Memory Box

Most of the memories and milestones of our adoption journey to Ezra are documented on this blog and I am so grateful that we will have this to look back on someday. I hope to at some point have all of the important adoption related posts put into book format for Ezra. However, there are few things I have saved that I want to keep as memories for him. I try not to hold on to a lot of stuff because that isn't usually what matters. I am actually wanting to rid our house in an effort to keep things simple. (a topic for another post) But there are certain things that will be fun to show him and will make it easier to tell him stories about the beginnings of our family of three. I bought a small container to store those items. If I get really motivated I might try and decorate the container but we'll see if that actually happens. I may realize I have other things but at the moment here are a few of the items that are in the box.

1. Photo of Ezra for the plane ride: I printed one of my favorite photos that I had received during the wait and placed it in my book that I was going to read on the plane. I knew the long flight would test my patience and so the plan was that all I would have to do is look at his picture and be reminded that it was all going to be worth it. I did end up having to look at it several times. This is the photo I used as my motivation. He looks so young and tiny.

2. His first outfit: I kept the clothes that he was wearing when we took placement of him on August 15th. I have everything down to the socks he was wearing. The staff at Bejoe washed it for us and since we were there during rainy season it took the whole week for it to dry. I almost forgot it and the lovely Marta from Bejoe reminded me and I am so glad! It isn't the cutest of outfits but that it what he was wearing when we started our family so it will always be meaningful to me.

3. The Blue Link: Do you see the blue link he is chewing on in the above picture? Travis told us that Ezra was pretty upset when he was taking him from the care center and so he just grabbed something to try and distract him. Travis said that Ezra just clutched to that thing the entire drive. In a lot of our photos from that trip Ezra is still holding the blue link. I kept it and for some reason it always makes me teary. He was so scared and that was his one link (literally) to his old home. It just makes me feel sad for him knowing how frightened he must have been.

4. Traditional Outfit from Special Mother: It is a Gladney tradition that when the families go back to the care center for a final visit and coffee ceremony the child's special mother (main caregiver) will dress them in a traditional Ethiopian outfit as a gift. Ezra looked so cute and even though it doesn't really fit anymore we are definitely saving it!

5. His Prescription: I mentioned previously that Ezra had some tummy issues while we were in Ethiopia that were causing some serious troubles for him. The Gladney doctor called in a prescription for us one afternoon and Genet (owner of the Bejoe) and I walked to the pharmacy to get it. I think I brought with me the equivalent of about $50 and it cost $2! I saved the piece of paper from the pharmacy with his prescription and that will for sure be an embarrassing story to tell him later. I would say trying to give him that medication was my first big Mother Fail moment. It was torture for the both of us.

I might put some other important photos in the box as well. I also was thinking that perhaps we could pull out the box every year on Ezra Day (August 15th) and talk about how our family came to be. The items and photos in the box could help facilitate that conversation. My hope is that it will be one of our many future family traditions.

Gift Ideas

Are you starting to think about gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season? Well, I am here to help. I have two great suggestions for you.

My wonderful friend and fellow adoptive mom, Tamara, designed a necklace for Gladney's On Their Own (OTO) project. The necklaces are made by girls that have aged out of Kechene Children's Home in Addis Ababa. Kechene is one of the orphanages that Damon and I visited while in Ethiopia.

Here is the OTO Mission Statement:

To provide meaningful financial assistance and education programs

to older, unadopted orphaned children served by Gladney Center for Adoption

in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America

to prepare them for a safe, self-sufficient life on their own.

You can pre-order the necklace for $35 and all the proceeds from the necklace benefit the girls from the Kechene Women's Association and the OTO project. I have pre-ordered mine and I can't wait to wear it. Tam points out that because of the open clasp it is very versatile and you could add whatever charm you like. Maybe this necklace would be perfect for your sister, best friend or favorite cousin? Or maybe you are like me and just feel like getting it for yourself. To pre-order: email shop@newyorkdesigner.com and put Kechene in the subject line.

My other great suggestion is Ethiopian Orphan Relief's Gena Giving Project. Gena is Ethiopian Christmas and Ethiopian Orphan Relief (EOR) wants to fill 130 backpacks to send to orphans at two of their partnering orphanages in Ethiopia. Ezra told me that if you were thinking of getting him a Christmas gift then he would prefer that you give to the Gena Giving Project instead. You can either shop on your own and fill a backpack or if you are too busy to shop then for just a $15 donation EOR will fill the backpack. Email Info@ethiopianorphanrelief.com to shop for a specific child or go to the EOR website and donate $15. So you can cross Ezra off your shopping list and make a $15 donation to EOR. Wasn't that easy!

Gena Giving Project - 130 backpacks to children in Ethiopia from Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc. on Vimeo.

A Stuffed Friend

At my baby shower in Tulsa my friend, Valerie, gave Ezra a very special gift. I had a feeling she would craft up something awesome but as usual she blew me away with her talent and thoughtfulness. I put Valerie's creation in Ezra's crib and I think it is one of the main reasons that Ezra will play happily in his crib for an extended time. This morning I went to get Ezra after a nap and this is how I found him.

