December news

No time to download pics tonight, but I will update nonetheless. I started back to work 12/1, and so far it's been a nice, smooth transition. Luke and Zach hang out during the days we're working, and it's terrific for Luke to be able to stick to his routine.
We headed home for 10 days to celebrate Melanie and Michael's wedding (Aaron's sister), and to visit the fams for Christmas. It was a lot of traveling and Luke met a ton of new people and a few dogs. We were nervous about whether all that busy-ness would stress him out, but he did wonderfully. He is such a sweetie, and did well with everyone. Great-Grandpa Lee gave him a little harmonica to take home, because he clapped and danced and always wanted 'more harmonica.' It was BITTERLY cold, windy, and wintry while we were home, and it was nice to get back to warmer weather.
We'll try to add pics soon. We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas here with our boy!!

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving here, with plenty of turkey and mashed potatoes for all. Now we have leftover turkey soup for this week. Since I'm heading back to work, I'm looking for good weekday options so we don't have to start meals from scratch too much during the week-- turkey soup will be perfect. I think Zach and Luke are ready for their day together tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll be calling to check in frequently and will be anxious to get back home and see my boy.

Luke is initiating quite a bit more walking now. Not a majority of the time yet, but he does seem much more confident. It's fun to see him learning and progressing in so many areas.

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, and had some time to reflect on all the things you are thankful for.

Uncle Zach has joined us here, and so far, Luke has taken to him pretty well. He is intrigued by the beard, as Zach predicted...

8 weeks

This last Wednesday marked 8 weeks home with our boy. As we looked ahead to that a few weeks ago, it seemed it would be a 'landmark' anniversary. I think it was. Not in a dramatic sort of way, but just in knowing that we've reached a small milestone of two months together.
Luke and mama hit the polls Tuesday, and it was particularly meaningful to reflect on all of the privileges, rights, and blessings we have that are completely foreign to men & women in other parts of the world. To be able to cast a vote without fear of violence or retaliation is certainly not universally possible, and I am grateful for that opportunity.

Luke had his 15 mo. visit today--gained some weight, not surprisingly, with his full adoption of FOOD over formula! He is walking lots with one-hand assist, and initiating some 2-3 step ventures between furniture. We are hopeful that the weather is finally, finally cooling off--below 90 today!

first steps

Luke got decked out in the Tigger suit over the weekend and hit the base Halloween party. It ran over into bedtime, but he did well.

He also has taken his first steps independently. Mostly between mama and dad, just one or two at a time, yesterday and today. He also took a couple steps between furniture yesterday. I'm not sure that he knows that he's doing so yet. His typical reaction to 'no hands' is to sit down, but once he figures out that he is actually mobile, he'll be cruising.

He's such a sweet boy--we are so thankful to have him here!

First hike! And fun visitors...

We enjoyed a long weekend of visitors: my mom, Joan, was here for a few days, and some Ohio friends, Isaac and Sara, also spent the weekend with us. With all that extra attention, Luke got to work on his one-handed-walking quite a bit, and has become much steadier. He's now letting go just BRIEFLY when standing. With his increasing mobility, we are also having more wipe-outs (all minor, but I hate to see the little tumble, followed by big cry, and sometimes accompanied by a little cut on the inside of his lip). I guess it goes with the territory.

Luke also learned a good 'cheese-ball' face this weekend--see above pic:)

We decided to head to Sedona with the guests, and rented a sweet Toyota mini-van for the trip. Despite Aaron's initial resistance, he actually was quite fond of the vehicle. I'm sure we'll have to upsize soon, if we plan to ever have anyone ride with us anywhere. Time to start checking options. We hiked at Cathedral Rock. Beautiful day, great hike. If you look closely, you can see Isaac and Aaron walking. We can call this Luke's first hike, though baby Allgood has already done a couple since moving here.

Our US this morning looked great--all the parts are in place and look normal.

Home 5 weeks today! Luke has had a stuffy nose for a couple days, which explains the restless nigh Monday. Since he is very interested in 'teeth' right now, and loves to stick his finger in our mouths to point out 'teeth', I hope we can ward off the germs he shared:)

We are looking forward to a visit from Grandma Joan and our friends Isaac & Sara from Ohio this weekend. The weather has heated back up, so they may get some mid-90s while they are here. I think the cooler weather is right behind, and here to stay for awhile soon.

