Friday, January 31, 2014

7 Months Home

I have been debating whether to continue this blog. Can you say "BUSY?!" Just no time to write. I find myself on Facebook more because I can write a quick post or upload a quick photo from my iPhone and be done. But I'm sitting here tonight relaxing with my family, updating stuff on my Macbook and thought... what the heck? Might as well update my blog. Go figure.

SO MUCH has happened in the past 7 months since we brought Jaxson home. I am really amazed at how quickly he has adjusted. In fact, I don't recall a grieving period like we had with Nate. However, we did have a bit of a scare a month or 2 after he came home when he had a night terror that appeared to be seizure-like. Scared us to death. He's had several since then but not near as bad. Someone told me it's because they get overheated. He does get really hot at night..even with a light sheet and sometimes even drenched with sweat after a night terror. I started putting a cool damp washcloth on the bottom of his feet when he was in the middle of one and it seems to calm him down. Crazy stuff!

Jaxson is extremely easy going and laid back. He's our social bug. Loves people, loves life, loves music..always smiling and one of the most flexible kids I've ever seen. Maybe that's why the transition has gone so smoothly. He loves his big brother and they can be the best of friends and worst of enemies. haha. I act annoyed when they're aggravating each other but later I smile when I think about it.

Its amazing to me how quickly Jaxson is picking up English. He's saying words on his own and has begun identifying things that are his or ours without copying what we say. I really thought communication would be difficult but it's been pretty easy. We started with sign language and a few Amharic words but it wasn't long before his comprehension just took off. Big brother Nate loves being the little Daddy but Jax is becoming more confident and independent.

Potty training is progressing..only major thing to work on is his learning to tell us "when" he needs to go. Otherwise, he's pretty good at holding it until we tell him it's Potty Time. A big habit to break is his eating habits. He has no cut off switch for eating..snacks or meals and would even grab popcorn off the movie theater floor, stuff it in his mouth faster than we could blink. We've had to teach him to wait for his food without getting mad and to trust that we would feed him. It's an on-going process but he's getting better about it. He prefers spicy, pureed food like Indian food or Ethiopian rather than cut up pieces of meat or veggies. I think his spice-meter is hotter than mine! He'll devour spicy food, nose running and all with a smile on his face. I love it!

He definitely rounds out our household. He's quite a charmer and woos everyone at every store we visit not to mention a funny entertainer. We all just watch him and laugh and he'll milk every minute of it! It was the highlight of 2013 to meet up with several families in St. Louis over Christmas break. Two couples of our friends had adopted from Ethiopia and the other two adopted from China with us. I loved seeing the kids together and it was great to catch up although way too short. Next time we need to stay an extra day at least!

Looking forward to what this new year will bring!