An Update - with pictures!

Man, I really thought I would be blogging all the time once we were home. Guess I should have paid more attention to those parents who don't. Who knew being a pregnant homeschooling mommy of five, including three preschoolers, would be so time consuming. Ha ha!

Things are still going great! Zeb has learned the rules of the house quite rapidly. He no longer tries to get into everything. He doesn't throw nearly as many fits about food and a simple, "No fits!" from me will get him quiet in no time. AND - he chewed last night! The magic food? Maple Pecan Cake! (no pecans for him though) He enjoyed it very much!

Last Friday we went to the zoo. I wouldn't say he loved it, but he did have a good time. I'm not convinced he saw many animals. We're having his eyes checked in two weeks. And he did NOT like the carousel. Scared the poor boy to death. You should have seen how white his knuckles got clinging to the pole and grabbing me around the neck trying to climb off. Oh well, he had fun dancing to the music while the other kids rode.

Zeb seems to be verbalizing more and more. No words still, but he mouthed "Ma Ma" last night for Mike. When I ask him to try it he just laughs at me. He's so cruel.

Zeb had most all eyes on him at church Sunday morning. Our little congregation got a real kick out of him "praising" to the music. He waves his hands around and tries to dance. The boy loves music. I guess that's no surprise.

We have many adventures planned over the next several weeks. I'll try to take LOTS of pictures.

Here's our most recent adventures:

Brothers!

Zeb and Lillian

Falling asleep on Ainsley

Enjoying the ride

The other four

Strong boys

Petting the goat

Checking out the weasels

Sisters!

Not so sure about this.

That fish may be as big as Zeb.

Clinging to Nealy!

Feeding himself.

Super cool!

Settling In

Don't you hate those bloggers who leave the country with their newly adopted child and then you don't hear from them FOREVER? I was SO not going to be one of those bloggers.

And, yet, here I am. We've been home a week and a half and I haven't said one word on my blog. I will not judge those bloggers again. Getting home and settling into life again is no simple matter.

I wish I had some great homecoming pictures to share with you, but I haven't received any yet. I do have the homecoming video. It's not as full of emotion as I thought it would be. But we kinda surprised the family by coming in early. Only a couple minutes early, but they had forgotten that we had already gone through passport control in D.C.

And then, on the drive home, I knew I would be sick the next day. Sure enough! I woke up with a sinus infection. So my first two days home were perfectly miserable with aches, pains, fever and much sleeping. Luckily, my mom was available to come help with the children while I was in bed and Mike was back to work.

But how are we now? We are doing good. Zeb has settled into the family famously. He got into a easy routine within a day of being home. He has gotten much more relaxed about meals. The first couple of days were rough. Lots of fits, but he quickly learned that fits aren't allowed and we WILL feed him until he's full (a feeling he knows now).

Zeb has bonded with all the kids, but most especially with Ainsley, our 7 year old. He adores her. Lillian, our 4 year old, wants to hold Zeb and cries when she can't. But she has gotten used to the fact that she can't carry him. She can, however, play with him. And they play together during school time. Eli and Zeb have a like/dislike relationship. They are the same age. Eli tries to be nice to Zeb most of the time, but when Zeb wants a toy that is Eli's favorite, well. . . . they are two. Let's just say, Eli has walked away with bite marks a couple of times. And Max. Max is the oldest. He is 12. He is very used to being the oldest of many littles so to him, not too much has changed. He treats Zeb like he has always been his little brother. It is very heartwarming.

Zeb is continuing to pick up signs. He has learned "Daddy" "Mommy" "dog" "cat" "please" and "thank you". He is trying to stay more on his feet lately. He will seek out toys that have wheels so that he can walk behind them. This morning, he grabbed the push cart and walked back and forth across the living room. Again and again and again. He still hasn't learned to chew, but we are hoping to get some therapy for that very soon; along with all the other therapies he needs.

All that to say, we are all doing very well. Zeb makes us smile every day. He is so happy and generally content. We are blessed to have him in our family.

