BEHOLD--The Sucker!!

Today was the first official doctor visit for David here in the USA. As we waited David remained more pleasant and patient than most of the adults.  Once the paperwork was finished, we immediately went in to see the doctor and nurse, who were amazingly helpful and appealing to both David and me. The doctor decided to get started on his next round of shots and take care of some tests for our adoption paperwork. He really enjoyed saying "Chapin" (pronounced Cha-peen; a nickname for Guatemalans) when the friendly technicians took his chest x-ray. He did NOT, however, enjoy the shot or when the the nurses drew his blood. He cried but, afterwards one of the nurses gave him a sucker, so he quickly forgave all involved.

Kyle returned to work this Monday, and while he loves his classes and teaching, he's stated that he loves coming home to a cute little boy who calls him "Daddy" and who talks about him all day. In fact, I love watching Kyle come home--both of their eyes light up when they see each other, and Daddy time with David inevitably includes horseplay, reading, and eating. 

I'm enjoying my time off because I know very soon it will be over, and my "holiday" will disappear. In January, I'll return to teaching and begin rehearsing for our musical, BYE BYE BIRDIE. Until then, David, Daddy & I are playing games, laughing, experiencing "Terrible Two" moments, and trying to finish up all our loose ends and paperwork before reality takes over. David is definitely teaching me more about myself than I am teaching him, and these memories at home with him will always be special to me.

FYI - Spaghetti and kids, while cute, do not go together, so our pasta meals now include larger, easily grasped noodles.

Emily

Days of Fun...

I must say that the last few days we have cleared huge hurdles and accomplished small victories into normal stability. 

Bath time is no longer scary or filled with David's tears. We've convinced him that sitting in the tub is a good thing. We simply hold him in a seated position and then place him in the water. Now, when we pour water over his head, we have him cover his eyes, and it seems to be working. (It probably doesn't eliminate water in the eyes, but like many things in life, it's human nature to view things as okay only when we feel we have some form of control.)

The dogs are becoming David's friends. Not only is he no longer panicking when they walk by him, but he constantly asks for them when they're not around. Today, I took them to the groomer's, and he looked out the window or would point throughout the house, asking, "Puppy?" Also, the cutest thing happened tonight, and I must be honest that my heart absolutely melted. In fact, I came very close to shedding a tear! David was on the floor playing with his new toy, a 3-tiered race track, and Gunther, our oldest child, quietly walked over to David and plopped himself down between David's legs. David then leaned down and began petting and kissing on Gunther!!! Oh, my Mama heart melts to think my children are getting along. So precious!

Additionally, David is improving his English with each new word. To date, David now says, good job, socks, shoes, pillow, puppy, ears, nose, eyes, mouth, eat, please, easy, tortilla, more, and several others. He's our little sponge. We went on an outing to Barnes & Noble and purchased several small books to help him learn his numbers, alphabet, etc.

We discovered David not only likes fajitas, but Kyle fixes amazingly fresh homemade tortillas! Very authentic! Kyle is so cute! He has to constantly battle the urge to buy David toys and other items he might enjoy.

Today, we also had our first of three home study interviews. Kimberly, our case worker, was extremely nice and taken by David, and it was great to know that her two children were adopted, so we have/will experience some of the same issues. Her advice was also very sound.

The weather's been uncommonly warm for this time of year, and we've taken advantage of every opportunity. David's enjoyed riding his big car up and down the driveway, and belly laughs occur from all the Farnhams when David tumbles off his car or wrestles with Kyle. He is ALL BOY, by the way.

It's been a great week! Emily

Slowly, but surely...

Another good day filled with ups and downs in the Farnham household. David went on another road trip, this time to Target to get a few supplies and to the grocery store to get more of his favorite foods, milk and bananas! David also managed to get another truck for his collection. (It just jumped into the basket!)

In the afternoon, Emily and David used some sidewalk chalk to decorate the driveway. David was able to meet the neighbor boy from across the street, and the three of them "tagged' my concrete while I went to a meeting. There have been a lot less tears and "no's" as we continue to figure out how we are going to work as a family. David is increasingly getting more accustomed to the dogs as we frequently see him hugging and giving them kisses. We have also been helping him play fetch and feed them snacks. Things are going well.

