. Kaycee had a three month follow-up appointment with the cardiologist, and she is doing great and does not have to go back for a year! The doctor thinks that she is doing great, but will be able to tell more in a year after she grows some more. Kaycee has grown an inch since we were at the doctor the end of May. We looking forward to the fall season - Kaycee & Emilee both have birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas! Can you say - over stimulation! This will be a very exciting time for all of us.

It is hard to believe that it has been over a month since I last posted pictures. I am so sorry! So much has happened! First Kaycee got a clean bill of health from both her surgeon & cardiologist. We went to appointment at both offices, and after several x-rays & ultrasounds, then concluded that the surgery was a success, and she is completely repaired with no restrictions on her life. We go back to the Cardilogist the end of August for another x-ray & unltrasound. They want to make sure that everything looks good. Then assuming everything looks good, she will have another appointment next May, and that will be it. This has been such an amazing experience. Kaycee can not ride her bike or scooter until the end of June, which will be when the bone is completely heeled - she really misses her scooter. Kaycee has gained 7lbs since we got home on March 12th, and her feet have gone from a size 7 to a size 10 - I am so glad that I saved Emilee's old shoes!! The doctors also gave her the ok to go to daycare. On Friday May 21st, Emilee had her last day of 1st grade, which is the picture of Emilee & Kaycee walking together. Everyday while I was on my leave from work, Kaycee & I would take Emilee to school, and then pick her up at the end of the day. We went to Texas Memorial Day weekend for a relaxing weekend. We played in the pool most of the weekend. Kaycee & Emilee both love the water. We made trip to theranch while we were in Texas, Kaycee does not seem to be as taken to horses as Emilee is, Kaycee complained of the heat and smell, and wanted to know when we were leaving. Then on Tuesday, both Emilee & Kaycee went to school at Dinosaur Den, and I went back to work. Dinosaur Den is where Emilee went for her before & after school care while I was working, and they have a special summer program for school age kids. Kaycee is in the Pre-K class. The first week was pretty rough for Kaycee, each day got progressively worse, until on Friday she was crying before we even left the house. So that was a rough week for all of us, even Emilee who could here Kaycee crying in her class room. But something magical happened that next Monday - she was excited to get to school! There were a few tears in the morning, and by Wednesday there were no tears at all! Now Kaycee loves school and knows that I will "always come back" to get her. She is the social butterfly in the class, loves circle time, and enjoys having so many new friends. Kaycee talks ALL the time, so she has a tough time keeping quiet during circle time, we are working on that. The best part is that she is sooo excited to see us everyday when I pick her up. since Kaycee weighs 40lbs now, we graduated to a booster seat in the car -she having a seat like Emilee's. We have been going to the pool a lot this summer, both girls enjoy it - but they are so exhausted by then end of the weekend. In May, Kaycee got her first hair cut - she was nervious at first, but then really enjoyed it. We are trying to get all of her hair the same length, she wants long hair like Emilee, so they can both out a ponytail in the back of their heads. Emilee has lost both of her front teeth, so Kaycee is convinced that she has 4 loose tooth - eeks, I hope not!

Kaycee's surgery is over and we are home! The surgery took place on Monday May 4th, she was in ICU until Wednesday evening, and then we came home Friday afternoon! The surgery went as planned with no complications. Mommy stayed at the hospital all week, which was exhausting, and Daddy visited as much as he could after work, which made for long days for Daddy. Emilee stayed at home with Granny & Pappy, which was exciting for her, but by the end of the week she was missing her family - I guess she really does like us! When the surgeons did the surgery they found several other issues in her heart, but nothing that could not be repaired, and they would have happened for the compensation that her heart has doing for the 11.5mm hole in her heart! She is completely repaired and has no restrictions on activity or food - or anything! The doctors told me that once all of the tubes were out of her that she would start acting normal almost immeditately - they were right! With in 15 minutes she was trying to run down the hallway for her chest x-ray - while mommy was running after her afraid that she would fall on the title floor and tear open her chest. Right now she is only taking ibuphron for the pain, and lasix so that fluid does not build up on her chest. She has no restrictions right now during her recovery, doctor said that the more activity that she has the better - so when we got home Friday she was chasing the ice cream truck down our street so that she could buy some icre cream. Amazing that 4 days earlier this girl had open heart surgery! Emilee, Pappy and cousins AJ & Jamie came to visit her in the hospital on Thursday - she loved it! The hospital has little cars that the kids can ride, so Kaycee made herself right at home.

