Double Whammy

Poor David has been quite miserable the past couple days, so today I took him to the doctor's office.  Come to find out the poor baby not only has RSV (infection of the lungs and breathing passages) but a double ear infection too!  That's just wrong!  However, now that we have antibiotics for his ears and breathing treatments for his coughing and wheezy breathing, David should be on the road to recovery quickly.

Sibling Visits

James and David

Towards the beginning of January we had sibling visit with the older adopted brothers of James and David.  This was our second get together with all three families (technically we saw one of the families when we went to Disneyland).  We invited everyone to come to our house since the weather is questionable at this time of year.  Everyone stayed for about five hours before they finally departed and went their own ways.  It was great to see the boys all interact together.  James seemed to gravitate to his oldest brother, Andy.  This may be because James had just seen Andy in Disneyland, or it could be because Andy was the first to arrive, and James and Andy were able to play for about an our before Ted showed up, or it could just because James is more drawn towards Andy...who knows.  James did play with Ted as well, but he definitely seemed to stick closer to Andy.

The awkward moments of the visit included not being informed that we would be exchanging gifts.  It was after Christmas, and honestly, we just didn't think about it.  Well...we felt absolutely awful because the other families came bearing gifts galore.  I am not exaggerating when I say it was like Christmas morning in our house all over again (that is how many gifts were given).  We did speak with the other families, and it has been decided in the future, it will discussed in advance, so all families are aware of the plans regarding gifts.  This is just one of the little ways we are reminded that we are new to the group, and they already have quite the established relationship developed.  Another way it is pointed out that we are new and still in "probationary mode" is the fact that after each get together the other two families always immediately get together to "debrief" about the visit.

One of the families seems really open to getting together whenever we can make it happen.  This is Andy's family, the one we met up with at Disneyland.  However, Ted's family, or should I say his mom, seem to think if my family is getting together with them, the other family must be present as well.  This was shown to me when I discussed going to the beach together sometime, and the dad was enthusiastic about it, yet his wife started suggesting beaches much farther away that would allow all families to participate.  It will be interesting to see how all of our relationships develop.  We definitely want a good relationship for the sake of our boys and their siblings, but right now, in the beginning stages, it is quite difficult.

Sam

We had an unexpected couple of visits with Sam's older brother, Tom, this month as well.  This is the same brother we had court ordered visits with when Sam was a foster child.  We received a call from Tom's mom (she finally adopted him in November...thank goodness!) stating that she would be moving out of state in eight days and would like to get the boys together for pictures before they left.  We, of course, were more than willing to make that work; my husband even took a day off work, so he could be present.  The first visit we had one day notice (very typical of this lady).  We met at park and played for a little over an hour.  It was interesting to say the least.  A birth aunt was there although we were not informed in advance that she would...supposedly she is the most normal of their family.  When it was time to leave, the mom wanted to get together one more time, so we set up a decision to get together Sunday late afternoon.  That was cancelled very last minute and rescheduled to the following day in the evening.  We met at Burger King (not our pick), and the kids played in the play area...although they didn't really play that much together.

We are glad we got together with Tom before he moved away.  I was able to get some cute pictures of the brothers together.  We are sad that he moved out of state.  We always thought he could be a biological connection for Sam as he got older because it seemed like their plan was to stay here indefinitely.  It is sad to see that forced away from Sam.  It isn't Sam's fault his parents couldn't take care of him.  It isn't Sam's fault he was separated from his siblings (not that he has ever really known them).  This isn't how a family is supposed to be...you are supposed to be raised by your parents and live with your siblings.  Don't get me wrong, we choose to adopt our children, and I love our family, but I feel so bad that we cannot give them what they may need as they get older.  At least James has David, a biological connection in our home, and he also has the connection with his older adopted brothers which I think will always be available to him.  Right now Sam has no connections.  We are still hoping if his birth parents have another child, we will be able to take that child in, so Sam, too, can have a biological connection in our home.

Did I mention James thinks it is so cool that Sam has a "faraway brother" too?  This is the coinage we have come up with to help James process why his brothers do not live with him.