I will try to post some pictures this weekend. I've been too busy enjoying being home to get out the camera. Sorry. In the meantime, here's the homecoming video:

Almost There

So much to tell. I know I have been very quiet the last several days. Quite honestly, I’ve been a little depressed. I miss my children so badly that my heart aches inside my chest and my eyes well up with tears more times a day than I care to count. But I am trying to be strong, because I know they are doing their best to be strong for me. And, like I’ve said a hundred times, “He’s worth it.”

But since you didn’t come to hear me whine, I will tell you more about Zebadiah. He is the happiest child I have ever seen. Unless of course, you take too long in feeding him or offer him food he doesn’t want. Then, he will throw himself down in the floor and wail. It’s ugly. But he’s quickly learning that just won’t fly with us. He’ll find himself in his crib until he calms down. Which normally doesn’t take long.

Zeb was fabulous on our flight to the capital. He loved looking out the window. He wouldn’t touch the food. He slept for about an hour or so of the four and a half hour flight. And he stays content even with not much to do. He didn’t cry once. Here is a picture of him sleeping in my arms. His eyes never fully shut. It looked like he was staring at me. So bizarre.

Zeb likes to sit with either Mike or me when he is ready to go to sleep. He will give us a kiss, then lay his head down on our chest, stick his thumb in his mouth and go to sleep. We then put him in his crib and he sleeps peacefully (mostly) until it’s time to wake up. Today, he was sitting next to Mike when he fell asleep. It was very entertaining. I captured it on video for you.

Zeb has also learned that if you want to play quietly or snuggle, then go to Mommy. If you want to play rough and be tickled, go to Daddy. Here he is playing with his Daddy today:

Yesterday, we made it to McDonald’s. THAT was an experience. I wish I had pictures for you. We walked into the biggest McDonald’s I’ve ever seen. And I kid you not, there were about 500 people there. It had two levels, 30 registers, tables everywhere (all taken), and even some touch screen computers built into the wall in several locations. We learned the hard way that you are supposed to find a table, or stand by one until the current residents gets up, then have one person go order your food while the other person holds the table. We ended up outside sitting on the edge of the garden bed. Zeb wouldn’t try anything either. No French fries, no nuggets, not even a small bite of the bread from a burger bun. Silly boy. But even though he won’t eat anything other than yogurt, oatmeal and kefir, he sits very quietly and contentedly while we stuff our faces. Here he is while we ate breakfast this morning:

This morning, after sleeping 13.5 hours, Zeb ate breakfast and then the doctor came to our hotel room for the medical exam. He was here no more than 10 minutes. He measured Zeb and guesstimated his weight, listened to his heart and lungs and then said his heart sounded good, but his weight showed ‘failure to thrive’. He will always be little, but we’ve got to get him to gain some weight.

Tomorrow we have our Embassy interview and will get Zeb’s visa. Then we leave for the airport Saturday morning at 9:00. It will be an extremely long day with one 10.5 hour flight followed by a 3.5 hour flight, but at the end of all of that travel, I get to see my children. I’m gonna bawl like a baby.

Lazy Sunday

We slept late this morning. Probably not because Zeb slept late, but he doesn't make a sound when he wakes, so I didn't know. It was cold and raining this morning. Normally the sun is so bright coming in our window in the morning, there is no way to over sleep. But with the rain, thus clouds, plus our super quiet boy, you get the picture.

We have seen him lose it several times today. All because of food. He cried when breakfast took too long. All of 6 minutes. He cried when the oatmeal was gone. Then he had kefir. He cried when it was lunch time and he knew I was making it, but it wasn't ready yet. He cried when his first bowl of food was gone. He cried when the second one was gone. Honestly, we're just gonna have to let him cry and maybe distract him. He is eating WAY more than he ever has, I'm sure of it. And I don't want to deal with the effects of overfeeding him.

He awoke from his nap crying. Not really sure why. And he didn't sleep very long this afternoon. So we put him in the bed with us and he rested for a little while longer. Didn't go back to sleep though.

He has learned already how much fun Daddy can be. He has been going to Daddy more and more. And today, he said "Dada." Just what will this boy learn tomorrow? We talk about the cars outside when he hears them and makes car noises. He started saying, "k-k-k". (the 'K' sound) Oh yeah, he'll be talking in no time.

