My Baby is Growing Up

Jake Melkamu 2 years old in Ethiopia





Jake 3 years 10 months

Jake is really sprouting up lately. He is losing his baby face and looking more and more like a little boy. He moved from a size 2 to a size 3, where he stayed for almost a year, and now he is a solid size 4. His feet grew larger in the last month. He is full of action and very, very coordinated and sports minded. He is Babas right hand man and LOVES playing physically with him. Don't they have the same ornery smile. I have to grab Jake for hugs or wait until he is almost asleep for snuggling. His joy for action and life brings lots of smiles to our family.

Timmy's Development

A couple of weeks ago, Jim and I took Timmy to our intermediate unit which provides early intervention services. They spent an hour and a half testing his physical and academic development. They even brought in an interpreter to eliminate the issue of language difficulties while asking him to perform tasks. Interestingly, he seemed to prefer English vs his native Mandarin. He turned away from the Chinese interpreter when she tried to help him. It took a while for him to warm up and it still seemed that he understood all of the directions in English.
     The outcome of all of the assessments led them to conclude that he is right on target if not ahead; especially when you consider his adjustments to a whole new culture. We enjoyed watching him laugh and strive hard to please the room full of women doing the assessment. He was quite charming.
     There is no guarantee that a birth child or adopted child will develop on the given timeline. We were prepared to help Timmy in any needed way. It did come as a relief that for now we will focus on his bladder issues and enjoy watching him develop without early intervention services.
     The past 2 1/2 months have been amazing. Timmy's sweet and feisty personality has blessed our lives. He is learning English so quickly. The other morning he was looking at a book with flaps. He clearly said, "Look in here, mommy!" as he opened each one up. The list of words and phrases grows longer each day. I am sure that playing with his big brother Jake has helped speed up the process.

Mother's Day



Enjoying family time in Aunt Dianne and Uncle Chuck's hottub/pool.

 This was my second Mother's Day and my first one as a mother to two boys. I find myself short on time to reflect and less time to write about my reflections. Life is really BUSY; especially right now. When I reflect, I think of how quickly our family has grown. It takes both Jim and me to keep our family moving in a positive direction. The adjustments have not been easy. But, just when we lose our patience or wonder if there is peace in sight, we watch our two boys love each other. One such moment came as we ate dinner at an outside cafe in DC on Mother's Day. Towards the end of our meal, Jake took Timmy's fork and gently began to feed his brother; using kind words to encourage Timmy to eat more. It was a sweet example of Jake's care for his brother. Another example from Mother's Day came from our time in the Air and Space Museum. Both boys picked out a small model airplane. While their Baba paid for the planes, I took the boys into a lobby. They posed for a picture where Timmy looked at his brother in an adoring way. We often watch him follow Jake's lead with excitement.
     I am a grateful mother of two amazing boys. Their first mothers cared enough to try and give them access to better health care, more food, a better education, and more opportunities. What a selfless act of love to hand your child over to an uncertain future. Now that they are in my life, I cannot imagine the sacrifice. There is a tremendous responsibility for us to give them all that their parents hoped for them while maintaining their connection to their heritage. I pray for strength and guidance.