Thursday, October 23, 2008

A Birthday for Big D

Every year on our middle kids' birthdays, we write letters to their birthmothers highlighting that child's activities and development. We also include a dozen or so pictures of the child for her to see. The adoption agency keeps these letters in a file and passes them along if the birthmother asks about them. We have letters for all three kids from each year of their lives saved for them to read someday. They are also fun for keeping family and friends up to date about how much each child has grown and what they are doing.

Today is Big D’s birthday, and here is this year’s letter…

Dear Birthmother,

We can hardly believe another year has passed so quickly. Big D is seven years old already and is a big first grader. He reads very well and is learning basic math skills easily. He takes weekly spelling tests and usually gets them all right PLUS the bonus word. He does very careful work and his handwriting is excellent. He works very hard in school and we are very proud of him.

Big D has grown quite a bit since we last wrote. He now weighs 50 pounds and is over 4 feet tall. He went to Six Flags over the summer and was tall enough for almost every ride there. He is a good athlete, playing baseball, soccer and basketball. He also loves to run and to swim. It is fun to watch how enthusiastic he is about whatever sport or game he is playing.

Big D is a natural leader. Not only have his teachers told us that, but we have seen the way he interacts with other kids. He can get a rowdy group of boys to play an organized game of freeze tag in no time at all. We have also called him “the enforcer” on occasion. He is very good at reminding others about the rules.

Our family has grown since our last letter. Big D has a 6-month-old baby brother named Mr. H. By now Big D is a pro at being a big brother, but he’s even older and stronger this time around. He loves to pick up the baby, feed him his baby food, and he’s even changed a diaper or two. Big D also has even more cousins this year. He currently has 16 cousins, and the number won’t stop there. We sure love that our kids have their cousins to grow up with.

Big D is still a picky eater, but he is eating more and more all the time. When it comes to pizza, he can eat just about as much as we can! He asked to eat out at Applebee’s for his birthday dinner this year. He’s still interested in all the superheroes, too. He got an Incredible Hulk costume and giant foam Hulk fists for his birthday. I’m pretty sure that both Big D and C.B. still think there are real superheroes out there somewhere…and that their uncle is probably one of them.

As we have mentioned, adoption is a pretty common subject in our household. Big D is aware that he was adopted into our family and we talk about it with him continually. We want him to know as much about his birth family as possible and about the process of his adoption. Any information you could share with us would only help him understand more about you and your selfless act of love. We invite you to write us a letter back, or to write something to Big D for him to read when he is old enough.

We hope that all is well with you. You are in our thoughts and prayers in thanksgiving for your generous gift to us. We can’t thank you enough for filling our lives and our hearts with a little boy to love. May God bless you.


Sincerely,
Big D’s Mom and Dad

Monday, October 20, 2008

Early Trick-or-Treating

I took a couple of not-so-scary little monsters to a Halloween party today. Banana's preschool class celebrated a little early because they don't have school next week. I can't get over the amount of candy that came home with us, especially since the class only has eleven kids in it. Banana went as a beautiful butterfly.

And Mr. H was a perfect little pumpkin.

The rest of the kids are still making up their minds about costumes. Of course you can expect more pictures when the final decisions have been made.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A 3-year-old Banana

Every year on our middle kids' birthdays, we write letters to their birthmothers highlighting that child's activities and development. We also include a dozen or so pictures of the child for her to see. The adoption agency keeps these letters in a file and passes them along if the birthmother asks about them. We have letters for all three kids from each year of their lives saved for them to read someday. They are also fun for keeping family and friends up to date about how much each child has grown and what they are doing. Since today is Banana's third birthday, I decided to post her letter here, along with some of our favorite pictures.

Dear Birthmother,

We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits. It’s hard to believe another year has passed, and that Banana is already three years old. The “diva” of the family has been growing up fast, both physically and mentally. She is very tall for her age – about 3 feet and 3 inches – and she weighs 32 pounds. She has a head full of dark curly hair, which she can't stand having combed. It is darling when she lets us take our time with it. She already has strong opinions about her shoes and clothing, and she can get dressed almost all by herself too.



Banana started going to preschool this fall. She is enjoying the days she is at school and asks about going even on the days she isn’t scheduled to go. She already knows a lot of her letters and some numbers too. She loves the singing and dancing they do at school and always brings home at least three art projects that she has made for us.


We would no longer describe Banana as a good eater. While she eats a huge breakfast and has healthy snacks and lunches, she rarely eats dinner with the rest of us. She will sit and say the dinner prayer with us, but she will be “all done” before much of anything is actually missing from her plate. This might explain why she has such big breakfasts!


Banana recently moved into a “big bed”. She still takes a nap most every afternoon and she sleeps very well at night. She is always up early enough to see the three older kids off to school. She loves waving to them from the front door as they drive off with Dad. She always says, “They’re funny!” as they wave to her from the car.


We mentioned in our last letter that Banana would be a big sister. Well, her little brother Mr. H arrived in April and things haven‘t been the same since. We were wondering if there would be any jealousy issues. Fortunately, since the new baby turned out to be a boy, Banana maintained her “diva” status in the family. She is a good big sister. She holds him, gives him his favorite toys, and makes him laugh all the time. Then she tells him, “You’re funny, Mr. H!” She thinks everyone is funny.
Since three of our five children joined the family through adoption, it is something we talk about a lot in our house. We want Banana to know about her adoption as well as her birth family. Any information you could give us about yourself or your family would help us to share more of the “Story of Banana” with her.

We hope that you recognize what a special gift Banana is to us. Because you have touched our hearts with your gift, you are continually in our thoughts and prayers. We hope that you are both happy and healthy. We will be keeping in touch as our little diva continues to grow.

Sincerely,
Banana’s Mom and Dad



Wednesday, October 01, 2008

This Post has been Brought to you by the Letter H

The H in Mr. H is for…


Happy

Heavy

Handsome

Hair

Having Fun

Hiding

Hugs

Hands

Having a nap