Noah meets the Easter Bunny.

Yesterday we decided to take Noah for his first visit with the Easter bunny. We were fully prepared to make this a family photo if we needed to. When we took him to meet Santa we weren't prepared to be in the picture so I made sure we had nicer clothes on yesterday. We waved at the bunny while waiting in line and then Noah started to get fussy and I got nervous about how this was all gonna go down. When it was our turn I walked up to the bunny , Noah gave him high fives and fist bumps and then I sat him on the bunnies lap and stepped just a little bit away. The photographer snapped the picture and half a second later Noah wanted to get down. I thought a family photo was in the works but this is what we got. The lady taking pictures said to me well he's kind of serious but at least he's not screaming. Yeah we are used to some serious shots and I absolutely love his first Easter bunny picture. And I'm thrilled that we didn't have to be in it with him. Oh and how funny that one of the ladies working there remembered us from Christmas. I guess they don't get many white couples with handsome brown baby boys.
I do question why there are never any brown Easter bunnies at the mall and why people don't dress their kids up a little nicer to meet the Easter Bunny. Those pictures aren't cheap you would think you would want the kid in nice clothes. Unless you think a sweatsuit counts who knows.

21 Month old/11 months home

So we are sneaking up on the one year home mark. I still can't believe it I remember so well this time last year waiting for our approaching court date. Praying the we would pass along with the other families that had dates near ours. There was so much anxiety and hopefulness. Our hearts were still guarded that something could go wrong at the last minute and this child that we had been preparing for might not become our son. Noah Tamirat continues to grow and thrive. His 18th tooth is almost completely in and I can't wait until teething is over it tends to be his roughest time. We are so happy that spring is here and we are getting some nice days in between the rainy ones. Noah loves to be outside. Just last weekend we spent 3 1/2 hours at a park. Eating lunch, playing on the playground, chasing the ball and just walking. Little Mr. Independence loves to be allowed to walk even if it means holding hands.

At this point we are dealing with the typical toddler struggle of communication. Noah clearly has his own opinions and knows what he wants but he doesn't always have the words to express it. I'm waiting for that day when something explodes and all those words we know he has in his head start to come out. He knows the signs for please, more and milk so this helps a lot along with the words he does say. Some things are still a guessing game like when he comes to you and says please or more but you don't know what he's asking for. Other times its more clear when he brings his cup and says please because its empty and he wants more. This is a step up from when he would just bring the cup and drop it in your lap. He does need to learn that just saying please doesn't always mean you get what you want but we are happy he's on his way to having manners.

A dinner/playdate

On Saturday we finally got to have another playdate with Jake. Kelly (Jake's mommy) and I have been trying to get the boys togeather since the end of January but every Friday something from illness to snowstorms have gotten in the way. So Saturday they invited us over for dinner and some play time for the boys. Following are some pictures of the cuteness.Noah trying to steal jake's hat. Enjoying a little dessert.

If you could only hear the screams.

The boys played really well togeather and we all had a great time

Independence

Its a fact of life that children grow and become more independent. Is that a good thing? Yes. Is that also a bad thing well my answer to that is also yes. After waiting many many years to become a parent I'm enjoying watching my son grow and change and learn to do things on his own. Noah being more independent gives me more time to do things for myself so that's nice right because who doesn't want to be able to sit and eat a meal once in a while. But its also hard because he's been with us for 10 months and to me a 10 month old still needs his mommy to do a lot of things which he did in the beginning. The time of his life that I missed seems to be high lighted by how fast he's growing now.
Typically when we were out some where Noah had two options

1. sit in the stroller/ shopping cart depending on where we were or

2. be carried by mommy or daddy

Recently we have added an option #3 He can get down and walk holding our hand. We are working on this and definitely haven't perfected it yet. He sometimes will see something that excites him and he pulls free to go and examine it. When this happens he immediately gets put back to option 1 or 2. These are his only options we will not use a child leash/harness call it what you will. Now just to clarify I'm not trying to cause a debate because like the whole co sleep or don't co sleep issue if you do it and it works for your family then bravo have at it. We have discussed it and its not for us case closed.
Option 3 is a great in comparison to option 2. When we were handed a 20lb baby in Ethiopia it was hard..10lbs later I have built up some strength but it's still very tiring to carry him everywhere. Which brings me to the realization that as much as I love holding him he's growing up and I need to embrace that and give him some freedom. The holding and cuddling can still be done at home in the rocking chair or on the couch.
And with that growing up Noah is starting to learn to drink from a cup.

Aren't these cute. They came in a pack of 4. Two of each color. Until he gets the hang of it he only gets a little bit of water at a time and typically only in the kitchen so its easy clean up when he spills which he does because he doesn't understand the concept of drinking and then tipping the cup back down again. He's used to sippy or straw cups.

Take your independence son but please take it slowly know that momma is here watching you learn to fly and trying not to cry as a little bit of my heart breaks and soars with you all at the same time.

A day at the Aquarium

Pictures from our afternoon at the aquarium yesterday. Hello octopus. Daddy this walkway is moving uphill.

Fish I choose you-for dinner. Is it wrong that he had a fish sandwich for dinner last night haha.

Noah loved these bubble tubes.

I can do the stairs on my own.

Room to run.

What should I build?

This is what I destroyed.

Hello down there

No pictures Dad.

20 Months/10 months

Today Noah is 20 months old. As of the 20th he has been with us 10 months. That magical time when he has been with us longer then he was without us. I won't say I feel like he's always been with us because it doesnt. Very clearly I remember the days, weeks, months and years of longing for a child and how painful that time in my life was. I remember feeling like Sean and I were a couple and not a family and how part of me felt empty.
However I can also remember like it was yesterday walking thru those gates and seeing Noah for the first time ( a little puff of curls over the top of a bouncy seat). I watched someones "gotcha video" last night and held my breath as I saw them walk that path and stand outside those gates. Our son has changed us in many ways and we will forever be greatful for what he he brings to our life.
Noah now has 17 teeth and #18 is on its way. We have started introducing him to potty training and its going great. He doesnt know how to tell us when he has to go but he will sit on the potty and pee if we ask him if he wants to. He is doing a great job riding the bike he got for christmas. He loves balls, books, cars, tools and blocks.
Happy 20 month birthday Noah Tamirat you are my joy and I can't belive you have been with us half your little life.

Postplacement visits.

Saturday is our last postplacement visit. There are no words to describe how happy I am to be done with these. We still have to write yearly reports until Noah Tamirat is 18 but we will no longer have a social worker coming in and judging us as a family. I feel so much better prepared for this last visit. Because of the timeing of when they need to be done to get to our agency and then to Ethiopia in time ours have actually been done at 1 month, 4 months and now 10 months home. They are 3, 6 and 12 month reports. When we did our 3 month report I felt lost. We barely knew this child, there was no schedule or routine , lord only knows when we last had a good nights sleep. The questions felt overwhelming and I wondered what our SW would write about us as a family. The 6 month report was only slightly better because we were still very sleep deprived and still very much getting to know our son. The routine /schedule was a little bit closer to being established but not there yet. I was feeling like a failure. And some how she still wrote it was in Noah's best interest to stay in our family..Really , wow thats good to know.

At this stage I think we are much more prepared. We have a schedule and most importantly we have been getting sleep. Ten months with Noah have allowed us to see more of his personality and become more of a family. The questions that we are asked shouldn't be a problem to answer and I don't feel as lost and won't feel like as much of a failure. Here's hopeing she still finds it in Noah's best interest to be part of our family because we aren't letting him go I think we are kind of attached.