My Thoughts

It is hard being an adoptive parent, not knowing what your kids will need as they get older as far as biological connections and information related to their birth families. I know even giving birth to a child, you don't know how they will handle situations as they get older, and you try your best to set them up for success, but you cannot control the choices they make.  In my mind, that feel so magnified as an adoptive parent because there are so many factors at play, and we don't have the complete story.  We don't know the genetics or health history.  You are always left wondering is this just because the child is __ years old or is a reflection of the drug use they were exposed to in the womb.  Will they choose to follow the path of their birth family as they get older (not so much as in seeking out their birth families...we will help coordinate that when they are adults [18] and can handle everything that encompasses that decision)...but the choice to use drugs, give away their bodies, and continue the cycle of CPS in their lives.  We certainly hope through our prayers and modeling, we can help them choose a good life for themselves.  However, I am no fool.  I know even in birth families, children make their own decisions.  After all my two brothers both dealt with a lot of issues in their teen years and beyond.  I only want what is best for my boys, and I want to be able to give them what they need as they get older, but I don't know if I will be able to...either because of my limited knowledge or the severed relationships that won't be put back together.  It is all so mind boggling.

Long Time

It has been a long while since I have even logged onto this site.  I guess I needed a break from this all.  However, I have missed having a journal type space to write down thoughts.  I even considered buying myself an actual journal to dialogue in, but it is so much quicker and easier to type than it is to write.  Given that my three little ones keep me so busy, I don't always have the greatest amount of free time for that sort of thing.  : )

Let me try to update on the boys and our family in a general manner to kind of catch us all up to speed...

**Birth dad never showed for either of the visits he scheduled to see David.  I showed up with the baby as well as my caseworker, but the birth dad never came...he didn't even bother to call the second time.  My worker called him once he was ten minutes late.

**We filed for DeFacto parent status for David and were granted it towards the end of December.  This allows us access to what takes place at court and also gives us a preferential treatment as far as adoption and everything else goes.

**The .26 hearing (termination of parental rights hearing) for David took place this month.  Parental rights were terminated.  Now we have to wait out the appeal period.  About mid-March, we should be able to sign intent to adopt paperwork and get an adoption date scheduled with the court.

**We have been to the snow twice this year as a family (well...technically once last year and once this year).  We went up Christmas Eve morning for a snowshoe trip and then on New Year's Day just to play in the snow.

**We have been on one hike as a family this year so far.  One lesson I learned is David is going to need to start being carried in a backpack carrier for hikes.  He is getting too heavy to lug around in the Bjorn.

**We have found a system that seems to work well for getting Sam to fall asleep (both at nap and bedtime).  Basically we allow him to take some books to bed with him and leave the light on, so he can read them to himself.  He usually falls asleep with a book open across his lap.  It is pretty adorable.

**David was starting to sleep through the night before he got his most recent cold.  He is not fully recovered yet, but I am getting up at least once a night with him at the moment.  Hopefully once he is back to normal, he will return to sleeping through the night.  David does, however, fall asleep on his own without having to be rocked all the way to sleep.

**James has recently started to learn how to kick and use his arms while swimming.  He really enjoys his swim lessons, and often I have to drag him out of the pool when his class time is over.

**In January we had visits with both James' and David's older adopted siblings as well as a couple visits with Sam's older adopted brother (the one we used  to have court ordered visits with).  I will try to do a separate post on those visits at a later time. 

**The adoption support group we started at our church seems to finally be gathering a core group of members who come regularly.  This may also be a separate post later.

There is plenty more that has happened, but I will leave it at this for now and will try to post more regularly to update on life and whatever things come up in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  I hope you have a blessed day filled with fun times and great memories!

I am busy preparing some rolls for our Thanksgiving feast (well...actually for our Thanksgiving dinner, a dinner at our church for families in the area and for our Advent dinner coming up on Sunday).  The ones for Sunday will visit the freezer once they cool.  I don't know if I have mentioned these garlic knots before or not, but if not, you are seriously missing out on some completely wonderful dinner rolls.  Generally I follow the recipe and make eight huge rolls, but for today's sake (needing so many rolls), I used the dough to make 16 rolls each batch.  My second batch is about the come out of the oven, and I have one more to go.  Even dividing the dough up into 16, the rolls are quite large.  I may just do that in the future instead of 8 giant rolls.  Oh, and those of you scared of using yeast, this is super friendly recipe.  I am sure you will be successful if you give it a whirl.