As you can tell from the above video, Kaycee is quite the dancer! She loves to listen to her CD's with Chinese children's song on it. Kaycee will blast the music and sing as loud as she can - at that point the rest of us are either rolling on the floor laughing or heading to the basement for some peace and quite. I am pretty sure that they thought the kids yoga & dance while in the orphanage.

Kaycee went for her Pre-Op hospital visit today. We have to be at the hospital at 8am on Monday May 4th. We met the surgeon, and he was very nice and calmed some of out fears of the surgery. All of the nurses were wonderful - which is what you would expect from a Children's Hospital. We spent 3hrs at the hospital - vital signs, meeting with the doctor's, blood draw and chest x-ray. Kaycee was a real trooper so we stopped at McDonald's for some artery clogging food! The blood draw was not so bad this time. I explained to the nurses about what happened last time, with her triple jointed elbow, so they but some numbing cream on her arm and hand. Kaycee screamed when she saw the needles, but once they were in her, she stopped crying and watched! She has very slow flowing blood, so it took a LONG time to get the 3 bottles of blood. Kaycee will be in ICU until Tuesday afternoon, then transferred to a regular room, probably to go home on Thursday. This surgery will repair the hole in her heart and she will have no restricts for the rest of her life. My parents (and Shasta) are coming on Sunday so that they can watch Emilee, and take her to and from school - thanks Granny & Pappy! We will all be glad when this is over.

Kaycee will start pre-school the end of the month. She is very excited because mom is just not entertaining enough. I try and do something special everyday, but I just can't compete against a room full of kids. I understand.

This is a short video from Easter morning when Emilee & Kaycee were looking for the eggs the Easter bunny left. They also received a few "gifts" that were hidden, which is the ball that you will see in Emilee hand.

Kaycee continues to change on a daily basis. Her eating has slowed down some, but she continues to like most foods. The only thing that she seems to not like on a constant basis is canned fruit, she prefers fresh fruit - but who wouldn't! We have gone to story time at the library, and she seems to enjoy the interaction with other kids. Mom has become a real bore at home! The first month everything was new and interesting, but now that she is use to things, mom is boring! She loves to play outside, and took right off on a big wheel and a 3-wheeled scooter. She gets frustrated when Emilee goes so much faster than her because Emilee is on a bicycle, so I am sure that it won't be long before Kaycee is on a bike. Kaycee enjoyed the Easter holiday. We had an egg hunt at Aunt Julie's when Granny & Pappy came to visit, and the Easter bunny left some eggs at our house on Easter morning - Kaycee was confused on why there were eggs scattered all over the house - she kept saying that the house was "messy". Kaycee was not too excited about the candy, except for the Reeses Peanut Butter eggs - darn, those are mom's favorite! We took our first trip to Deanna Rose park this spring - Kaycee loved it! Kaycee loved feeding the goats a bottle of milk, but would get mad when they would not sit on her lap.

We visited the cardiologist last week to have them exam her heart, and then validated all of the information that the Chinese doctors gave us. Kaycee has VSD (Ventricular Septum Defect), and the hole is about 11cm, which is a moderate size. She is not in any immediate danger, but it does need to be repaired. Doctors will put a patch over the hole, and then the muscle will grow over the hole, and she will lead a normal life with no restrictions. So, on Monday May 4th Kaycee will undergo open heart surgery at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. The procedure is very common and easy for the doctors to do, but that does not help parents that are sitting in the waiting room knowing that their child is having a bypass surgery. She will probably be in the hospital for 3-4 days - isn't that amazing! Then home for rest - any ideas on how to keep a 4yr old resting?