Dear AAC Families...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We are just 1 weeks from our 2013 Holiday Party!!!!


Have you RSVP'd yet?? It's not too late! You do not want to miss out on all the fun!



Below are the details:
Where: Brookside Event Center in Berthoud, CO. (The event center is next door to AAC's office.)
When: December 7, 2013
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Price: $20 per family
RSVP by December 3rd! (Only 6 days left to RSVP!)

There will be fun crafts to be made, yummy food to be consumed and a visit from Santa and his crew.

Now are you excited??

RSVP today and tell us how many adults and children will be attending. We hope to see you all there!

Friday Feature: Justin

Today's Friday Feature is this little guy... Meet Justin! 

Sweet little Justin was born September 19, 2012, weighing 7.5lbs.

He enjoys toys that make noises when you push them and toy cars. He likes to look in the mirror and talk to himself. (But who wouldn't when you are that cute!!)

He was born with club feet. After some casting his feet have gotten a lot better. He is currently not wearing any walking aids. As of his 1st year check up he was crawling and standing up holding on to the furniture. His leg strength is increasing every day!

If you would like to review Justin's file, please submit a pre-application on our website, and mention the child's name in the comments section.

"Are you sleepy yet?" Sleep Disorders with International Adopted Children

Is your new child having a hard time adjusting to a sleep schedule? 

Are they waking up every hour on the hour? 

Are they falling asleep during they day and not wanting to sleep at night? 


Are they (and you) sleep deprived and grumpy all day?





Are you ready to pull your hair out??? 


Don't worry. You are not alone. 

Parents are speaking out! 

Here are a couple articles and websites that we wanted to share with you that will hopefully get you through this stage in the child's life. 




Sleep Struggles Following International Adoption

Attachment Parenting International Website



Pam with Sunny Ridge Family Center in Illinois stated: 

"Sometimes something as simple as music, turning the TV on or using a white noise machine can create a similar atmosphere that the child may have been used to in the orphanage (or foster home).  Co-sleeping doesn't always have to mean “same bed”; it can mean a palette set up next to the bed, toddler bed right next to the parent’s bed.  I would also recommend Theraplay for assistance in the attachment and bonding process.  Depending on where they live, they might be able to locate a Theraplay therapist in their area-their institute is here in the Chicago area, but they have trained therapists all across the U.S. as well as other countries.  www.theraplay.org. "

Sleep Problems and Concerns 

Dori with The Cradle in Illinois stated:

"I suggest the webinar AreYou Sleeping  done by Julian Davies, M.D., a pediatrician at the University of Washington Adoption Clinic on Adoption Learning Partners. Very informative, entertaining and aware of separation/attachment issues that may be part of the sleep equation. 

  

I also really like Mary Sheedy Kurcinka' book, Sleeplessin America. She wrote your Spirited Child. Both are proponents of the one size does NOT fit all approach to sleep issues."

Join the discussion. Leave your comments below and help us help others. 

Connect-A-Kid: Indiegogo Campaign

HAPPY ADOPTION MONTH!
Back in August we introduced you to the Connect-A-Kid Program (click HERE to read the article).

Now is your time to get involved.

They have launched the Indiegogo Campaign to raise awareness and funds for the program. They hope is that they will raise enough to make the program available to all adopted children in 2014. Their goal to raise is $50,000 by December 06, 2013. As of today they are under a quarter of the way to meeting this goal.

Can you help?

Financially is not the only way to help out the campaign. There are other ways to help. For example: forward the video to friends and family; post on facebook; share at your organizations Adoption Month events.

For more information about the program please visit  ConnectAKid.org or email info@connectakid.org

Take a moment watch the video.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Happy Post-Halloween Day. I hope that you and your kiddos have come down off of the sugar high that we call Halloween. We definitely had a fun day yesterday. If you haven't seen our dress up/down photo here it is...









Okay so now on to the issue at hand. Christmas is 54 days from today which means that the AAC Annual Holiday Party is just over a month away (36 days)!!!! 

Are you as excited about it as we are?!! 


Here are the details:

Where: Brookside Event Center in Berthoud, CO. (The event center is next door to AAC's office.)
When: December 7, 2013
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm 
Price: $20 per family
RSVP by December 3rd! 

There will be fun crafts to be made, yummy food to be consumed and a visit from Santa and his crew. 
Now are you excited? 

We are starting to take RSVP's TODAY! 

So.....
Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now..... 

AAC Fall Festival 2013

Happy Halloween! Happy Fall! Happy Happy Joy Joy. :)

The staff and families had such an amazing time a couple of weekends back at our annual Fall Festival. We wanted to share a couple of the photos from the day with you.

Red took some of the photos but she also swiped some from family pages on Facebook. hehe . We were having so much fun with the kiddos and running from the Big Bad Wolf that we forgot to pull out our camera and snap shots. Sorry.....

Okay so here is what you have been waiting for!

 Click HERE to check out more photos!

Friday's Special Feature: Updates on AAC's Programs

Happy Friday!
We thought we would give you some updates on how AAC's China and Korea Programs are going. We haven't done an update in a long time. Soooooo here we go:

China

The new China system (CPIS) is up and running and seems to be working great. It took us a little bit to get a good handle on the new procedures but we are fast learners and have caught on quick. We still can't accurately predict timelines yet since the process is still new. I am hoping that by the first of the year we will be able to say, "on average it has been taking this long for blah blah", and "our families have been able to get their blah blah in blah average days".
We did get some children for our agency list at the end of August. We have been able to place over half the kiddos with their Forever families. We still have 6 little cuties waiting for their forever families. If you would like to view their photos just click HERE.

Korea

The trip to Korea at the beginning of the week went great. AAC was able to get videos and photos of all of our children there. They are all sooooo adorable. If you are matched with a child in the Korea program, your video and photos are being mailed out today and should arrive sometime next week. If you haven't received them by next Friday, call us and let us know. Wahoooo! 

We were able to sit down and talk with Eastern about some of our concerns and expectations and were pleased at how open and communicative they were. 

If there is one thing we want everyone to know it is that the Korea Program is still a viable program. Even though it has gone through numerous changes over the last year we want to confirm that it is a stable program and is still a good option for families. 

Things to note: 

• Korea is a toddler adoption program, children are typically coming home at about 2 years old
• Both the boy and the girl wait lists are open to families
• All children are in a loving foster care home
• Foster Parents receive extensive training and ongoing support
• All children receive regular medical care
• Yes, Parents do have to travel to finalize the adoption in Korea, but Seoul is a great place to visit! Learn about your child's heritage, eat something you didn't ever think you would eat, take a subway trip to the four corners of the city and explore.

Eastern has an amazing reputation and we have worked great with them these last 20 years and we look forward to many more years of this partnership. 

I think that is all the updates I have for right now. 

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