Their First Thanksgiving

Welcome to some of the quirks of America, kiddos! They got their first taste of turkey and all the fixin’s in the food & football fest that is Thanksgiving.

It was a different kind of Thanksgiving for us. No Thanksgiving Day project this year. That is because we dropped a few Benjamins on a storm door. Okay, and we were too busy to buy paint. I thought we already had some for the master bath, attempt #4. Instead the kids discovered the great fun of playing in the trunk of my car. Go figure!

After naps, we went to some friends’ home for dinner. They got to run around outside while I tossed the squeaky dog toy at them. They thought it was a blast. And they enjoyed their first turkey. It was great.

Last weekend we watched Stuart Little. I wonder what the kids thought about that adoption. A movie about adoption you don’t want to see is Adopting Terror, not to be confused with the most likely even more horrible Paranormal Adoption, which shows up as a recent Netflix addition starring Samwise himself.

We are thankful for how “easy” the transition has been. We know some people who have had very difficult transitions. We also know people who have had huge medical problems. Thus far we’ve pretty much been trauma-free.

We are fighting some power struggles with both kids. They really don’t seem to be used to Mom & Dad being in charge. That can be a difficult transition for them. Consistent and firm can be tough at times. I have to keep reminding myself that Asher is 2 since he’s mostly potty trained already. He moves so slowly, like he’s waiting for you to take over and do whatever it is for him. I think it is age appropriate stuff- getting dressed, taking off shoes (not putting them on), getting on and off the potty with a stool. I know he can do them because he has done them. Sometimes he just decides he doesn’t want to do them. Or come upstairs like you have told him to.

She doesn’t have the helpless act. She’s just more resistant and pouty. One funny difference with her and Jadon is that when she is tired she sucks her middle finger instead of her thumb. It doesn’t happen often, but it sure looks odd when it does.

They have both had skin issues. Both of them on an ear, and her on her rear. They get these crusty spots spots that can ooze and bleed. We aren’t sure what causes them, but hydrocortisone seems to work.

The kids, all 4 of them, love this new song by Audio Adrenaline with new singer Kevin Max (who seems to have been hitting the weight room). Sounds like Cold Play with Michael Tait doing his “whoa whoa”s in there. But it is a great song about adoption.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

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Re-Adoption Day!

Yesterday was a big day for the CavFamily. We had our court date for Micah and Asher’s re-adoption. In the process, the judge in our state formalizes the adoption. Now are kids are citizens and will get an Arizona birth certificate (reflecting foreign birth).

Someone had a great idea- Adoption celebration. I’m not sure why that had this idea, but I’m glad they did. Instead of taking a day off from work, and trying to keep some semblance of decorum with 4 active kids in a court of law, we took them to a park. They a number of ramadas as courtrooms. It was easier on the social workers too, as they were present for a number of their families to finalize adoptions.

They had a bunch of inflatables there so kids could play. It was the first times Micah and Asher got to play on them. Micah had a huge smile as she went down the slide at the end of the obstacle course. We enjoyed watching Asher try to figure out the bounce house as his 3 siblings went wild. For a snack, we had a bag of free popcorn, the kind I like! When Micah went down the giant slide she went flying in the air at the end. It was all great. The kids had so much fun.

With the Judge and our social worker Diane.

After our 11:30 court date, we enjoyed more of the free food for lunch. We had hot dogs, some nachos and chips. Then, we got some of the last of the Egees. We literally got the last of the strawberry for the kids, and I settled for some grape. They underestimated how many people would be there, I think. We passed on the cotton candy. Like my kids need sugar!

So many families adopting kids! It was great. Most dressed for play. But some were dressed up for their court date and pictures. It really was a representative sample of Tucson. We ran into the OPC pastor and his wife who are currently doing some respite care as part of the foster system. We met a family adopting a little girl from Ethiopia.

I’m thankful for such a great way to celebrate the adoption. Someone needs a raise for coming up with this idea. Many people put in a lot of work to make it happen. There were so many smiling faces, tears (the good kind, mostly). A great way to spend our day together.

Asher continues to do well with the potty training. The only tough time is when he washes his hands. We have to remind him to hold in the pee-pee. Friday, after Game Day, we went to the chiropractor. There is a fountain outside his office. Hearing the bubbling water, Ash gave the universal sign for “I have to pee”- the crotch grab. My hopes for a quiet child have gone the way of all things, however. He is getting noisier by the day. I might have the 4 noisiest kids in NW Tucson.

Micah is going great too. She is speaking phrases in English. Still working on big sentences. But she’s getting there. I didn’t quite like it when she pointed to my ‘pecs’ and said “big”, but that’s how life is. She is yet another silly child. As if the other 2 weren’t silly enough. Dinner time is often chaotic as we try to keep the 3 oldest in their seats. Pretty normal.

So, aside from the coughing, sneezes and sniffles, we are all doing great!

 

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