*Update: I wrote this post on Friday afternoon but still needed to add some photos so I didn't publish it. Then that night around dinner time we had severe weather and lost power. Then the power came back on. And then it went off again. We got power restored on Monday night and hopefully it's now on for good. Needless to say the stress of the power situation made me feel not so sappy. More like hot and sticky and annoyed. But I don't want to diminish how I was feeling in that moment so I am publishing it anyway. I know that today I should be feeling sappy for my freedom but truthfully I am feeling sappy about the air conditioning and a working fridge and long naps. Just keeping it real.
I'm not entirely sure what triggered this but I have been feeling especially sappy about my boy this week. Of course, I am always amazed by how much joy he brings me but I have been stopped in my tracks on several occasions this week with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. We've had a fun week together and it's worth noting that bunny did not have to spend any time on the fridge for 5 days in a row. That's a record! I am sure since I am mentioning it bunny will spend all day tomorrow on the fridge. Naturally there have been moments when his behavior has started to go down hill but the idea of bunny going bye bye has really helped him. And don't get me started on how trying bedtime has been recently but overall it's been an exceptionally great week.
Sunday night we met several other adoptive families at one of the local Ethiopian restaurants and I think LB sat in his seat at the table for at least an hour. Another record! He even ate a lot of food, which he doesn't often do when there are a lot of distractions. I posted a photo of my meal on facebook and another adoptive mom commented that she couldn't believe just a few years ago she and her husband had no idea what they were missing. That comment struck a chord with me. I am not sure I would have ever tried Ethiopian food or had the opportunity to experience the hospitality of the Ethiopians who work there if we had never decided to adopt. The owner of the restaurant reserved a section of the restaurant for several of us and arranged for a buffet. He let the kids run all over the place after the meal and one of the waitresses told me how much she loves having the kids and our families there. They even did a coffee ceremony for us. It's nice to have little moments when you can drink the same beer that we did in Ethiopia and smell the same smells and just soak in the nostalgia of a place that you love and miss. Perhaps it was then that the sappiness set in?
I'm not entirely sure what triggered this but I have been feeling especially sappy about my boy this week. Of course, I am always amazed by how much joy he brings me but I have been stopped in my tracks on several occasions this week with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. We've had a fun week together and it's worth noting that bunny did not have to spend any time on the fridge for 5 days in a row. That's a record! I am sure since I am mentioning it bunny will spend all day tomorrow on the fridge. Naturally there have been moments when his behavior has started to go down hill but the idea of bunny going bye bye has really helped him. And don't get me started on how trying bedtime has been recently but overall it's been an exceptionally great week.
Sunday night we met several other adoptive families at one of the local Ethiopian restaurants and I think LB sat in his seat at the table for at least an hour. Another record! He even ate a lot of food, which he doesn't often do when there are a lot of distractions. I posted a photo of my meal on facebook and another adoptive mom commented that she couldn't believe just a few years ago she and her husband had no idea what they were missing. That comment struck a chord with me. I am not sure I would have ever tried Ethiopian food or had the opportunity to experience the hospitality of the Ethiopians who work there if we had never decided to adopt. The owner of the restaurant reserved a section of the restaurant for several of us and arranged for a buffet. He let the kids run all over the place after the meal and one of the waitresses told me how much she loves having the kids and our families there. They even did a coffee ceremony for us. It's nice to have little moments when you can drink the same beer that we did in Ethiopia and smell the same smells and just soak in the nostalgia of a place that you love and miss. Perhaps it was then that the sappiness set in?
As I mentioned above, we've had some bedtime sleeping issues. We've been lucky in that LB has always been relatively easy to put to bed but the past couple of weeks he's been fighting it. Not sure if it is because it is still really light until 9:30 or his room has been a little warm or a stage or what. But one night he had been tossing and turning for a while and then eventually got frustrated and he called out for us. I went into his room and asked him if he would like me to rock for him a little bit and sing songs. He did so we cuddled up in his rocking chair and he made song requests. At one point I was singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" and he had his cheek on my chest and I was so happy to have that moment of skin to skin closeness. He looked up at me and we just stared and smiled at each other while I sang. It was a brief moment but I relished it. Of course, I also really wanted him to fall asleep so I could go back to watching the Olympic Trials but I also recognized that those moments of rocking together are dwindling as he gets older. Perhaps it was then that the sappiness set in?
We had two great play dates with LB's buddy, T, this week. T came home a few weeks after LB and his mom and I relied on each other a lot during the wait, in our first few months as moms and even now as we are raising active, two year old boys. Monday we went to the conservatory where they have a butterfly exhibit. We took the boys last year on Earth Day but they were both just starting to walk and were probably a bit young to really enjoy what they were seeing. But this year they were really into it. At one point I managed to get a butterfly to chill on my finger and I wish I could have captured the initial look on LB's face. I am pretty sure I scored some cool mom points.
The conservatory also has a really great fish pond and some other great things for little kids. LB had a blast. Perhaps it was then that the sappiness set in?
On Thursday, T's mom had a photo shoot so I watched T for her. The boys did awesome together! I love that they are starting to move away from parallel play and actually interact with each other. They were both very concerned about the other boy's comfort item. For LB it is his bunny and blankey and T has a small blankey that he calls "bear yaya." LB was always keeping an eye out for "bear yaya" and any time T dropped it LB would go get it for him. At one point we had a potential for a fight over matchbox cars but I told the boys that the blue car should always be T's and LB would get the orange one. They were both agreeable to this arrangement and at one point LB forgot about it and T picked up the orange one and said, "LB need this." It was super cute.
They danced to Hoya Hoye,
pretended to be centipedes,
and shared matchbox cars.
Perhaps it was then that the sappiness set in?
All I know is that it doesn't get much cuter than this.
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That bunny is in almost every picture! So. so. sweet.
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks for sharing! These are the moments we cherish to get us through those uhm, other moments:)
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