I can't believe it, but our 6 month post-placement visit is this week!!!
Wow!
6 months home, 9 months being a family...one of my friends said that having kids is like a freight train to the grave and I can totally understand that now. It feels like just yesterday we were meeting B at the orphanage.
We feel so beyond blessed to get to be B's parents. We love him so much and are thrilled that in many ways he is doing GREAT and we are being knit together as a family.
His quirky personality emerges more and more each day and he is h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s.
We now understand why people in Ethiopia (the few who could understand the words he was saying which were a mix of Amharic and Sidamingo:-) would either look at him quizzically or bust out laughing.
B likes to make up words and thinks they are the funniest thing ever! His faves right now are "lobby-toast" and "bed-is-a-bowl" (which he will deliver like a stand-up comic and then wait for the laugh...if he can contain the giggles that absolutely overtake him when he says it).
B is 100% pottytrained now except for naps and night. We are tackling naps this week (pray for us as we see a lot of pee soaked sheets in our future:-( and nights we'll deal with at some point AFTER we are done co-sleeping! We still do a morning bottle/cuddle time and are co-sleeping. Co-sleeping we are going to try to transition out of this spring and the bottle we'll do as long as he likes it but this spring/summer we'll probably switch to a sippy cup. The morning bottle and cuddle time has been crucial in helping B and mama connect before being apart all day. I am so glad that we decided to do this, that B wants to do it, and for how much it has helped with eye contact and bonding!
We rarely use our carrier anymore and only use the stroller for long walks, like the weekly walk to church. B had a really rough day a few weeks ago and we pulled out the Boba, he played in it all afternoon and it helped so much. But I think that was the first time we've used it since October. My little baby is growing up!!!
B goes to daycare (school) days a week, ababa is home with him the other two weekdays, and I have weekends. B loves school, but it has triggered some insecurities, concerns, orphanage behaviors, and some little set-backs in the bonding process, but all things considered school is going well and we are just being a little more intentional with bonding and cuddling and family affirmations at home.
B's a great helper, and loves to do projects now...fingerpainting, playdough, making cookies, taking down the laundry or recycling to the basement...B is all over it! He asks to do projects all the time which is adorable.
B is so smart and really verbal...he talks all.day.long. seriously, the boy does.not.ever.shut.up:-) (He takes after his mama:-) He talks from the moment he wakes up until the moment he falls asleep.
He stays in church with us and does really well at being quiet and taking things in (it's amazing with how chatty he is that he obeys our churchtime directive to "listen with your ears, watch with your eyes, and whisper questions to mommy and daddy"). Today he shocked the heck out of me by reinacting communion with his tea set and cutting fruit complete with "mama, do thank you prayers to Jesus" "this is my cup..." (while raising his little blue tea cup) "this is my body" (while getting out a piece of bread from his cutting fruit set) and praying again.
His favorite songs continue to be jesus loves me, silent night, away in a manger, a few random praise songs (especially "The Great I AM"), his bible verse songs (thanks mom and dad for the GT CDs he's learning them like a champ!), and all of the twenty trucks DVD songs. Oh yeah, I broke down and ordered the pack (CD, 2 DVDs, tshirt...the whole nine yards). He likes to dace around to them and play air guitar and has memorized every song along with each truck name, function, and parts!
B has met all our immediate family finally (Grammy and G-dad were last weekend) and talks about everyone all the time. He always wants to "pack a suitcase and go to Meesiana, Pennsylvania, Jersey, Unca R, Aunt V and baby Victoria's, UncaDandAnamanda (he says it as one long word:-) or Grammy/Grandads" and is really excited that Unca Adam and AuntieCole are coming to NYC at the end of March.
We talk about Ethiopia a lot and hope that he still feels connected to it in a significant way. Ethiopia will always be part of our family. The way we see it, B has two cultures, one by birth and one by adoption and Mama and Ababa have two cultures, one by birth and one by adoption. We are making Ethiopian stew for our small group for Sunday, watch lots of Ethiopia videos, listen to Ethiopian music, sponsor children in Ethiopia, hope to go back for some long visits once he's older, hope to adopt again from Ethiopia (well, Ababa is still considering that one and we are waiting until this summer to see how the current process is with Ethiopia and the US Embassy...), and have lots of photos, books, toys, and souvenirs from Ethiopia around our house...but we are always looking for other ways to integrate Ethiopian culture into our family life and to introduce it more to our family and friends.
B still has giardia:-( and is still allergic to eggs...we're hoping that he is healed from/outgrows those both soon! Other than that, he's healthy as a horse which is a HUGE blessing!
When we met B, he wore 2 T clothes, size 8.5 shoes, and 2T-3T socks. B is now firmly in 3T clothes, the 2Ts fit at the waist but are pretty much all too short now, and is in 4T-5T socks and size 9.5-10 shoes.
So, six (nine) months in, we still have some challenges, but on the whole are doing great!!! We are unimaginably blessed to be a family and are grateful to God everyday for the miracle of adoption he has worked in our lives.
