One Month Later

Wednesday marks one month that we've had Travis. That means we've had Tian for one month and 6 days. :)

We are continuing to learn so much about the boys and their personalities. We truly can't imagine them NOT being with us. They are just Brownies. Plain and simple. They don't seem to have really grieved the loss of their life in China. Ken and I totally expect it to hit at some point, but it hasn't happened yet that we can tell. We show them photos (we are so fortunate to have many) of their first years. They look at the photos with great interest. They smile and wave and seem to enjoy looking at the photos. Our hope is that looking at photos helps them remember their early years and keeps some continuity in their minds.

They are settled into a daily routine and sleep schedule. Most of our days are just spent hanging out and getting to know each other better, looking at books, playing outside, watching TV (it's so hot, TV time happens more than usual this summer), and playing with toys. They both still wake up one or two times every night. They fall right back to sleep after we give them a hug.

Some of you may wonder how we are feeling about adopting two at once. Ken and I both love it! I'd lie if I said it was easy. There are lots of ups and downs. Having two toddlers is just as hard as it was when I had THREE toddlers a number of years ago, but we wouldn't change a thing. The boys aren't "tight" just yet, but they are growing on each other and seem to engage with each other more every day.

I have tried to jot down the signs the boys are doing now. I'm sure I'm missing some, but here's my list. I'm only listing signs he has initiated on his own at some point. He will copy anything we show him. He will also practice and perfect the sign until he gets it right. So very adorable!

Travis has just about 50 signs already!!
wait
what
Travis
love
who
sad (he's SO cute when he signs this one)
cry
happy
hot
corn
banana
cracker
candy
cookie
home
yes
no
boat
butterfly
turtle (we love to see him try to get his hands just right for this one)
flower
more
drink
food/eat
Daddy
Momma
water
potty
shoes
"get dressed"
fish
finish (all done)
airplane (he will show various speeds when he signs this)
rocket
helicopter
car
truck (today, he signed fire truck)
bike
dog
bear
baby

Tian is signing:
Daddy, Mama, potty, more, food, fish, shoes, socks, car, airplane, what, cracker, candy, cookie, hot, TJ, Hannah, (he's working on Mackenzie), cry, milk, shoes, socks, star, bird. I'm pretty sure he has more, but I can't think of them all at this point.

I have more to post, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. It's way past my bed time.