This afternoon we will head to my family's house to celebrate Thanksgiving together.  This is a holiday we rotate families each year.  It makes it far less stressful this way.  I am bringing pumpkin cheesecake (made it for the first time), garlic knots, and some smoked salmon our neighbor brought us bake from his trip to Alaska (a thank you for watching his house for him).  It should be a fun afternoon together.

I am thankful...

I am married to a wonderful man who adores me and loves our children.
We have been blessed with three delightful boys who fill my heart with joy.
We have family that lives nearby.
I have the ability to stay home and raise my children.
We were able to refinance our home because not only will it save us money each month, but it will allow us the option to purchase a larger house for our growing family.
We got in contact with James' and David's older siblings and started a relationship with their families.
And much, much more!

Possible Visits AGAIN

I received a call from my agency worker today.  Apparently David's county worker called to inform us that David's birth dad has been calling her repeatedly about having visits with David.  Why the county worker waited until now to pass on the information I don't know.  Anyway...we are being told to set up visits twice a month for one hour of supervised visitation with the baby.

Last time birth dad requested visits, we set it up quickly and everyone showed up except birth dad.  Then we never heard from him again and he didn't attend the last court hearing either. That visit was supposed to take place in early September.

So far to date birth dad has not seen David once except perhaps if he was present at the hospital when David was born.  David is now five months old and has just hit the separation anxiety really well.  In fact recently we had two family members baby-sit the boys for us (each at a different time), and David cried almost the whole time we were gone.  Then this weekend when I put David in the nursery, I was paged within the first twenty minutes of service (if not sooner) because David kept crying and would not calm down.  He is definitely expressing the fact that he is feeling attached and bonded, and as an adoptive mother, I am grateful for that...even if it is not always convenient and even if David is hitting the separation anxiety far earlier than James did (James was closer to nine months).

I will be interested to see 1) if birth dad will show up to the visits he is requesting 2) if David will cry the entire or almost the entire time and 3) how well birth dad handles a crying baby and whether he wants to schedule any more visits afterward.

The court date to terminate parental rights is set for January, so it is important we get the visits rolling if the birth dad is requesting them, so they cannot be used as a basis for appeal...not given your right to visit your child. 

I do have those pictures I printed for birth dad back for his September visit.  Now I just need to decide if I will provide additional ones or just leave it at that for now.  Also I should probably pick up a disposable camera in case birth dad does show up.  It would be nice to have something to offer both David and James as they get older if they are curious about what their birth dad looks like.

I was quite frustrated when I first got the voicemail from my agency worker, but now that I have talked with her and realize the visits will only be twice a week, I am handling it a lot better.  I did give my worker fair warning that David will most likely cry the entire time.

Progress Report

It has been a few days since I have last logged on.  I am going to put together a quick progress report of the newest developments in our home.  I still have Disneyland to eventually write about as well as some adoption related thoughts, but for now I will just give a general update on our little boys.

James

James has really stepped up as a big brother lately...giving up a toy he is playing with because Sam wants to use it, comforting both brothers when they are upset, giving hugs away freely, etc.  Last night James even read a couple board books to Sam based off how James remembers the stories...it was such a sweet, loving moment to witness.

Swim lessons are going well.  James has gained a lot of confidence in the pool and has started pushing off all on his own and gliding out to his teacher with his head under water.  He really enjoys his time at swim lessons.

Sam

Sam is readjusting to his bedtime routine after our trip to Disneyland.  He is finally starting to settle back in where he stays in his room after being put to bed the first time. 

Thankfully Sam's eye that was injured was only a minor scratch...not in a location that could affect vision.  We have ointment to apply three times a day to prevent infection.

Sam continues to develop his vocabulary and can communicate quite well.  He also understand a lot more than some people give him credit for.  He is an amazing little guy.

David

David has started babbling a lot lately making the "da", "ba" and "ga" type sounds.  It is really adorable to hear.

I have restarted rice cereal with David now that he is healthy again.  He is eating a little bit more of it than before, but he still does push out some of the food.

Another assessment was done, and the verdict is still to refer David out to the county for a more thorough assessment to make sure intervention is not necessary.  David's problem solving area went from poor to good; however, his fine motor skills went from let's watch to poor.  Granted since David is older now, his assessment was for an older age range going up to six months, and he is just five months old today (the day of the assessment), so it may not be a concern at all.  We are going to have the county do their assessment.  I was told they may decide there is no need for services, or it is possible they will want to do some intervention activities to try to increase his development.  Honestly I am not concerned about his development thus far...he seems like any other baby his age, but perhaps there is a reason to be.  We will see what happens.

