We Celebrate You Today Max

It is hard to believe that today is Max's 2nd birthday and even harder to believe that it is his first birthday home.  His birthday marked a day of celebrating his little life with cake, singing, candles, presents, hats and hugs like most birthdays.  And in the midst of celebrating there are also feelings that I can't shake.  There is a part of me that grieves the first 17 months of my little boys life that I was not a part of.  There is a part of me that wonders what happened 2 years ago in China, the day my little boy was born.  I think of his mom often.  She was the one who carried him for 9 months, heard his first cries and cared for him his first 4 days of life.  Then for reasons we will never know left him at a train station.  I have a deep love and respect for a women across the ocean that chose life for her son and gave me the gift of a precious son.  I pray that somewhere deep in her soul she knows her little boy is happy and healthy but most importantly is loved.  I grieve that there is a piece of Max's story that is a mystery to me and yet I know God has written his story and has been a part of it from the beginning, it is no mystery to the One who created him.

When I look at our little two year old I stand in awe of the way that he is grown and blossomed in the last 6  1/2 months.  His little eyes went from hollow to bright.  He went from not being able to take a step to running everywhere.  He went from not feeding himself to loving to eat and not being able to get food to his mouth fast enough.  He went from not demanding a thing to knowing exactly what he wants.  He went from sitting in one spot for hours to rarely sitting still.  He went from rarely getting hugs and kisses to getting more than enough to make up for lost time and giving them freely in return.  He went from not demanding to be held to standing at my leg and begging to be picked up.  He went from being silent to screaming with excitement at the top of his lungs.   He went from being an orphan to being part of our family.

While I stand in awe of the way our little boy has changed and blossomed I stand even more in awe of what God has done and continues to do in my heart.  I knew that boarding a plane and traveling across the world to bring our son home would be life changing and yet for me it was heart changing.  There is something deep and unexplainable in my heart when my little boy reaches up and wraps his hands around my neck and plants a big wet kiss on my mouth.  There is something that stirs deep within knowing he sees me as his mommy and looks to me to meet his needs and to be loved.  God not only gave me a love for a little boy from China but he gave me a love for his homeland and a deep heartbreaking love for those orphans we left behind.

So while we celebrate you today Max and your precious life.  I also celebrate everything God is doing in  my heart and in our family because of you.  You are a gift, a precious treasure from God and we are so thankful that God chose us to be your family.  We can't imagine our life without you.
Happy Birthday Sweet Boy
Love
Mom

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

Psalm 139:13-14

Six Months Ago ...

 It is hard to believe that we have reached the 6th month mark already.  This month was full of celebrations and summer fun!

Max is starting to realize that his mom loves to take pictures and document life through pictures.  Pictures are worth 1000 words right? Well Max experienced his first photo shoot disaster with his siblings. 

His mom had this great idea for Father's Day picture and it happened to be the hottest day of the summer to date.  The pictures didn't go quite as planned and Max was done! It is all about the memories right?

We celebrated Eric's first Father's Day as a daddy to four.  I know Eric would say he is blessed even on the days when life seems crazy.  Max has his daddy wrapped around his little finger. 

Max put on quite a show as he fell asleep during our Father's Day brunch.  When Max is tired it is all over and he falls asleep wherever he is.  This is first time Eric and the kids had experienced the nod off at the table. 

I just couldn't resist this cute little shot of our little man's bottom as he was so sad his mommy was making him come in for a nap and miss out on the fun outside.  He was begging to be rescued by his sisters and brother.

Max has quickly been introduced to school.  His sisters love to play school and they now have a cute little student that often cooperates with them.  They better take advantage of it now because I have a feeling he may not be as cooperative in the months to come.  It is so much fun to see his siblings loving on him.

He also got to experience his first birthday party.  He just couldn't be left out at his brother's party and joined right in with those boys on their bug hunt.

Max loves to dress up and it just happens that there is easy access to princess high heals at our house so that is his shoe of choice at the moment.

It was pretty special to celebrate Max's first 4th of July this year as an American citizen.  I love seeing him wave the red, white and blue. 

He thought all the festivities were pretty great too! He got a kick out of the pops when he figured out how to throw them hard enough.

