Sonel Update

My cousin, Mia and her daughter, Whitney, came for a visit. Mia is also my hairstylist (the best ever!). Sonel has visited her several times at the Salon, but he never would talk much. She got to see him act like the jabber box that he is.

We had a wonderful Christmas. It's always so much fun to watch kids squeal with excitement as they open their gifts. Of course, for Hope, it was her best Christmas ever!!! (She says that every year.) Poor Sonel, he woke up on Christmas eve and came into the living room saying "It's Christmas, it's Christmas". I told him not until tomorrow, and he cried for probably an hour about it. We have a little snowman that we move each day, on a calendar and Hope moved it for the next day, before she went to bed. He kept telling me to come look at the "snow". I had bought everything really early this year, so the poor child had to look at presents for a month without opening any. He was so excited and had a good time and played all day. His favorite toy is a wooden train set. Here are a couple pictures from our day.

Setting up the train set.

Sonel "playing" the Glockenspiel.

We will be leaving for Florida this Tuesday. Sonel is equally excited about that. He keeps saying "We're going on vacation to Florida". We're driving, so it will be a couple days before we get there, since we're from Indiana. I can't wait to get out of the cold! Sonel will finally get to wear his Spiderman sandals that I bought, when he first came here, on the beach.

Brenda

TOO CUTE

Every time we head to town, Sonel asks about going to Chuckie Cheese's. The thing that makes it so cute is...he calls it Chucker Chesus!

Sonel was SPEECHLESS!!!

Last Friday we went to Dr. DeHeer's son's school to talk to the third grade class. First, I showed a few pictures of where Sonel came from and pictures of his surgery. When I finished talking, the children wanted to ask Sonel some questions. Mind you that I prepared Sonel for this 'event' in his life, a few days ahead. On the way to the school I even bribed him with a Happy Meal. But I told him he couldn't have the toy until we were done talking to the kids...and that he HAD to talk to them or I wouldn't let him have the toy. Well, the first question came and all eyes were on Sonel (they wanted to hear him talk so bad), he sat there rolling his tongue around in his mouth! I had to answer every single question for him, because all he did was tricks with his tongue! When we were done I told him he could at least tell them "bye". The room was totally silent and Sonel managed to say "bye" to the kids and when he did, there was a BOOM of applause and cheering! Well I had to give him his toy because he did speak to them. As soon as we went out the front door...he starts yapping up a storm! WHAT A STINKER. I promised the kids in the class that I would make a video of Sonel talking and put it on the blog so they could hear him. I will make the video, I've just had a really busy schedule the last few days. Tomorrow I'm taking Sonel to "StoryTime" at the local school and then I have to do some work for my web site, so I WILL get the video done, but it will be in a few days.

Brenda

NEW THINGS

A lot has happened in Sonel's life since my last post. He experienced his first Thanksgiving, which included him trying to help me make a pumpkin pie. He was making the little zig zags on the pie crust, but as he was going around, he would put his arm on the ones he's made and smash them. I had to end up doing most of it myself.



Sonel is styling in his Veggie Tale apron that I made for Hope, when she was about his age. Last week he just started watching Veggie Tale videos. Now he "gets" all the stuff he's been seeing around here with "vegetables" on it, including some bath toys he plays with.

Another new thing Sonel experienced...PLAYING IN THE SNOW! He loved it.
Hope and Sonel were outside for about 2 hours today. It was a nice 32 degrees. They had a blast!

Dad and Hope built the snowman while Sonel came in for a "food refill". He thought it was pretty cool. He doesn't seem to mind the cold at all. Licia, I think you and your boys are sissy pants...how can you be cold in Haiti????

I forgot to add that we also put up our Christmas tree yesterday. I'll take a picture of the kids in front of it later. The only thing we tell Sonel about Christmas is, it's Jesus' birthday. I hope he doesn't get freaked out if he sees Santa in a store. I have a hard time sharing the wonder of Jesus' birth with Santa. That's just me.

Brenda

LOST ANOTHER TOOTH!

Sonel was brushing his teeth before going to church this morning and when he spit, he spit out a TOOTH! Notice how his first tooth he lost is coming in already. My, how he is growing!

A FANTASTIC BOOK!!!!!

I recently read a book called "The Shack" written by William Paul Young. It is a fiction book, even though you wonder if parts could be true. I haven't read any fiction since, well I can't remember when. I like to read things that are real, but I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone! It gives you a whole new perspective about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The last line on the back cover says "You'll want everyone you know to read this book"...how true! I bought 3 copies so I can pass them around to everyone. Please read this if you get a chance. It had a really spiritual impact on my life.
Brenda

SWIMIN' WITH THE FISH!

