Lots of Firsts! (a busy weekend)

We've had a busy weekend full of many firsts for H!

On Friday night we went to a baseball game for a local minor league team. My BIL (thanks, Jake!) had a suite for the evening and we enjoyed it very much!  I don't think we ever (ever ever) would've taken H to a game had it not been for the suite.  He ran around quite a bit, played with his cousins, ran up and down the hallway outside the suite, etc.

I cried when the national anthem was sung (by a cute group of 3rd graders). I'm typically emotional...patriotic...when it comes to our anthem, but that's been taken to a whole new level now that we have H.  

There's something extra special about hearing it while looking at your baby who was not born in this "land of the free and home of the brave."  It's powerful to know that now, that song is also his song.  That flag is now his flag.  Because of our adoption of H, he now has the rights that come with being a citizen of this beautiful country.  *Tear*.

He clapped a lot at the game!  The crowd would clap...and H would clap. Again and again :)  He took everything in - the crowd, the mascot, the between-inning entertainment, and a fun pig character - no fear at all!  

And, of course, he enjoyed the food, particularly the open access we gave him to french fries :)

We got home way past H's bed time, let him "sleep in" (8:15ish), then went to the farmer's market!  First time for us this year, and H's first time ever :)  He enjoyed watching people...and enjoyed his first bites of a 

tamale!

After his nap on Saturday, we met my sister and her family for a local festival north of where we live.  This was H's first time at the beach...and his first time at Lake MI :)  He loved the sand and loved the (freezing cold) water!  We can.not.wait for warmer weather/water and more visits to the beach!

Today, before H's 3 hour nap (woohoo!) we visited a tourist attraction (thanks, Laura, for the suggestion).  We had fun wandering around, playing on the playground, riding the carousel (another first for H), and taking pictures.

The real purpose of our visit there?  To get pictures like this of H :)

Our little Chinese baby in a Dutch costume!  Isn't he a doll?  (Thanks, Krista, for use of your costume and camera!)  

We're loving the warm and beautiful weather and are so thankful for the many opportunities we had this weekend to be outside with friends and family!  It's so much fun to see H experience all of these things for the first time!  He's brave and happy and (most of the time) a lot of fun to be around :)

All About H (from 4/14)!

A whole.entire.month.ago I wrote the following things about H.  I was planning to add more, but I guess I got distracted :)

1.  Will scold himself if he's near and/or about to do something he should do, like unplugging my laptop.

2.  Likes to raise his hands above his head while listening to "fun" music.

3.  Hair is getting much longer...and thicker!  Used to get crazy beadhead.  Not so much anymore.

4.  Will (finally :) sit through the complete reading of some of his books!  Will also occasionally bring books to us and sit in our lap, asking us to read to him.

5.  K taught H the sign for "bath," and H has got it down!  K will use the sign and H will take his hand and move toward the bathroom.  He loves baths!

I wish I would've kept going, but oh well - this is better than nothing!

Mother's Day

Here I am...my first Mother's Day as a mom.  Wow.  Some days, I honestly thought this day might never come.  The road wasn't always easy, and I'm thankful that the past is just that - the past.  Gone.  Done.

This day doesn't come without pain, however.  I know how hard Mother's Day can be for so.many.people.  I've been there.  I've cried...skipped church in order to avoid the inevitable words from the pulpit/recognition/celebration...I get it.  And my heart breaks for those who are still "there", for whatever reason - life circumstances, infertility, death, etc.  For me, I don't know that Mother's Day will ever be the huge celebration it was intended to be.  And that's ok.

But I will still celebrate :)  When we said 'yes' to a certain little boy not long after first seeing his picture on September 24 of last year, I became a mom. Yes, a mom who had never met her child, but still a mom.  And 5 months later when I first held that little boy in my arms, I experienced deep feelings of joy - a 12 month "paper pregnancy" had ended and I was, finally, united with my - our - child!

I stayed in bed just a little longer than usual this morning, was served a yummy breakfast of bircher muesli, a dish K and I came to love while in C*. K and H gave me a nice card and gift, we went to church, ate lunch at home and napped, played with H, then dined on yummy Thai takeout.  A good day. A blessed day :)

And yesterday?  A surprise delivery from K's parents - beautiful flowers to celebrate my first Mother's Day.

So sweet.

Now to enjoy the rest of the day with K and a big bowl of Edy's Double Fudge Brownie ice cream :)  Yum.

Birth Mother's Day

Apparently today is Birth Mother's Day.  I feel kind of dumb for not knowing this, although maybe I used to know but forgot.  Either way, I was thrown off guard today as I looked at FB and saw many posts about the significance of this day.  And really, it makes sense - birth moms most definitely deserve to be honored, so why not set aside the day before Mother's Day to do so.

We know essentially nothing about H's birth mom, at least in terms of concrete facts.  We don't know her age or her life story...where she lives...what she looks like.  None of that.  But what we do know is more valuable than those facts.  She chose to give H life!  And, whatever her circumstances when he was born, she chose to leave him.  She chose to give him a chance at a life that she quite possibly could not provide for him. She loved him enough to leave him.  What a sacrifice!

