Surprise Mud Puddles

Yesterday morning James and Sam each pushed a dump truck along the path behind our house.  I had David in the Bjorn, and I also pulled along a wagon because I figured Sam, if no one else, would need a break eventually.  We happened to stumble upon the back path as a truck was spraying the sides of the road with water...my guess is as a fire precaution since there is a lot of tall, dry grass back there, and it is used by a utility company.  Because of this, though, all the potholes were filled with water, and the boys had a blast running, stomping, and pushing their dump trucks through the puddles...as well as splashing and sitting in the muddy water.  We hadn't expected there to be puddles considering it has been hot weather here, so it was a fun treat for the boys, and boy, did they have a blast!

Upon our return home, I turned on the front sprinklers for them to run through to try to wash some of the mud off of them.  This seemed to work fairly well, and once again they had a blast in the water.  It was a nice break from the expected trip down the back path this morning.

Boys will be Boys

Or should I say kids will be kids?  That is probably much more appropriate and true.  : )

This morning was a whirlwind for a little while.  I had to run to the restroom, so I set baby David up on our bed in the master bedroom, so I could monitor him and intervene if his brothers came in a little too wildly.  I was only gone a few minutes, but it was long enough to walk into the living room to the following scene...

James was standing halfway in/out of one of the living room windows.  He had pushed the screen forward and began to climb through to get outside.  His legs were standing on the bark outside while he torso and head were still in the living room.  Sam was sitting on the speaker right next to the window cheering James on.  James managed to squeeze the rest of the way out, and I tried to pop the screen back into place, but my husband will have to fix that when he gets home because I could only get so much to settle back into place.

Then a short while later David needed a bottle, so I put one together and sat in the rocking chair with him while James and Sam were playing nicely in the other room.  After the bottle I had to change David's diaper, and then I went to check on my two adventurers.  I thought they were in James' room, but it turned out they were playing in the master bedroom (a habit we are trying to break them of).  They were sitting on our bed playing with their toy farmhouse, and they appeared to be playing so nicely, so I was going to allow them to continue playing until I realized there was a puddle on the sheets in front of them.  They had found a container and dumped almost all of the liquid out.  The boys got sent to the living room, the farm got put in the bathtub to wash off later, and the sheets (my brand new sheets I was given for my birthday that I hope won't get stained due to this) got pulled off the bed.

Thankfully the boys were able to reign it in a little better after those two incidences...or perhaps I reigned it in a little better.  Either way the rest of the morning has been running fairly smoothly.

Our Adoption Support Group

It finally feels like our adoption support may be starting to come together.  I am talking about the one my husband and I started at our church.  The meeting in September included three interested families, and after talking together and setting up an email group for us, I have a feeling these attendees will return in the future.  They seem to desire people to connect with, share with and offer insight to.  It is good to see the group coming together.  It was great to hear other families' experiences and stories.

At first it seemed like our idea to start the group was a flop.  The first month two interested families came...one that does emergency foster care and one that is interested in adopting through foster care, but I forgot to get contact information, and we haven't seen any of those people since.  The second month no one came at all.  Now, though, we are seeing families who seem genuinely excited about the prospect of the group, and I think we will grow and learn together over the next several months.

We (my husband and I) felt called to start up an adoption support group at our church, and we stepped out in faith, and finally a group is being formed.  It is amazing what God will do when you listen to what He is asking you to do.  : )

2nd Night in a Row

Tonight was the second night in a row that Sam has stayed in bed once he was tucked in for the night without making a single attempt to come out and join us.  This is great to see especially so early in our transition to his toddler bed.  I am happy bedtime is going so well.  I only wish nap time was showing the same results.  Unless Sam happens to fall asleep on the way home from an activity, it takes anywhere from 15-45 minutes before he gives up on leaving his room and finally allows himself to pass out in his bed.  I am not surprised because this is the child who has always fought going to sleep, and it is hard when it is light out and he is eager to continue playing.  I know Sam will get nap times down soon as long as my husband and I stay consistent in putting him back to sleep when he comes out of his room.  I am proud of Sam's progress this far though.