No Break for our Household

So...everyone is finally recovered or mostly recovered from the flu...Daniel still has the runs, but they are not that bad anymore.  Yesterday the boys played a lot during the day because they have been feeling so much better.  They were having a pillow fight, and one of the pillows accidentally caused James to fall into the wall giving him a bloody nose.  The pillow fighting was brought to a close, and it took awhile the regroup again.

Later on in the evening, James kicked his shoe off his foot, and it hit Sam right in the face.  However, it did not just hit Sam's face and make him cry...it actually hit his eye just right causing his eyeball to bleed slightly.  I put a call into the doctor's office this morning, and I am waiting to hear back on whether I need to bring Sam in to have his eye looked at.  It is possible his eye got scratched, and since Sam is not old enough to tell us if he has blurry vision, the doctor may want him to come in.  Since Sam is not having any apparent issues with his eye (excessive watering, rubbing it a lot, excessive blinking), the nurse is going to check to see if the doctor just wants us to keep a watch on Sam's eye or if he wants us to bring Sam into the office.  The doctor is all booked up with appointments for the day, so he would have to overbook himself in order to see Sam.  It has been a few hours, and I still haven't heard anything back.

This morning I woke up with a head cold, and I am having some minor abdominal pain.  We just can't catch a break in this household.  Hopefully everything will be resolved before next week since Thanksgiving and Christmas tree hunting (day after Thanksgiving) are all fun events taking place next week.

Thank You

Since today is Veteran's Day, I want to send out a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has fought for our country, is currently fighting for our country, or who lost their life fighting for our freedom.  Words cannot express the gratitude you deserve.  May God bless you and all your loved ones!

Increasing Sick Ones

Yesterday my husband came home from work about a half hour earlier than normal. At first I thought it was because it was Friday, and he was eager to get home.  Unfortunately, I was wrong.  He wasn't feeling well and left a meeting at work early in order to come home. By all outward appearances, my husband has the flu.  He was quite miserable last night.

At one point, my husband decided to get up and watch t.v.  It was actually while I was up feeding David a bottle.  I then put David back in his crib and was going to try and go back to sleep when I heard "Mommy!" called out from our oldest down the hall.  I went in figuring I would need to fix his blankets or he needed to use the restroom, but unfortunately, I walked into a poor boy who had thrown up in his bed.  I took him, washed him off, changed his pajamas and then sent him to the couch to watch t.v. with Daddy while I took care of his bedding and his favorite stuffed teddy bear (all of which were immediately thrown into the washing machine).  James was a little upset about his bear, but I told him I would return it once it was clean.  We supplemented another stuffed animal and eventually got him settled back in bed.  One of the following times I got up with David, I made sure to return a nicely cleaned teddy bear to James' bed.

So far this morning my husband and David appear to be doing better.  My husband felt pretty good, but even though we just hung out in the living room together, he was quickly worn out.  David is drinking more of his bottles and seems a bit happier, but he does still have the runs that require changes of clothes.  James hasn't been hungry, and he has just wanted to snuggle and watch t.v., but at least he is drinking fluids.  Sam seems a little off this morning...much more clingy than usual, so I am waiting for him to end up with the runs or throwing up.  As for me, I am holding up okay.  I felt a little sick last night, but that could just from lack of sleep.  My throat is a little sore, but nothing overwhelming.

Hopefully our household can kick this quickly!  I was looking forward to the Veteran's Day parade on Monday.  I fear Disneyland contributed to everyone's illness.  I haven't even been able to post about the trip yet, but hopefully I will get a chance in the next couple days.

Cold Weather & Broken Heater

Our household heater stopped working correctly.  Basically it is still hot at the furnace, but it blows in tepid air through the vents.  This isn't too big of a deal considering we are thinking the heat exchange is broken, and that is still covered under warranty, so we wouldn't have to pay for parts, just for time.  However, since we are trying to get this refinance to go through, we need to hold off a little bit to get the heater worked on. 