Some of these pics are from Grandma Becky's visit. His first experience with lasagna was a big hit... until a little tummy-ache at bedtime reminded us all about the importance of portion control:) He tried on his Tigger outfit, getting ready for Halloween. He also shows off his 80's hair band 'do in the upper right picture, and the last one appears to be trying out moves for Melanie's wedding.

Well, we've been home for over 4 weeks now--4 weeks on Wednesday. We are so thankful every single day to be done with this process, knowing that there are still hundreds of others waiting to bring their little ones home.

We decided to make the move to the crib for nighttime, and Luke seems to be doing fine with that. He woke up the first night, but snoozed all night last night. No real change from his nighttime habits before. I know we are sleeping better without hearing every little rustle and grumble!!

Petition for adoptions

If you'd like to voice your support for removing at least one frustration for those still waiting to bring home their kids, sign this petition:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/adoption-for-all.html

To adopt, you start with a document called an I-600A, which basically is permission from the gov't to bring an orphaned child into the country. They expire. Ours didn't, thankfully, but if they are getting close, there is potentially a lot of paperwork (and $$$) to renew. This hasn't been much of an issue in the past, but with the ongoing delays, many adopting families are running into this issue. The petition is asking USCIS (immigration services) to adjust the expiration issue.

Thanks!!

We went to the play area at the mall today. I can see that every time we go, Luke is a little more comfortable with all those kids running around. Big crowds are still usually intimidating, but he is getting more confident. I think he'll always be on the quieter, shy end of the spectrum, and that's OK. Better than the aggressive bully girl at storytime yesterday who kept pushing the other kids and making them cry!!

Grandma Becky was here for a visit last week. I think Luke liked having yet another person to hold him:)

Aaron and I are still being pretty intentional about bonding and attachment behavior: holding him for bottles, providing his direct care (diapers, food, drink, bath, etc), labeling ourselves as mama and daddy, and just doing lots of one-on-one playing and holding time. He really seems to be adjusting well, but from loads of reading and preparing, we don't want to be too nonchalant when it's only been 3 1/2 weeks since he moved to a new country, language, and home!

It is finally 'cooling off' here, and by cooling we mean less than 95 degrees. Yes, it is dramatically more comfortable at 85-90 than 105:)

Guatemala images

Luke and mama went to storytime (singing and a simple book) at the base library today. He hung back with mama for the 1st half-hour, just sitting on my lap. After the structured time was over, he did venture out a little bit to check out some toys and cruise along some furniture.

He has been needing held and reassured more the last couple days. Not sure if it is because he misses dad when he's at work, misses Vania and family, or is just generally a little out of sorts. Nonetheless, we recognize how critical it is for him to learn that he is here for good, that we are mama and daddy, and that he is part of our family. It's hard to imagine exactly what goes through his head sometimes after the major life changes he's recently been through, and it's impossible to know when he finally understands and accepts this new reality. Most adoption experts estimate it takes several weeks to months for that to occur, depending on the child. For now, he will know that we are there to feed him, hold him, get him drinks, comfort him, protect him, and always love him. Of course we have known about him for over a year, and we understand adoption, but he's just a little tot who doesn't know any of that yet!

Luke and mama went to the base yesterday for a nice baby shower held for us and an airman whose wife is expecting soon. Luke got many toys, only one of which we have unpackaged for use so for. Trying not to overwhelm him with stuff. Interestingly, he is still heading straight back for the kleenex box, tupperwear lid, and some of 'his' mail (shiny stuff that he can chew on w/o getting inky). I'm sure he will eventually figure out that the actual toys are cool, too.

I'm going to take Anna's recs and try one of the other photo sites for our next download and see if it's as easy as she makes it sound:)

Luke is napping--IMO, if you are ready for a nap at 8AM, you probably need to sleep a little later in the morning!! That at least gives me time for clean-up, a load of laundry, and some computer time.

As expected for a 13 month old new arrival to the household (and country!), we are having lots of holding and hugging time. Luke can entertain himself for a few minutes a couple times a day, but usually one or both of us are right there with him. It is an important way for him to attach to his new parents, and for us to get to know him and his personality better.

