Updates on the Boys

James

I'll start with the oldest first.  James  is picking up vocabulary like crazy it seems!  We really have to be aware of what he hears from others or on the t.v.  He is also very aware of what others are doing, and will mimic actions, expressions, and tone of voice.  It is pretty adorable actually; however, it also makes my husband and me more aware of our surroundings and making sure to break unnecessary habits he picks up from others quickly.

Once I get James excited to wear big boy underwear, I think our potty training will go fairly smoothly...or at least that is my hope.  Right now if James is bare bottomed, he will announce when he has to go pee.  Then he will go running down the hall, climb up onto the toilet (I just got one of those toilet inserts because I didn't want to have to clean out a plastic potty), and use the potty.  We do use M&M's as a reward for using the toilet which some of you may think is horrible, but it is an incentive for James and works really well.  On the other hand, if James needs to go #2, he will ask to be put into a diaper, he will fill the diaper and then ask to be changed.  From what I have read, it is best to go with what the child is comfortable with, so that will work for now.  I would really like to get James into underwear in the morning (when we have nothing going on) and see how potty training goes.  Then depending on how he handles it, I would like to start allowing him to wear underwear instead of diapers when we go to our local park or other things like that, and once he gets that down, move onto other trips...like the grocery store or whatnot.  I have a feeling there is still a rough road ahead, but we will see.

James loves attending church!  I know I posted before about him having trouble adjusting.  Now he will ask in the middle of the week if we can go to church.  It is fun to see him interacting when we go to pick him up as well as the cute little art projects they made that particular day.

Sam

Now onto the youngest...my little baby is now 7.5 months old...I can hardly believe it!  Sam is full of energy...crawling all over the place, standing up holding onto anything he can, and climbing like crazy!  I am afraid he may be an early walker, but we will see.  Sam is quite the charmer.  Anywhere we go, someone has to admire him...partly because he is an infant, but I think the other factor involves his bright red hair and his adorable blue eyes.  Sam has become so responsive and gives smiles frequently as well as precious little laughs.  I definitely think he can identify my husband and me.  When my husband gets home from work, Sam is excited to see him and squeals with delight.

The sibling visits are still taking place every other week.  They have changed slightly allowing both myself and the other foster/adoptive mom (of the brother) to be involved in the visits.  One hour is a long time for the two little boys, and they don't really interact at all.  We are lucky if they both play with the same toy for a minute.  Tom doesn't seem to appreciate Sam trying to touch his face or his hair or trying to climb all over him, so that probably doesn't help either.  I am able to talk with the other mom and get some information regarding Tom as well as the birth family, so that is helpful, but I also know the information is not completely reliable.  However, it is really all I have to work with.

Court is coming up to see if the parental rights are terminated or not.  We have been told not to attend the court hearing.  It is a measure to protect our family since the birth parents are not stable and have a lot of history.  Birth mom has not been showing up to any visits (she has a warrant for her arrest).  Birth dad has been attending his visits.  I have tried to be nice and send some pictures for him once a month...I make sure the pictures are only of Sam and do not contain any identifying information.  I am a bit frustrated with the other foster/adoptive mom because she has given my first name to the birth dad...not that he can really do much with that, but I have a feeling if she knew my last name, she would give that to him as well, and let's just say, once you have that information, it would be simple to track us down as our name is quite unusual.