A Gorgeous January Day

100th Day of School

To celebrate the 100th day of school, Lexi made these super-cool glasses

She also made a necklace from 100 fruit loops.  She's modeling the necklace in this picture with GG and GG's friend, Mark.

The fruit loops were quite the treat because I don't typically allow food-color-ridden cereal in the house.  Unfortunately, Lexi left her necklace on the coffee table while we ate dinner and Lani (our chihuahua) helped herself to a snack.  Lexi was heartbroken, so we made a compromise and went to Whole Foods to get some natural fruity cereal to make a new necklace.  All was right in Lexi's world again.

Fascination

Jayvan is fascinated with the fireplace.  As soon as Matt turns it on, he turns to look at it and won't take his eyes off of it.  Methinks we'll be talking about fire safety at a young age.

Adoption Perceptions

For a few years now, my DVR has been set to record Adoption Stories on Discovery Fit & Health.  I don't always watch the show, but when I have some extra time (like this morning when Jayvan woke up at 5am), I'll watch an episode or two.  They are generally heart-warming stories of potential adoptive parents being matched with their forever children.  I also recognize that some people out there may be watching this show who don't have personal experiences with adoption.  This may be how they think adoption and adoptive parents are.

I told myself when we started on this adoption journey that I wouldn't let myself get upset about the little things and little bits of terminology that I deem inappropriate.  However, this episode of Adoption Stories made my blood pressure rise.

It started when the mom said,"I've always had a heart for children who were unloved."

Children who are placed for adoption are not unloved by their birthparents.  I can't even imagine thinking for one second that Jayvan's birthparents don't love him deeply.  Birthparents love their children so much that they want to make sure they have the best possible life.  Are there exceptions?  I'm sure there are, but the mass majority of placing parents care deeply for their children.  Thinking of adopted children as "unloved" just perpetuates any feelings they might have about themselves as unwanted or undeserving and that it so far from the truth.  Adopted children are often loved by more parents than birth children.

Then she had advice for people who are thinking about adopting or fostering, "Look at this as a gift you give to invest in someone else's life."  I'm sorry lady, but you're not a martyr. You are a woman who wanted a daughter after having three sons and you adopted one.  Yes, she went through foster care which can have more ups and downs (and I won't pretend to understand all of those since I haven't been there).  However, ultimately this woman wanted a daughter and she got one.  Now, one could argue that having children in any way is investing in someone else's life.  In a way it is.  However, as I look at my sleeping son next to me, I don't think, "I'm so glad I gave him the gift of investing in his life."  Instead, I look at him and think, "Thank God for blessing me with this son."  We got the ultimate gift.

Then at the end, the adoptive dad said, "We want her to understand that her life is changed because we were able to give her a chance."  Way to set her up with a guilt complex from day one.  OK.  I guess there are those parents out there who want their children to feel indebted to them for eternity, but I'm not that kind of parent.  I want my children to know that they are an incredible blessing to us and ultimately to everyone they encounter (that's the goal at least). 

So, long story short, children are a blessing.  Parents are blessed.

Got Milk?

B I N G O

Lexi's school hosted a Bingo night and it was so much fun.  Nana joined us.  Matt was there too, but he always hides from the camera.

 After several rounds of losing cards, Lexi finally won and she chose a Monopoly game as her prize.

She wishes that there was Bingo every weekend.

Not a Fan

Jayvan is officially not a fan of oatmeal, which is unfortunate, because Lexi and I eat it frequently for breakfast. 

First Swimming Lesson

Lexi started swimming lessons at our gym. Her class is every Saturday for eight weeks.  She seems to really enjoy it, but she's not a fan of trying to get the rings off of the bottom of the pool.  I look forward to seeing her progress over the next eight weeks.

6 months old

It's hard to believe that six months have gone by since we first held you in our arms.  You are more amazing and more loved everyday.

At six months:

• You have your two bottom teeth.
• You sit up on your own for long periods of time.
• You giggle and jabber all the time.
• You still wake up for a bottle once or twice a night.
• You roll and pivot, but you still aren't interested in crawling.
• You love your family including the four-legged family members.
• Everywhere we go, people comment on your hair and how big you are.
• You weight about 23 lbs (big boy!).
• You still only want to drink 4 oz. of formula at a time.
• You seem to have no interest in solid food, but you do grab everything in your reach.

We continue to be so thankful for God for the amazing blessing of being your parents.  

Now Two Teeth!

On the last day that Lexi can say, "We're both five (five months and five years)," Jayvan got his second tooth.  He now has both bottom teeth, but he is still a bit shy about showing them off.  Lexi says, "They are pretty little and need to grow some more." 

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year by eating Chinese and playing games with some of our favorite people. Jayvan fell asleep before I remembered to get the camera out.