From reading and talking with other adoptive parents, it seems like as a group they (we) are extra-paranoid about 'doing the right thing.' First, we HAD to do the right thing, to the letter, to even have the chance to adopt--piles of paperwork, triple certifications, 'can you fax this today?' requests, FBI checks, home study, etc. We have been ingrained to follow the rules closely. On top of that, we then accept responsibility to raise a child that someone else gave birth to. The bio. mom felt she was not able to provide for him, so we inherently feel like we darn well better! And then we have a dear little toddler who has already formed loving attachments to his foster family, and we pluck him out of the only home he has known. No wonder we are paranoid:) Is the crying typical one-year old fussing, grieving for foster family, confusion, anger, normal requests for food, diaper change, drink, play, sleep, etc? Many of the attachment problems in adopted children are seen in kids who did not develop strong relationships during infancy and early childhood, like children in abusive homes or understaffed orphanages. However, it's still hard not to worry that we might harm him by doing or not doing any number of things--we don't want to scar the boy!

So, we are trying to be mindful of his unique position, while not going overboard into OCD.


On a side note, does anyone know how to change the picture size? I saved most of our recent pics to snapfish, and then from there into 'my pictures' in Windows Vista. Josh pointed out that some just show up as thumbnail size, and I don't know how to change that. Thanks!!

Dad headed back to work today, so just mama and Luke at home. We did all right. We had to go to the base anyway so he could get an immunization, so we had lunch with Aaron. Today I shifted Luke from the pack/play in our room to his crib in his room for naptime. There were multiple attempts for both naps to convince him that sleeping when you're tired is a good thing, but he ultimately snoozed just fine (and is snoozing now, which is why I'm typing).

I do have some new pics from the trip and our first few days back. I'll try to get those up here and on snapfish in the next couple days. The struggle is that apparently Windows Vista (on the 'good' computer) is not compatible with our dig. camera. So I have to set up the other laptop (slow, grumpy) to download pics, and hope that it doesn't overheat and shut itself off while I'm working. Turns an easy task into a pain in the rear sometimes. Oh well.

I do hope that Anna gets some non-crappy news soon...

Everyone is feeling MUCH better! Luke had a rough couple of nights, with lots of waking and crying, but last night was smoother, and hopefully will be more the norm. Then mama and dad will have less waking and crying too:) Today he has been his typical (or as typical as we know) happy self. He likes to clap, sing to himself, make funny noises, try to cruise around furniture, and give big smiles, with a little whine mixed in here and there.

He had his first ped. appt yesterday, and had to put up with a shot. Dad and he both had a tough time with that. Back next week for more shots/blood draws. Mom will take care of that.

A quick update--we got home (yea!!) yesterday afternoon. While in GT, we spent time with Luke's foster family, visiting the zoo, the archaeology museum and going out to eat. He loved the pool at the hotel. There were many other families there for their 'pick-up' trips, so it was nice to be able to meet them and hear their stories. The Marriott has a nice baby lounge, so there were always people there playing, calming, distracting, etc. Luke is definitely an observer, and was usually content to watch the others, only rarely getting into the mix playing.

Unfortunately, mama got sick yesterday, so was little help to dad on the trip home. Today I am feeling a little better, but still not terribly energetic. We are hoping no one else gets the GI bug.

Luke has definitely been a daddy's boy. If he has the choice, he'll head to dad. Several families commented that they were having the same experience. Perhaps it's because they were all so close to their FM. It hasn't really been too bad since we've gotten home. It will be nice to just be here and start getting into a routine. He is kind of out of sorts with the travel, early mornings, moving to another country:), etc. But all in all, about what we expected.

I'm off to hydrate...

So today we head to Guatemala. We will arrive this evening, so Vania (Luke's FM) will bring him to the hotel in the morning, and we'll be able to spend time with them as well. What a trip. I think there's still a little anxiety regarding the adoption itself--what if we forget/lose some important document, could we be the one in a million in which something gets botched at the end, etc. I think those are fantasy worries, but they exist none-the-less.

We're excited to see Luke tomorrow, knowing that once he arrives, he's with us for good! We'll be returning as a family on Wednesday.

It is still nearly unbelievable that we will have Luke home with us in less than a week. After all the fretting, waiting, wondering, adjusting, readjusting.... we really are nearly finished! His room is certainly not fully 'stocked' but I think we have the essentials for our return home. Once he's here, I think it will be easier to figure out what we need where.

For now, it's time to pack and make sure that we have all the things we need to take to Guat!