Happy birthday baby

Dear Levi,

Today you are 2 years old. Wow!  You are such a big boy. It's your second birthday, but your first one with us. You'll learn soon enough that I'm a bit of a wreck on my babies' birthdays. Your story has a sad beginning, and my heart aches for the woman who carried you inside of her and gave birth to you and eventually, gulp, abandoned you. One day when you're old enough to read this we'll have a heart to heart about that, but for now, here's your story.

You are meant to be, my beautiful boy. You were prayed for and longed for and celebrated for 6 long years while we waited for you. And you were worth the wait!

You love trucks and trains and dancing. You have the funniest attraction to red solo cups (which I'm praying does not remain true when you're in college!). You love throwing things, usually of the truck variety, into cups full of coffee or water or the occasional glass of wine. You're really fast, especially when a flight of steps is in your sight.

You are resilient, a fighter, having had to rely on yourself for survival when no baby should.  I'm pretty sure you had the nanny in your room wrapped around your precocious finger.  She sobbed when we met her and she handed you to me. She told me that you were the smartest boy in the whole orphanage and that you played nicely by yourself, a much-admired trait in an orphanage, and one we are endeavoring to transform.

You are solemn until you feel settled and watch out world, then you're a laughing bouncing busy boy. You have two big sisters whom you adore. They get the most laughs. And daddy. But I get the most snuggles, so it works for me.

You're the little prince in our family, and I fear it will always be so. You are good natured and inquisitive and you love to scratch things.  You used to sleep and suck your thumb, but now you're learning how to talk so we think it's a good trade.

You like to do yoga with me, especially riding on my back from plank to downward dog. You love to interrupt our practice when you hear Lenny Kravitz's "Believe" because it's definitely time for us to dance.

So happy birthday baby boy. This is the day we praise God for creating you. I promise I'll pull it together with a happy smile when you blow out your candles!!!

Love you to China and back, for reals!

Mommy

when love comes to town

guess why there are no new blog entries?
he's 21 months old...
the big sisters are very active...
i'm almost about to graduate from yoga teacher training...

hello...this is your 41 year old self reminding you that IT'S A LOT DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND.

you know how in your 20/30's you blink and your kids are in elementary school?  i've decided that is not going to happen this time.  my days are pretty much spent in the same room with the same toys with a very smart little boy reminding him that i'm his mama and i'm not going anywhere.  i think he's starting to get it.

the big girls were 5 months and 10 months at their adoption; little guy was 19 months.  we've been home about 7 weeks and finally, finally we are getting some traction.  he's smiling.  he's laughing.  he's hugging.  and it's amazing.  i've never worked so hard in my life.

what you do with an orphaned soul, what you do with anyone, is just get into their world.  speak their language.  play their way.  spend lots of time doing what they love to do.  here's what i've been doing:  stacking stackable cups any which-way.  racing cars any which-way.  saying ahh any which-way.  our boy is missing the muscle to be able to speak words (it's being repaired in July).  but oh my goodness does he speak.  expressive eyebrows.  lots of screeching.  he's making the cars say vroom,  vroom, vroom.  and he loves to dance.  and  he laughs.

resurrection life is happening right in front of us.  Levi and me and daddy and big sisters.  when loves come to town, you better catch that train.