Wow!
6 months home, 9 months being a family...one of my friends said that having kids is like a freight train to the grave and I can totally understand that now. It feels like just yesterday we were meeting B at the orphanage.
We feel so beyond blessed to get to be B's parents. We love him so much and are thrilled that in many ways he is doing GREAT and we are being knit together as a family.
His quirky personality emerges more and more each day and he is h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s.
We now understand why people in Ethiopia (the few who could understand the words he was saying which were a mix of Amharic and Sidamingo:-) would either look at him quizzically or bust out laughing.
B likes to make up words and thinks they are the funniest thing ever! His faves right now are "lobby-toast" and "bed-is-a-bowl" (which he will deliver like a stand-up comic and then wait for the laugh...if he can contain the giggles that absolutely overtake him when he says it).
B is 100% pottytrained now except for naps and night. We are tackling naps this week (pray for us as we see a lot of pee soaked sheets in our future:-( and nights we'll deal with at some point AFTER we are done co-sleeping! We still do a morning bottle/cuddle time and are co-sleeping. Co-sleeping we are going to try to transition out of this spring and the bottle we'll do as long as he likes it but this spring/summer we'll probably switch to a sippy cup. The morning bottle and cuddle time has been crucial in helping B and mama connect before being apart all day. I am so glad that we decided to do this, that B wants to do it, and for how much it has helped with eye contact and bonding!
We rarely use our carrier anymore and only use the stroller for long walks, like the weekly walk to church. B had a really rough day a few weeks ago and we pulled out the Boba, he played in it all afternoon and it helped so much. But I think that was the first time we've used it since October. My little baby is growing up!!!
B goes to daycare (school) days a week, ababa is home with him the other two weekdays, and I have weekends. B loves school, but it has triggered some insecurities, concerns, orphanage behaviors, and some little set-backs in the bonding process, but all things considered school is going well and we are just being a little more intentional with bonding and cuddling and family affirmations at home.
B's a great helper, and loves to do projects now...fingerpainting, playdough, making cookies, taking down the laundry or recycling to the basement...B is all over it! He asks to do projects all the time which is adorable.
B is so smart and really verbal...he talks all.day.long. seriously, the boy does.not.ever.shut.up:-) (He takes after his mama:-) He talks from the moment he wakes up until the moment he falls asleep.
He stays in church with us and does really well at being quiet and taking things in (it's amazing with how chatty he is that he obeys our churchtime directive to "listen with your ears, watch with your eyes, and whisper questions to mommy and daddy"). Today he shocked the heck out of me by reinacting communion with his tea set and cutting fruit complete with "mama, do thank you prayers to Jesus" "this is my cup..." (while raising his little blue tea cup) "this is my body" (while getting out a piece of bread from his cutting fruit set) and praying again.
His favorite songs continue to be jesus loves me, silent night, away in a manger, a few random praise songs (especially "The Great I AM"), his bible verse songs (thanks mom and dad for the GT CDs he's learning them like a champ!), and all of the twenty trucks DVD songs. Oh yeah, I broke down and ordered the pack (CD, 2 DVDs, tshirt...the whole nine yards). He likes to dace around to them and play air guitar and has memorized every song along with each truck name, function, and parts!
B has met all our immediate family finally (Grammy and G-dad were last weekend) and talks about everyone all the time. He always wants to "pack a suitcase and go to Meesiana, Pennsylvania, Jersey, Unca R, Aunt V and baby Victoria's, UncaDandAnamanda (he says it as one long word:-) or Grammy/Grandads" and is really excited that Unca Adam and AuntieCole are coming to NYC at the end of March.
We talk about Ethiopia a lot and hope that he still feels connected to it in a significant way. Ethiopia will always be part of our family. The way we see it, B has two cultures, one by birth and one by adoption and Mama and Ababa have two cultures, one by birth and one by adoption. We are making Ethiopian stew for our small group for Sunday, watch lots of Ethiopia videos, listen to Ethiopian music, sponsor children in Ethiopia, hope to go back for some long visits once he's older, hope to adopt again from Ethiopia (well, Ababa is still considering that one and we are waiting until this summer to see how the current process is with Ethiopia and the US Embassy...), and have lots of photos, books, toys, and souvenirs from Ethiopia around our house...but we are always looking for other ways to integrate Ethiopian culture into our family life and to introduce it more to our family and friends.
B still has giardia:-( and is still allergic to eggs...we're hoping that he is healed from/outgrows those both soon! Other than that, he's healthy as a horse which is a HUGE blessing!
When we met B, he wore 2 T clothes, size 8.5 shoes, and 2T-3T socks. B is now firmly in 3T clothes, the 2Ts fit at the waist but are pretty much all too short now, and is in 4T-5T socks and size 9.5-10 shoes.
So, six (nine) months in, we still have some challenges, but on the whole are doing great!!! We are unimaginably blessed to be a family and are grateful to God everyday for the miracle of adoption he has worked in our lives.
Congratulations! He is adorable. =)
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