Our Week in Pictures

Our week has been pretty ordinary for the most part minus the fire truck (more on that in a minute).  I can't get as much done right now since Daniel rarely sits still.  I did manage to trim his hair a little.  I never said I was a hairdresser.  Evan says that it doesn't look too bad, but he does look a little like Moe from "The Three Stooges".  I didn't take any "after" pictures, but you will notice later in this post that his bangs are a little shorter.

Keep the scissors away from  me!

Nothing like a good book and a haircut

I used to be able to keep my laptop out, so I could use it when I had a free moment.  Well, I have found Daniel typing and taking my mouse several times a day.  So, the laptop needs to be put in a new location.

No matter where I hide the mouse, he finds it!

Earlier in the week, Nicholas was working on school work while Daniel was playing.  I had to walk back and forth between them.  At one point, Nicholas said to me, "Excuse me, Mommy, but I think you have a bib stuck to your bootie."

Then I was told to put a picture on my blog,.

We had an exciting Tuesday night when we heard a beeping noise coming through the wall we share with our neighbor.  She works late and wasn't home.  It was her smoke alarm.  We figured it was a battery issue, but didn't want to take any chances.  We called the non-emergency number to try and figure out what to do, but this is what they sent - sirens, lights, and all!

The next day our neighbor brought us some cupcakes
and her cell phone number!

Now that Daniel can stand, naps have become more interesting.  He likes to stand and scream!  I let him cry it out for his third nap earlier this week, but he refused to take one!  So, he came downstairs.  After about an hour, he fell asleep next to his brother.

The new standing skill has been interesting.  Daniel is really good at getting to his feet.  However, he's also really good at falling.  Today, he tried to carefully sit back down, but ended up in a very awkward-looking split.  No amount of falls will stop him from standing though.

I can stand with one hand . . .

. . . or two!

I hope you enjoyed the small glimpse into our week!

Watch Me Grow: 8 Months Old

What a month it has been!  As you know, Daniel’s been climbing and standing.  He’s pretty proud of himself.  Daniel recently added the baby gate and the rocking chair from his monthly picture to his repertoire of thing she likes to pull himself on.  He’s also been brave enough to try standing one-handed sometimes too.

All this hard work takes a lot of energy and we have seen an increase in his nap time.  At least one of his naps a day seems to be over an hour.  This is a huge thing for him.  He takes about 3 naps a day now.  The last one is usually the shortest, so he’ll probably drop that one sooner than later.

This month Daniel also got the hint of his first tooth.  We saw a bulge in his gums a couple of weeks ago.  Then, there was a little white spot.  Finally, my mom checked on Friday (the 11^th) and there was a little bit of it poking through.  It’s a sharp little bugger!  He likes to gnaw on people’s arms and legs, so I got to feel it firsthand.  The one next to it should be poking through soon as well. 

When you're teething you will gnaw on anything.

We think Daniel also had a bit of a growth spurt recently.  We don’t think he’s gained too much weight from all the moving he does all day, but lengthwise there has definitely been some growth.

Daniel loves to talk just like his big brother.  Lately he has been saying, “Ay.”   I think it is because my sister Amy has been teaching him to say her name.  Also, he still likes to screech back and forth with anyone who will play with him.

Taking his picture on the rocking chair has been pretty interesting these last few months. I wondered how he would do today. I was surprised by how still he sat initially. Then, after a few too many pictures he decided to rock in the chair. But, I was able to get some good ones.

Starting to rock in the chair

On to the next month . . .

And, we're done!

Let’s Not Forget about the Former Star of Our Blog

Poor Nicholas doesn't have quite as many milestones as Daniel, so he hasn't made the blog as much.  He and I got to go to his art class this week without Daniel.  My mom offered to watch him yesterday, so I could talk to some of the moms without any interruptions.  Then, Nicholas and I were able to hang out after his class so he could play with some of his friends.  He’s been doing some pretty nice artwork in this class and will have a nice portfolio by the end of the year.

Nicholas also started up violin lessons this past Saturday after a long Christmas break.  It was probably one of the best lessons he’s had in a long time.  If he keeps violin up it will be a great foundation for all the other instruments he tells me he wants to play.  He even talks about teaching music lessons when he’s a teenager, just like his teacher (a high school student) teaches him. 

One area I’m trying to work on with Nicholas is perseverance.  When things are difficult, he often wants to give up.  I’m trying to show him what can happen with hard work.  Tuesday he put together a 150-piece puzzle he got for Christmas.  At first, he whined and wanted to quit, but by the time he put that last piece in, he had the biggest smile on his face. 

