Two Months Home Update!

Since we arrived home April 4th, tomorrow will be two months since E has been home with us!

*New Note: Many people choose to use nicknames for their kids on their blog, so we don't have to write out his name for the public to see.  So instead of writing "E" all the time, I am choosing to write out his nickname that we call him at home, "Gambo."  (If you want an explanation of why we call him this, just ask me)

OK, now... Month two has actually gone better than month one!

Isn't he a cutie!

We saw lots of progress in month one, but it was still a tough month to get used to the new dynamic in the home.  On top of that, the month was filled with doctor's visits and blood draws for Gambo and for me, since I came home from Uganda with something.  It turns out I had mononucleosis.

I am much better now and so is Gambo.  In month two we finally decided we needed some structure to Gambo's day and started scheduling him.

"Hey, if the shoe fits..."

It hasn't been the easiest thing to do, but I think he likes it much better than when he spends his day wondering when he'll eat or take a nap.  It also helps me know how our day is going to look.

Sliding around in a box is way fun!

In the last month Gambo has made a lot of progress and celebrated a big milestone... his first birthday!!! (more on that later)

-He makes a lot more sounds with his mouth, trying out new ones each day.
-He has learned to climb our stairs... and also learned to climb down (as of yesterday).
-He has gained more weight and height.
-He began teething and cut his first tooth!  One of his upper front teeth just broke the surface yesterday!

I wish I was as flexible as this boy.  He would be a yoga master!

And one of the biggest successes this month.... he has started showing real affection.

This is not something that many mothers of biological children tend to think about.  But as an adoptive parent you always wonder if your child really wants you, is faking affection, or really doesn't trust you yet to take care of them for the rest of their life.  Trusting and caring for someone is scary since there is a risk that they could leave you.  So, sometimes it is easier to withhold affection so that you can't get hurt.

Though we didn't realize it at the time, when we first got Gambo, he was withholding affection.  

I know that now because in the past month he has surprised us with showing affection!!  This is so amazing as we see just how much we are both starting to love and care for each other, him to us and us to him.

I'll never forget the first time I felt Gambo really give me a hug.  Yes, he hung on to me before, but this time, he had his arms wrapped strongly around my neck and was holding tight with his head resting on my shoulder.  It melted my heart and gave me butterflies!  It's kind of like falling in love with someone, as they give you their first hug.

Gambo is now giving lots of hugs... and even kisses!  He hasn't quite figured out how to close his mouth yet, so they are big open mouth, wet slobbery kisses... and I love them!  He even loves to cuddle now!

Other big happenings in month two: I celebrated my first Mother's Day!!

It's been a long wait for this.  It is strange how my opinion of Mother's Day has turned around so much since last year.  For the past several years, actually, Mother's Day for me has been pretty painful.  It was a day that I didn't want to go to church and have them ask all the mothers to stand up, while I sat quietly.  But this year, I was so happy to be Gambo's mother that it made the day so special.

Not only that, but the other special event on Mother's Day was that, at church, we dedicated ourselves to raising up Gambo for God's glory.

This is something that we are serious about and enjoyed the privilege to share our hopes for our family with our church here.

Let me just clarify, we did not baptize Gambo.  Baptism is something that he will have to make an individual decision about when he is old enough, and only when it is a public testimony to him having a saving faith in Jesus Christ.  Second, we did not dedicate/anoint him in a way that we are assuring him of his future salvation.  We cannot save our son.  ONLY GOD can save him.  It is not up to us or based on if we "dedicated" him or not.  Third, we were basically wanting to commit ourselves to raising him in a godly home, teaching him about God, and serving him to the best of our ability, so that God is glorified through us, and hopefully through Gambo if he chooses to follow Him.

OK, enough heavy stuff, what else has he been up to?

-Right after the one month update (when I said he was only "army crawling") he started crawling on his hands and knees.  Now he does this type of crawl a lot!



-We took our first family vacation and got away for a few days to sunny Palm Springs, CA.

We enjoyed a nice (and HOT) hike

Up to a small waterfall

We went swimming

And we celebrated his first birthday with his Gram, Grandpa, Uncle, Aunt, and cousins!

"You want me to do WHAT with this cake?"

 He didn't really like eating the cake

 But he enjoyed getting all messy and then getting Mama!

 He opened presents

Then I wanted to do something special and took ink prints of his feet and hands at one year old.

