family day sundae's

Today is the 3rd anniversary of Ethan's adoption day.  We thought it would be cool to do a family devotional on how we all fit together as a family (complete with sweet edible props).  First on the agenda was to watch each of the kids' birth/adoption videos.  I was very curious how NiNi would handle hers because she has never made it through the whole thing before without becoming anxious and upset.  We hadn't tried in a couple of years so I decided to risk it.  Glad I did because she not only made it through, but was able to actually enjoy bits of the video...giggled as she watched herself suck on her fingers and throw the teddy bear I gave her.  I was a little concerned that she would feel her video was less "dramatic" or "special" because it did not involve a hospital, labor, etc., but I did not sense that from her at all.  In each of the kids' clips, Chris and I were crying tears of joy, examining fingers and toes, commenting on personalities, and had the exhausted new parent look about us.  All very authentic examples of the fact that somehow birth and adoption are both valid ways of entering a family. The funny thing is, Meagan has always felt a bit jealous that she is not adopted from an "exotic country" and that being white is boring.  Of course that is a whole other ball of wax for a different devotional.  So we read some "family" scriptures and built brownie sundaes. The kids talked about which part of the sundae each person might be...Dad was the ice cream (the strong base), Ethan the sprinkles (life of the party), mom the brownie (adds the special touches to the family),  NiNi was the hot fudge (because she has beautiful fudgy hair) and Meagan was the kind-heartedness whipped topping.  Ethan was much more interested in the dessert than his adoption day video, but I look forward to the conversations we will have as he grows older.  I know that the way we've chosen to build our family is challenging at times but oh so worth it...and moments like these are great reminders of that.

Look Ma no nasal retainer!

Here I go again with my backwards blog post catch up!  First off, Ethan got his nasal retainer removed.  Here he is enjoying his happy meal and able to itch and pick his nose freely.  And of course breathe through his nose!  He was sporting a snore that rocked the house every night.  Not sure how he got any sleep at all the past 10 weeks. 

 

 

The unintended side effect of removing the scar tissue from the inside of his nostril, which I was sort of prepared for but not really, is that his speech is very hypernasal now. Of course his palate is functioning (not-functioning) the same as before, his plugged up nose just masked it for awhile. Seems to be the way it goes with him...fix one thing which makes another thing worse. He is getting T-tubes (more permanent ear tubes) placed next week. His 4th surgery in 9 months. I was hoping it would be his last for awhile, but it looks like we will be going back for a palate revision in the spring. We see a dietitian next week as well. He has been hanging out at 27 pounds for almost a year. I am skeptical that he/she will provide any new or life-changing recommendations beyond what we are already doing, but trying to be "compliant" and attend all my scheduled appointments.  He is looking like such a big boy now.  Here he is doing his "chores" putting the silverware away. 

He is giving me his "REALLY mom???" look