Settling In

Wes and I are still trying to recover from our trip. So much to catch up on. I finally have the laundry done and have caught up on my online orders from when we were gone. Wes returns to work today. So today will be first day home with all 3 by myself. However, it was mainly the kids and I yesterday as Wes had a good case of some sort of stomach virus and spent most of the day in bed or lounging around. It has rained a lot here the past couple of days, so our yard is suffering quite a bit. With our house for sale it really bothers me that the outside looks so unkept, but until Saturday when the sun is supposed to dry things out, I will just have to deal with it.

Levi is doing fantastic. Much better than I could have dreamed. It almost feels like he has been with us forever. He is such a sweet little guy. He loves to be cuddled (which the orphanage told us) and gives the best hugs and little kisses. He even likes to give butterfly kisses (rubbing noses). Too cute! Levi has spent most of his time roaming from room to room in the house just exploring. It is amazing how much his walking has improved in a weeks time. He will probably be running before I know it. He likes to see how many toys he can pull out after I have just picked them up and some of his favorite things he carries around are some Lego's, a helium balloon, and a small orange car. Wes encountered a little surprise yesterday morning when he finally ventured out of bed around noon...Levi greeted him at the bedroom door with a Barbie in his hand. Yes, the girls are already corrupting him.

Barbies, Barbies, Barbies! I bet Wes puts a stop to this soon with some G.I. Joe figures.


He loves carrying this helium balloon around while exploring the house.

Levi is a great eater. He has eaten about anything that we have given him. He likes oatmeal, all fruits, cooked vegetables, waffles, rice, and spaghetti. He has adjusted well from his high chair to the Little Tykes table in our kitchen. Jaidyn loves to help feed him. He gets so excited when he knows it is time to eat. He waves his arms, makes high pitched noises, and runs to the table. The past couple of night he has hung out with me in the kitchen while cooking dinner. He will just follow me from sink, to stove, to refrigerator. And the excitement begins as soon as he sees me start filling his bowl. We have still been giving him his evening bottle of formula just to keep something the same for him, but I plan on going to whole milk next week. We will probably try that in the bottle for a little while and then go to the sippy cup with it.

It didn't take him long to figure out which cabinet has all the snacks.


Addy helping Levi with his bottle.


Jaidyn is such a big help. She begs me to let her feed him. It will be nice, if she can help me out on preschool mornings.


Addy wants in on the picture taking. She's too funny!

We think he is cutting some more teeth as he has been pulling on his ears a little and has been chewing on his fingers. I have been giving him tylenol a couple times during the day to help reliviate the pain. I tried to put my finger in his mouth to feel for any teeth poking out, but he clamps his lips down so tight not letting me poke around. We have a doctor's appointment for him scheduled tomorrow so we can get all of his current medical information on file with our doctor and get him a general check-up.

Other than his nap time and bedtime routine, the adjustments have went very smoothly. We decided to go straight to a toddler bed and we did have a few nights of sleepless nights, but now I am glad we continued to stick with our plan because he has adjusted wonderfully. We have pushed the toddler bed up against Jaidyn and Addy's bed on one side and have a pillow on the opening of the other side. He rolled out the first night, but this has taken care of that problem. I rocked both Jaidyn and Addy to sleep when they were his age, but since he has been used to being layed down to go to sleep, I didn't want change that. The first couple nights home I would hold him before laying him down as I could tell he was getting sleepy, but he really wasn't comfortable. The first couple of nights were rough. Levi would cry so hard that he would start hiccuping. I would go in every few minutes to try and sooth him and pat his back like his caregivers suggested. I swear he would fall asleep, but the minute I would leave the room he would start crying all over again. Wes slept in the room with Levi as he really just wanted someone in there and the girls slept with me in our bed. The past couple of nights have been so much better. He has only whimpered for a few minutes before going to sleep in his bed on his own. Levi goes to bed around 8:00 and then the girls follow around 9:00. Hopefully by next week the girls will be following about 15 minutes after Levi. They start preschool after Labor Day and we will all have to leave the house by 7:30 each morning Monday-Wednesday.

Jaidyn has been so helpful. She always volunteers to feed him or give him his night time bottle. Addy is doing well too, but sometimes becomes a little jealous. She is my little snuggler and now that she has to share me with Levi I can tell it bothers her a little. Usually I end up with both of them in my lap. It is kind of funny as Levi and Addy will look at each other with a little bit of competitiveness in their eyes. Levi has even pushed Addy's arms off of me or tried to pinch her to get her to move.


We bought the girls each a bubble gun on the baywalk one evening in the Philippines. Several of the kids were carrying these around and they looked like so much fun. We need to play with them at night as they also light up.











To welcome Levi, Grandma Penny and Jaidyn and Addy's Uncle Bear made these signs. We live right beside the park so one was placed there, one was at the beginning of our subdivision and one was at our house. They were a nice surprise.






This past Sunday the grandparents, my brother, and Carrie all got to meet Levi. We had a wonderful lunch with steak, chicken, salad, fruit salad, potato casserole, and lots of yummy desserts (courtesy of the grandparents). Despite how tired Levi must have been as I know Wes and I were, he enjoyed all of the company.