He also experienced his first sparkler with Papa.  What a great way to celebrate Max's first 4th of July ... at the lake with family and all the festivities. 

The lake is a little boy paradise ... there are bubbles ....

water ....

trucks ...

sand ....

swimming ....

and picnic lunches with brothers.  Max loved his time at the lake and once again jumped right in to the action and let the fun begin.

Wild Water West was another highlight of Max's month.  We spent a couple days a week enjoying the water on our hot summer days. There was no stopping Max when it came to life at Wild Water West.  He had no boundaries, no fear and loved everything about the water park.  This mom was often ready to crash when she got home from chasing her little ball of energy around the water park. I can take crashing at the end of the day when it means I have been chasing a little boy with a huge love for life and energy that pours out of him when just 6 months ago he was laying on a mat on an orphanage floor hardly moving or making noises.  Love has breathed life into this little boy! 

He often would attack the water fountains with a mouth wide open. 

After he went through the fountain and was completely drenched he would come out on the other end with a huge smile.

We quickly learned Max loved everything about the slides and the bigger the better.

He loved playing with the big boys and they had a mutual love for him.

Every time he made it down a slide there was a huge smile and a squeal to go with it! 

 It has been fun to see Max experience so many things for the 1st time.  He continues to embrace life with every ounce of himself and live it to the fullest.  Next month is a big month for Max.  We can't wait to experience more of life with Max through his big brown eyes.

4th Of July

Happy 4th of July from our family to yours!

It was so fun to see our newest little American wave the red, white and blue this year.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Psalm 33:12

May God bless America.

Five Months Ago ...

Where does the time go?  It is hard to believe that Max has been home for 5 months already.   We love spring and summer at our house so this month has been so fun as we get to see life through Max's eyes as he experiences so many new firsts in the outside world.

He loves spending time with his sisters and brother outside.  He often stands by the patio door when he wakes up and grunts as he tries to open it.  He squeals with excitement when the door opens and he gets to go outside.  He experienced play dough for the first time and he also quickly decided to eat some before anyone could catch him.

It has been fun to see Max and his sweet little friend Sam interact.  We feel so blessed to be on this journey with good friends as we love on and raise our Asian cuties. 

I love this picture of Sam and Max as it looks like she is instructing him how to drive already :) !

Max experienced all the fun festivities at the Annual Tulip Festival in my home town.  I remember the anticipation last year as I took a picture of my 3 little blessings knowing more than likely we would have a cute little Asian Dutch boy this year in our family picture.

Cute he be any cuter?

It has been fun to see the boys' relationship continue to grow. Shane is so excited to have a brother to show the ropes too.  He was pretty excited that he had partner in crime to scrub streets with him.  Papa had his hands a little more full this year with 2 busy boys. 

Max also had his first ride on the carousel.  He had that look like he did on his first swing ride ... "I am not quite sure I like this!" When it came to a stop he shook the pole to try to get it to go around again! 

As the weather warmed up it was time to break out the sprinkler. Once again another first for Max.  When ever he sees water he runs at it full speed with his mouth wide open. 

As you can see the sprinkler was a hit! 

Of course he thinks it is a good idea to take a break and try get a little drink.  The kids think he is so funny.  Of course he then has to put on a show when he knows he has an audience. 

A day in the sprinkler just isn't complete without lunch on a towel.  Oh it is going to be so hard for this little man when summer is over and we spend most of our days inside.  Don't worry we are taking full advantage of our time outside this summer.

Snack time on the deck is also a fun treat.  I love Max's little belly on this picture.  Yes he is eating like a champ and has added some good weight to his little body since he has been home. 

Max loves to cuddle with his sisters.  They love it when he sits by them long enough to fall asleep.  

Max has mastered the spoon ... for the most part.  Again looking back it is fun too see where he has come from and where he is going.  When I look back to the first days in China and we would put food in front of Max and he didn't have a clue how to feed himself at the age of 17 months it is amazing to see how far this little boy has come.  

Max also has experienced the lake for the first time.  We were pretty sure he would love it and that he did.  He didn't waste anytime getting wet and digging in to the sand.  

