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:)