Of course the weather has gotten much cooler to the point where it feels quite cold in the boys' rooms at night.  Granted we have exchanged James' and Sam's blankets for warmer, thicker ones, and we are using a sleep sack with David...not to mention warmer pajamas, but we are concerned it may still be a little too chilly for the young ones.  Because of this my husband ran out during his lunch break at work today to pick up room heaters for each of the boys' rooms.  Hopefully that will help us keep them warm while they sleep until the heater can be fixed.

In the meantime, I am trying to make sure to heat up the house by using the oven to bake.  Yesterday I made hamburger buns for our dinner, but because David wasn't feeling well, I wasn't able to use my usual recipe and had to use a 40 minute recipe (which I ended up not caring for).  I am getting ready now to embark on making some pumpkin muffins, homemade graham crackers and possibly even homemade granola bars...depending on how much time I get while the boys are sleeping and how long each recipe ends up taking.  I am thinking I will be lucky to get the muffins completed and will have to try the other recipes another time, but we will see.

David & "The Runs"

Poor baby David has a case of the runs.  He started off the morning by throwing up the contents of his bottle all over himself and me...a gross white mucus-filled mess.  He has slept most of the day away, waking for short periods...the first time to consume 1 oz. of formula, the next to consume 3 oz.  However, the worst part is the most foul smelling liquid poop I have had the pleasure to encounter (and keep in mind this is baby #3 in our home, so it is pretty brutal).  The first two diapers smelled horrible, but there was not much in the way of contents.  Immediately after I changed the second of those diapers, David smelled again.  I saw that some had leaked onto the carpet, so I moved him onto a blanket, wiped up the mess on the floor and then prepared to change the diaper...only to discover a sea of liquid poop spilling over the sides.  My goodness...it was a disaster!  Now David just drank another 3 oz. for me, but he smells horrid once again, so I believe I am about to re-encounter "the runs."  Poor baby...I may end up needing to take him into the doctor's office...we will see how David is faring come tomorrow.

No Guarantees

I received an email today about a family in our church that is suffering a horrible, tragic loss.  The mom and two daughters were in a car accident, and the mom did not survive the crash.  The oldest daughter has her arm in a cast and has a walking cast on her leg.  The other daughter is still in the hospital and having difficulty keeping food down.  I cannot help but wonder how the daughter will process this accident seeing as how they were able to walk away, but they lost their mother.

I am familiar with this family through our special needs ministry at church that I volunteer with.  The mom and dad loved each other very much...it was quite evident in the way they interacted with one another, and they had their hands full caring for their children.  This leaves the dad caring for their five children on his own, the two daughters and then three younger boys.  Two of those boys are autistic...one being higher functioning and one being lower functioning...neither one being verbal communicators though. They are going to struggle tremendously with this devastating loss.  Don't get me wrong...every family member will struggle tremendously, but for these two, they may not be able to express themselves well.  The youngest child is five and considered "typical".  He was still staying home with his mom during the day because he had refused to potty train yet.  The oldest daughter was also being home-schooled. 

Please cover this family in prayers.  I know they could use all the prayers you can muster on their behalf. 

I am so heartbroken for this family.  It reminds me there are no guarantees in life.  We need to strive to let those around us know we love them by telling them verbally and showing them through our actions.  Please take time to give your children or loved ones extra hugs and kisses today.  Tell them you love them.  Don't wait because life does not guarantee us a tomorrow.

Some Random Updates

We have been a little busy lately...just with our three little ones and then getting ready for our trip to see Mickey Mouse.  So this is just a quick update to let you know I am still around and in a little while I hope to be a bit more consistent in my efforts of posting on this blog.

**Sam has finally gotten down bedtime.  With this I mean the general rule is Sam stays put in his bed (or technically his bedroom) after the first time being put to bed instead of coming out multiple times.  This is great!  However, our trip will probably mess this all up for us, and we will start again at square one upon our return home.

**David was introduced to rice cereal recently.  We waited for a day my husband could be home because he wanted to witness the first feeding and also use the video camera to record the event.  David just cried and cried with his first couple bites of rice cereal.  It was the first time I have witnessed that...a baby crying at their rice cereal tasting.  He doesn't cry anymore, but he only eats a small portion...most of it is pushed back out again.  We have backed off rice cereal because David has a cold...AGAIN.

