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DW: Keeva Sinead O'Donnell "Ceevie"
DH: Jack William Hunter O'Donnell
DS: Isaac Ethan "Zak" (18)
DS: Oliver Ronan (17)
DS: Jacob Charles "Jay" (16)
DD: Bethany Lorraine "Beth" (14)
AS: Stanislav Zinoviy "Ani" (13)
AS: Cailyn Xenia (11)
DS: William Patrick "Liam" (9)
AD: Charlotte Joanna (7)
DD: Alexandria Natalia "Alex" (6)
DD: Ruby Leonor (4)
AD: Henrietta Emily "Hattie" (3)
DS: Lucas Cohen Jack (2 months)
AS: Harry Nathaniel - we renamed Graeme Irving (newborn)

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We're so glad that we finally decided to adopt. Its added so much love and fun to our family.

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Ani, as we call our eldest adopted son Stanislav, is doing great. A friend of ours works at a school for children with special needs (Ani and Charlotte both attend 4 days a week and go to regular school once a week) and they run after school art classes and pottery classes which Ani loves to bits. He's never happier than when he's sitting in his special corner painting with his set of paints. He's bonding well with the family as well. It was very difficult at the start and he especially didn't trust Jack and the older boys. He loves baby Lucas and baby Harry though and a lot of his time at home is spent cooing over them and making sure they're warm enough or helping me with giving them bottles, changing them, ect. We're very proud of how he is progressing. We're working on giving him more confidence now by assisting him with small tasks. He can wash the dishes and dust by himself and we've given him a small patch in the garden where he is growing vegetables and flowers. Beth likes helping him out there and is very patient with him. She's become his favourite muse and our house is bursting at the seams with beautiful pictures of Beth and Ani in the garden with flowers and butterflies. There is nothing better than the look of pride and love Ani gets in his eyes when you compliment his artwork and he deserves it! He's a brilliant boy. I'm proud to call him our son.

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Cailyn is also doing good. Its taking a lot to get used to living with such a big, lively 'ecclectic' family but she loves it really! She is one of the quieter children but seems to be fitting in well. She enjoys listening to stories about Ireland a lot and is forever reading up on the folklore and myths from my many books on Ireland. Bethany is turning into a real saint. She's taken Cailyn under her wing and they spend ages sitting together in their shared bedroom or down on the beach talking about boys, make-up, clothes, hair, celebrities, music...whatever they're into at the moment! Cailyn is doing well at school as well. She's joined the cheerleading squad with Beth and attends dance club. She's doing especially well at Maths and Geography. We're so happy that this beautiful little girl is part of our family!

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Charlotte is such a little charmer. She makes us laugh so much! She's been attending physical therapy and is coming on in leaps and bounds. With the help of splints and a frame she can now take about 10 steps which is so breathtaking! She has the best smile in the world, extending right into her eyes. We've also invested in an endless pool to help her become even stronger. Her teachers at school are doing a great job with her. She can now write her own name using her feet!!! (She hasvery little control of her hands). She also now can drink by herself through a straw. Out of all the children I believe she has benefited the most from joining our family. She's always loved being centre of attention and thats just what she gets in our house! The boys all squabble about who gets to push her chair and are always carrying her about the place or making sure she's safe in the pool. Lucky girl!

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Hattie is also doing great. She's attatched at the hip to Charlotte but she's not as dependent anymore which is good. She's talking up a storm, learning new words every day! We have yet another chatterbox on our hands. Hattie's new best friend is Ruby. They told me this morning. "We're best friends now and we're always going to be best friends because we're sisters and we love each other." Isn't that profound for a four year old!? Our plan is to start them both at school next year, that way they will be in the same class. When Hattie mentioned that she loved playing house we knew just the thing to do: we had a treehouse built!!! All the kids love playing in it and at night time the decking attatched (via rope bridge or spiral staircase) up another tree has been claimed by Zak and Oliver for romancing their girlfriends!!!

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Finally there is little Harry. He was originally named Graeme but we decided to change it to fit in more with our other children's names. He's the cutest little thing (joint with Lucas!) and is almost identical to Lucas. People always say things like "So how old are the twins?" and are so shocked when we tell them that biologically Harry and Lucas aren't remotely related! Harry is currently learning to smile and has a lovely little laugh. He can also hold up his head on his own and sit up propped by cushions. He spends his days gurgling away happily with Lucas and being cuddled and cooed over by his 11 older siblings!

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Thank you so much for helping us in adopting our new children. Our family feels well and truely complete now. We love them all so much, watching them bloom and grow into wonderful young people. I'm so proud of them all!