Did you just die and go to heaven? I did. So sweet. Thank you, Valerie.

Exciting Mail

We got two exciting packages in the mail last week. Both packages are Christmas related. In the past I haven't done much to decorate our house for Christmas. One of the reasons being it was always just D and me and I couldn't work up the motivation to do much. The other big reason was that we always go to Tulsa for Christmas and usually get there a day or two before and then stay several days after. So it just seemed silly to put effort into something we weren't even going to be around to enjoy on the actual holiday. (The secret reason is that I have some lazy tendencies when it comes to stuff like that.) I know this year LB will have no clue what is going on and he won't even notice if I put up a few decorations but I haven't been this excited to celebrate a holiday in a long time! The first package was our Christmas cards. I have never thought about Christmas cards pre-Thanksgiving before. Never. I have also not been consistent about sending them every year. They arrived today and I am very pleased with how they turned out. They aren't super fancy but they were a good deal. Busters love discounts. D is a big fan of Groupon. There is probably one for your city and there is a new deal each day. We tend to buy the restaurant gift cards as it makes going out to eat more affordable. When we were sitting in the airport waiting to leave for the first trip to Ethiopia, D was online and the daily groupon was for one of those photo websites that will make calendars, invitations, Christmas cards, etc. If you spent $25 then you got $100 to spend on that website! Good deal, right!? So we bought it thinking we might want to make a book of LB's adoption story or stuff like that. That is still on my to-do list but I was able to use some of the gift card for our Christmas cards. I am still working on thank you notes from my baby showers and I apologize if you haven't received your's yet. Again, working through that to-do list. But now I have to get cracking so I can move on to sending out our Christmas cards.

The second package was our Christmas stockings. We had a gift card for Pottery Barn Kids and just weren't sure to get with it. My mom has my Christmas stocking that I have had since I was little and she still hangs it each year at their home in Tulsa. D and I thought it would be fun to have stockings at our house too and LB needed one! So we ordered them from PB Kids and I love them!

I know it looks like LB's stocking is partially pink but I promise it is red. Sadly, our house does not have a fireplace so the big question is where we will hang them. What do you tell your kids about Santa if you don't have a chimney? Does Santa break in through the basement? That sounds a little creepy. I'll have to think about that one. I suppose I have some time to come up with something. Good thing we go Tulsa for Christmas and Santa can make his deliveries to LB through my parents' chimney.

I know it isn't the cards or the stockings that has me excited for the holidays this year but it is what they represent. For me, it is a celebration of our new family. And for that I am so grateful.

A Boy with a Bat

Dangerously Cute!

Are you Ready?

Tomorrow evening we will meet with our social worker for our 3 month post placement visit. I cannot believe we have been home for 3 months already. I am not sure what we are going to talk about but I imagine she will ask how our transition has been going. I have to say that I am quite proud of our little family and how far we have come over the past 12 weeks. The hardest time for me so far was the week D went back to work. Since we had to go to Ethiopia twice he didn't have a lot of vacation left and was only able to stay at home for one week. I remember sending some pretty desperate texts to him those first few days and just staring out the front window trying to will his car to pull into the driveway. I was just so exhausted. Those first few weeks I didn't have LB on any sort of napping or feeding schedule yet either as we were still getting to know each other. It is such a good feeling to have a better sense now of how much food and sleep he needs in a day. That sounds so basic but it has made a huge difference. LB is clearly a much happier kid when he is a routine.

The months leading up to bringing LB home I had a lot of people ask me, "Are you ready?" Even then it seemed like a silly question because how can you ever truly prepare yourself for motherhood. It isn't like training to run a marathon or studying for the SATs. It is almost impossible to predict how you are going to react to things like getting up several times in the middle of the night or having your baby cry and you don't know why or taking your kid to the ER at 3am (don't worry he's okay). I think in those initial moments of parenthood it is all about survival and there isn't a class you can take or a book you can read that will help. During our third or fourth week home, I remember that I desperately wanted to go to Target. We had been hunkering down at home and I was ready to get out and do something. I remember telling D in the evening that LB and I were going to run some errands the next day. I think it took me 3 days to actually do it. LB was either not napping well or I was trying to time napping and feeding so we would have a window to do stuff like that and it just fell through. There is no doubt that I am total wimp when it comes to my sleep. LB has started sleeping through the night, which has been wonderful, but two weeks ago he had a cold so he was not sleeping very well. At midnight I said some not so kind words to D, who was just trying to help, because I was just so tired. I am not sure I will ever adjust to interrupted sleep. I think I just need to come to terms with that! I have mentioned before how much the wonderful weather was a total gift to me in the beginning. I give major props to women who become mothers in the winter. The fresh air was good for my peace of mind and I know it was good for LB too.

