Two Months at Home!

So, I've heard all of your cries for new photos and updates about our boys! :) We have been home a little over two months now. (Next week, it will be three months since we first met David - amazing!) Most days, we can barely remember our lives before David - he is so much a part of our family and our hearts. Other days, we think about the whirlwind that has been the last three months of our lives and wonder how on earth we are still standing! :) We know you all really just wanted to see how cute our sons are, but the proud Momma has to fill you in on all the details. So...here goes:

David is 11-1/2 months old this week - WOW! I can hardly believe that the tiny baby that I first held nearly three months ago will be one year old in a couple of weeks! He is hardly the same child that we first met, but I feel as though we are meeting the real David a little more each day. David has battled scabies in a mighty way this first year of his life. He also struggles with a severe form of eczema - a skin rash that breaks out periodically all over his little body. To put it simply, our sweet son itches. A lot. Almost all the time. Since we have been home, we have been for countless doctor visits and tried so many medications. It's been my full-time job the last couple of months to get him healthy. The good news is that he is definitely so much healthier than when we first met him. He is still a tiny guy, but not nearly as small as three months ago. He's gained about three pounds - might not seem like much, but to him, it's 20% of his total body weight! He eats like it too, with round-the-clock feedings about every 3 hours or so. Right now, I think he is taking about 40 oz. of formula a day, plus baby food! He had some catching up to do in the nourishment department, but I think he's definitely making a dent! Between the skin issues and the nighttime feedings, sleep has been a rare treat in our house since we've been home. (Thus, the very infrequent posts here - sorry!) I know though, it will only last for a season, and in time, David will be fully healthy and sleeping much better. Please forgive me, though, if it is a bleary-eyed season for me after close to three months of broken sleep! I'm taking the opportunity to blame all my typical craziness on lack of sleep right now - one of the benefits of being up at 2:00 a.m. on a regular basis!

So, aside from the health stuff, who is David? Well, he is such a tiny, feisty little fireplug! :) He is happy and smiling a lot of the time, and when he smiles, he really lights the place up! I finally caught a picture of him in the grass the other day that shows a glimpse of his real self. It's my favorite thus far. I'm pretty sure that he is going to be my mischief-maker, too, because there's always just a bit of a naughty twinkle in his eye! He is such a trooper, as he really fusses so little about his skin despite all the polka dots he continues to have. I think he learned early in life to find the bright side to his situation no matter what. Really, God has taught me a lot about my attitude from watching him. I wish that I could also be so constantly positive all the time! David is definitely a Momma's boy, and there is no place he would rather be than in my arms. I guess I won't complain too much about that one - my arms are a little tired occasionally, but my heart is full! :) He is still pretty uncertain around larger groups of people and with strangers. I am anxious for our friends and family to get to know the real David soon too, but I'm sure he's storing up plenty of mischief for them in years to come! :)

Will has been a great big brother so far. He started kindergarten in late-August. He goes half-days in the afternoons, so we still get to have some lazy-morning time with Mom and the boys. I'm really glad that Will isn't away full days yet. He has really gotten to know David better for being at home some. It also gives me a little more time to give him some extra attention, which I think is helping us through all the changes in our lives right now. When I stop to think about it, I am amazed at how Will has tolerated everything from Bill & I being away a whole month to having a new brother to starting school. Basically, his entire little world is different! Sure, we have had our days of tears and our days of testing behavior, but all in all, he has been a great kid, and I am so proud of him. He is a certainly a full-blown kid now - no more preschooler in him! He loves Legos, soccer, doing artwork, learning to read, and playing with his friends.

It's an unusual post for me to have so little news to report. Last year, not a month went by that we weren't travelling somewhere or going on some exciting adventure. This year, though, we've decided that our exciting adventure is right here under our roof! We've been to the zoo a couple of times, checked out a couple of baseball games, met up with our playgroup, hung out at the pool...all the basic everyday stuff. But, wow! Suddenly, with David in our lives, all the everyday stuff has become extraordinary! I think as a family, the four of us seem to all like it that way! :)

It hasn't always been easy since David's been home. I wanted to put in a special thank you to my lifelines, though. We have some dear, dear friends and family who have listened to me bellyache about tiredness, supported me through tears as we struggled to find a solution for David's skin, brought us dinners to our house when I was too exhausted to cook....the list of help just goes on and on. Our family, of course, tops that list, with their physical help when we first came home, and lately, the countless hours they've been available for phone chats. Our church group has also been so kind - both our Sunday School class and my Mom's Bible Study group. They have fed us physically and spiritually! :) My dear friend, Mai, is riding this journey of new babies with me, and I am so glad that we are taking this trip together! She's always there to cheer me up with a phone call, and her Mom has me hooked on Vietnamese Spring Rolls! Finally, there's my Adoptive Moms' group - Freshwater, as we call ourselves. They are a constant wealth of information, as many of them have been through these transitional times themselves. Most of all, they listen to me as I vent, encourage my heart, and pray for me regularly. I couldn't ask for more! :) If you are a part of this adoption experience, find a group of girls that can hold your hand and tell you that you are going to make it. You deserve it, and you will need it at some point. There are some special challenges to the adoption process. Don't miss out on the special blessings that include heart-friends like these!

For those of you blog-followers, I promise I won't be so long in posting next time! After all, we have a big birthday coming up soon! :) Keep in touch! For my dear blog-buddies still waiting to travel, I continue to pray for you regularly. You will make it, and it will be worth it in the end. "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy!" - Psalm 30:11. I am praying that you will all be dancing soon!