Thursday, March 19, 2009

C.B. is SIX!!

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. Here is this year's letter for C.B.'s birthmother along with some of our favorite pictures.

Dear Birthmother:

It was a little like a news flash for us. “
This just in… C.B. six years old…Parents in shock!!” But when the shock wore off, the celebrations began. We took him out for dinner for his birthday last week, but he still has two birthday parties left to go. He will have a party with some of his friends from school this weekend. He will also share a big party with quite a few extended family members closer to the end of the month. We have so much to celebrate with this special boy.

C.B. started Kindergarten this year. It took him a while to get used to going every day of the week, but it’s no big deal for him now. He’s pretty good about getting out of bed in the morning and getting himself ready for school. However, we usually have to remind him to tuck his shirt in before he heads out the door every morning. He has been working very hard on reading and writing. He is getting better at sounding out words and he’s taking more care when writing now. It is so cool to watch him improve as the school year continues.

C.B. weighs 35 pounds and measures 41 inches tall. He is still on the low end of the pediatric growth charts, but the Endocrinologist we had been seeing has released C.B. from his care. He told us that he expects C.B. to be a “late bloomer” and that he will probably peak at about 5’8” or 5’9”. He and his three-year-old sister are almost the same height, but that doesn’t seem to bother C.B. He knows he’s still the big brother.

And speaking of brothers, C.B. has another one. Last April we brought home a new baby boy for our family to love. Our fifth little one fits right in with the rest of the crew, and he is spoiled rotten by his big brothers and sisters. C.B. loves taking care of his baby brother. He even wants to know when the baby will be old enough to move into his room with the big boys. What a sweetie!

C.B. has signed up for another season of baseball. He won’t be on big brother’s team this year, but we hope he will enjoy playing with some of his buddies from school just as well. He will also attend basketball camp and Vacation Bible School. We also hope to sneak in a couple of camping trips this summer. We are actually taking the biggest family vacation in the history of our family. We will be visiting Mickey Mouse and the rest of the gang at their home in Disney World. We are looking forward to making some wonderful memories with the kids.

We want you to know that over the past six years our gratitude for your precious gift to us continues to grow. You should also know that we think of you and pray for you often. Know that C.B. is a happy, healthy little boy who is eager to learn and that he will always know how loved he was – from the very beginning of his life. Again, we hope that all is well with you and your family. We welcome any correspondence from you to us or to C.B. We will be sure to write you every year around his birthday and include pictures, of course. May God bless you and watch over you!

Sincerely,
C.B.’s Mom & Dad

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Where does the time go?

People have often asked me, “How do you find time to keep up with a blog?” Well, lately it looks like I can’t. Which is funny because I don’t feel like I have been particularly swamped these past few weeks; but I truly have not had time to sit and compose something. I really don’t have time right now. I’m just feeling guilty for not writing something about C.B’s birthday yesterday. He’s SIX already!! I will post something more detailed about that soon. I am also heading to “Mommy School” this weekend, and I will probably have more to say about that as well. Hopefully before another two weeks goes by!


Happy Birthday, Buddy!