If you are a glass half full type of gal then perhaps the "are you ready" question also applies to the wonderful moments. There are times when I am rocking him to sleep or we are making funny faces at each other and I am just overcome with joy. I will tell you that D can make that kid laugh so hard. I will make the same face or the same noise and I'll get a chuckle but when D does it then LB lets out a full belly laugh. The other night I was in the kitchen and D and LB were in the living room playing. D was making funny noises and I just stood there and smiled as I listened to LB laugh. Of course, I have always thought that I married a handsome guy but watching D with LB puts his good looks at a whole new level. (Yes, I am trying to make up for those not so kind words.)

D and I are lucky in that LB is a happy baby and he has been very forgiving of all the mistakes we've made so far. I hope that he continues to be so forgiving as I know we will never be perfect. I do my best not to dwell too much in the past but looking back in this way and being able to see our progress is such a wonderful feeling. Hopefully, I will feel the same way at our 6 month visit!

All About LB - 9 Months

LB is about 9 and a 1/2 months today. He is learning and doing new things everyday and I don't want to forget any of it. I hope a lot of what I document here LB will enjoy looking back on someday.

So here is nine month old LB in a nutshell.

The Stats:

At his 9 month check-up LB weighed 16.5 lbs and was 26 inches long. That was a 2.5 lb gain and a 2 inch growth in just 5 weeks! He is still small for his age but his doctor said as long as he continues to gain and stays in proportion then she isn't concerned.

His Repertoire of Tricks:

-Clapping

-Waving Hi and Goodbye

-So Big

-Kisses (And by that I mean the open mouthed baby slobber kiss. He hasn't mastered puckering his lips.)

-Giving Pat Pats

When one of my best friends had her son a few years ago, she taught him to pat her on the back every time she said, "Give Mama Pat Pats." I thought it was the sweetest thing so it is no surprise that one of the first things I taught him was to pat me on the back. It makes you melt. He will do it to other people or things now if you ask.

Personality:

My mom is always describing LB as incredibly interactive. He will "talk" to you non-stop and his voice takes on decibels you didn't think possible from such a small human. Often he will shake his arms wildly as he tells you a story. It seems something big is always going on his life. LB is very much into copy-cat these days. If I bang my hand on the ground then he bangs his hand on the ground. If I make a "he-he" noise then he will do the same thing. He will go several rounds with you. I have found that he points out little motions that I do with my hands or head that I didn't even realize that I do. But then I watch him do something and realize he is copying me. In my incredibly biased opinion, he is a quick study. We just started working on kissing people or things only about a week ago and he now does it regularly. He forces me to be much more social than I usually am. He attracts attention to himself where ever we go by "chatting" with others or just by being cute. He makes friends with other people in line at the store, in a doctor's office waiting room and at the zoo.

Food:

I would say he eats pretty well. He sucks down his bottles and has some solid foods that he will scarf down as well. LB loves all fruit. He will eat most veggies but you can tell he isn't as interested. Apples and pears seem to be his current favorites. He still has NO teeth so we've tried some of the finger food but it doesn't really work yet. I have assumed he has been teething for as long as we took placement because the amount of drool is immense. He is wearing a bib in almost every picture I take of him because that is the only way to avoid changing his outfit 5 times a day. I would rather wash 5 bibs a day than 5 outfits a day. Plus he isn't a big fan of getting dressed so it just makes life easier and even with a bib he is pretty darn handsome.

Activities:

LB loves books! He will let me read several books in a row to him and doesn't seem to get bored. Often if I am sitting next to him and reading he places his hand on my arm. It is such a small thing but I love it. He seems to prefer books that have flaps that you open. That might be part of his interactive personality. Here are his current faves:

Where's Spot

Whose Knees are These

Where is Baby's Belly Button

Pat the Bunny

So Big (Sesame Street)

My First Book of Sushi

Buckeyes Big Game

The exersaucer is still a favorite activity and he also loves to be outside. I am a little worried as winter is fast approaching. Our walking days are soon to be few and far between. Darn Ohio. He also loves music and will "dance" by moving his body forwards and backwards or shaking his head. He always claps after I sing, "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider. " I guess he is happy for the spider?

Cute Stories:

There is a little spinning frog as part of his exersaucer and yesterday I told him to kiss Mr. Froggie. I wasn't sure he would understand me but he leaned over and kissed him. I almost started to cry it was so cute.

There is a part in the book, Buckeyes Big Game, where a nose guard is described as smelly. Every time I read that I emphasize that part and wave my hand in front of my nose and say, "stinky stinky." He always laughs and even anticipates that page and looks up at me for the stinky stinky. Several weeks ago I was changing his diaper and I said, "stinky stinky" and he started waving his hand in front of his nose and making the same face I do. I almost died. It is one of his favorite things to do and I seriously think he is trying really hard to say stinky. My life would be complete if stinky ends up being his first word.

His Hair:

I cannot believe how fast his hair has started to grow. When we first met him he was 6 months old and he had very little hair. The hair that he had was mostly straight with a few curly tufts.

Here is LB at 6 months.

Here is a shot of him I took yesterday.

Holy Hair, right?! He has a similar facial expression in this photo, don't you think?

Since I can't resist here are a few more photos of my sweet, nine month old boy.