A Very Special Day

Sunday, October 26, 2008 was an extra special day. Evan was dedicated at church today. We dedicated him to our Lord and Savior and to his service. We pray that we will do a good job as parents and raise him to serve the Lord. It is because of our Lord we have such a special son. Our family and friends prayed continuously for us during our adoption process and though we didn’t always understand why the wait, the Lord knew. I can’t imagine not having had the opportunity to be Evan’s mother. He is so special and has brought wonderful changes to our lives.

The day was also special as my best friend, Dennie Faye and her husband Curtis sang in honor of Evan’s dedication. They sang Stephen Curtis Chapman’s song “When Love Takes You In” which is about adoption. Love for this special little boy has definitely taken us in. It was also wonderful having family and friends at church with us on this special day.

I have attached a few pictures from today. I will share that his outfit is not what I had originally intended for him to wear. It was Plan B. Plan A was a solid white one-piece Christening outfit. Well, let me tell you, he was having nothing to do with that outfit this morning and we couldn’t even get it on him. So we moved to Plan B which I think worked out better. His Plan B outfit fits his personality more.





Family and Friends celebrating this special day with us.

Evan hanging out in the church nursery (He didn't make it through the whole service)

Evan at the Pumpkin Patch

We took Evan to the Pumpkin Patch this afternoon. Evan had a great time checking out the pumpkins and we bought him one to go on the front porch.

Pictures

Evan having fun at home with his wagon

Showing off his new haircut

As always, climbing, climbing, climbing

Evan and his cousin Yancy

Hanging out with cousins Yancy and Adele--as you can see, it is nearly impossible to get three children to pose for a picture

Hanging out with Mom and Dad

Riding his trike--one of the many toys that Granna has purchased

Future Golfer


Checking out Uncle Larry's Harley

Update on Evan

Evan had a great check-up on his 20-month birthday (September 22nd). He weighed 23 lbs and 15 oz and was 31 ¾ inches tall. He is slowly but surely growing. Of course, the poor little fellow had to endure three shots that day. He is definitely a little trooper. The Doctor asked me at his check-up if he could point to body parts when asked and I said no but we had been working on it. Well, low and behold, that night while giving him a bath, I asked where his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair and belly button were and he pointed right to them. We were so excited and heaped on the praise.

He has also been spoiled as he was not able to go to daycare last week. He had a cold and was running a low-grade fever. Luckily, Granna (my Mom) was able to watch him. He was definitely catered to last week. He also managed to pass it on too me. I took him to the Doctor on Friday but was told it was just a cold. He seems to have turned the corner and went back to daycare today.

We also had our first Post Placement report today with our Social Worker. It was nice to have some things validated and know that we are doing a pretty good job. Russia requires Post Placement reports at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and 3 years of placement. I don’t mind this. I am excited for the Russian officials to know how well he is doing and to see pictures of how much is growing and changing. We still feel very fortunate to have been chosen as his parents.

Lunch out with Friends

Today we met Sherri and Natalie for lunch at Evan’s favorite place. Can you guess? If you guessed Chick-fil-a, you got it right. It was great to catch up with Sherri and see her daughter Natalie. You may remember me asking you for prayers for Sherri when she traveled to bring Natalie home in April. She was one of the brave ones that stuck out the 10 day wait in Russia. It was great to compare notes and realize we have been very blessed in how well our children have adapted and adjusted to their new families.

Evan and Natalie


Evan is waiting for Natalie to come down the slide

Maintaining

It has definitely been a few weeks since I posted. I have survived my first two weeks back at work and Evan is surviving daycare. It does break my heart that he cries every morning. But I am assured that he stops in a few minutes and generally has a great day. We have our new morning routine down. Sometimes he wakes up on his own and other times he needs a little nudging (of course, he still ends up sleeping with us every night). Luckily he generally wakes up in a good mood. Since he is so used to eating when he gets up, I generally give him a yogurt drink and a few cheerios. We leave the house by 7:20 to head to daycare and then I am off to work. I will be starting a new project at work next week so definitely say a prayer for me on TWTH’s as those days are going to be pretty stressful.

Since Evan loves the water so much, Granna (my Mom) has started taking him to the YWCA and has signed him up for lessons to help him get used to the water. He will be able to take swimming lessons once he turns 3. She said he had a grand time the other day. He splashed, laid on his back, pushed off the side of the pool and jumped in. Mom said the staff was very impressed with his love of the water. I hope he does well and doesn’t develop a fear of the water. Someone said he might be the next Michael Phelps. Maybe so! Wouldn’t swimming be cheaper than golf?

9 weeks and 19 months

As of tonight, we will have been home for 9 weeks with Evan. If we were in a school grading period, I am hoping Kevin and I would be graded as a work in progress. We are far from perfect and have so much to learn. I think parenthood is the hardest job I have encountered. I know that I need to work on my patience and take the time to just enjoy playing with Evan. He requires so much energy and a lot of the time I am just exhausted. I know that it is going to be even harder once I return to work.

Evan also turned 19 months old yesterday. He is constantly changing and learning new things. When I think back to when we first met Evan in March, he was a solemn little boy that we were only able to get a few smiles out of. Since coming home in June it is amazing the changes. His face has matured, he smiles, grins, plays peek-a-boo and loves to wave to people. Once he gets used to someone, he has such an engaging personality. Of course, the hugs and having his arms wrapped around your neck mean the most. He is a special little boy and we are so blessed to have been chosen to be his parents.