good news for adoption

The adoption tax credit was due to expire at the end of the year, but the Health Care Reform Law passed last week expanded it. According to section 10909 of the Act, the adoption tax credit was extended for one more year (to December 31, 2011) and expanded in the following two ways: For the tax year 2010, the amount of the credit was increased from $12,170 to $13,170 and the credit was made refundable for all types of adoption for tax years 2010 and 2011.

Since we expect to finalize Reggie's adoption in 2010, we were crossing our fingers that nothing would change before the year's end regarding the tax credit. Turns out it looks like we will get a little bonus! Taking into consideration that we also received a grant through the MICAH fund, our actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred with Reggie's adoption are not a whole lot more than our actual out-of-pocket medical expenses we incurred with Lydia. Now, how's that for good news in adoption?

Disclaimer: This is not a political blog. It is a blog about our life as an adoptive family, among other things. Comments will be moderated accordingly.

you know you have enough little ones when...

(1) You put all your kids in the cart and have no room left for shopping.

(2) You pack three diaper bags when you go to church.

(3) Getting kids dressed and diapers changed feels a lot like an assembly line.

(4) You have a sitter lined up for every Tuesday to cover doctors appointments.

(5) Family walks around the neighborhood seem like a parade of baby equipment.

(6) "I'm going to the store," is always followed by, "Take one with you".

(7) You don't miss a beat when reading "Goodnight Moon" and have a toddler bouncing up and down, blocking your view of the pages.

(8) Conversation at the dinner table revolves around the "party in my tummy". "Are the peas going to go to the party in YOUR tummy, Brett?"

(9) Your car, home, and heart are full to capacity!

pbj

As a general rule, we don't dine in the garden/dirt box. But it was so nice, we had lunch outside, and once Brett was done eating, there was no keeping Lydia at the table - and no prying the pbj out of her grip.

all eyes and ears

This morning I took Reggie to the eye doctor to check for cataracts and near-sightedness. We are glad there are no concerns about his vision at this point.

Then this afternoon I took Brett to the audiologist to get his hearing checked. We would have been very surprised if anything turned up because he seems to hear just fine (although he doesn't always listen...) His hearing checked out so we have ruled that out as a factor in his language development. And while we absolutely take that as good news, it is hard to see that your child is struggling and not be able to fix it. I suppose all parents experience that at some point.

Brett is adjusting wonderfully to his glasses. We were anticipating it would be a battle for a week or two, but after the first day, they became second-nature to him. Today, I forgot to put them on after I changed his shirt and he pointed to his eyes and said "uh-oh"! It seems as though he appreciates being able to see the world around him!

feet

(Lydia on the left, Reggie on the right)

Reggie on the move

I'm so proud and very frightened!

mud

The bucket of mud has offered hours of happiness this week...

...and also the sand and water box.

mr. handsome

I'm taking bets on how many pairs of glasses we will go through before Brett's 18th birthday...

oh my how life has changed

Looking back on it now, this post is pretty funny. (Okay, if you went back and read that, I just have to say both Bryan and I can set up and take down a pack-n-play in under a minute now- and I have learned to appreciate cold coffee.)

It's true that you think you are busy with one baby. Until you have two - under two.

And you are busy with two under two no doubt. But the third one makes it pure insanity at times.

For example, every weekday morning around 8:45, Reggie is ready for his nap. Usually, Brett and Lydia go with me to put him to bed on the second floor. Brett races ahead of us because he loves to play with the sink in the bathroom. Lydia climbs the stairs dreadfully slow and I follow her close behind with Reggie in my arms. When we finally get to the top of the stairs, Lydia veers to the left for the toilet paper. I drag the two toddlers out of the bathroom and into Reggie's room and close the door so they are somewhat contained. I try to give Reggie a couple minutes of transition time in the rocking chair instead of just plopping him in his bed. It goes a little something like this:

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the..."

"Brett, no playing with the blinds."

"...Bible tell me so, Little..."

"Lydia, stay out of the closet."

"...ones to him belong, They are weak, but..."

"I SAID get out of of the closet you two!"

"...He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves..."

"Brett leave the night light alone."

"...me. Yes Jesus loves me. Yes.."

[Lydia pulls the drawers out of changing table. They pull all the diapers out.]

"JesuslovesmefortheBibletellsmeso."

Reggie is plopped in his bed. I clean up the mess and tell the kids to say "night night" to Reggie. That is an example of an ordinary day. I'm still too angry to write about what happened today.

Other days, I choose the leave-my-toddlers-unattended approach. Then I am even more hasty because I'm afraid of what's happening while I'm gone:

Poor Reggie. I remember sometimes lingering a half hour putting Brett down for a nap - reading and singing to him...

Reggie is 7 months old!

Reggie is 7 months old! The 2 major developments this past month have been hair and a tooth! He had lost nearly all his baby hair and just in the last couple weeks we have started to notice some new hair coming in. We are a bit surprised it doesn't seem to be nearly as curly as Brett's hair, but there isn't much there yet, so we will just have to wait and see.

Reggie is wearing size 12 months clothes.

Reggie is getting better at eating cereal and pureed foods. He's tried oatmeal, rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce, green beans, peas and pears. He also fed himself a teething snack today. He is getting pretty good at holding his own bottle and I've also been giving him a sippy cup - but so far he just enjoys playing with it.

Reggie enjoys being right in the middle of whatever his brother and sister are doing. He has mastered sitting, his walk-around activity table and jumper, but no new gross motor milestones this month. His fine motor skills are improving and he likes to manipulate toys and drop them on the floor from his highchair. He likes rocking and singing and watching sing-along videos. He does not like nap time.

38 degrees

It's amazing how warm 38 degrees feels after a long cold winter that is probably not over. But we will enjoy the March thaw while it lasts!

Lydia's first play in the mud!

One brave little tulip:

Brett is 2.25!

Brett is 27 months old! He is the easy-going one of the bunch who doesn't ever make much of a fuss, but finds plenty of trouble. He is a very busy little boy who requires a lot of activity. I've been trying to get out and do more toddler things with him, like ECFE classes and rec time at the community center, but a lot of days Reggie and Lydia's naps get in the way. It is starting to warm up, so it is nice that being outside is a more frequent option.

Skills Brett is currently working on are drinking from a regular cup and dressing and undressing somewhat independently. He has not shown any interest in potty learning, unless you count using his potty chair as a step stool to reach things he's not supposed to! We're not pushing the issue yet - we feel it's important for him to make progress in his speech first. And for an update on that, his progress is painfully slow. He has an appointment with an audiologist in a few weeks and we are in the process of getting him in to see a neuropsychologist as well.

Below are pictures of Brett doing two of his favorite things: listening to music aka pushing buttons on his CD player repetitively (the one electronic he doesn't get in trouble for doing so) and swimming lessons. Brett loves his swimming class. It is a bit challenging because the cut-off age for the "baby" class was 24 months and the next class is for 2-4 year olds, so he one of the youngest in the class and has some trouble following along. Daddy has his work cut out for him!

And finally, a third thing Brett loves to do is help in the kitchen.Here are some tips for cooking with a toddler:

• Embrace the mess.
• As with all toddler activities, it's all about the process, not the end product.
• Be sure you have all the ingredients you need on hand. Expect a tantrum if you don't.
• Toddlers will taste-test anything. Even baking powder.
• Speaking of which, when stepping away from the work area, take anything you don't want eaten with you.
• Be sure you make a big deal about what your toddler made to Daddy. Seeing the pride in his eyes makes it all worth it!