Kathy's Post

As many of you can tell, we have just been too busy (and too tired!) to update our blog with weekly posts. Sorry! But Kathy did send out an updated email today, and I thought it would be nice to share it with our blog world! Here are her words:



Kathy Zimmer wrote:

Hey guys, I know a lot of you are all wondering how things are going at the Zimmer house, and I finally have a moment to tell you.

Hard to believe but Kimmee has now been w/ us for 4 weeks. It's easy to say time has flown, but there are definitely moments when the clock was incredibly slow. Some of you have read on the blog (www.zimmerfam.blogspot.com) how crazy the arrival day was. Yes, it was. I almost had to sit on Aaron because he was so giddy and hyper!

The first 4 days Kimmee was with us we all (party of 5) camped out on the floor in our bedroom. It's funny the day we brought Kimmee home, Aaron and I put our mattress on the floor in anticipation of helping her get acquainted with us. When Kaleb had seen what we had done, he took off running. He came back about 2 minutes later w/ his sleeping bag and pillow informing us that he was not going to be left out of this slumber party!

Kimmee came on a Tue and we headed up to Breckenridge for a week of skiing over Christmas. Crazy! We are not and have never asserted ourselves to be textbook parents, and boy did we live it. My Mom came with us so that we were able to get in some skiing/boarding. Lots of fun w/ Jade and Kaleb. Jade's becoming quite the snow boarder, and Kaleb's just enjoying skiing down the mountain via the terrain park or trees w/ me following right behind him.

Attachment? People ask if Kimmee has had trouble attaching. Attaching no! She has decided to attach herself to me with super glue. For the first week or so she would not let me out of her touch let alone her sight. Trips to the bathroom were a sight to see! If I cannot be found, Jade is a suitable substitute. It's been a little trying for Jade and I, but life is getting so much better.

Kaleb has tried with all of his might to have her like him as much as he likes her. He saves her from her crib after her name, and feeds her cheerios. Anything to help him become her "hero!"

Kimmee has slowly and steadily been growing in her attachment to Aaron. We think that she must have been more attached to her foster mom, because it's taken a little bit for her to warm up to men. I joke that I should let my cross dressing student hold her and see how she reacts!

After Breckenridge we made a surprise visit to Nebraska to introduce her to her Omaha and Walton family. Good times. I'm glad we made the trip.

All of that craziness didn't come without a price though. Christmas is crazy enough, but throw in a brand new baby from another country and you've just multiplied your need for therapy.

When we returned home, Kimmee got introduced to her crib, and has been there since. Our social worker visited us shortly after we arrived home, and assured us that a couple of weeks of normalcy would do a lot to improve everyone's mental health. She was right. Kimmee has slept through the night in her own crib 2 nights in a row. She's finally figured out how to put herself back to sleep, and Jade was even able to stay in her own bed the entire night. Life always looks so much better with a full night of sleep.

Life is improving by leaps and bounds every day. I can honestly say my prayer life has grown so much.

Here's a little story that sums up how we're doing. On Wednesday night, my friend Mary offered to watch Kimmee while we took the kids to Awanas. We came back to pick her up, and I asked how it went. She said she was sad while we were gone. At that moment we looked at her, I think Aaron was holding her, and she was all smiles and giggles. Mary said, "You can tell she knows exactly where she belongs."

Have a great day, and thanks for caring about us.

Kathy

'nough said ....Aaron. Good night, our friends! Please keep an eye out in the next few days for some updated photos! I promise to post them by the end of the week!!