It is hard to believe that it has been 3 weeks since we have returned from China. So much has happened in those 3 weeks...my baby girl finishing up summer school and attending her first soccer camp, me getting strep, and of course Oliver meeting so many new people and adjusting to his new family and life.
Oliver is doing so well. Many of you have asked about his sleep schedule...it is getting better. It really was never horrible. I just think he spoiled us in China by sleeping in the crib the whole time and sleeping the whole night- something Hannah never did. So when we got home, I just assumed he would sleep way better, but boy was I wrong. The biggest challenge was obviously the 12 hour difference and trying to get his days and nights flipped around. The other challenge was a new family, a new house, a new room...a room that only had one baby sleeping in it and no other noises to wake him up. What a huge shocking change for him...going from sleeping in a room with 10-15 cribs, all filled with babies, to a room with no cribs and only him. It really breaks my heart when I think about it...that was his normal for the first 16 months of his life... and he didn't know any different, until we came along. Considering how well he is doing, I am pretty sure he is ok with the change and we can't imagine it any other way.
Another huge difference between Oliver and Hannah is the eating. Oh my, I knew boys always ate way more...I grew up with 2 brothers and learned that they were the trash disposals and still are, but man, never thought my boy would love everything!! When we received Oliver's medical reports and daily routine, it said he only ate formula, because of his cleft palate, so we really weren't sure what to expect. Well from day one, he has eaten almost everything in sight. The only thing that he has really refused is yogurt and ice cream. We are really excited that we won't have to carry peas to the family gatherings and church carry-ins (that was Hannah's favorite). We are also excited to say that Oliver's eating habits have helped Hannah become a little braver in trying new things. She really has become a better eater in the last year and know that it will continue to get better.
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| Figuring out the snack cup |
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| Food is worth clapping for! |
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He leaves more Cheerios on the floor than in his mouth! :)
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Oliver is not walking yet, but is a really fast crawler and is standing on his own for longer periods of time. He does move pretty well walking behind the walker toy, don't really know what it is called. We expect him to take off any time now.
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"Where's Oliver?"...there he is! This started in China and hasn't
stopped- he does it for a while, then says, "Ma"- which means mommy do it. |
Bath Time
Well, bath time has been a little better than Hannah, but still not great. The first bath in China was stiff legged and refusing to sit, so we basically just rinsed him down. Then I got in with him after that and he was fine. When we got home, he still was not too happy about it, but as you can see, when Hannah is in the tub with him, he is much happier! He loves the water, so we know it will continue to get better each time!
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| Has anyone seen my rubber ducky? |
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While Hannah took a bath, he spent the whole time reaching into the
bathtub, slapping the side of the tub, then getting his hair wet. |
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Then I decided it was time for him to jump in with her.
It went very well! |
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| My bare naked cuties! |
Our first picnic together... Hannah loves to have picnics, so with the weather being so nice when we got home, we couldn't resist. She has been working really hard to be a great big sister- she loves to help feed him, change his diaper, give him toys, get his bottle ready...everything possible. She also loves to irritate him at times, but not too bad. She has really become a natural and we are so proud of her!
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| My little bird...he loves to eat!!! |
Favorite hobby...swinging, that is until he discovered bubbles this past weekend! When you get tired of holding your baby, what do you do, you put him in the swing!! Oliver loves to swing and has actually fallen asleep a few times! You can see in the pictures that there is no time for sleep! He loves when Hannah pushes him!
Hannah finally got her sandbox...thanks to our neighbor!! She loves it, but is having trouble keeping the sand in the sandbox. Then of course, you throw Oliver in the mix, and he likes to dump the sand out too!! We told her that we aren't refilling it, so when it is all empty, then she is done. She spent hours in it the first few days!!
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Searching for treasures...she actually buried her sand
toys, then wanted us to find them. |
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| Tasting the sand |
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| He is loving it! |
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| Uh, Mom, I think I poured some sand in my hair! |
Flashback...While I was scrolling through the pictures, I ran across the day we got Hannah...many people have told us that Oliver looks like Hannah...it is crazy to think how much they look like each other even though are from different provinces.
First Walk...Oliver was a little rough for the first stroller ride, but since then, he loves it! Roger figured out that he was frustrated because when we flipped the tray up to latch it, then Oliver couldn't see. As long as he has that down, he is a happy boy.
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| Faster, Baba, Faster!! |
Chopstick night...so we actually ate at quite a few Chinese restaurants while in China and some places did not provide American style utensils, so we struggled through. In the stores, we found some kid chopsticks that have a little creature at the top connecting the two sticks together...oh how it makes it much easier. Last week, I was talking to Hannah about picking a night to use chopsticks...she quickly declared Monday and Tuesday nights as chopstick nights. So here we are on our first night...
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| Baba used the real thing and did very well! |
When your child won't stay in the swing, you carry him while you are mowing. Don't worry, he was only in his arms for a few minutes, then Mama rescued him.
We have been truly blessed again through adoption and we are so thankful that God helped us find CCAI, then led us to Oliver!!! We are so grateful for all of you who prayed us through this journey and prayed us home after our delay!!! Thank you so much for all the support and encouraging words!!!