Self Confidence

Self confidence is an important character trait, at least in my opinion.  It is wonderful to encourage your children especially when they are particularly proud of an accomplishment...whether you are thrilled with the end result or not.  Now I am not referring to the amazing artwork that adorns your hallway when a child gets carried away with some crayons...that is not the time to sing the child's highest praises.

James often will show off a new trick he can do, tell jokes to make us laugh, and impress with his ability to run fast, do somersaults and all sorts of other activities.  Although these tasks may not seem like a big deal, they are a big deal to James, so we try our best to praise him and cheer him on in these endeavors.

For awhile now James has been dressing himself.  He can put all of his clothes on and take them off...only occasionally needing help with a pesky button or because his arm gets stuck.  It used to be James would help choose his clothes from some selections I showed him and wear those items, but most of the time now, James runs into his room, closes the door and comes out dressed and so very proud of himself for doing it all on his own.  We hoot and holler and make a big deal out of these successes.  This is not the time to tell James "your clothes don't match" or "your shirt is on backwards."  Those details are insignificant in the overall accomplishment.  We want James to have self confidence...not to think badly about himself or discouraged.  He is still learning, and with time, he will get the hang of it all.  So...when I leave the house with a boy wearing plaid shorts and a striped shirt or a boy wearing his shorts and shirt backwards, I am not bothered by it.  James doesn't seem to mind at all, and he will proudly tell people he dressed himself (which sometimes they know without his announcement).  Much of time, though, James' clothes match, and his shirt is on the right way.  For me, this clothing mismatch is not worth a battle...especially when it might dampen James' self confidence.

Forced Transition

So...I mentioned how Sam crawled out of his crib twice on Saturday during nap.  Well...again on Sunday during nap, Sam attempted to climb out; however, we heard cries of "Owie! Owie!"  In the attempt to escape the confines of the crib, Sam had gotten one of his feet stuck, and the full weight of his body was being held by that foot as the rest of him dangled over the other side.  Thankfully Sam didn't seriously injure himself!  We pulled off the side of his crib right then and there making a toddler bed for him to take his nap in.  It took an hour and half of us putting Sam back into bed before he finally fell asleep.

Before bedtime, my husband installed the small wooden planks that came with the convertible crib across the open end making it more toddler bed like and allowing Sam to be able to rest against the side without falling out.  We were concerned that bedtime was going to be horrible, but Sam only had to put back to sleep one time before he passed out.

Yesterday I lucked out because we had a play date at a park with some friends, and Sam fell asleep on the drive home, so I was able to transfer him into his bed to finish his nap.  Last night we put Sam back to bed four or five times before he fell asleep.

Today was the first day I had to attempt nap time all on my own without the aid of a car trip to lull Sam off the sleep.  It took about twenty minutes of putting Sam back to bed before he gave up and allowed himself to fall asleep.  Towards the middle of the time, he would open the door, see me and then turn around and crawl back into his bed.  Then towards the end, he would crack his door open, see me and then close his door, say "night night" and I could hear his feet shuffle back towards his bed.  I waited awhile to look and see if he was actually sleeping.  He is asleep in bed, but he left his quilt over by his bedroom door.

Granted, this is not how we would have chosen to transition to a toddler bed...at the age of 18 months, but it could be going a lot worse.  I am glad it seems to be getting better, but I am sure worse days will crop up as well.

Proud of my Little Man

This weekend my husband took our 3.5 year old, James on an overnight backpacking trip.  They went with a coworker and his son.  James is such a trooper!  He hiked the whole 1.25 miles to the lake, and the next day, he hiked the 1.25 miles back without whining, asking to be picked up or being upset about it.  I am so proud of him!