Sonel gave me a scare on Thursday. He was outside with dad and I was indoors. I heard a weird sound that sounded like one of our chickens dying! It was Sonel screaming (like a girl)! He fell into my pond! It's a little pond, about 14' x 10', and about 2 feet deep. I guess he was bending over and looking at the fish when he plopped right in. He went totally under! He was fine, freezing, but fine. It scared him to death though. After he was in a warm tub, we talked about it and I told him that he had fish poop in his hair. He laughed and told me that he went swimming with the fish. I don't expect him to be checking out the fish again, anytime soon. He was actually proud of his accomplishment and has bragged to every family member that he has seen so far.
The day before all of this drama...we went to the park for some photos and fun. Here are a few of Sonel, he always does such a good job of smiling for me. I haven't cut his hair since he has been here. I love his hair, but I don't know what to do with it. I don't want to cut it. I would love to make him some dreadlocks...cute ones like Will Smith's son's hair. I've looked on the Internet on how to deal with longer black hair, but I guess I'm going to have to break down and take him my hair salon. Does anybody have any suggestions?

GONE CAMPING!!!

We went camping this past weekend. Here are a few pictures of our fun time.
Sonel had a blast playing in the leaves.

Hope jumping out of her swing.

I would love to make a puzzle out of this picture of Hope fishing.

Sonel seen Dr. DeHeer on Wednesday and Dr. DeHeer will make new splints for Sonel next month, which will continue to stretch his tendons so he will be able to walk more normally. I'm thrilled to say that Dr. DeHeer thinks Sonel needs to stay longer than Jan 27th for his feet to be how they NEED to be. Yeah! That means I will request that his medical visa be extended for 6 more months, which will be until July 27th. He will get to experience a very cold Indiana winter all the way through. Right now, he doesn't seem to mind our chilly weather. He tries to sneak outside all of the time...with out his jacket.

CHANGES

I just wanted to tell everyone how Sonel is coming along in the American way of life. He has been here for 5 months and he almost speaks entirely in English. Sometimes I speak to him in Creole, just because I want to practice and not forget what I know. He asks for ice cream...every night! If you will remember, when he first tasted ice cream, he spit it out. He hated anything sweet. My how the tables have turned! He loves suckers with a passion, especially bubblegum suckers. Most Haitian kids HATE dogs. When Sonel first came to our house, he almost climbed up to the top of my husbands head when he seen our little black Scottish Terrier. Now he loves him. So much about Sonel has changed, especially how he looks. He looks like such a big boy, even though he is still in a size 3 toddler in clothing. That's pretty small for a 5 year old. He was bald when he first came. I love his hair. It's pretty long when you pull it out. I'm not quite sure what to do with it, but I really don't want to cut it. He has been such a blessing and it has been such a privilege for my family to take care of him. We all love him.
Dustin, (my nephew), if you come home for Thanksgiving, let me know and you will get to meet him. He loves your mom's dog! (haha) You'll have to ask her about that.
Brenda

New P.J.s

I bought these pajamas for Hope and Sonel to wear Christmas Eve, so they will be sooooo cute when I take movies of them Christmas morning. I wanted to make sure they fit, so I let them wear them tonight. These pictures show how Hope and Sonel get along. They have their moments, but most of the time is like this.

NO CASTS!!!

Dr. DeHeer decided that it would be better to make splints for Sonel to wear at night instead of casts all the time. I'm thrilled with that choice. Sonel still cried. He did get happy when they took them off, after they hardened. I kept telling him that he could wear his shoes and socks home. He wasn't so happy when we put them on tonight. His left foot started hurting and he complained for the next 2 hours. I gave him Tylonel, but he still complained. As I'm typing this blog (after midnight) he started crying. He didn't wake up, but I have a feeling I won't be getting a full nights sleep tonight. The splints are 90 degree angles. Dr. DeHeer said his feet do not have that much of an angle, so the splints are really pulling on his tendons. He also has to wear his shoes on the wrong feet. Of course that makes me look like a "stupid mom" in public. People probably think, "Can't she see his shoes are on the wrong feet!" My son used to suck a Nuk pacifier upside down. I'm sure people thought I was stupid then too. Here's a couple pictures at the Doc's office today.




This sweet lady is Marie. She is from Haiti. She visited our church this past Sunday and I found out that she works at Clarion North...that's where we meet Dr. DeHeer on Wednesdays. Sonel wouldn't look up for this picture. It's funny, she talks to him in Creole, but he won't say a word to her. I think he thinks that people that talk in Creole are going to take him back to Haiti. He has seen Lori and Charles twice since he's been with us and he doesn't say a word to them when they talk to him.




