Potty Training

This picture is of E. at the orphanage.  Thankfully they had introduced him to the potty!

Now that we are back to our routine after our trip, we've been working on potty training E.  He is doing pretty well, with a few messes here and there.  He is also learning quite the potty vocabulary...it's hilarious!  He now says "got pee pee" or "poo poo butt".  It's amazing how kids learn things from hearing others (like 3 children) say them.  We've been using cloth training pants and have found that this is the best way (although messier) since he will still go in Pullups and the like.  And since it's Earth day, I must add that this is the more "earth friendly" way to go.  It's not too bad to toss the undies in the wash with the cloth diapers from S.

Easter pics

We had a happy Easter. We were visiting family on the eastern side of the state and had a busy four days. We went to church, then the kids had to hunt for their baskets (a tradition on J's side) and we ate a yummy meal. It was good to see family and spend the day celebrating our Lord's resurrection.

Adoption language

I found this post very interesting and informative. I did not write this type of letter to friends and family before we brought home Elijah and wish I had done so to some degree. I have learned to take things in stride. I let comments roll off my back, I think you have to with adoption, especially international/transracial adoption. One thing I have been thinking a lot about lately is about Elijah's birth family. How are we going to answer the questions that he will have for us someday? Many of those questions are ones that we don't know the answers to ourselves. But after visiting with people who were eager to meet Elijah and who felt bold enough to ask us some of those questions, I think it's time we had a talk about this issue with family and friends. Some, but not many, know E's history. We don't want the whole world to know about it. Yes, he is a miracle. Yes, he is a joy and a blessing. I would love to share with everyone about the awesome thing that God did to bring this child to our family. However, I must think of E. and how I would feel if I were in his size 8 shoes. If I were him I don't think I would want everyone to know every detail of my hurtful past.  I must be careful with my words, and ask those who know his story to do the same.

This n That

We've had a busy week. *Our paypal, iTunes account and hotmail were all tampered with by a hacker. $100 was charged by our paypal, withdrawing funds from our bank account. Thankfully the bank took care of things and we were refunded. Also, a bunch of people on our email contact list were sent out a spam message from us. And we were blocked from using our account for the rest of the day. Lovely. *We have been working a lot around our house. We decided to take out a huge flower bed in our front yard. It was not looking very nice and was just too hard to keep up. We also wanted more lawn and space for the kids to play since they tend to stay in the front yard most of the time (even though we have nearly 5 acres). J. had been working hard digging dirt, raking, and planting grass seed. I can't wait until it grows in and we can use our reclaimed space! *We have been visiting family on the other side of the state. It's been good to see people we haven't seen in a while, and introduce them to E. He's been doing great with the traveling, and is taking to his new extended family quite well. He had everyone laughing hysterically with his funny sense of humor. He fits in so well! *Baby S. is walking now! He can get across the room with small, wobbly steps. He is also getting into EVERYTHING at Grandma's house! *We had a blessed Easter and were surprised with an announcement at the church we were visiting. They had been praying for E's adoption and were all excited to see the answer to their prayers sitting in service yesterday. E did not really appreciate the extra attention, but took it all in stride.

Long time coming

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated.  Samuel is doing fantastic.  He's a joy, as usual.  He's growing so fast!

Elijah, his older brother from Haiti, is home now.  I've been writing about it on another blog, www.berriesnhoney.blogspot.com.  There are some pictures of Samuel on there too.  

Sammy's been adjusting to sharing his room, and mom and dad's attention pretty well.  He learned how to say "no" and "don't" very quickly.  He also is hitting and biting.  Ugh.  Time for toddler hood.  

Speaking of toddlers, he is starting to walk!  He has taken several steps in a row.  Soon he will be a walking champ! 

I finally heard from the doctors at Children's and they made an appointment to go over MRI results on May 11!  It took several persistent calls, and eventually I had to call the social worker.  What do you know, I got a call from the nurse a few hours later!

Birthdays

I celebrated my birthday the other day. I had a great day, but an even better weekend. My husband was home and the weather was beautiful! My bestest friend Sarah arranged for a girlfriends' overnight trip to a hot springs resort. We stayed one night and it was lovely. She wrote about on her blog. I came home very relaxed and refreshed. Thanks for a fun break!

Elijah is now 3 years old. We went to the beach and had a picnic. He was not too sure about it, the water was COLD, it was windy and the terrain was pretty rough...

S. says, "Mmm, salty!"







I think he had a good time.

We had cake and presents at home. Elijah liked the cake!

I love this picture of Elijah opening his gifts. Who looks more excited, E. or baby S?

E. loves the Donut Man. He got two new CD's.

When did I become "ma'am"?

When did I become "ma'am" at the McDonald's drive thru? I felt so old last night when I drove through with my two babies to get some ice creams. We dropped off the older three kids at AWANA and I drove through to get some needed goodies before my serious dieting begins on Tuesday. I was given the "Thanks Ma'am, have a good night" by the McD's employee. Ugh, bad timing. Why does it bother me so? My birthday is coming up. I am turning 33. I am starting to feel old. Where does the time go?