Last piece!

Completed in one day!

Overall, Nicholas is such a good kid.  He’s not perfect, but he’s got a good heart.  He also has a pretty good mind.  But, be careful what you say to him because you never know when he’ll repeat it.  

For example, Evan likes to put on sports radio when he and Nicholas are together in the car. Nicholas has heard me suggest to Evan that he be careful because sometimes the people on the station swear. Imagine our surprise when we see a comment on facebook about a funny quote a kid said at church on Wednesday night. The quote was: "Sometimes my dad changes the radio channel to something that doesn't please God" Instantly, I thought that was something Nicholas would say, so I ran up to his room hoping he had not fallen asleep. I asked him a couple of questions and pretty much confirmed that yes, he threw Evan under the bus. I haven’t had a good laugh like that in a long time. Nicholas has a reputation of saying some pretty interesting things at church. I guess we’ll have to teach him about discretion.

We're so proud of Nicholas and the person he is becoming.  He's handled a lot of transitions in his life.  We can't wait to see how God uses him.

Stand

Daniel has continued to keep us on our toes.  For the last couple of weeks he has been climbing on things.  Recently he began to pull himself up on the first step leading upstairs.  Also, he caught me off guard one day when he pulled himself to the standing position by holding onto our recliner.  We can’t keep this boy down.  He’s always on the move.

So, here's some of the places you may find Daniel these days:

On the stairs

By the recliner

On his brother

Playing with the bumbo seat

Back to the recliner

Finally, to his chair

As you can see, Daniel doesn't like to sit still these days.  I'm sure he'll be walking sooner than later.  In the meantime, he's doing a lot of standing around.

Open

A lot of people are intrigued by the fact that Daniel’s adoption is open.  It is open in the sense that we know identifying information about the birth parents and they know the same about us.  Also, we've met and spent time with them prior to Daniel’s birth, as well as at the hospital.

In fact, for the last 7+ months I have been sending pictures to Daniel’s birth mother’s mother.  Our first visit after Daniel was born happened over four months ago with J and her parents at a local mall.  Our social worker also joined us for that visit, but there was no awkwardness.

J and her parents were able to hold Daniel and ask us questions about how he was doing.  We were interested to hear about their lives as well.  I hate when people make it look like J is the bad guy.  In our book, she is one of the bravest and most selfless people we know.  She gave us a precious gift because she knew that she was not ready to be a mother.  She found herself in a situation where many people in today’s world could find themselves.  Her parents also were brave and supported their daughter.

After having a good visit back in August, we didn't know if/when we would see J again.  I received an e-mail in October or November asking if they could have another visit.  Evan and I talked about it and we thought it was good for J to see him then.  The last few months he has been at a cute stage and will smile at almost anyone. 

So, we found a good location and set up a time around Thanksgiving.  Again, everything went smooth.  They took turns holding him the entire hour and a half we were there.  Nicholas also joined us and did pretty well sitting for that long (it helped that we fed him lunch).  J and her parents were really good about including Nicholas in the conversation too.

As we were leaving they expressed an interest in getting together around Christmas.  They wanted to give a gift to both Daniel and Nicholas.  We understood their feelings and we both went home to work on finding a date that we could agree upon.  That happened right before New Year’s.  It was very comfortable again.  They blessed Nicholas with a nice police Matchb*x set and Daniel with a nice Step 2* toy. 

I made J a photo book online of Daniel’s first 6 months.  I made sure he was the only one in the pictures.  While everything is comfortable, I truly don’t know how J feels once she leaves the restaurant.  I think it helps that she and her family get to see him every so often.  But, it still has to be difficult watching him grow up without them.  It is a weird feeling for us too.  It is not threatening just interesting when you think about it.  I don’t know when our next visit will be, but I do know that there will be another visit.

I am grateful for both of my children’s birth mothers.  Both chose life for their children when they could have chosen the alternative.  Both are people we hold in high esteem.  While we don’t know 100% of the whys in Nicholas’ situation, we can speculate, and we know that Nicholas’ birth mom’s decision was probably incredibly hard for her.  So, I hope that when people talk about our boys’ birth mothers that they respect them as the women that chose life for Nicholas and Daniel.  Especially as they get older, it is important that the comments are uplifting and kind.  I know people mean well and want to make it look like these women were crazy to “give up” their children, but they made a loving decision and placed them for adoption because they knew that they couldn't provide them with what they needed.  Right now, Nicholas hears everything and understands more than you think. 

