Monday Evening

The computer has been down some – we use the one in the conference room at our hotel. We have completed the first 4 days of our mandatory 2 week bonding period. Only 10 more to go!

This afternoon we went to see Calvin. He seemed happy to see us. He loves the inflatable balls (we brought one and there was a couple balls at the baby house). He also really likes to take things out of the diaper bag and then put things in – but only his way. :) He emptied everything out and then tried to pull the lining out – he really worked at it. He is a clown and loves to laugh. We discovered his tickle-spots today, and he loved it – and it was a delight to hear him laugh and laugh.

We were a little nervous watching him today because we don’t want him to hit his head on the floor anymore. He only did once and I’m not sure if it was on purpose, he actually rolled from a crawl to his back. He has a runny nose right now and has a raspy cough (probably due to the cleft). We think he is trying to win a race with his crawling! He is so fast! I’m a little concerned he will be out of my sight before I realize he is gone. He took a bottle of water today and seemed thirsty but only drank about an ounce. I also think he is teething because he wanted to chew on everything. Calvin is a multi-tasker, always trying to play with more than one toy at a time. He loves his daddy and will eagerly go to him or crawl to him especially when he wants tossed in the air. :) He is a snuggler which I (Mommy) love! We learned today that we are probably visiting during the time he normally has supper or right before which may explain the head banging. I took 6-9 month clothes for tomorrow so hopefully they will fit. I’m still using up the diapers I bought but one of the other families, whose son is 10 months, is in size 3 diapers so they gave me some of the size 2 they brought. Calvin is small but mighty!

This evening we walked to the little store around the corner to buy some more yogurt and some noodle soup in an envelope. We also bought a couple ice cream bars which were great – really the first similarity to home! Carbonated water (or water with gas as they call it :) is very popular here so we have some of that also. 3 more families arrived today which makes us especially happy that we arrived on Friday. We definitely see God’s providence in all of that. Between all five families here (not the ones that arrived today) we are adopting 7 boys!

We are thankful for God’s leading us this far. Please keep us in your prayers. We are really feeling the magnitude of what God has called us to. We aren’t in it alone – we know that He will strengthen us in our time of need and will not forsake us. This is a blessed time and we are truly grateful for these two beautiful boys. We can’t wait to introduce you to them – though Patrick may not look at you and Calvin will likely reach for you. :) Such different personalities, but that’s what keeps the world interesting!