I wonder about her sometimes.  As we left H's province, I thought about the fact that she likely had no idea that her baby boy was headed for a new life.  I think about her now as I rock H as he wakes up from sleeping - I think about what she is missing.  I'm sure she misses him; how could she not?  I'm sure she wonders how he is doing...if he was adopted...where he lives....what he looks like.  So so so many things.  My heart hurts for her.

I so wish we could know her.  Could have met her.  Could keep in contact with her.  I wish she could see her baby thriving, learning new things, laughing, meeting with doctors and therapists who will help him.  I wish we could tell her "thank you" for the incredible gift we've been given as a result of her loss.  Unfortunately, the likelihood of any of this happening is slim to none.  It's sad.

So, anyway, a thoughtful Birth Mother's Day to H's first mama.  As what I have to believe is a huge piece of your heart is missing, may God bless you and fill you with joy and peace and the knowledge that your little man is loved like crazy and is full of life and joy.  

10 Weeks/2 Months!!

Today marks 10 WEEKS since we met H and 2 MONTHS since we arrived home with him!

10 weeks ago, we waited -

and saw H for the very.first.time - 

and got to hold him for the very.first.time - 

2 months ago, we were just completing a looong trek home - 

And today, we're loving having this little guy here - home -

hanging out at a local festival with him - 

watching him sleep in the car, with evidence of his new fascination with his tongue -

and trying out park after park with him - 

When we first met H, he was very baby-like.  That is definitely no longer the case!  He hardly looks or acts like the same child we met 10 weeks ago.  His hair is getting long. He's gaining weight - lots of it, it seems.  He's grown out of some of his clothes...and out of one of the first pairs of shoes we bought for him.  He feels much more solid.  Sturdy and stronger.

He's starting to give hugs rather than just receiving them.  Today, after his nap, he rested his head on my shoulder for around 10 minutes; this is very new, and so so sweet.  On another note, he is no longer afraid to let us know what he thinks; he freely voices his opinions, many times quite loudly.  In the past several days, he's also begun to show his displeasure by throwing himself on the ground to pout when he doesn't get what he wants.  

He also has a strange fascination with sticking things, such as his feet (or fuzzies or stuffed toys), in his nose :)

He's seen his pediatrician once and will go back soon for a follow-up.  Has had his blood drawn 2-3 times (1 visit was a failed attempt).  He's seen 2 specialists and has 1 new specialist to see in a month or so.  He's been evaluated by an Early On program; has had a follow-up with a physical therapist (we had one concern, but he's been "cleared" for now!) and will see a speech therapist for the first time this week.  These appointments, among other things, have kept us busy :)

His first surgery is scheduled for the end of this month.  More about that later, but suffice it to say we're anxious about it.  It's necessary - and good - but having a surgery date scheduled brings quite a range of emotions, most of which I'm struggling to process.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll say it again - in some ways it feels like we just met him, but in other (dare I say MORE?) ways it feels like he's been a part of our lives forever.  We've had our ups and downs to be sure, but we're so thankful for H and love him like crazy :)

Road Trip

We never dreamed we'd be taking such a long trip with H so soon after bringing him home, but K's grandfather recently passed away and we found ourselves on a l-o-n-g road trip with our little man and our (naughty) beagle.  

Although I was a bit apprehensive about the trip, I knew it would be ok.  After all, we survived a 30+ hour trip from C* to MI with him :)  I was thankful that, even if he did scream the whole way, only K and I would have to listen to him - no worrying about a plane full of people trying to sleep!

I scoured the internet for different ideas to keep him busy, a friend loaned us a few new-to-H toys, and we went shopping.  Thank you, K's co-workers, for your generous gift cards to Target!  In addition to providing oodles of diapers for H, we've also used the cards to buy fun stuff - like this Little People "on the farm" flap book, which H enjoyed looking at on our trip!

As I've said before, H likes Elmo.  Which has turned into liking most of Sesame Street (the Count?  notsomuch).  We put 4-5 episodes of SS on my iPad and were glad we did.  He watched a few episodes on our way there, and a couple on our way home.  

Green!  Trees budding!  Warmth.  And copious amounts of rain on our way there.  

H also had his share of snacks in the car.  And Jersey enjoyed begging for them :)

Hello, WV!  We'd probably been in the car for 8 hours at this point.  Looks pretty happy, doesn't he? :)

I'm pretty sure we had angels with us on our trip, as we came upon this huge fire while a semi was barreling down on us.  K got out of the way in time to see the semi come to a stop right where we had just been.  He also saw a man on fire...and we saw and felt the fire grow.  Scary!

Awful picture (of me), but had to document H's first visit to Chick fil A.  I suppose I didn't take a picture while we were eating because we were in the car and it was rather awkward and a bit stressful :)

We left just before 7am and arrived around 8pm.  H met K's grandparents and aunt and uncle, and we crashed for the night....after H took an hour or so to wind down in the pack 'n play.