A month or two ago, Nicholas was actually going through a hard time of trying to understand how Daniel has his birth mother in his life and the fact that he may never see his own again.  We were both crying at the kitchen table as we talked about it.  I told him that he can continue to pray for her and that God knows all about her.  He should bring his questions and his worries to God, but we may not know any answers until heaven. 

I did ask him what he would like to say to his birth mother if he saw her again.  He simply said, “I would tell her ‘I love you’.”  That’s why I ask that people be sensitive when talking about these women.  Our sons will probably always love their birth mothers and that is good. 

Years ago I didn't truly understand open adoptions and that is a big reason I give people grace in their own attitudes and judgments.  As Daniel gets older, I don’t know what it will look like or what he’ll want, but so far it has been a positive experience for us.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of the boys and their gifts from J and her family.

A great toy that will grow with him the next couple of years.

Nicholas' toy hooks onto a table.

He spotted the camera again!

Pick Me Up

Well, I’m feeling a little bit better than yesterday.  Daniel did take a longer afternoon nap yesterday, so I was able to rest for a little bit.  He was up around 5:40 this morning, but I noticed around 7:00 he was starting to fade.  So, I put him down for a nap – it was a long one! 

7:00 AM

 

Getting sleepy

Nicholas and Daniel have been playing a “fun” game lately.  They've played it before, but now it lasts a lot longer.  Daniel will screech and Nicholas will screech back at him.  They can go back and forth for what seems like forever.  I’m glad they’re bonding, but I wish they could come up with a game that doesn't sound like two birds fighting. 

Nicholas also is able to lift Daniel up with ease.  This is nice when I am in the other room and Daniel is headed for somewhere he’s not supposed to be.  However, Nicholas likes to do it for fun too, so I have to keep an eye on him.  Luckily, Daniel doesn't seem to mind.

Daniel seems to like being picked up.

Here we go again!

"I'm okay!"

I'm glad the boys are keeping each other entertained, but I still looking forward to going back to our school routine!

On Empty

The last few days have been difficult.  Daniel had a little too much holiday fun and got his schedule screwed up a little bit.  He was waking up around 4:00 in the morning.   Letting him cry it out a little didn't help anything either.  My energy level was at an all-time low.  It makes for a long day when you’re chasing around a 7-month old.  Nicholas also needs me, so I felt so drained by the end of each day.  Thankfully, Evan was home for a couple of those days.  However, yesterday he went back to work and had a long day of overtime (Good for the finances, but bad for the weary mom).  Usually, he and Nicholas go to church on Wednesday nights, but he wasn't even going to make it in time for them to go.

Daniel did sleep until 5:30 today, but I do remember him “talking” around 12:30 last night.  I’m hoping that each day will get a little better.  So far, I feel a little more refreshed than the day before. 

We also got some bad news recently.  The insurance company will not be covering Nicholas’ speech therapy.  Notice I didn't say “no longer”.  No, it took this long (five months) for this to be made known to us that they weren't paying at all.  I was paying a co-pay all along, but we still have a pretty large bill coming our way with the remaining balance.  We’re sad that Nicholas can’t continue speech anymore, but thankful that he was near the end.  It does give us a little more freedom on Mondays now.  I guess that’s the silver lining.

I’m thankful that we have money saved.  While the speech therapy bill, our upcoming car maintenance bill, and an unexpected last attorney bill have been frustrating to this tired mother, I’m just going to pay them and move on to the next thing. 

Since I am so empty in my energy levels, I’m going to try to make sure not to be empty spiritually.  That’s a bad combination.  It is hard to do anything when you’re so tired.  But, I’m going to make a conscious effort to read the Word and spend time in prayer.  Just today I read John 16:33.  This is a verse I memorized long ago because of a children’s CD.  But, it is one that really speaks to me today.  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.” 

So, while I’m tired and a little frustrated, I do have plenty to make me smile.  Here’s some fun from the last week:

Fun in the snow

Those snowmen are huge!

I guess looks are deceiving.

He preferred to sleep while Nicholas was playing outside.

He's been after my camera lately.

There he goes again.

His i.d. badge says he's the President.

Nicholas was calling Daniel, but I think he's too busy texting.

Both boys are now up, so it is time to start the day.  If you want to pray, pray for a long afternoon nap for Daniel.  Nicholas has a rest time then and a nap would be great for me too!