They had a blast on their trip!  They were the only ones camping at this lake, and everything went well...tent set up, meal preparation, smores, playing in the water, and just having fun together.  James did have some trouble settling in to fall asleep, but part of that was brought on by the pitch black night, and James mentioned to my husband that there was a scary lady outside.  My husband took him over with a flashlight to show him no one was out there, and they looked at a tree that made a creepy shadow.  James still couldn't shake his fear, but eventually he fell asleep.  Poor little guy is getting to that impressionable age.  The crazy part is this was brought on by Curious George of all cartoons because there was an episode where George was scared of all the shadows in the dark, but once he was able to shine his flashlight on them and see they were normal objects, he wasn't scared anymore.  I know this because James told my husband that George saw monsters.

I am glad they were able to share this special moment together, but I also missed having them at home...especially when it was time to go to sleep.  Sam also missed them and kept asking for "Dada" and "James" both days.  My husband is a wonderful father, and I love he got to take James on this little trip.  James is an amazing boy and quite the excited outdoor enthusiast.  I sure do love my boys.

Crib Climber

Well...today marks the first time Sam has succeeded in climbing out of his crib.  I do not know if he has tried in the past or not, but today he actually did.  He should have been worn out...we ran to the bank, walked all over the farmer's market and played like crazy upon our return home.  The first time he climbed out of his crib, I put him back and told him it was nap time.  When he repeated that activity, I kept him out because I am afraid he will end up hurting himself.  I am thinking Sam will need a toddler bed much sooner than anticipated.  As we know, every child is different.  I am afraid Sam will not nap or sleep well at night once he transitions to a bigger bed, but we will see.

Court Trial Results

The court trial for David was yesterday.  Neither birth parent showed up, and the judge went with the advice of the county and by-passed the birth parents for services (meaning they cannot work a case plan in order to regain custody of David).  The court hearing to terminate parental rights is set for January 2013.  Since David will have been in our home six months on Christmas Eve, we will be able to set an adoption date as soon as the appeal period has passed.  All things considered we are not expecting an appeal with this case, but you never know.  It is possible our adoption will take place as early as March 2013.  It is crazy to think David's adoption will likely take place before he is even a year old.  Boy, were we relieved to hear the court's decision, and we look forward to making David a permanent, legal member of our family.

Update on Me

I am thrilled to say surgery is not on the immediate horizon for me regarding my abdominal pain.  Apparently after my appendectomy (removal of my appendix), adhesions (scar tissue) formed pockets in my pelvic region that collect fluid.  The pain seems to coincide with ovulation because that is when the body produces more fluid.  For now I am choosing to wait and see if/when the pain returns and how bad the pain is.  I may have to start using progesterone birth control to prevent my body from ovulating...shots every three months or an implant that lasts three years.  Personally I am not a fan of having a foreign object in my body for that length of time, so I will probably go for the shots if they become necessary.  I did talk to the doctor about that option because I used to get ocular migraines on birth control, so eventually I had to stop taking it altogether.  Supposedly that is not a concern with the progesterone only birth control.  Surgery would be a last resort if no other options allow me to be comfortable and to live life without severe pain.  I am in agreement with surgery being a last resort...especially at a 30-50% success rate...meaning these adhesions usually return...rarely does surgery actually eliminate the problem.

Part of me is hoping if the pain returns that it will be bearable and I won't have to try pumping my body with progesterone, but only time will tell.

Protective Older Brother

This morning we saw my husband off to work as we do most mornings.  James and Sam raced out of the garage and to the driveway to wave goodbye and chase the car as Daddy drove off to work.  I always go out with the boys and make sure they are out of the way, so my husband doesn't have to worry about accidentally hitting one of our little ones.  Today James was taking Sam by the arm and carefully moving him to the other side of the driveway telling him they had to be careful so they didn't get hit by the car.  James then proceeded to hold Sam back, so he couldn't slip away and run behind the car anyway.  It was so sweet to see James taking such a protective stance for his younger brother.

Although James and Sam have their share of conflicts, you can tell James really does care for Sam and wants to protect him.  That, in my opinion, is a wonderful quality to have in a brother.  Hopefully it lasts into the future.

