Mr. Jack

Oh my. I didn't know a child could have half as much energy as this little guy does. He's definitely the winner of that category in this house.

So how's he doing, you ask? Okay, so maybe you didn't ask and maybe you don't even think about that. If you don't want to know, you can quit reading right now. If you do want to know, continue.

He's doing absolutely great!!!

1. Still sleeping in our bed. Yep. I can't believe it either. That is one thing that I used to declare up one side and down the other that our children would never do. Never. NEVER. We would never have a family bed. That was simply silly. However, my thoughts changed when I found out that a family bed is super duper for bonding. Not fun, but necessary at times. He is doing better. He only slides his little fingers over to my arm a few times a night now. He only rocks himself a couple times (that I know of). He still is scared though, if he wakes before we get in bed and we aren't there beside him. Some have asked if it was simply a tactic on his part. I don't think so. He truly is scared. How long will he sleep in our bed? I have no idea. He'll remain there until we can sense that he's ready to move on. :)

2. Still potty training. I'll have to say that rushing through this stage is not one of my strong points. He doesn't tell me when he needs to go and therefore the poor chap has to wait til his mom remembers to take him. Most days he does great. Some days, like last Friday, he goes through 5 pair of underwear. Frown.

3. Starting to talk = getting too big, too fast. Really. Our babies come to us already walking and talking. It's so fun when they can't talk yet. At least they feel like a baby. Talking is too cute, but it makes me sad to leave the 'baby' stage so quickly. Only 2 1/2 months after he physically joined our family, he's talking. Only a few words...uh oh, hot, hi, all done. Not a real jabberbox yet, but it's coming. I shouldn't complain. At least he is growing. At least he is learning. But it's still sad. I'm not ready for my baby to get big yet.

4. Still getting into everything. Hasn't been in the plants for a couple weeks now, but you wait. Today will be the day!! :) He is so extremely ambitious. So energetic. The only time he stops is when he's sleeping and I'm not sure it really stops then either. Not judging by the number of kicks I receive during the night. If we can just channel all that energy, he should be a go-getter for the Lord someday.

(Taken while he was screaming cause he got stuck on the sink. You know, he climbed up after the cup and ended up in a very odd position which contributed to his stuckness.)

5. Starting to be a little more loved by his big brother. I'll have to admit, life has been more than a little rough for Will in the last couple months. Will has always been a tough little character, but since meeting JN for the first time last September, Will has ramped up the toughness about 13 notches. We expected him to handle the new sibling a little roughly, but nothing to the extent that it has been. It's been wearing. No trouble for me to klonk out at night!! Finally, the past couple days, we are seeing a bit of the 'old' Will drifting back. He's happy again. He's much more willing to share his toys with the new kid on the block. We're all holding our breath to see how long it will last....but praying that he's back to stay. I really can't blame him much. Think about it. He has been the baby of the family for 2 1/2 years. His toys were his toys. Addie has never been overly interested in stealing his legos and tractors. In marches this little pipsqueak who lays claim to all Will's toys. While it's good for Will to have to learn to share, it's been rough to get to the point of actually sharing.

6. Still loves any and all animals. Doesn't matter if they are living or stuffed.

In trouble? Sobbing? Go sob on the bear.

7. Still loves to eat any and every thing. Even fruit is liked now. Unfortunately, the clothing is starting to show how well he loves to eat. His 18 month clothes are beginning to get a little snug. The onesies are way too little....I can't even get them snapped anymore. His toes are touching the ends of his size 5 shoes. We keep telling Addie that if she doesn't start to eat more, her littlest brother may just pass her up.

8. Graduated from bathing in the kitchen sink to showering like a big boy all by himself. The first few weeks he showered with me. His first shower was a definite flop. Constant screams until he was out that curtain. The second I supplied him with multiple bath toys and he was a little better. By the third time, he was able to shower without any screeches at all. And now? Several weeks later? He loves it. I'll let the pictures talk for himself.

9. Answering completely to Jack now. Oh, we still (that 'we' should read 'I') call him Nickolay on occasion, but he answers best to Jack.

10. Understands all English. Much to his dismay. However, we have a couple stuffed animals that sing songs in Russian, and he acts as if he understands them quite well.

11. Still not allowing others to hold him. That'd be our decision, not his. While some think that we are a little too strict with that, I think it is ever so important to the bonding process. Folks who don't know our rule pick him up and he snuggles right in like he's known them all his life. While that may be cute to the person holding him, it's cause for anxiety for me. Our goal isn't to shelter him to the point of being terrified of any and all people who aren't in his immediate family, but it's to make sure that he isn't overly friendly to those that he doesn't know all that well. It's a tough thing in the world of adoption, in my opinion. Many people don't make a big deal about it and even encourage their new children to go into anyone's arms. We feel that they have been in 'anyone's' arms for at least a year before they are finally in a family. For the first little while in a family, it's good for them to learn what a family is all about. It's to the point that I hesitate to hold anyone else's children. Something about it just doesn't feel right to me. Why does a baby cry when I'm holding it and then settle right down when it's mother holds it? Simply because he/she feels safe. Anyway. Enough of that.

The bottom line is that Jack is fitting into our family just as if he was born into it 20 months ago.

We love him. He's learning to love us more every day (he now runs to the door to greet his daddy when Jason comes home!!!).

What a blessing the world of adoption has been to our little family.