Another thing we need to "take care of" is easing the county's minds that we weren't the ones who exposed our son to lead poisoning. His blood tests came back with toxic levels of lead (which were retested and are now decreasing, though the county doesn't seem to care...). They inspected our home, which is 100+ years old, and of course found the exterior paint to contain lead. Dr. Aronson (the orphan doctor) spent a significant amount of time on the phone convincing them that we weren't the ones to expose him to the toxic levels of lead, but per protocol they still had to inspect. Long and short of this saga is that we'll have to scrape and repaint some areas of our home which we would LOVE to do TODAY but can't because the county needs to have a formal "plan" in place before we can do anything. So basically they're going to hop on the fact that our son tested for high levels of lead but aren't going to let us fix it until they've filed the appropriate paperwork and planned the right course of action... how about letting us just get rid of the lead??? Frustrating.
Last but not least, the BEST thing to do. GO TO THE POOL! I took Ash to the local pool today and he L-O-V-E-D it!!! He crawled around the kiddie pool and loved bouncing and splashing and playing in the spray areas. He's such a honey. He's taken up to 10 steps on his own, talks (in his own really cute language) to us all the time, and still wins the hearts of the restaurant staff when we take him out to lunch/dinner.
Next post - the daycare/nanny saga...holy crap.
12 comments:
It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you, but everything WILL get done! One step at a time! I'm so glad I was able to be there and smile with Ashton, I had so much fun! And the family pics look great!!
OK...so my friend Dianne had to tell me to check your blog . . . what's wrong with this picture?!? )
Anyway, hope you get clearance to remedy the lead thing so we can be of help when we come out. Protocol? Somebody's not thinking clearly here, but it WILL get worked out and we'll pray sooner rather than later. Love you all, mom
Thank you so much for posting to our blog. We are thrilled and excited that you are home with your gorgeous boy and that you have spent time with our little Bayoush! I have spent this morning reading as much as I could on your blog-- soaking up your ET experiences and finding myself (yet again) both scared and elated about this upcoming journey. Once again, thank you! You've made my morning!
I'm so sorry to hear about the lead issues. We just did our post placement appointment, and had to call the doctor to get the exact levels for our daughter (they initially only provided a "she's good" statement).
We are also trying to wade our way through the re-adoption process and attempting to do it lawyer-less... not sure how that will work out.
Wow. I think I might just start printing your blog so I can remember what YOU did when it's OUR time. Yikes.
And lead poisoning? Have you been able to find out when sweet Ashton got exposed? Wow. Poor little guy. Was this why he was so sick at the beginning of your journey with him- or was it the formula bit? Or was it both? Wow.
Keep on chugging along....
Oh- and anytime you want to visit, feel free. You could stay at our pad or we could be the dumping grounds for your stuff while you went camping. I might end up knocking on your door one day with a NY bagel in hand. ;-)
To use a cliche, don't sweat the small stuff. Ashton is the big stuff; you've come a long way already and managed to get this far. The end is in sight; think of the Emerald City on the Wizard of Oz. Your final goal is shining just off in the distance; you can see it everytime you look at Ashton's sweet little face or hear him giggle or call you mom or dad. That's where you are right now; the rest will fall into place. Maybe you can help someone in the future with the readoption process and the lead issue. Just keep your eyes on the prize which is Ashton! Love, Carol
I love the new pictures! Does it feel like he is growing more and more every day??
Boo to the lead paint. Hoping you're 'allowed' to fix it soon! Yuck.
I'm sorry to hear about the lead issue. I hope they get that cleared up ASAP so you can get rid of the old paint and get it all straightened out. Ugh.
And, as far as I know-the readoption IS the renaming process. (Of course, it's also the establishing permanent US citizenship, but naming is part of it). You can apply for a SSN with his legal name now and then reapply with the re-adoption paperwork to get his name changed.
(I was adopted at 14ish by my step-dad and that's what was done....it's a fairly easy process if you have your court documents.)
And, as far as the post-placement visits go: talk to Toni (is that who you were working with?). She should let you know what specifics need to be covered and then you can contact your HS agency to get those taken care of. In theory, they should be relatively straight forward.
And, for the re-adoption process yourself, in NY do they require a lawyer? I heard that some states do and some don't. In HI, they don't require a lawyer and in fact, my HS agency has a booklet of step-by-step guidelines of how to do the process yourself. It's about $350 and some paperwork.
(And, I KNOW you can handle paperwork!)
Good luck!
Hey guys, Didn't one of you go through school with a now lawyer? We'll have to put our collective heads together on this one. You know I believe in the six degrees of seperation theory, we've got to know someone who knows someone!
Thanks for the new screen saver pic, it's terrific! Love Mom C
My how life has changed in just a few short weeks, eh? Crazy about the lead stuff, but I'm not all that surprised about the bureaucracy of it all! Well anyways, I'm with Courtney, and I will be referring back to this many times to learn as we continue to move along. Can't wait for the nanny saga!
Jo, I hope this isn't a dumb Q, but how does the county and yourselves know he was exposed to lead - I mean, was he required to get tested and I didn't know anything about this?
Could you explain how this came about?
Love the pics! He's such a handsome boy. Lucky parents!
Cindy
Jolene and Michael, You all are doing a terrific job with Ashton....he is a total doll! I love all the places you have taken him to for him to explore. So you have a little paint issue, before you know it that too will all be a blur, enjoy each moment you have with him as they grow up soooo fast. Thinking of you all - Toni Lynch - case worker for CHI
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