The little man in my life

So, I've got this little man in my life. He's five today.
I'd move mountains for this kid if he'd ask me.



A day with Joel is like taking boyhood and smashing it into one lovely little package with big brown eyes.  I savor his little boy-isms, because I know all too soon he's gonna get big on me.

Someday he won't want to wear a cape with every outfit. Or turn all household items into weapons to fight bad guys.  He won't run around my house making sound effects while shooting plastic missiles at the dog. 



One morning he'll wake up and he won't watch Scooby Doo cuddled on my lap in his jammies. And no longer will a bubble beard in the bathtub be totally hilarious.

I know there's plenty you'll outgrow, my Joel.  But please keep a few things just for me.


Keep your curiosity about the world and the way things work.  Your love for stories, your sense of humor, and your imagination, too.

Keep your adoration towards your Grandpa, Uncles, and Dad. They can teach you how to fill their shoes.  Their totally awesome shoes. 

Keep your love for learning new things. Your kindness towards your sisters, and your Mom, while you're at it.

Keep your resiliency under adversity, but your open heart in loving others.
And if you really want to, Joel, you can keep the capes. : )

4

Dear Stella,

Four years ago and unbeknownst to me, a woman that I will never meet gave me one of the greatest gifts I have ever received.  She gave birth to you, my girl.

 
It's a little hard for me that I will never be able to tell you stories of that day, or the 1432 that followed for that matter.  And it also seems a little unfair that there were 1432 days that I wasn't there to love you.

But I will always tell you the story of how I saw your picture and I knew you were my daughter. How I would do anything and everything to get to you as fast as humanly possible.  How my heart broke into pieces and swelled with joy the moment I met you.  We will have so many stories of you. Including the story of today, your "first" birthday.

Since you've been home, I've had the honor of watching your soul come alive.  You sing, you dance, you act oh-so-dramatically about almost everything. You make us laugh, you test our patience.

 
And each day, you let love in.

I think for this occasion, Ben Folds might say it best.

And where was I before the day

That I first saw your lovely face?

Now I see it everyday

And I know

That I am

The luckiest

I love you Stella Grace. Happy Birthday, baby girl. 

When the air conditioner stops working...

Let the baby swim naked

Get your pigtails wet

 Take an extra sip of Mom's water when you think she's not looking

Ask your dadushka spray you with the hose "one moh-wah (more) time"

Dance in the swimmin pool.  Swimsuits optional still, apparently.

Singing and Dancing

Here's a quick video of the crazy dancing I get to experience on a daily basis.  There is no lack of personality in this household, that's for sure.  Kris Bell, thanks for the tunes!  We love them! 

And here is Stella's version of the ABCs.  Pretty close, right? Who needs Y and Z anyway?  

Have a fabulous weekend!  Hope you do some crazy singing and dancing at your house, too!

The Village

We sat together on the couch in front of our new social worker for our homestudy.  I could smell the Pledge from the side table that I had dusted that day. 

"How do your family and friends feel about your adoption? Are they supportive?"

I remember feeling so eager to share an emphatic, "Yes!" and go on to explain that our families greeted our news of adopting with happiness and how our neighbors had thrown us a congratulations party. 

Supportive?  That girl from September sitting in her freshly cleaned house had not one inkling of an idea of what the word supportive truly meant. She was so naive. 

But she does now.

It's really hard for me to find the right words to describe how you've wrapped your arms around us.  Enveloped us with your love.  Overwhelmed us with your thoughtfulness. Your generosity.  But you have, and I am in awe.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I can say with no naivety that we have one helluvah village.  Seriously you guys, I don't get it.  Who am I to be so blessed to have you?  

You have come out of the wordwork to support us.  Family. Friends. Family friends. Friends of friends. Coworkers. Friends of coworkers. Neighbors. Blogreaders. Random strangers.  Acquaintances we haven't talked to in years.

All to share your gifts. Kind words. Anonymous cash donations. A card in the mail. A welcome home crowd at the airport. A huge adoption shower. A meal on our doorstep. An open invitation to your swimming pool.  A facebook message. Gift cards. A handmade heartfelt something. A swing set. A text that you're thinking of us. A care package full of goodies. A ride on Dadushka's shoulders for the 100th time while Nene cleans my kitchen. A car-full of goodies for our trip home. Something fun for our children. Hand-me-down clothing. More meals. A comment on our blog. A question and happy conversation with my mom at Walmart. An "I'm coming right over" when three seems a little too much. Invitations to play dates. Prayers, prayers, and more prayers. Requests for more kooky videos. A weekend visit when you've been extremely busy. More generous gifts for our children. Offers to help in any way you can. Preschool buddies.  Neighbor friends who play with us even though we don't speak the same language. An "I love you" and "I love your family".

I could go on and on and on. And it all means so so much to us. Thank you.  All of you. Thank you for loving us then and loving us now. Loving us through the crazy ride to build our family and watching us as we grow together.  Loving us more than I thought humanly possible.  You rock something fierce.   

How can our children not thrive when they have a village like you?

Iowans