Cousin Brittany is helping

This is something that he probably didn't have done when he was born, so it was neat to have those first prints of when he is a little baby and to look back on them in the future.

We are thoroughly enjoying our new life as a family, and we are more in love with Gambo every single day that passes!

Time Flies!

Yesterday marked FOUR WEEKS home, or my boy's First Whole Month in the USA!

Time has flown by.  It has felt very short, but at the same time very long.  Arriving in Uganda seems like forever ago.  In the last 2.5 months that E has been with us (most of it was in Uganda) he has grown and changed so much!

The tiny little boy we met on day one... 

has become a chunky healthy active baby boy!  

This is the power of love, family, good nutrition, and God's mighty power and work of grace!  I love seeing the change in him!

A few things have happened in the past four weeks.  E has really learned to "crawl" and I mean, army crawl!  Here he is when he was first learning (oh how excited we were!):

Now he crawls wherever he can!

He also started out being able to just stand at the coffee table, and was trying to figure out how to move around it.

Now he can run circles around the table!

He began trying to use his dinosaur as a walker, but was very scared of it at first and couldn't move very far: (please excuse the annoying Mommy voice!)

Now, he walks all over the house with it!  He loves it so much and begs us everyday to walk with it.  He has even taken it down the sidewalk going several houses down!

He walks wonderfully holding our hands, and we are trying to get him to walk with just one hand:

A couple more firsts for him: he is able to hold his sippy cup now and get himself a drink.  He is not perfect at it yet, but he is learning.

He went to the annual Poppy Festival in town.

They had lots of booth with arts and crafts,

Food,

Camel rides. 

It was his first time seeing an camel. (I think he liked it)

What else have we been up to?

Well, here is Mark pulling weeds in the yard, with E strapped to his back!

Such a cutie

And here I am doing some baking, while carrying E.  I didn't want to get flour all over him, so the apron (which I got in Uganda, by the way) is on the outside!

He decided to become the newest member of the future military.

But he debated joining the future NFL, since draft day came up

Of course, he had to root for his favorite team... The Bears!

Then he changed his mind again and decided to stick with what he is best at, Drumming!

Our little Ugandan drummer

Lastly, he photo-bombed Mommy's photo of a rose in our yard. :-)

We have enjoyed his sense of humor and cute laughs.  Sometime E and I crack each other up so much that I just can't do anything I am laughing so hard!  We dance together, sing together, cook together, and take walks together.  He is a wonderful son, and I am so happy to have him in our lives.

We are looking forward to all the new things to come in the next month!

Home!

We made it home after a long 7 weeks in Uganda!

We were there longer than we expected, but we had lots of good bonding time with baby E.  He is such a cutie!

So, now we are settling into life as a family of three.  And I am trying to get the whole parenting thing down.  It's not easy, let me tell you!

But I love having E here with us now!  He makes us smile everyday.

I'm going to post some stories from Uganda soon, as well as some thought-provoking posts maybe.  I just need to get my head above the water first.

Life is different now, a lot less personal time, and I am pretty much surviving on coffee!

Oh the crazy things you can do with a boda...

Pickup Truck?... ppfffsstt... who needs it!

Need to move furniture, like a couch and two arm chairs?

You can strap it to your motorcycle!

Why not precariously balance all these furniture items on your little boda seat?

(Mark is on the boda to the right checking out the crazy sight!)

You'll still have room for you to sit, and make sure it gets to its destination.

Well, hello from Uganda!

Since I've been here over three weeks now, I guess I better post something.  It's been amazing!  We have welcomed our son into our arms and loved every moment with him.  Some of you may be following us along on Facebook.

So, as our time here is getting closer to the end, I wanted to post a few things that I like about Uganda and some things I am looking forward to when we get home.

What I like about Uganda:
1. The Boda Boda Rides!  Riding on the back of a motorcycle, no seatbelt, no helmet, sometimes side-saddle, is a crazy experience... but I can't imagine traveling any other way!  Taking a boda ride to get somewhere is not only money saving, but efficient.  They are cheaper to ride, and they can weave in and out of traffic to get us places faster.  I still enjoy some car rides, but I am thankful for skilled boda drivers to get me where I need to go.