When H saw K's parents' dog, he made his lion/bear sound :) 

 

K's aunt and uncle blessed H with many gifts - toys and books.  As far as we know, this was H's first experience with unwrapping gifts.  He got the hang of it and enjoyed it!

Reading one of his new books with his grandma (the first time he met K's parents).

The funeral was on the 25th, which was also the 2 month anniversary of us becoming a family.  Bittersweet.  

Little Man didn't last through much of the funeral.  We made our way outside and enjoyed the TN mid-60 degree temps and SUN :)  

The next day was the burial.  Full military honors.  Taps.  21 gun salute.  Lots of tears.

After our time at the cemetery, we went to a park for a picnic.  H wanted to get as close to the water as possible and had fun throwing rocks into the river with K :) 

While there, we stayed with neighbors/friends of K's parents.  They live on a farm which is perfect for H - he loooves animals!  The friends let H borrow boots to wear outside.  H didn't quite know how to walk in the boots - cute and entertaining :)

Saying "hi" to one of the horses!

Our first stop on our way home - gas.  "Cheap" gas.  To be exact, gas that is .67 less per gallon that it is where we live.  

H and Jersey in a Chick fil A-induced sleep after breakfast :)

H's first trip to Trader Joe's!  

H's first meal at Chipotle!  Dinner outside.  In the SUN!  

Although the reason for our trip was sad, we are thankful for the opportunity to spend time with K's family.  We don't see them often, and had it not been for this trip, H probably would not have met his cousins until Christmas.

H did wonderfully!  13 hours in the car on Wednesday and 14 hours on Saturday, and he only "screamed" for maybe 90 minutes total.  He was fussy more than that, of course, but it was totally doable :)  He had fun....slept pretty well.....and was generally easygoing.  Here's hoping this is the way he'll treat every road trip in the future!

8 Weeks with H!

I'm super thankful for photos right now, as they are the only thing helping me to remember what we've been up to the last couple of weeks.  Overall, time has gone very quickly, which is a blessing as we've had so.much.rain (maybe 5-7 inches in 2 weeks, no joke) and have been cooped up inside way.too.much!

Last weekend, we went to an indoor bounce place with my sister and her family!  We figured H would love it, and he did!  He had fun on the little kid toys as well as the big kid slides - on our laps, of course.  He asked to go down again and again.  Here we are at the top of one of the slides - 

He also loved an inflatable dog that was in one of the kids' areas.  He loves animals!

K is planting a garden this year and H has been helping him.  H puts the seeds in the containers, and every night after his bath he stops to see how they are growing - and they sure are growing (in our furnace room - where it's super warm, and under a full spectrum light)!  A couple of nights ago, I gave H his bath (K usually does this), and forgot to stop to check the plants. H reminded me - he knows his routine and definitely wants to stick to it :)

We continue to take H to church, but he doesn't last through much of the service.  A couple of weeks ago we spent the service in the "infant calming room" with other toddlers, but this particular week that room had sleeping babies, so we needed to find somewhere else to hang out.  I used to work in the kids' program and knew a certain room should be empty...and it was. We hung out there - H played with toys and we caught some of the service via the TV.

These days, anything above 50 degrees feels pretty warm.  It's pathetic, and is probably also the reason I am currently sick - I've stopped wearing a warm coat, even in the cold/rain/wind.  Anyway, if it gets above 50 and the sun is out, I like to take walks.  We all like it.  H and Jersey go crazy when we start to put our shoes on :)

I've been spending more time on P-rest....looking for stuff to do with H.  Here, he's playing with beans in a plastic tub.  He likes it...likes dumping the beans all over the floor :)

When we first met H, he used to wake up with crazy beadhead quite often :) That doesn't happen nearly as much now, I think because his hair is getting longer, but it happened a few days ago and made me laugh.  

 

He and Jersey continue to love each other.  Earlier today, Jersey was roughhousing with K, but as soon as H came over she settled down.  She knows to be gentle with him...and he knows to be gentle with her :)

Last week, we had our consultation with the plastic surgeon and on the way to the appointment H fell asleep.  So sweet :)  This was also the last day he was rear-facing in the car as we have a long trip coming up and figured he'd be happier for it if he was facing forward.

Plastic balls (from K's parents) in a cardboard box.  What could be better? :) He likes to play with the balls...and loves to throw them to Jersey and to watch her chase them.

Several weeks ago, I found a small shopping cart at a second hand sale.  I initially bought it because I was hauling too much other stuff in my arms and needed something to help with the load, but knew H would have fun with it too.  K made bumpers out of pool noodles for it, as without them we were afraid H would destroy the house!

We use this cardboard box to push H around the house - he loves it!  I taught him how to push his stuffed animals around in it...and he decided to jump in with them :)

All of us continue to do well.  H had a small cold last week, and I seem to have caught it this week.  I think he's gaining weight as he feels more solid :) He's usually happy for the first half of the day...then grouchy after his afternoon nap.  He sometimes takes a bottle before bed, but sometimes refuses it.  More often than not, he sleeps through the night!  He continues to learn new things - new signs, how to play with certain toys, and new ways to be naughty.  His smile can light up a room and his laugh is contagious :)