**James is loving his swim lessons!

Slightly Annoyed

I feel a little annoyed.  I don't know that I should necessarily be, but something this morning just rubbed me the wrong way.  Let me preface this by saying James dressed himself this morning...his clothes did not necessarily match, and he had his shirt on backwards; however, he was really proud of himself when he came into the living room to show me.  As I have mentioned in a previous post, I try to encourage James when he is proud of his accomplishments.  If I am in his room helping him get ready for the day, often I will give James choices of different clothes, so he can still pick out his clothing, match and feel successful in dressing himself.  On the times, like this morning, when James gets dressed all on his own and is so proud, I generally let him where whatever he has put on...unless there is a good reason he needs to change.

Well...we met up with some of our friends this morning at a children's gym for the open play time.  It is a really neat children's gym with two available rooms to have fun and play in.  Since I have three little ones (only two mobile ones), I am usually divided in my attention to each...focusing on the one most likely to get into trouble or the one most likely to escape.  It just so happened I was in the front room monitoring Sam while James continued playing with some friends in the back room.  Even though I know the other moms will look out for James, I will occasionally peek in the room to make sure James is doing well.  One of the times I glanced over, I saw one of the other moms assisting James in putting his shirt frontward instead of backward.  I saw her have him tuck his arms in, turn his shirt around and then put his arms back into the shirt. 

Now granted I was not standing right there and have no idea what words were said or what brought on the shirt reversal, but I have a good feeling it wasn't because James asked.  He was playing and having a blast...the last thing on his mind was whether he could see the picture on the front of his shirt.  In my mind, the other mom just couldn't stand the fact that James' shirt was on backwards and couldn't contain herself...she had to fix it.  This bothered me for a few reasons: 1) James probably felt self conscious having someone else fix his shirt. 2) Honestly, there was nothing wrong with how James was wearing his shirt and it wasn't harmful to him or anyone else. 3) I would never alter a child's clothing who is not my child unless they specifically asked me to. 

Perhaps I am taking the situation too seriously, but I didn't think the reaction from the other mom was warranted.  Of course I am not going to say anything or make a big deal about it, so instead I am choosing to vent here.

My Little Superheroes

Halloween is coming up, and we have already jumped into the holiday with a harvest party this past weekend.  Then we have a Halloween party with our moms group on Friday.  On top of all the parties, our family will need to make a trip to a pumpkin patch to get some pumpkins to carve with the boys.  As far as Halloween goes, our plan is to make homemade pizza, probably a salad or some other sides, a dessert and then trick-or-treat around the neighborhood for however long the boys can last.  We invited family members to join us for the evening.

Anyway...this year we have three adorable little superheroes for Halloween.  Our aunt gave us some costumes from her neighbor, and although they were a little big, I made some modifications, so the older boys could each wear one.  That was nice because we only had to purchase one costume at regular retail price.  James is Spiderman, Sam is the Hulk, and David is Superman.  They are the most handsome superheroes ever!  But, of course, I am quite biased. 

Amazingly all the boys handled being dressed in their costumes the whole party long this weekend.  Granted they didn't wear the masks, but we really didn't expect them to.

Night Time Wakings

In our home there are a few different reasons we are woken during the night.  The most common waking is due to David needing a bottle. I was told at David's four month appointment that he really should be sleeping through the night without needing a bottle, but David hasn't gotten that message.  I am up with David at least once but sometimes twice throughout the night.  Granted, there have been two times David did sleep the whole night through.  I am hoping once we start rice cereal (which we were given permission for), David will last longer between feedings, but we will see.

A second reason we are woken is for James to go potty.  I am glad he knows he has to use the restroom, and generally he does that all on his own, but he does like someone to tuck him back in, so there are not any "holes" in the blankets.  James wants his blanket to cover the entire sheet...if any sheet can be seen, it is a "hole" James wants fixed.  It may seem ridiculous but it can seriously stress out the little guy.

Then this weekend we discovered a new reason we are woken from restful sleep.  My husband and I went on a date Friday night...just dinner, getting my rings cleaned and dessert.  The boys were all in bed sleeping when we returned home.  Well...Sam happened to wake up, and he had to make sure we were back home, so he came out of his room and hunted us down.  It then took us about a half hour to get Sam to stay in his bed and go back to sleep.  I hope this isn't a continuing trend on date nights in which Sam is put to bed before our return...although it is kind of sweet all at the same time.

