Dear Elizabeth

Thank you for loving the wondrous Reks. I can't wait for Sofia and him to have this kind of magical fun together:

Do You Know The Muffin Men?

Early this morning I baked a dozen twoberry (blueberry and blackberry) muffins for lunch. When I came downstairs from my shower around 9:30, here's what I found:

What happened? Apparently my guys decided that these warm muffins smelled just too good to wait for lunch.
Look at this little face so excited about another bite of twoberry muffin with butter on top.

And just so you know, as of this posting at 6:00 pm, there's only one muffin left. Those things were a hit and have been disappearing all day long. Love it!

Cousins First Play Date

Yesterday Rex and I had a wonderful all day visit from cousin Colton. As I expected, the two boys did not really play interactively together because Rex is still in the parallel play stage and Colton does not want to share. Nonetheless, I loved the fact that Colton set an example with some activities and Rex watched and then tried to imitate him to the best of his abilities. With this method we got Rex to open and close a zipper, to stand on the trampoline on his own and “bounce” and to splash his hands into the kiddie pool at the neighbors’.

I enjoyed my conversations with Colton, too. Here are a few highlights:

Viviane: Am I Rex’s Mama?

Colton: No, you’re Biviane. And you’re a girl!

Colton jumping on the trampoline, pretending to be a frog: Ribbit, ribbit. You wanna see my jump high, Bivinan?

Viviane: I’d love to see you jump all the way up to the ceiling.

Colton: I can’t do that.

Viviane: How come?

Colton: I am too froggy.

Colton: Ohhhhh, my penis.

Viviane: What about it?

Colton: I want to squish it.

Viviane: Doesn’t that hurt?

Colton: Yeah, sometimes.

Colton: I am scared of Rex.

Viviane: How come? Is it something he does?

Colton: No, it’s because he is just a Rex.

Can’t wait for Rex to be more than just a Rex in his cousin’s eyes as the two get older, share more experiences, and grow up together.

IAC 193 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 193 which was held on 09/09/11:

1) Greek dossier from March 2006 referred a female child aged 2 years and 5 months

2) Italian dossier from August 2009 referred a waiting child (#1581) with a profile on the MOJ site

3) Italian dossier from September 2009 referred a female child aged 7 years and 6 months

4) U.S. dossier from March 2010 referred a male child aged 2 years 7 months with data on family history and with peculiarities in the health status

5) Italian dossier from November 2010 referred a waiting child (#1519) with a profile on the MOJ site

6) Italian dossier from January 2011 referred awaiting child (#1579) with a profile on the MOJ site

7) U.S. dossier from March 2011 referred a waiting child (#1431) with a profile on the MOJ site

8) U.S. dossier from August 2011 referred waiting children (#900 & #902) with profiles on the MOJ site

9) Italian dossier from August 2011 referred a waiting child (#1498) with a profile on the MOJ site

10) U.S. dossier from September 2011 referred waiting children (#28 & #14) with profiles on the MOJ site

11) Canadian dossier from September 2011 referred a waiting child (#1188) with a profile on the MOJ site

12) U.S. dossier from September 2011 referred a waiting child (#1478) with a profile on the MOJ site

What Rex Has Been Doing

Rex has been home with us for about ten weeks now and it feels like the things he has learned are piling up and are beginning to get away from me. So, I decided to make a list of everything just to be able to remember. In no special order, these are some of Rex’s major accomplishments since joining our family:

Balanced, steady walking

Walking well in shoes and walking on uneven surfaces

Climbing stairs on all fours

Climbing stairs holding on to spokes of the railing

Clapping

Waving hi/bye

Drinking from a cup with assistance

Signing more and finished

Understanding ASL for more, finished, yes, no, good, stop, music

Understanding short instructions in English (not that he always follows through)

Pushing with an isolated index finger or thumb

Putting things in

Sleeping through the night

Riding in shopping carts

Tolerating sensory input and changes in routine better

Regulating his emotions better

Coming to us for help

Court Postponed

Just wanted to let everyone know that the court hearing for our daughter's adoption that was supposed to take place today was postponed until October 18th because the documents required from the orphanage did not arrive in time. Obviously, we have THE WORST mojo for adoption timelines. I am frustrated and saddened by the fact that our child must continue to wait because for some reason this paperwork did not make it into the judge's hands. I am at a loss for more words.

Sunday Dinner 10/02

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day in our area which inspired me to make a spontaneous, big Sunday dinner.

Chicken wings off the grill:

Roasted potatoes and onions with herbs:

Peach cobbler:

My efforts were richly rewarded when Rex, after devouring his chicken, decided to use his spoon by himself for the first time. He couldn't quite load it yet, but he certainly got it from the plate into his mouth. Good thing I mashed his roasted potatoes otherwise this wouldn't have been possible. As always, we rejoiced over the beginnings of a new skill and we all thoroughly enjoyed our Sunday dinner.