Happy Birthday, Levi!

We had a family dinner for Levi's second birthday on Sunday night. We're so blessed to have him. I can't believe it's been almost 2 months...it seems like he's been here so much longer. Maybe it's just that there was a hole in our home and hearts saved out just for him this whole time. We're so thankful that he's here, filling that spot that only he can fill!

Cousin Brielle and Auntie Julie havin' a good time!

Uncle Chad claims the seat closest to the cake. We're watching you, fella.

Nana and Solly

Levi, Mommy &Kai-Kai

Brothers deliver the stash.

"My favorite - hats and trucks!"

Happy birthday, Mr. Bup!

Finally (almost) Done!!

We finally got our counters in! Although we (and by "we", I mean "Micah") still have some trim work to do, the kitchen is fully-functional and much more conducive to larger-family life than before. Micah has decided to build a breakfast nook in the corner (in the bottom right of the picture). That way we'll keep the open space we like.

The boys were such a big help during the process :)


These are Solomon & Malachi's desks, although it's also where they prefer to eat. I'm really thankful that Micah let me claim this wall for homeschooling.

A Late Announcement...

Introducing Bryonia Shalom!

(Let it be known that I've held off on the announcement until her family was sure that her name would "stick".)

Zion, Cayman and Ava got to stay with us for a few days while their Mommy was busy bringing their sister into the world. After a long and difficult labor, we got the call that Baby was here! We loaded up and headed for the hospital to take a peek...

Welcome to being the youngest of 6, little one - hee hee!

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That was in late November, and here she is at her brother's party on Sunday. Look how much she looks like the birthday boy!

Bryonia:

Cayman:

Happy Birthday, Cayman!

Malachi's best friend, Cayman had his birthday party on Sunday. It was a Noah's Ark costume party. It was just so cute! Solomon went as a dinosaur, Malachi went as a giraffe and Levi went as a zebra. They ditched their masks very soon into the party, though.

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Cayman and his brothers also had lots of costumes to share, so there was much trying on of different animals. Malachi was forced into chicken garb and photographed by an excited Mommy. and Levi made an adorable albeit apprehensive "KidyCa".

The baby goat, Honey, came in for a visit and a quick snack. Levi wasn't so sure that he wanted to give the Baba to her. It seemed a tease, as he just kicked the Baba habit recently.

"Kissin' kids!" (Mommy went as a kitty...)

There was a bouncy tent - check out Malachi getting some major air!

We stayed until after dinner and, as usual, everybody was asleep 5 minutes after we got into the van to head home. What a fun day!

CupCake Cones

Today we brought Cupcake Cones to Science class for Levi's birthday! I did bring my camera to catch cute shots of him and his friends in the pre-school class enjoying their treats...but 6 eager toddlers plus a full can of Ready Whip equals a Mommy too preoccupied to play photographer. So, here are some cute shots of Levi enjoying one of his cones after dinner.

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They ended up being really simple and the kiddos loved them. You just fill the cones half full of cake batter and bake them. Then you frost them and they look like ice cream cones. We used Ready whip instead of icing so we could spray it on right at class (and there's less sugar). That way we saved having to transport sticky cones and get frosting all over the car. We also dusted the tops with sprinkles. They turned out really cute!

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Next up is his birthday party on Friday, but before that we have his 2 year portrait session on Monday. I hope to get at least one decent picture of my 3 sons together. It seems in every picture I take, one or another of them inevitably has a funny/silly/gross/stupid look on his face. The other 2 always look great. Sigh. We shall see...

It's the real him

Today we had a full afternoon of yard work that left us cold and longing for a bath and our jammies. My oldest sons are very much tea connoisseurs and we all agreed that a warm cup of peppermint sounded great. I had never offered tea to Levi, figuring that we would prefer his milk. Tonight he saw me pour his brothers a steaming cup and wanted a go at it. He took one sip, looked at me in shock, then proceeded to scold his sippy cup fiercely,

"No, no! No, no, no, Baba!" (we've finally convinced him that his sippy cup is really the same thing as his baba and managed to ditch the bottles. He still calls them 'Baba', though).

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Sol, Kai and I got a major case of the giggles as he continued to shake his finger at his cup and berate it unmercifully for this piece of evil sorcery that morphed his milk.

He later gave it another shot. After all, brothers weren't keeling over dead, it must be OK. He began to take more sips while eyeing Solomon and Malachi and getting some brotherly encouragement in return. I snuck off to get my camera and took this picture. I just love it.

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Just above it is the picture of the three of them on Levi's first day home with us. I think the 2 pics really represent the difference we've seen in our new little guy as the weeks pass, like in the first picture he's sitting nicely at the table, picture #2? Well, that's the real him. I also put the pic of him the first day home, and tonight. That reserved little smile is saved for strangers now. We rarely see it. We get the real him. How cool is that.

Then:

Now:

Then:

Now:

The Birthday Gift

As I'm standing there in the kitchen doing the lunch dishes, my littlest son enters the room. I notice a slight odor as he approaches me at the sink. I look down to see Levi looking at me with those eyebrows raised as far as they'll go. He raises both hands to give me what he's holding ... in one little hand a diaper, in the other a can of aerosol air freshener.
Hmmmmm. Maybe it's time we work on potty training? I mean, if the kid knows to bring you a diaper and that you'll also require the Oust....yeah. He's getting underpants for his birthday.

The ever-elusive Committee...

Seeing as this is the original Committee date for the 2 boys we were chosen for a while back, I thought I'd update y'all as to why I'm not sipping peppermint tea and wringing my hands. The boys' case took a weird turn (this should be our adoptive journey's motto - Sheesh!) and the boys are to be split up. Only the older of the 2 is going to Committee today and will be adopted but will have court-mandated visitation with his little brother who is staying in foster care. I will say no more about the case but suffice it to say that we weren't comfortable with the way the whole situation concluded and the plan that was settled on by the powers that be.
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As for little Michael, it was discovered that he has Native American heritage. The tribe can now get involved in his case and things have come to a bit of a halt. It's usually mandated by the tribe that Native American children are placed into home congruent with their culture/ethnicity. So, Michael is a closed door for us.
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New news? We've been chosen to go to Committee for a darling (and I mean DARLING, folks) sib group we call The Dream Team. It's a 3 year-old girl, 17 month old girl and 5 month old boy. Hopefully things won't go screwy and they will go to Committee as planned (just once would be nice, eh?) and we'll have a fair shot at winning. We have not received a date as of yet, but as always, I'll keep you posted.

Christmas 2007