David has also started the "Farnham Language Immersion School." This consists of me saying words in English and him either saying them back, pointing to it, or a combination of both. After a few words, he is then rewarded with a mini M&M. Too bad my classes could not be this easy. As I said before, it was a good day.

Q&A - Do you know what the best thing about bedtime is? That is when Emily and I get to eat the candy and cookies we do not let him have yet. We call it "Adult Time."

Special Update - As some of you may know from previous posts, bath time is not the quietest time in our home. David has insisted on standing during bath time and this has worried me as I was concerned about him falling down or hitting his head. Emily and I tried a rubberized bathtub mat, but he was still wobbly as ever. So tonight Emily and I both helped with bath time (a united front) and just sat him down in the tub for his bath. There were a few tears (his, not ours), but soon he realized that he was okay and started playing with his toys again. A small hurdle cleared.

And let me tell you, it was stressful!!! I knew there would be tears and I did not want to scare him, but this was something that needed to be fixed. I felt so tired after we finished drying him off and getting him into his pajamas.

Kyle

Update: Operation Dogs are Nice

Slowly but surely David's succumbing to the fact that both he and the dogs must co-exist together in the house. We've baby-stepped our way to comfort with the dogs: having David stare at them through the window; holding one dog while the other parent holds David; having David throw the ball to the dogs; petting them; having them walk around together...the list continues. Once David grows more confident, we'll have David help feed the dogs and give them treats to establish a proper pecking order with the dogs, so they'll know David provides food like us. Overall, the magic solution to coexisting is simply going to be time.


Another developing element in our saga has been the two-year-old mentality of "mine" and "no." Right now, one of his favorite things is to test us. He loves to claim things as his own, or he'll want our help one minute and then not the next. The honeymoon is definitely over! He's trying to tell us, "No," and Kyle and I are quickly learning to chose our battles, giving him fewer chances to tell us, "No," and more opportunities for us to say, "Yes." The great thing about parenting seems to be that we'll always have another chance to handle things differently next time, so we're quickly learning and adjusting as we go. :)

David finally got to meet Uncle Clint, Aunt Jana, and Uncle Kyle. Too bad he had to take a nap. (Sticking to our schedule hasn't always been convenient, but it's a necessary evil in establishing our norm.)

This morning (Mon.) we went to the park since this is probably the warmest it will be for a while. David loved the slides, the swing, and climbing over anything he could. Definitely ALL BOY!! Kyle and I enjoyed seeing him giggle and flash that charming smile as he played.


Another major triumph was that he actually wanted his shoes off and helped put them up in his closet. Of course, not two minutes later he wanted them back, but at least it's a small victory for now. Talk to you later.

Emily

Home Sweet Home

Well we are home. We arrived back Thursday afternoon and spent the rest of the day trying to introduce David to everything around the house and his other grandparents (Mammy and Paw Paw Ron). David loved his room and all of his new toys. However, he was not too excited about the dogs, so we will have to take those introductions one day at a time. It took him a little bit to go the bed, but he eventually got the sleep that he needed.


Today was our first whole day back home and we have been trying to figure out a routine. The morning passed with the typical activities: breakfast, playing, dancing, wrestling, singing, talking, and watching some TV. We watched the dogs through the windows and doors to give David a safe place to get used to them. Poppy and Granna took us to get some more clothes and to the toy store to find David something to ride on and push around. David loves his new "carro" and rides it all over the house.

When we got home Emily had Eoghan (pronounced "owen") in the house to try and help David get to know the dogs better. He was not as upset with a dog in the house as he was last night, but David did make sure to play on the opposite side of the room as Eoghan. Later, we let the rest of the dogs in and kept them behind the baby gate in the back of the house. They did not seem to know what was going on, but they were just glad to be out of the cold. On the bright side, David seems to be aware of when his diaper needs to be changed so potty training may not be too far in the future. Now It is time for bed for me too. We are glad to be home and will be posting whenever we get the chance and/or whenever something new happens.

Kyle