Upon This Rock...: Theo's been home for 10 days now...

....and we love him more than ever. Little man is truly and completely awesome. He's a fireball of energy, which means he fits right in with his big brothers. We're having a lot of fun getting to know him (and him us), and the transition home has been smoother than we ever anticipated.

My biggest fears when preparing to bring Theo home were food (would he eat what we normally eat? If not, what WOULD he eat?!?), communication (was the language barrier going to be a huge hurdle? Would we be able to know what was wrong or what he needed?), and bonding (more so for me - Heidi - than Mike, since I wasn't traveling to pick him up and would be starting a bit behind when he did finally get home). I can honestly say that all three of these have been so much easier than I expected.

Food-wise, little man loves to eat. Especially sweet things (mostly fruit, since we don't really keep any processed foods in the house. Fresh fruits, though? We have a lot of those, and he LOVES them). We've only had him turn his nose up at things that are more of a "Mexican" flavour - anything with a taco/fajita seasoning to it he hasn't liked. Everything else though? He's loved it. Some consistencies he's not a big fan of, but the times are few and far between when he turns his nose up at something that we are serving.

Language? Let's just say Theo has no problems expressing himself, haha. He signs some, which has been super helpful (I took ASL in college, and we've been able to piece together enough common signs or rudimentary signs to communicate pretty easily). He's a VERY smart little boy, too, and I usually only have to show him a new sign once before he'll start using it on a regular basis. (Today, I taught him "coffee" at breakfast. I couldn't help myself, haha. When I made a second cup after lunch to enjoy during his nap (my routine - drinking a second cup of coffee during naptime/quiet time), he pointed to my cup and repeated the coffee sign to me, unprovoked. I'm telling you, this boy is SMART!).

Bonding is going so much better than I expected. For the first week, he pretty much stuck like glue to Mike (or Rascal #1 if he was around). I worried that he wasn't going to trust me, or really bond to me. This week, though, we've purposefully made it so that he and I are alone together quite a bit (we have a babysitter this summer who is coming and taking the other kids on field trips and doing things like the beach or the library or gymnastics....basically, places that we would do in normal circumstances), and he has to rely on me to meet his basic needs (food, comfort, things like that). I can honestly say that I think I'm enjoying our one-on-one time as much as he appears to be. I forgot how much fun it was to play with a toddler! It's been a long time since I've had a little one that's Theo's age/ability, and I am thoroughly enjoying the simple things: building block towers, playing with cars, playing dress up (he LOVES dress up...especially if I take pictures and then show him so he can see what he looks like!), singing goofy songs, playing with bubbles or with a water table. Yesterday, he gave me a kiss, unprovoked, for the first time as I put him down for his afternoon nap. It was a great moment! Tonight, I ran out to the store to get a few things, and he greeted me at the back door (where the garage is), with a huge grin and a "HI!", and then followed me around, smiling and babbling, and literally holding on to my skirt as I put the groceries away. I'm a happy mommy. :) He's very definitely warming up to me and recognizing me as Mommy, it feels like.

This weekend is Theo's first Fourth of July in the United States. The weather is supposed to be perfect. I think we might take our whole gang to a parade and celebrate, finally, as a family of 7.

God is so good.

He LOVES putting anything on his head. Hat? Yep. Puzzle bucket? Yep. Mommy's hat? Definitely yep. A bedsheet, to wear as a cape? Yep. A toy storage basket? Apparently yep.