Sunday we went swimming at Grandma's house.

Here they are taking a break and warming up in the sun:

Brothers and sister

Jeremy has discovered Bob The Builder. It is very cute hearing him try to sing the song, "Bob the Builder, can he fix it?....Yes he can!"

The day that we prepared to leave Haiti we had the wonderful opportunity of hearing the children, that Jeremy has grown up with, sing a farewell song. It was so beautiful. We were surrounded by 70 children and their Nannies. The whole room resounded with their voices. They sang for nearly 5 minutes straight. On the video I only put a portion of the songs. Later I will post all the songs if you'd like.
:)
After they were finished singing all the kids rushed over to give kisses, hugs and high-fives. What an emotional moment! That also went on for a good 5 minutes.





Jeremy was pretty blank faced the whole time. He had seen all this before but it was always about someone else. Now that he was in the "hot seat" he was still processing all that was happening and wondering what the next thing would be. He had been prepared for this moment for a long time. But what "going home" actually meant?...this was something that could not be described, only experienced. At that time he had no idea what to expect.
During our stay we saw him smile and he giggled when we played...but the whole time he was still hesitant and unsure. But once we flew out of Haiti and into Florida, and actually landed and were walking out of the airplane, did he completely let go of all hesitation. He had his Papa and Mama. Jeremy's papa and mama. He threw his arms around me in the airport, hugged and kissed and snuggled in my neck. It was the most night and day difference! I think he finally knew that the old was gone and the new was here.

Jeremy has adapted quickly.
We've seen big changes in him.

When he first came home he was curious about everything! What is that? What does that do? What's in there?
He's getting used to things and people. He knows most of our family (grandmas and grandpas, uncles and aunts) by their picture and can point to them and say their names. He's more relaxed around familiar faces and warms up to them easier.

Here's a video of when we first met Jeremy.
Slowly but surely I've been working on editing video of our trip to Haiti.

(I usually can grab a minute here and there but to get some good solid time is difficult still.)

What a sweet moment that was. After 2 years of receiving pictures and updates it was a huge joy to embrace him face to face and tell him how much we loved him.
Once we met him we spent the rest of our time in Haiti (3 days) with him. He stayed with us in a guest house. We got to play with him and just hang out together. It was a great learning time in an atmosphere that was sort of familiar to him.
He REALLY loved playing with the squirt gun. That was the first time that we heard him laugh!

ENJOY!

A day at the park

This morning Jeremy woke up at 5:30am. We had him stay in bed until 6:00 then got up to start our day. When the days begin so early (and we don't have much planned for this first week) the mornings have seemed very long. I'm looking forward to figuring out a schedule that works for us. The kids are on Summer break too so I need to rearrange what our days are going to look like.
Andrew has taken this whole week off from work which makes it easier to focus on bonding and doing things together as a family. Jeremy has quickly embraced Andrew. It seemed that once we got home all his apprehension dissipated. He loves his Papa!

Today we went to the park. It was fun to give him a new experience. He didn't go wild and crazy with excitement...actually, in all new situations he's quite reserved. But just wait, after a few times there'll be no stopping his enthusiasm!

He enjoyed checking it all out...but not staying with one thing for very long.

The swings were a big hit!
Angela and Jeremy had fun swinging high:

Joshua was a great brother and helped Jeremy get started.
We were amazed, he already knew how to "pump" to keep himself swinging!

By the end of the morning he was ready for a nap.

He loves snuggling in Papa's arms:
safe and secure.

Well, check out those strong arms...I feel safe and secure snuggling in those arms too!

JEREMY and MAMA

FIRST DAYS

We've been having a lot of fun this week bonding as a family. We are learning so much about our little guy and he about us. We've seen wonderful changes in him as he's relaxing into our schedule and becoming more and more secure in who we are. He is still apprehensive around new people and new environments. But at home he is a bundle of energy and overflowing with smiles and laughter.

Yesterday the kids had fun in the little pool we have on our back patio.
I don't know if you can tell in this picture but Jeremy has some strong muscles!Having fun with Joshua...Unexpectedly Jeremy filled up a bucket of water and surprised his brother by dumping it on him!
That's what brothers are for!

Angela is a great helper with Jeremy. She enjoys playing with him and does well when it's her turn to hang out with him.

Jeremy loves to be involved with everything. Most of the time it has only required a little instruction, and if you're okay with it being a little more messy than usual, then it's actually a big help.
Here he is helping Dad (Papa) make omelets for breakfast:



He helps me with the laundry, wash the dishes, sweep the floor, set the table....I've found that if I involve him with what I am doing then I don't have to worry about what he's getting into when he's out of the room! Smart, huh?! :)

I thought the difference in food might be an issue. But so far he has adapted well. The first day I made dishes that were familiar to him. The second day there were some food that he liked (he's a rib man) and some that he didn't (he's not too fond of fresh veggies). The next day I made salad for lunch with rib meat on top...he ate the meat, spit out the lettuce, but then decided to eat half his salad when he saw there were chips too! He really likes chips and fruit.

Jeremy's napping so I'm taking a moment to post!
He's doing amazing. I can't believe how quickly we've seen changes in him. We've seen him begin to relax, smile and talk a lot. I love it when he speaks! It is so cute. He is beginning to understand basic vocabulary. We've discovered that he already knew how to count to 10 in english, sing his ABC's, sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Old McDonald". It's fun finding out new things that he knows! He is repeating the words we say. When ever he does something good and we say "bravo!" he smiles SO big.

He used to cry when we'd put him down for a nap or bed, today was the first day that he didn't even pout!
It's pretty exhausting still following him around every where. It's all still new to him and his little hands are exploring every drawer and every thing reachable! We've been doing the "touch with one finger" instruction instead of him grabbing and pulling everything in sight.

He is very smart. He's pretty good at problem solving. Sometimes it comes out as a stubborn streak in him. He shows BIG displeasure when told "no" about anything. But that too is beginning to soften. We're trying as much as possible to instruct in a positive way with out saying no too much. Especially in the beginning when there is so much to learn. We feel like we're starting from scratch with him.

He's bonding much better with Andrew. He didn't grow up around many men so Jeremy naturaly felt more comfortable around me. But little things here and there have drawn him closer to "Papa". Every chance we get we try to encourage interaction with Papa and Jeremy. Like playing basketball, sitting next to Papa at meals, when he's scared of our dog Izzy Papa will hold him, Papa puts him to bed and then every other opportunity we can find to move toward bonding.

Angela and Joshua are doing well. There's big adjustments for them too. Although, we've been talking about a new "baby" coming into the family for 4 years, so they've had lots of time to prepare. It warms my heart at how much they naturally embrace Jeremy as their brother. It's as if it's always been that way. Angela was feeling a bit overwhelmed the other day and voiced some concern about Jeremy getting so much attention. I'm so glad that she was able to express her emotions and we were able to talk about it. We've tried to maintain most of our normal practices that we do as a family. Like playing games together (we played Clue while Jeremy was napping yesterday) reading books, wrestling and tickling, etc. In fact I've got to sign off 'cause Angela and I are going to watch a movie while Dad and Joshua fix the roof over the pool.
More to come...!