Pool Time

LB went swimming for the first time over the weekend. As with most things, he seemed a little tentative at first but once he realized how awesome it was then we couldn't keep him out of the water. We had a great afternoon with friends and basically had the pool to ourselves.

I am thinking it might be time to sign him up for some lessons!

July 26th

July 26th is a big day for our family. We have a lot of those important moments coming up in the next several weeks. Today is the day we met LB for the first time. We got to hold him, hug him and kiss him for the first time. I hope my memory of that day is as clear in the future as it is today. I remember being incredibly anxious and excited as we were pulling up to the front of the foster home and knowing that in just a few minutes we would be together. I remember walking up the stairs of the home and peering into his room and seeing him on the floor. D and I were both nervous to pick him up but once we did I don't think either of us ever wanted the moment to end. Here we are:

This morning when I went to get LB from his crib I told him that today was a very important and special day for us. I used a lot of the same language that I do when we look through the book we made for him about his adoption story and our journey to each other. We have been reading it a lot lately and LB knew that is what I was talking about. He pointed to the bookcase and we pulled out the book. I know he doesn't truly understand yet but he knew I was talking about a moment in the book. It made me happy that he was making those connections. He mostly got excited about the pictures of D holding him and kept saying, "dada" and "up." That is his way of saying that D is holding him. He always points to the photo where he fell asleep in D's lap. I have to say that photo always makes me emotional, as it did in the actual moment.

Here is the full account of that day. We are so grateful!

All About LB - 18 months

LB turned 18 months old over the weekend. It's crazy to think that I have a 1 1/2 year old. What's crazier is that this time last year we were preparing to leave for our first trip to Ethiopia. D and I have been very nostalgic lately and it seems like every night we recount something that happened while we were in Ethiopia or just discuss our desire to return. We are longing for that day.

Here are all things LB at 18 months old.

Communication:

LB continues to use sign language really well and we are still adding to the things he will sign. I am not sure if the signing will delay his actual speech but so far it is really helping with communication so I am sticking with it.

He does have several words that he says pretty consistently. Some of them are enunciated better than others.

Other than Mama and Dada he says:

Car

Ball

Hot

Up

Pop (Not the soda variety but what you do to bubbles.)

Obama (Pronounced more like Bama)

Africa (Pronounced more like Akaka)

He calls his blanket, "baba."

I remember before I became a mom I always thought it was wonderful how parents could understand certain things their kids were saying but no one else could. To the outsider the toddler's rambling sounds more like Chinese but the parents know exactly what their child wants. I love that LB and I have that now. For example, I know if he says "Ahhh" then it means he wants water. Thanks to sign language I think he communicates pretty well for an 18 month old but I would also say that lack of communication is the number one reason he throws a tantrum. Well, perhaps it would be second to being told, "No." I think LB understands a ton of what I am saying to him. He nods his head for yes and shakes his head for no. If he wants you to do something again, like a read a book, then he nods his head for yes. I guess yes and again mean the same thing to him. If you don't do it right away then he starts nodding his head with more vigor. It's pretty funny. We've taught him some things that he does purely from memorization. I don't think he actually knows the meaning of the words but it is still fun to teach him. We'll ask him where he was born and he will say, "Akaka." (Africa) Or if you ask him who our President is then he will say, "Bama." He also puts his arms in the air and flexes his muscles if you ask him if he is strong. Pretty darn cute.

Activities & Interest:

LB is definitely very boyish when it comes to his interests. He is obsessed with any kind of ball. D has taught him how to kick a soccer ball and LB thinks it is hilarious when D hits the soccer ball with his head. His latest activity is to get a ball and drop it through the railings of our loft and watch it fall to the first floor. I am not a fan of this game but I get a lot of exercise going up and down the stairs to fetch the lost balls. The Occupational Therapy room we go to has a basketball hoop and when we got there he makes a beeline for it. The other day he was on the floor and was on his side and with one hand was making a truck go, "Brroom." It was such a quintessential boy moment. LB also loves to push and pull things, especially if they are a little bit heavy. He seems to enjoy manual labor and likes it if you hand him something and tell him to take it to another room or take it dad.

New Friends:

LB really enjoys playing with older boys in the 3-5 range. There is a boy across the street who is 5 and LB loves him. Perhaps this is because he gave LB a whiffle ball once. But he is very sweet to LB and will always play games with him or hold his hand to help him walk in the grass. LB is also obsessed with my friend Nancy's son, G. Over the weekend we played at G's house and I told LB it was time to go so he needed to say bye and give G a hug. LB ran over to G, wrapped his arms around G's waist and leaned his head into him. It took a lot of will power to hold back tears. I still think of that hug and smile. So sweet.

We have our tough days but I think overall LB is doing very well. His sleeping schedule has been a little nuts lately, which I attribute to teething and transitioning to one nap. He has the tendency to get up VERY early in the morning. I also tend to be an early riser but 5:30am is way early in my book.

It's tough to get a good picture of LB because he is always on the go but here a few of my 18 month old boy. Actually, I didn't take several of these so clearly my friends are better at getting a good shot of him.

I love the way he is looking at G with adoration in this photo.

Such great smiles! (Please note the ball in LB's hand.)

LB loves his belly button.

