Wow, I'm really bad at this whole blogging thing. I suppose I can claim the excuse that the initial purpose of this blog was to share updates about the adoption process, and pretty much nothing has happened on that front. However, mostly I'm just bad at actually getting the updates on here. So, here's a peek at what's happened since October...
November brought Daniel's birthday with a little celebration at home and church on the actual day, and a party with friends a week later. He is loving being two, and seems to have changed and grown a lot since that magical day!
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| Playing with his birthday balloons in his birthday tent. |
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| Bubbles galore - birthday party entertainment! |
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| Blowing out his 2 year old candle on his Elmo cupcake! |
In mid-December, my mom came for a visit, to see ME after 2 1/2 years and to meet her new (and only) grandson. It was a fun month, especially since I was on school break for most of it. We spent a week at my favorite beach, where Daniel romped in the sand and sea to his little heart's delight. I'm so glad he's a beach-lovin' baby! Aside from the beach, we had a super fun time with Nonnie and were very sad when we had to drop her off at the airport. Skyping is just not the same as having her here!
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| "Digging" the beach |
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| Chillin' with his best bud, Ezra |
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| We LOVE the beach! |
School started up again mid-January, so we got back into our regular weekly routine. However, we welcomed some new friends into our house - Liz, just for a week, and Madison, who is here to stay for a while (well, 4 months, anyway). Madison has quickly made her way into Daniel's heart and is one of his favorite friends. Its been fun to have someone else around to talk and do things with (someone over the age of 2. I mean!), and we get along quite well. I'm already sad that she has to leave in May. Waaaah!
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| Madison and her chalk art |
A few updates on the little guy:
- Although he can't sing the song yet, he can now identify nearly all the letters of the alphabet! This is partially attributed to the cool "Alphabet Town" toy that Nonnie bought when she was here. My favorite part is that it's a British company (or at least the voice is), and Daniel has picked up a bit of the accent on certain words. Like "smol", aka, "small". Oh, and its "x-y-ZED" not "z". Oh, my little international MK child!
- He now counts to 10 regularly and repeatedly - its one of his favorite things to do, actually. He's got the number "one" in his repertoire now, but often skips "eight". We're working on being able to count objects now, instead of just counting at random.
- He can dribble a basketball...mostly
- He somersaults - however, making sure doesn't do so OFF of surfaces like the bed or couch is a current priority!
- Jumping is still a very favorite activity. Now he jumps off of objects at heights of about 2 feet without holding my hand, and lands most of his jumps.
- The BIGGEST latest news is that he is ROCKIN' the potty-training!!! Day 3 with zero accidents was today, and those days included being out at church, the mall, and even through a movie in the theater (which, in itself, was a big deal)! We haven't made any attempts at it for naptime/bedtime, but he's doing so awesome at the day-time stuff. I wasn't really planning to start this process until he was at least 2 1/2, (he's 27 months now), but he was showing signs of readiness, so we gave it a shot.
On the adoption front, I went to the DSWD office yesterday to submit my paperwork to get our case started. However, since I am applying with a different address than I did with my foster care, my case will actually be filed through a different branch of the office. SO, my file will be submitted tomorrow (Feb 16) to the Region 4 office, which will be the real start to my adoption process! Then I'll wait to hear from a new social worker who will update my homestudy and then submit my file for the next step. I'm still not totally clear on the steps nor the timeline, but at least something is happening now. Please continue to pray for the process and that, if possible, it all might possibly be finalized before the start of the next school year. It'll take a miracle, but if it doesn't happen by then, I'm not too worried. It just means my plans for a furlough in July will be on hold for a while. =)
If you want to learn more about adoption, fostering (in the Philippines) or Gentle Hands Children's Home, you can start by reading Charity's
latest update, then checking out the website. If you're interested in giving to support my ministry or Gentle Hands, please see the sidebar or ask me for more information.
Finally, I just wanted to thank everyone for sharing this journey with us. Thank you for praying, for giving, and for sharing our story.
