Andy is now 9 months old and he is really on the move! He pulls himself across the room on his belly and rolls when he tires of that. He can scoot himself into a sitting position and can pull himself onto his knees.

He was sick this past week with a double ear infection and was pretty miserable. He’s bounced back and last night ate an entire bread stick after his normal dinner. Andy continues to be easy going and laid back. He thinks Eden is very funny, except when she tries to pick him up or pull him around. He loves watching people play peek-a-boo with him and is babbling a lot.

Andy had his 9 month check-up today and weighed 22 lbs 7 oz and was 29 inches long.  He has 4 top teeth coming in and the doctor said he looked great.  Both kids got a flu shot and Andy didn’t even cry!

We hope that you have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and that you are able to spend time with family and friends (and maybe squeeze in a little shopping!).

Yesterday Eden turned 23 months. She is learning things so quickly now and loves to repeat everything that we say. Her new obsession is with VeggieTales.  She walks around the house singing the theme song, and we’re not allowed to listen to any other music in the car. She walks up and down the stairs now instead of crawling and has only rolled down them once. 🙂 My favorite new character trait is the ‘tattle-tale’. She must be related to her mother because she constantly tattles on Andy when she catches him doing something he’s not allowed to do. We often hear her saying, “No, no, no Andy!” as she rips something out of his hands.

She was a good “helper” today while we raked the front yard until she discovered how much fun the piles of leaves are and started playing instead of helping.

Andy is getting so big! He is doing a great job eating baby food now and this week he started eating puffs! He’s not very good at getting them into his mouth yet, but he crunches them with his two little teeth and really likes them! He’s still not crawling, but he rolls everywhere and can travel across the room that way. He pushes himself onto his hands and knees and rocks and he loves to give hugs and big, slobbery kisses.  He had his first ear infection last week but he was still perfectly pleasant even though we’re sure his ear was bothering him.

One year ago today, Eden came home! It seems like a long time ago that we brought that tiny little baby home and now she is so big!  We really appreciate all of the help and support that we’ve been given over the last year.  We are certainly blessed to have so many people that love our kids!

We had a small Gotcha Day Party over the weekend and Eden had a wonderful time. We had several traditional Kenyan dishes and a cake. We put together a scrapbook for Eden of memories and stories from this past year and would love it if any of you would like to share some of your favorite moments with Eden.

Before Eden came home I wrote several letters to her so that if we weren’t able to adopt her she would have some record of what she was like as a baby and where she came from, etc. Below is the letter that I wrote one year ago on the afternoon that she came home.

October 14, 2009

Eden,
YEA!! You came home today!! Whew! It was a long process, but we did it! We went to court on Monday and saw the magistrate. She signed the order granting us custody and guardianship of you. We thought that was it and rushed back to the hospital to bring you home. However, when we got there we were told that the District Children’s Officer had to sign off on us taking you home. It was already after 5 which meant we would have to see him on Tuesday. We went first thing on Tuesday morning and spent a very frustrating 30 minutes with Phillip listening to him talk about how he was too busy to write the letter that day. He said we would have to go back to the magistrate for you to be handed over to us.

So this morning we went to STPC at 8:30. Vivian came in on her day off to get you ready and go to see the magistrate with us. Joyce (the social worker) was also there and Milkah (the attorney) came with us because Ware (our normal attorney) couldn’t attend this morning. You haven’t been feeling well (not too sure what you have but you are on amoxicillin and a cough expectorant) and you haven’t eaten very well recently. And the last couple of days every time you cough really hard you throw up. I hope this sensitive gag reflex is short-lived! You wouldn’t eat anything this morning before we left. I think you were nervous, too. We all piled in the car and went to court. Once we were there we saw the magistrate and moved through things pretty quickly, then she officially handed you over to us and that was it!

On the way home you ate part of a banana and drank a little guava juice. But when we got home I think you knew that this was it and suddenly felt much better! You ate half a piece of bread, then some cerelax with a banana mashed in. Daddy started moving our things across the street (because we aren’t allowed to have you on IU property) and I cleaned up lunch, then brought you upstairs and gave you milk. You fell asleep on my chest before you even finished your milk and then I put you in your pack-n-play for your first nap at home! I’m sitting on the bed watching you sleep and feeling in complete awe that you are finally home and I’m amazed at all the things God has worked out so that you could be here with us. We love you so much and are so glad that you are finally home with us and a part of our family. We can’t imagine our life without you!

Love,
Mommy

Eden is 22 months old today. She is learning words so quickly and mimics everything that we say. She likes to tell us when Andy is sleeping or awake in his car seat and loves to sing. She now sings The ABC’s, Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and The Wheels on the Bus. She gets super excited every time we see a bus (and recently firetrucks). She announces from the back seat “Watch bus!” and screams “BUS!” when she sees one out the window.

She also recently decided that she hates going to sleep. We haven’t had a problem since December but about 2 weeks ago she started screaming and crying when we leave her alone in her room. It’s rather unpleasant and we can’t wait for that stage to end!