Watching his dad hit the soccer ball with his head. Pure joy!

Overeager

Someone was a little overeager at library story time.

Feeding Update

About a month ago, LB started working with a different Occupational Therapist to help with his feeding issues. It has been such a good experience! I liked our previous OT but she felt like LB needed someone who could also do some general sensory work with him along with the feeding. I am so grateful she recognized this and made the suggestion. We now go weekly and LB has made huge strides. Our new OT has done a great job developing a rapport with LB (a.k.a. Mr. Skeptical). She is also at a different location and I am so much happier about that. It was pretty chaotic going to the downtown Children's Hospital and LB was clearly overwhelmed by the number of kids they had in the OT room. It was loud and noisy and there was no way LB was going to relax and try to eat new textures. I was also becoming increasingly negative about whether the therapy was going to work. The new location is close to our house, quiet, clean and suits LB (and me) much better.

The OT spends the first part of the session doing fun activities with him that help him explore his senses and push him to expand outside his comfort zone. While she is playing games with him she also is doing things to get his mouth ready to eat. She has these animal toys that vibrate and she will ask LB to kiss them or hold them. I know it sounds silly but it seems to be working. He does this pretty well and he will even let her hold the toy in his mouth while it vibrates. That is a big step for him because he used to be very orally defensive. I wish I had taken my camera last week because I had to carry LB out of there in just his diaper. He was covered head to toe in banana, pudding and crushed graham cracker. Do you remember his 1st birthday photos? He hated being messy!! LB has come so far in letting go of that fear. Last week he was squishing banana between his fingers and was mixing it with the pudding. At one point he was licking the pudding out of the cup. It was a sight to see. I never thought I would be so excited to see my kid messy! He had a blast and the OT was even sad she had to end the session.

He is also taking big steps in the chewing department. Last week I gave him a waffle and his typical routine was to just lick it and play with it but not take a bite. I was encouraging him to take a bite and then he did. I thought for sure he would spit it out but he let it sit there on his tongue for a moment. I kept telling him to "chew like Cookie Monster" and then he moved the waffle over to his gums and chewed. He chewed!! I seriously started to sweat and hold back tears I was so excited. The biggest part of it is that he took four more bites! I was in utter shock and he was clearly so proud of himself. Since the famous waffle day he has taken bites of scrambled egg, tuna fish salad and Ethiopian food! Last night was our monthly get together of Ethiopian adoptive families and LB had our whole table clapping and giving him high fives. He seemed to like the yellow split peas and the cheese the best. I gave him a bite of the lentils but they were too spicy. There was also something wonderful about seeing him hold injera and attempt to take bites. It's like it was what he was born to do.

I know LB still has some catching up to do but I am so proud of him. These victories are so encouraging and that much sweeter since he had to work so hard to achieve them.

Sprinkler Fun

Our weather was pretty close to perfect today so we pulled out the sprinkler and LB loved it. In typical LB fashion he was more fascinated with the sprinkler itself than actually running around in the water. He was intent on figuring it out and touching every single part. I love his serious face with the tongue sticking out. It doesn't get much cuter!

Quirks

I assume that most kids have some goofy quirks. If this is not the case then please just lie to me. LB has a few that are quite amusing. I noticed around the time he turned one that he was obsessed with little pieces of lint or string he would find on the floor. He would always pick them up and either hand them to me or carry them around for a while. This progressed to LB purposefully asking for tissue paper and then wadding it up into a little ball and carrying it around. About a month ago, I thought that I discovered that he had come up with a little name for his paper treasures. I asked him if he wanted one and went and got him the piece of tissue. He nodded and smiled and said the word. He calls them his "badees." I have no idea where this word came from but little pieces of lint or tissue are "badees" to LB. Even writing about it makes me crack up laughing. I actually mentioned it to LB's Occupational Therapist and she said it is possible that he is seeking touch so having the "badee" to carry around satisfies that sensory need. Or he is doing it to keep that hand safe so he doesn't have to touch something he doesn't want to. Or it means nothing and he is just goofy. I can even tempt LB to do something he doesn't want to do with the offering of a "badee." It comes in pretty handy.

My other favorite quirk of his has to do with certain books that we read. LB gets stuck on a few books and only wants those few books read to him again and again. Then after a few weeks he will usually switch to other books and occasionally come back to his favorites. Currently, he loves a book that my sister got him. It is written by Vera Williams and is called, Lucky Song. It's a great book and we have a few other books by the same author. I highly recommend them. There is even one that has a brown baby and a white grandma as characters. When I read Lucky Song to LB I always have to make sure that I have his hat and blanket close by. The character in the book, Evie, wears a hat so when that part comes LB must have his. She also has a blanket so LB must have his. If I am reading the book downstairs and those items are upstairs he will point relentlessly until you go get them. There is no escaping. He is like this with a book his Aunt Carole got for him too. It is a book about Cookie Monster and at one point he kicks a soccer ball. Well, LB must get up and go kick his soccer ball like Cookie Monster. Trust me when I say he is very insistent. I have to think it is a good thing though that he is making these connections between himself and the characters in his books. It is easiest to play along and embrace his quirks. We all have them, right?

(Thanks to my friend, Nancy, for capturing LB's goofy grin.)