HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

We just can't get enough of Benjamin's laughter!

A Little Update for February

I have not been as faithful at keeping this blog updated as I would like to be. Sometimes it seems like life just happens so fast that I forget to keep track of what goes on. Benjamin is keeping us very busy these days and I just realized that I have only taken about 10 pictures in the past 3 weeks. I've got to be better!

School is well underway for Matt and we are SOOO looking forward to his graduation in May. Only four weeks into the semester and already his classes feel a bit overwhelming. Benjamin has been keeping me very busy as he is constantly looking for things to get into. I can only imagine what life will be like when he starts walking. For now I have learned that he would much rather play with just about anything except his toys. He does like his toys, but for some reason, everything else is just so much more interesting. Today I left him to play with his toys in the living room and a couple of minutes later I heard pages turning. I looked around the corner at him and saw that he had scooted to our bookshelf and managed to pull a book off. Being in the oral stage that he is, he was attempting to see if the book was edible.

Other news on the developmental front: Benjamin is now clapping his hands (so cute), spending lots of time on his hands and knees rocking back and forth (not crawling yet), learning to drink from a sippy cup (OK, mostly creating small lakes of water on the kitchen floor), loving his solid food, and last but not least, learning that crying is a way to get attention. So, we are finding that while we would love to stay at the stage where a child cannot be spoiled, we are no longer there and it's tough. We are praying for wisdom in how to train Benjamin at this young age, and for freedom from guilt when letting him cry makes us feel like bad parents. Overall though, Benjamin continues to be a pretty happy baby and gives us lots of reasons to laugh and smile.

Here are some of the pictures we have taken recently. I am determined to do better over the coming weeks at picture taking, so hopefully there will be more to follow soon.

We are Final!

What an exciting week this was! After waiting the required six months after placement, we finalized our adoption! WOOHOO! We traveled to Dallas on January 13 and stayed in a ridiculously priced hotel in order to be close to the courthouse. At 8:20 on January 14 we arrived at the courthouse and met our lawyer. Then we proceeded to the courtroom. We were in the family court area. Having never been to court before, I nearly lost it when the judge entered and the bailiff said "all rise." We rose and less than two seconds later the judge said be seated, so we sat. I don't know why but I had the hardest time not laughing at at the fact that we stood up for like 2 seconds. Anyway, we sat and waited for our turn and realized that pretty much everyone else there was waiting for the judge to hear their divorce case. Really very sad. So we got to be the highlight of the morning. I mean finalizing an adoption is way better than a divorce right!?! After we raised our right hands and swore to tell the truth, the judge asked "and what about the child?" :) So then we proceeded with our yesses and our no's and the adoption was final. The judge then reached behind him and pulled out a teddy bear which he presented to Benjamin. Benjamin thought that it looked tasty! Here are the pictures to proove the day!

Waiting to be Final

Picture with the judge

A Finalized Family

Benjamin with our lawyer

Benjamin Swinging at the park

Going to the Park

We had some beautiful weather last week and I decided that it was time for Benjamin to experience the swings. He loves to be "thrown" up in the air or swung around, so I figured that he would love the baby swings. He did and was so cute. He also enjoyed the slide and demonstrated his leg strength. We may have an early walker! Benjamin just loves the outdoors!

Trying Some Vegetables

Benjamin was introduced to the wonderful world of vegetables this past week. His first vegetable was peas and he gagged and spit and made faces that said he thought we were just terrible for feeding them to him. But the next day he did better and the day after that he ate them without complaint. He has now tried and at least tolerated peas, squash, green beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Tonight we let him try fruit and it may have ruined him for veggies. He ate those pears right up with no gagging or spitting.