Sibling Connections

Since James' adoption we have been trying to get contact information for his two older brothers (who were adopted...each by a separate family...who we knew had contact with each other).  It wasn't until Sam's adoption worker got the ball rolling that anything became of it though.  I am so grateful to her for that!

Just within the past couple days we have began an email communication with the two families.  Seeing the pictures of James' and Daniel's siblings is amazing!  There is such a resemblance between them.  Each of the families is spread out a little but definitely close enough to set up visits when we feel ready for that.  They already meet together and consider one another extended family.  All of their boys call each other brother.  They did say it was up to us how soon we wanted to meet in person and what we wanted our boys referred to by.

Anyway...this is all so very new, but I feel like it is a wonderful connection that will allow James and Daniel to know their older brothers and develop a relationship with them.  We will have to see how it all works out.

Camping Photos

James loved looking at the maps and pointing out where we were going and how to get there.  It was so cute to watch him!

James and Sam peering through the rails together on one of our hikes.

Beautiful view of some of the mountains

Another scenery view of the river and mountains

Our little explorers having fun in the river near our campground

Sam especially loved chasing the birds and squirrels around camp. This bird happened to snatch a piece of honey wheat pretzel Sam had dropped on the ground.

Having fun driving their dump trucks through the water

Grandma taking a walk with Sam

Daddy, Sam (he is in the backpack carrier), and James on the walk back from our hike

When I get some time to actually sit down and think, I will tell you more about our camping trip.  For now, though, these photos will have to do.  I couldn't share any of David because all his pictures show his face.

30 Years Ago (and one day)

Yesterday was my birthday, so thirty years ago and one day I was born, a healthy eight pound baby girl.  We were still camping on my birthday (I will post more about camping later), so we (my husband, our three boys, my mom and of course me) went out to eat at a fancy hotel at the national park we were staying for breakfast on my birthday.  It was a nice way to start my birthday, and they even brought out a decorated plate saying "Happy Birthday" on it with a cupcake which we split between us all.  The drive home wasn't the most fun because Sam and David had a hard time being cooped in the car for so long, and I cannot blame them in the least...not to mention James needed us to stop multiple times for a restroom break, and the younger boys got anxious whenever the car stopped.  One of our neighbors invited us over to roast marshmallows last night, so we joined them for a little while since it was nice to be invited, and we wanted to get to know them better, but because it was late (well...right at the boys bedtime), we couldn't last very long, but I imagine they appreciated us stopping by.  We took over our extra chocolate and graham crackers from camping to share.  It was nice to sleep in my own bed again.

Today I am making a birthday cake because I told James we would have one today.  It is a devil food cake (from scratch), and it will have a chocolate pudding (from scratch) filling with a from scratch chocolate frosting.  I plan on letting James and Sam both put some sprinkles on top.  I will try to post a picture of the completed cake later.

I know a lot of people dread their 30th birthdays, but to me, it was just another day...although special since family wished me a happy birthday and we had a fancy breakfast together.  I don't feel especially old or anything like that.  So far my birthdays haven't really affected me in that manner, so I am grateful for that.  I look at my life right now, and although it can be tough at times with our three little ones, I wouldn't change anything.  I am happy and content with where I am in life...married to a wonderful man and mother to the most adorable and loving boys.  I sure am blessed!

First Visit Attempt

Today was supposed to be a visit with birth dad.  Thankfully my husband had the day off work, so I left the older two boys at home with him and just took David with me to drive to the visit.  We arrived about fifteen minutes early, and my agency worker was already there.  She went inside to see if the birth dad was there, but he hadn't arrived yet.  She got a call from a friend of birth dad saying he was on his way.  When my worker asked more questions she was told he was currently in the shower.  My worker asked to have the birth dad call her when he was done.  He called, and it was decided there was no way he could make it to the visit in a reasonable amount of time, so I was free to head home.  We will try again next week.