2. Fresh Pineapple!  Who would have thought that I would need to come all the way to Uganda to get the best pineapple I've tasted in my life!  Who needs Hawaii... I've got Uganda!  The pineapple is in season right now, and it is the sweetest juiciest pineapple you'll get.  I have fresh pineapple or pineapple juice for breakfast every morning.  They also sell pineapple in carts on the side of the road.  When you bite into a piece, they are so juicy, the juices run down your mouth.  The awesome bonus is that they are not as acidic as pineapple in the States, so you can eat a whole bunch and not get sores on your mouth!

3. The Countryside.  We've been able to get out of the city a couple of times and seen how beautiful Uganda is!  I love the green hills covered with trees, the fields of banana trees, sugar cane, or tea.  There are waterfalls and lakes and wildlife.  It truly is a beautiful country!

4. The Warm Greetings.  Every time I enter a shop I hear "You're Welcome!"  At first it makes me stop and think, "Should I have said 'Thank you' for something?  Why are they saying 'You're welcome'?"  But they are just saying, "You are welcome to come into my shop.  I want you here.  I welcome your business.  I like seeing you here, etc."  Great customer service!  They are so kind and friendly.  Not only that but every time we return to our guest house, someone says, "Welcome back!'  I love it!

5. Cheap Prices.  OK, I had to mention this because I like to shop and they have some great things a cheap prices here!  I can buy beautiful african crafts at a fraction of what I would pay for them in the States.  Eating out is less expensive too.

6. The Food.  I actually like the food we've had here so far.  I love the typical Ugandan meals of "posho" (which is big lumps of corn flour dough, sometimes mixed with cassava) and beans, plus their meat in a delicious peanut sauce, sweet potato, yams, and "matooke" (cooked mashed banana).  We've also had some of the best pizza here too, wood-fired Italian style pizza.  I have to just say the "Hawaiian" is amazing because of the fresh pineapple.  And the "chapati" bread that you can buy on the side of the road is so good!

What I am looking forward to when I get home:
1. Not Sleeping Under a Mosquito Net Anymore.  Yeah, it gets old to have to crawl in and out of each time you need to get out of bed (or take care of a baby).  I want to sleep not worrying about mosquitos all night.

2. Being Able to Drink the Tap Water.  And being able to brush my teeth with the tap water.  Buying bottled water gets expensive and old.  It's crazy to think that a lot of the world does not have clean drinking water!  We take it for granted that we can drink out of our faucets and not die of a horrible disease.

3. Easier Baby Care.  It's just not that easy to do some things while staying in a guest house.  We have to wash all our baby bottles by hand and then take them downstairs to sanitize them in the microwave.  This happens once or twice a day.  (It used to be more often before we went out and bought more bottles).  We have a shower instead of a tub in our room. It's not a big deal because our son loves his shower, but he doesn't get a bath.  Also not much counter space to prepare bottles, feed him baby food, etc.

4. Tolerance of Mixed Families.  I know this sounds strange, but I am looking forward to Americans who think it is OK for us to be a white couple with a black baby. Not everyone in America thinks this way, but it is becoming more OK.  Surprisingly we have run into several Ugandans who just don't understand the concept of adoption.  They have lots of questions, and lots of opinions.  "You can't be that baby's mother!" "Where did you get him?" and several head shakes and finger wags.  Truly, I understand where they are coming from.  It is a new concept to them.  And most of what they hear about is people in this country who kidnap babies to use in human sacrifices and rituals!  Some people believe that if you sacrifice a human baby at your construction site than your business will have good luck.  So babies are kidnapped and murdered!  Plus witch doctors have all sorts of things they do with babies.  It is sad, and sickening, and scary.  So, I figure some of these people think we may be doing that very thing!  It's hard for me to let them think things like that, but I try to show them that I love my son very much.  I would never do anything to harm him.  But don't misunderstand and think this is happening everywhere we go.  We do get smiles from people and well wishes.  But we also get a LOT of double takes (especially if we are out walking along the road).  I know the States will bring their own challenges with people's opinions of us, but as least they won't assume we are going to sacrifice this baby!

5. Routine.  I am just looking forward to getting into a routine for caring for my son.  Our days here are so varied.  Sometimes we have to get up early, sometimes we have not much to do during the day.  It's hard to establish a routine.  Once home, we'll get a chance to set up how we are going to do things and put E down for naps at all the appropriate times.  (I am not looking forward to Mark going back to work, however.  I love having him around!)

There may be more I'll add to the list later, but that's what I got for now!