Sleeping Styles

Both my husband and James are the type of sleepers that pretty much stayed in the exact same position all night long, and they both also fall asleep fairly quickly.  The exception to falling asleep quickly are the days James takes a nap.  Right now he is in an in between stage where some days he desperately needs a nap and other days he does just fine without one.  However, the days James takes a nap, he then stays up at least a couple hours later than he normally would.  I mean...we still do the bedtime routine, and he is put in bed, but he will come out several times to use the restroom or just be talking all silly in his room.

Sam and I, on the other hand, take awhile to fall asleep and we toss and turn a good amount of the night.  I cannot stay in the same position all night, and I know Sam moves a lot because each time I enter his room to get David or put David back in bed, Sam has shifted around.  Also today Sam woke up from his nap and was snuggling me and fell back asleep, and he moved around like crazy trying to settle in.

Thankfully so far none of us snore!  : )

David's 4 Month Appt.

Today David had his four month check up.  Everything was pretty normal as far as pediatric well child visits go.  However, David did receive a breathing treatment to see if it cleared up his raspy breathing.  It made a significant improvement externally, but internally the improvement was only slight...which could just be from the steam clearing away mucus.  We are going to just watch and see...perhaps the raspy breathing will go away on its own, perhaps it will get worse or perhaps it will stay the same.  David also got two shots and one liquid vaccine. 

We did discuss the fact David should now be sleeping through the night without waking for a bottle feeding.  I was given some information to help progress towards that direction.

Height: 27 in. (99th percentile)
Weight: 17 lbs. 6 oz. (86th percentile)
Head Circumference: 43 cm. (87th percentile)

Our little boy is growing like a weed!

A Family Renunion of Sorts

This Saturday we were fortunate to meet and spend several hours with the two families that have James' and David's adopted brothers.  The other two families have been in relationship for a few years now, so they know each other quite well.  We were not only new to the group, but we are also the family with the most and youngest of all the children...as well as the youngest set of parents which the oldest set felt the need to point out.

The night before our meeting, we sat with James after Sam was in bed and talked to him about his brothers and how we would be seeing them at a park the next day.  We used the term "faraway brothers" to help with James' understanding.  He liked looking at their pictures of his brothers, and he wanted to see where they lived, so my husband pulled up a map and showed him.  We left plenty of time to ask questions, and mostly James wanted to know why his brothers lived faraway.  He said it wasn't nice that they lived far away.  James is excited that one of his brothers has a farm though.  Some day in the future, we will have to try to visit them at their home because James would really enjoy that.

At the beginning on Saturday, it was a bit awkward all the way around.  Here we were trying to converse with the families that have our sons' brothers and at the same time trying to pull James and Sam out of the shy shell they had hidden in.  I would say for the first half hour or so, James just did his own thing and didn't care to interact with any of the new people. 

Thankfully we had thought to bring along the boys' two Tonka dump trucks and one cement mixer because this is what bonded James and his older brothers for most of the day.  It was amazing to see them all interacting together.  James didn't want to leave when we finally said goodbye, but it was getting late, and nap time had passed a long time ago.

James has already been asking when he will see his brothers again.  He recounts part of their day together, and it is very sweet.

I am so happy we have been able to establish a relationship with these other families.  I know it will be beneficial to James and David as they get older.  We have essentially increased our extended family in a way only adoption can do.  Adoption is beautiful in so many ways, and this is just one of them.

Pregnant Belly

One of my friends is pregnant with her second child.  We saw her and her daughter today, and after the children had played for awhile, I went to change David's diaper while my friend watched over my other two (she had offered, so I took her up on it).  When I came back, I discovered James had asked her "What is in there?" pointing at her pregnant belly.  I am happy with how he phrased his question because it could have been quite awkward if he had asked the same thing differently.  She explained to him that a baby was in there...Anna's baby brother.  My friend even let James touch her belly.

I expected more questions to come up regarding babies in bellies, but for the most part James let it rest.  In the car he asked again about her belly, so I told him that a baby was in there...Anna's baby brother...babies grow in bellies.  Then James asked "they take the baby out of the belly?"  I told him, yes, when the baby is ready, they would take him out of the belly.  I didn't have to explain anything regarding James growing in a belly (or any of my kiddos for that matter) although I was prepared to answer those questions once James took notice and was asking about my friend's pregnant belly.