He's been playing with a bucket he found in the kitchen. He went to the kitchen a minute ago and crawled back to us with the bucket on his head. He's so entertaining! We've been listening to our local Christian music station online and he has started dancing a little. And with all of that going on, having a toddler around has been strangely quiet. Many times he will come to either Mike or me and just want to sit in our lap for a while. He is just so sweet.

Only two more days in region before we head for the capital city for embassy appointments. Home is so close I can almost touch it. I so want to hold my children. This is certainly the hardest and most rewarding thing I've ever done.

We Gotcha Zeb!

Ok, admittedly not the best Gotcha Day videos here. In fact, we were only a couple steps from the door when they brought him to us. It was very anti-climactic.

Oh, and yes we forgot to take off our shoe covers when we left.

This is Zeb's reaction to the big city:







Some pictures from the car:

And here is our beautiful boy sleeping last night:







We have skyped with our kids back home several times and Zeb loves seeing their faces. He really enjoyed getting to see Eli this morning. Oh the fun those two will be together.



We found out this morning that Zeb is extremely impatient when it's mealtime. I was waiting for his oatmeal to cool off and he started crying. Then he would fuss in between bites. He ate an entire bowl of oatmeal, then a half a bowl of blueberry kefir. He's had some animal crackers. He ate a few bites of my bread with Nutella. He does not like bananas. Spit that out. He does not like scrambled egg. Spit that out too. He gobbled up his lunch then came and begged for a bite of mine.



But you are never going to believe this. Before lunch today, we watched My First Signs (a Signing Time video) and during the video he learned to say "eat" and "more." Did I mention this was BEFORE lunch. He was hungry. But he showed off his skills to Daddy a little later:







Yep. My boy is super smart. I can't believe how much he has learned in less than 24 hours. And he was asleep for 11 hours of that! What will he be doing by the time we get to Dallas?

Don't Kill Me

But video and pictures will have to wait.



We picked Zeb up today around 5:00. It was so fun watching him as we drove the 40 minutes back to our apartment. He looked out the window the whole time and once we got back in the city he was excited by everything. He would wave when he saw people. He made "vroom" sounds when she saw the cars. He was amazed by the elevator in the apartment. We came in and he didn't want me to put him down. A few minutes later, I set him on the bed so I could take off my jacket. (the high today was 50). He started wailing! But as soon as I picked him up again he was fine. I taught him how to bite animal crackers. We played with his toys. He would get upset if I left the room for two seconds. Then I fed him dinner. He had some baked chicken with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. He was in a hurry. I realized he's never had a leisurely meal. He didn't eat too much though before he was finished. But while Skyping with "Bubba" (my dad), he ate two containers of yogurt! Then it was bath time, which he LOVED! Then we put on p.j.s, Skyped with all his siblings and Nealy (my mom), then it was off to bed. He went right down. He started to fuss while I was in the kitchen, but quieted down as I rubbed his back. Then he was out.

I am so in love! Now if the next 7 days will just fly by so I can have ALL my kids together. Oh, what a day that will be!

I've Lost It

Seriously. For the last couple of days, all I think about is food. American food. Well, if that includes Mexican food, then that is a correct statement.

I had Borscht today. I really enjoyed it. It was quite tasty. But you know what?

The whole meal I was thinking of all the foods I want to eat when I get home.

Mexican food

Fried Pork Chops with Rice and Cream Gravy

Corn on the Cob

Pulled Pork Sandwiches w/ Cole Slaw and Baked Beans

Mexican food

Smoked Ribs and Potato Salad

Macaroni and Cheese

Chicken Fried Steak and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Mexican food

Buttermilk Pancakes (my own recipe)

Blueberry Oatmeal Coffeecake (Paula Dean's recipe)

My mom's meatloaf

Paul's Chili (we don't know who Paul is, but his chili recipe is yummy)

Cornbread

Rotel-style Queso w/ sausage

Have I mentioned Mexican food?

My mouth is watering. Do you think we'll be too tired to stop by El Finex when we leave the airport? Mike says he'll order the fajitas for two and eat them all himself!

And I've had the strangest craving for McDonald's. Seriously, I don't EVER crave McDonald's. And yet I dream about eating a BigMac and french fries. Well, guess what? There's a Micky D's in the capital city. And we're going there next Wednesday.

HOME! It's never sounded so good.