“…once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.”
~Proverbs 24:12



Thursday, December 23, 2010

Things I've Already Learned

Things I’ve learned parenting young adopted biological siblings:


  • As much as I wish I could, I can’t differentiate between their cries… yet. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Sick?

  • I can’t imagine loving any individuals more if they had come into our family any other way. What a story we have! “Jesus loved you so much, He brought your parents halfway across the world to bring you together and bring you home.”

  • Girl poop is much less messy than boy poop.

  • It’s very hard to get a one-year-old to drink when she doesn’t use a bottle and doesn’t understand the sucking needed for a sippy cup. I’m worried she’s not getting enough fluids… but we’re still going through diapers. Hopefully one of us will catch on soon.

  • Laying down face-to-face with my son and having him fall asleep looking into my eyes and grasping the charms on my necklace is heaven. Pure heaven.

  • As difficult as it may make juggling things, I secretly love the fact that when my baby girl is sick, nothing but Mommy will do.

  • Disciplining a child who has never felt the love of a mother or father, or who has never had any material thing completely belong to him is difficult.

  • Hearing our boy say “Mama” and run to me melts my heart.

  • …so does seeing how much his face lights up when his Papa returns from doing one of several hundred things that he seems to be taking care of.

  • Parenting makes me love my husband even more.

  • Doubting yourself and your parenting skills in these early stages is not helpful, though it's hard not to do so.

  • It is nearly impossible to get a good meal with young kiddos who are desperately drinking up the one-on-one attention they are finally getting—and so deserve. I honestly think B and C have ate more today than either of their parents.

  • Baby Einstein “Praise Baby Lullaby” is one of the best DVDs ever. If it were up to me, it would have won an Academy Award. Or, at least a super-duper Mommy award!

  • This is as hard as I expected. Possibly more…?

Parenthood is definitely setting in. It’s tough! But more rewarding than nearly anything I’ve ever done.

C is sick. She has some bug causing her to be congested and I believe she is also teething what must be a monster of a tooth, considering how uncomfortable she is. We have the proper medications. I just wish they would work faster—and longer! (sweet thing didn’t get much of a nap today since she was in pain).


Derek took B out to pick up lunch while I held and walked with C. Derek reported that Bennett did pretty well! He didn’t say much, as he’s not a fan of strangers—or, “dya-dya” in Russian. After they had a bite to eat, it was time to play some more. Today Bennett gave one of his stacking cups to his sister. We’re making strides!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I plan on putting up our “tree” and have the kids decorate. I plan to post pictures—especiallysince some of you helped make the ornaments! We have small gifts for the kiddos to open on Christmas. Three a piece—just like Jesus.
Well, Derek just got back with dinner for us. He has quite the story to tell about his journey out tonight! But I’ll let him share it later. Hee hee…

I think we lucked out last night with the kids each getting 11 hours of sleep. Poor C has been up twice already and it's only 9 p.m.

Good night friends.

5 comments:

MR said...

I just love, love, love reading each post! I agree that parenting is definitely the best thing ever while being the hardest at the same time...especially beginning it in a foreign country! We are beyond happy for the four of you! Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of being parents! We look forward to seeing you all when you get home!

Laurie said...

You need to take your blog entries and write a book - seriously! I am loving every entry I read!!!

Brent said...

Wow, you learn fast!!

#3 is correct. No doubt about it.

Love reading the blog. So happy for you all. Enjoy the week and keep the posts with pics coming.

-Brent

Chrissy said...

Poor Celia. =( I hope she starts to feel better soon. Have you tried the sippy cup without the valve in it? It should make it easier to get the fluid out until she figures out the sucking needed when the valve is in.

Sloane said...

I love, love, love hearing about every step of your journey together!!! Sorry that sweet Celia feels so crummy. Love that Derek & Bennett are venturing out together...alone... how sweet! My love to you all, as always! Oh, and Merry Christmas :o)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...