Why? Why do we keep doing this? Is one international trip with baby twins not enough? Guess not. Well, here we go again. I've packed everything but the kitchen sink, and I'm sure we've still forgotten something.
It's been a busy enough week with trying to pack, but to top that off we had the evaluation with EIDS (Early Intervention Development Specialist) regarding Ella's ankles today. I have no idea why I agreed to schedule an appointment with them the day before we are due to fly out, but I did. So, shortly before noon today the evaluation team arrived at our home from Seoul to watch Ella in her normal environment. Isn't that great? They traveled to us! So much easier than trying to drag the kids up to Seoul for an appointment. So, after their evaluation they don't believe her walking issues are in any way a developmental issue. They evaluated her in 5 developmental fields: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, verbal development, social development, and problem solving skills. It was a very interesting experience to have her evaluated. Of course, we think she's pretty darn perfect, so it's neat to see a less biased view of her. They rank children on a scale of 0-60, 35 being average. She's right on target for her fine and gross motor skills. Her social and problem solving skills are above average at 55. Her verbal skills are slightly below average at 25. Of course, these evaluations take all outside factors into consideration, so the evaluators were not concerned at all about her lag in verbal development. Often twins will develop a little bit slower in the verbal department. I usually don't like classifying my children as "twins", although they are; it just seems impersonal. But in this situation, it does actually make sense. They are leaps and bounds ahead in social development because they've always had another baby to contend with, but they also understand each other to the point where they aren't forced to communicate as quickly as a singleton may. They told us that between 2-3 years twins will catch up verbally with other children their age. Their conclusion about Ella's ankles was it may be an issue for PT (physical therapy). They took a few pictures, and will let us know what PT says.
So, evaluation complete, and we will be heading to the states tomorrow. This is the first time Michael's made this trip with the kids. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for the help! Only being responsible for one baby while traveling internationally will be a cinch compared to past trips. He has no. idea. what he's in for! He actually thinks he'll have time to watch an in flight movie or take a nap. Ha. Ha.
Before leaving for the states to visit family and friends, we joined our friends Kevin, Sarah, baby Evie, Dave, Lyndsay, baby Mason, and big girl Emma for dinner at a local child friendly Korean restaurant (affectionately known by us Americans as a "beef and leaf" restaurant). What a wonderful way to spend our last night in Korea! We are looking forward to our trip home, and can't wait to see our family and friends, but we will certainly look forward to returning to our beautiful host country, and these great friends!
Ella may not be a pro with a fork and a spoon just yet, but she's certainly getting the hang of chopsticks thanks to all the lunches spent at the nanny's house. She doesn't have it just perfect yet, but she's working very hard to figure these things out.
This is the greatest restaurant! They should have places like this in the states! Not only to they have highchairs, but there are pack-n-play (playpens/porta cribs) available for diners as well as an indoor playground, bunny rabbits for petting, a fun outdoor playground complete with a trampoline, and lots of other touches that make this place perfect for families with small children. We all had an excellent time, and I'm so proud of my little diners. They do very well eating in Korean restaurants, so long as there is plenty of seaweed and sticky rice available.
Chingus. Also known in English as “friends”. Evie and Ella wore their matching dresses to dinner. Aren’t they two, too cute? Evie says…”Have a good flight Ellabell! I’ll see you when you get back!” Ella says she’ll miss her little buddy.
Sterling checks out the view from atop a very large sculpture of a soccer ball.
Checking out the trampoline outside the restaurant. Sterling was NOT a fan, but Ella warmed up to it once she saw all the fun Emma and Eve were having bouncing around.
Due to the rising costs of gas, and the toll it has taken on the airline industry, we will no longer be able to afford to purchase tickets for the babies. Therefore, they will be arriving in the states via FedEx’s insured international freight. Please keep your eyes open for an oversized delivery.
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