A big catch up

Hello, blog land. A big "oops" on my part for my lack of posting over the last month. I really have no excuse other than lack of creativity. It happens. So, let's get started!

HALLOWEEN...

G was an Ewok for Halloween this year. And let me just tell you, he was absolutely adorable!

THE BIG BIRTHDAY...

Oliver Gadisa Lyric turned 1 on November 10. We celebrated with a small family dinner at Nana's house and some sugar free homemade icing, which was a HUGE hit with him. I was both a little sad and extremely overjoyed to celebrate. My mind wandered to his birth mama and what she was going through a year ago that day. I can't believe he's now a toddler and milestones are coming fast. He's not walking yet, but will be so any moment. He has taken his first steps, however! He's testing us daily and thinks it's hilarious that we chase after him when he starts to go up the stairs or when he makes a mad crawling dash for the lamp cord. "No!" is just a laughing factor for him. Can't wait till the teenage years! ;)

BIG BOY...

And just because he's so darn cute...here is my little man, being all big sitting in the shopping cart. No more baby car seat for him. He loves sitting in the shopping cart and sitting in big boy highchairs at restaurants.

THANKSGIVING...

This year we have so much to be thankful for. G is in our lives. He's happy, he's healthy and he is oh-so funny. Most recently, we really were tested on how much family truly means to us. This past week we rushed down to Springfield, Mo when we got a call about Josh's dad having a heart attack. We spent all week there and feel so fortunate and blessed that his dad pulled through. Turns out his heart just stopped and he was 100% on his way out. We are thankful for technology that helped save his life. We are thankful his wife was there to help save his life. We are thankful for the wonderful care he is getting at the hospital. We are thankful more than words can describe that he is still with us today. We were told he had a 5% chance of surviving. No matter how busy we are in our daily lives, sometimes things are just out of our hands and when we loose control all we have is each other. Family, friends and the insanity and love that comes with it all. I feel blessed and full. :)

Here is just perfect

I still find it hard to believe we are in this chapter of our lives. I still can't believe little whines or giggles wake me in the morning. We waited a long time. We waited until we were ready and the universe waited until he was ready and somehow that all happened to be the perfect timing. I still can't believe we are his and he is ours. Four months later...I still have a hard time believing we are here.

Sunshine Bliss

His whines were from boredom and I was happy he reminded me we needed some sunshine.

Cutting the crap

To do lists are never ending and mine is always excessive. We have a high maintenance lifestyle with our business and household (the 3 dogs and 2 cats definitely have something to do with it) and the projects and daily life tasks are never ending. Now that I'm home for the time being, I am able to really start crossing off this big ol' to do list. In looking at it daily, I have begun to realize how much of it is crap. Crap that I really don't need to do, don't need to have or shouldn't have gotten so out of hand in the first place (over stuffed linen closet, I'm talking to you!). Excessiveness. Clutter. Too many appointments and too little time or desire to keep them. Kindness is the reason I have kept them, but does it REALLY matter? I have decided it does not. I would rather spend my time visiting a baby on his first day of life (Welcome, Griffin!) or sending well wishes to friends leaving for Ethiopia to bring home their son (so excited for the Lovins!). I am encouraged by these moments to make life more simplistic where I can.

So, this Friday morning I am cutting the crap out of our lives. One by one, I am canceling this subscription, that service, this appointment, that membership and so on. And it feels GLORIOUS! Just glorious!

Balance

It seems like it's getting harder and harder to keep up the blog. G has me so busy because he's so mobile now. But, here is what we've been up to...Fall is here. The house is cold. The porch is bare. The plants are inside. I'm bundled up in sweaters and scarves already. It's actually colder in our house than outside.

He got his first major boo boo. I cried longer than he did. Probably because I felt so bad and couldn't catch him in time as his head hit the floor. He is pulling himself up on everything and sometimes just looses his balance.

I swear he's grown an inch in 2 weeks. His clothes are getting smaller and he's looking more like a toddler by the minute. We're struggling with some sort of reflux issue he has as he stills throws up a lot after eating and we've been seeing a chiropractor for him, but at this point I think we're going to add in some medication for him as well.

We have found a babysitter! This was a big one for us. It's so hard to like someone enough to leave your child with them. Anyways, we are thrilled with our choice and this makes me feel so secure that he is in good hands for a night out. We started our date nights last week and I couldn't remember the last time we went to a movie.

He's been around more people lately and I can see the small changes in his comfort level adjusting to new people. He likes to go out and about and see the world. I often wonder where that adventurous side will take him in life. He'll be 11 months in a few days. It is just flying by so quickly. Daily I thank the stars for being able to be home with him right now. I get lost in thought a lot about when that will change and if I will be ready for it to change when it does. And, do I WANT it to change? I never thought I would stay at home. I guess I never gave it much thought. I was supposed to go back to work in August and then August came and went and I wasn't ready. I wasn't done getting to know him and catching up on the lost time of not knowing him. What I cared about before doesn't have that priority in my life anymore. Our days at home are smoother and slower with me being here. I get to know Josh again because we don't sit around and talk about work 90% of the time. I don't really get bored. I am always finding something to keep me busy. I think about balance a lot these days. Maintaining myself and my role as a mother is a new challenge that I stumble over each day, not quite knowing where I land. However, the newness perhaps of it all is starting to dissipate as I get better at it each day. Being the organized gal that I am, we have set up mornings where we trade off on who gets him up, dressed and fed that morning. When I have the morning "off", I am able to sit down for a moment and drink my coffee and just BE. I really missed that these last few months. Morning is my favorite time of the day. When my morning moment is over, I anxiously run back downstairs and lay kisses over G's fat little cheeks. I hear his giggle and see his smile and then graciously accept what motherhood has brought to me and remember that balance is always going to be a daily struggle and to just live the moments more.

Story Telling

G expressed a slight interest in books the other day...

So, we experienced our first story time at the public library. Big thanks to Joanna for the suggestion!

Luckily it's only 30 minutes for this age group, which is perfect because at precisely the 22 minute mark the melt downs began spreading around the room. I so enjoyed today with Gadisa. Granted, he only napped for 40 minutes total today when he usually naps for 3 hours. I have no idea how he kept going all day, but we had a great time together today. Being out and about, getting cooed over by college girls, staying out much later than normal then getting slap happy because he was so delirious from exhaustion. And the laundry that I do on Wednesdays each week...sits next to the washer unfinished. I wouldn't have it any other way!

I wrote his name on his name tag at story time and it got me thinking about his name. Having a birth name and a name we have given him is really confusing. He's always been Gadisa to us since he was referred, but I absolutely love the name Oliver. It's such a strong, classic, beautiful name and I want to use it more. Do I introduce him as Gadisa or as Oliver? I have done both and then have to go into the whole "Well, his full name is Oliver Gadisa Lyric...Gadisa is his Ethiopian name"...and that whole deal. I feared this would happen with naming him. I suppose it will just be one of those things we get used to, but will always confuse everyone else. Still, I think I will use Oliver more so he becomes accustomed to both. Sorry, G...that's what happens when you have an indecisive mama. Poor kid!

Lucky

Behind our house lies a field that we've adopted as our own.

A little bit of country nestled in the middle of town.

Evening walks.

Silly, happy dogs.

Sunsets over the trees.

Quietness hidden from most.

Coyotes howl and sometimes their young ones cry into the night.

Late summer sunflowers.

Fall morning dew.

A little bit of serenity in only a few steps.