Notice the tears. We made a deal on the way to the Doctor that he would get a Happy Meal if he didn't cry. When the doctor came in, I said, "No crying" and he burst into tears! I assume this guy was training with Dr. DeHeer. He was holding the splint while it hardened.


Working on the second splint. He figured out it didn't hurt, so there was no more crying.


Even though it didn't hurt...he was NOT going to smile.


Trying not to smile...


Too late, he was pretty happy that they took the things off!


One last look at his feet by Doc. It was the first time Sonel hasn't cried as soon as he touched him. Dr. DeHeer even got to hear Sonel say a few words (he has never talked in front of him).


Too happy not to smile!

BIG NEWS!!! SONEL LOST A TOOTH!!!

Sonel was helping Kenny pick apples, well I think Sonel was just eating apples, when he came rushing into the house with a problem. He yelled and yelled and when I came he said "Look". His tooth was just dangling. At first I thought I should call the dentist, maybe they can save it. But I began thinking that he is 5 years old, maybe it's time to start losing teeth. Later, Sonel told me "My teeth hurt". I asked him if he wanted me to get it out and he said yes. I am such a chicken, there was no way. I have never pulled a child's tooth. As a child myself, I would wait until my teeth fell out all by them selves. I don't care if I could spin them around several times, nobody was touching them! My daughter came over later and she asked Sonel if he wanted her to pull his tooth and the rest is history. Here is his gorgeous picture to share with you.

SCRABBLE ANYONE?

One of these days, I'll figure out how to blog properly. When I look at my preview, it looks fine, but when I post, it looks like a Scrabble game. Below, it says...Here are some pictures from the zoo, then it says...Hope and Sonel having fun..."Delight" enjoying the zoo...Sonel and Dad. When you scroll down, you'll see what I'm talking about.

NEWS FROM OUR DOCTOR VISIT

Sonel's Doctor is the best! He had us meet with an orthopedic surgeon friend of his at the Hyatt in downtown Indianapolis. He was there giving a speech. He is from Pennsylvania. He examined Sonel's feet and knees and gave Dr. DeHeer his opinion of what further needs to be done for Sonel to walk properly. Sad to say, for Sonel, he has to be put in casts every week, starting Wednesday, to stretch his tendons because he isn't flexible at his ankles. Sonel doesn't understand what casts are, but as soon as I told him he couldn't wear shoes, he was sad. I told him he could still walk, but all he heard was "YOU CAN'T WEAR YOUR SHOES". He loves his boots. Sonel keeps telling me "Mm pa vlee casts." (I don't want casts) He is speaking so much English now, but he throws a couple Creole words with most of his sentences. I don't want him to forget his Creole, so I like to speak Creole with him some. I don't want to forget what I know either, because when I go back to Haiti I want to be able to talk with the kids. (The adults would probably think I'm nuts, if they heard me. )
Dr. DeHeer's girlfriend also came to meet Sonel at the Hyatt. She was very nice and we had a good chat. I want to thank God for leading us to Dr. DeHeer. He has such a giving heart and I pray that God blesses him for it.
Brenda

SOME ZOO PICS!

Here are some pictures from the zoo. I forgot to have somebody take my picture, so it looks like I wasn't there. Our daughter, Nikki, and her 6 week old baby, Delight, also went with us. On the way there I was cleaning my glasses and they broke in half! We had to stop and buy some J B Weld so I could make them hold together for the day. They ended up falling apart on the way home. It was perfect weather and we enjoyed the day so much.

Hope and Sonel having fun.


"Delight" enjoying the zoo.

Sonel and Dad.

Sonel and Dad.

GOING TO THE ZOO!

We're going to the Ft. Wayne Zoo tomorrow. I should have lots of pictures. Sonel is afraid of every large animal. I don't care what it is. I hope he realizes that they can't get to him and enjoys himself. We had Sonel pull his pajama pants up real high and put Kenny's reading glasses on and told him to say "Did I do that"...I just about lost it! I will try my best to get him on video doing it. He always manages to clam up when I get the movie camera out. Later...Brenda

SOME CUTE PICS

I haven't blogged for a while, so I thought I would post some pictures for you to enjoy. We went to the doctor this past Wednesday and we will be meeting Dr. DeHeer's orthopedic doctor friend on Sept. 20th in Indianapolis, so he can check out Sonel's hips and see if he can use further treatment. Sonel doesn't walk right. His feet are fine, it's his one hip that seems to not function right. It causes his right leg to flair out and his knee goes backward. We'll get him taken care of though. There are a lot of people that care about him, so between prayer and the good doctors, he'll be fine.



Sonel wasn't quite sure what to do with the beater, but Hope showed him and then he was a happy camper. He's adapting to sweets quite well. He loves ice cream now. He only eats a little each time, but he almost asks for it every night.