As you can see he has a new love ..... THE SAND! 

We are finally to a point that Max doesn't cry or pinch his lips as tight as he can when he sees his tooth brush.  It was pretty obvious that Max had never had his teeth brushed in the orphanage.  His breath was indescribable.  It was plain awful.  The first night we emailed our doctor and other adoptive families to see what we could do or if we needed to worry about something.  We were informed it was more than likely just lack of care and probably diet too.  Needless to say it became a fight to try to get those little teeth clean.  It took about 2 week until his breath was at least bearable.  Max saw the dentist for the first time this month and we were pleasantly surprised that there were no cavities.  We did find out the poor little thing had gingivitis.  His little mouth was just a breeding ground for bacteria between the gum infection and plaque build up.  We are thankful for some good breath, healthy gums and clean teeth now. 

Max is a little lover.  He climbs on my lap often with a lot of kisses to go with it.  He plants kisses on his siblings very freely.  When Eric gets home Max runs to him and and often grabs his hands between his little hands and pulls him in for a kiss.  When I think back to the day we stood in his room at his orphanage and heard from his nanny that since he was one of the better ones in the room he didn't get much love or many hugs.  Hearing those words broke this mommy's heart in two but we continue to see how God protected our sweet little boy's heart.  Today he knows what it means to be loved and to love.  He gives and receives hugs and kisses freely.  I will forever be thankful for all his sloppy little kisses on my lips.  Here he is kissing all his little animals.

And of course there were hugs to go with it! 

This little smile is something we see an awful lot of.  Max is rarely grumpy and he still smiles bigger than life every time you pick him up.  He continues to crack himself up with things he does or noises he makes.  He is full of life ... you can see it in those eyes and that smile.

Happy 5 months with your forever family little man! 

Four Months Ago ...

It is hard to believe that just 4 months ago this little boy became part of our family.  We feel so blessed that God chose us to raise this precious little boy.  Don't those big brown eyes just melt your heart.  Yes, he has this mom wrapped around his little finger.

It has been fun to watch him continue to blossom and grow this month.

After a long winter the sun finally came out and spring arrived.  Max LOVES being outside. His brother continues to enjoy having a new little brother for the most part.  He even gets creative and rigs up things like this to give Max a ride. Max of course thought it was great.  They have spent hours riding in circles on our deck.  Max doesn't understand when it is rainy or cold and will just stand by our patio door begging to go outside.

He has a love for slides and often makes things in our house a slide too ... the stairs, off a bed, the arm rest of the couch to the couch ... you name it he tries to make it a slide.

Max has experienced many firsts with his little hands and feet outside this spring.  It has been fun to watch him explore different surfaces and textures with his tiny little fingers and those little toes of his.  When he has bare feet he will often pause when he moves from one surface to another.  For example when he moves from grass to the sidewalk he will pause and stick a toe out and then lay one foot down and take it in a bit before he crosses over.  I continue to wonder what goes through that little mind of his as he experiences all these new things we so often take for granted.

We have continued to work on his sensory stimulation.  His favorite is his pudding time.  Often Shane and Max do pudding together.  Max just digs in and works on getting those little hands dirty.  Shane often practices his letters.  They both waste no time with licking their little fingers.

Max continues to be curious and often gets into things he shouldn't.  One day it was the box of rice which he poured on his head and ended up all over the carpet.  I decided to let him enjoy the mess he made instead of rush to clean it up.  I guess that is what happens with a 4th child  .... you learn to relax a little and try to enjoy the little things.

Max continues to play hard and sleep just as hard.  When he gets tired he crashes where ever he is which works well when he is the youngest of 4 and needs to be flexible.

Max's brothers and sisters can't get enough of him and love to help in any way possible.  Big sister Alexa is helping with a little hair washing and styling here.

Max loves to make noise and figure out how other things make nose.  When I have the vacuum out I can figure he will be riding it like a horse and turning it off and on with a big grin!

Max LOVES music.  When he hears music his little head starts bobbing.  He loves when his sister shares her little ear buds with him.  He figured out in no time how those things worked.  If the music isn't on he will shake them thinking that just may make them come on.

Max had his first opportunity to visit the South Dakota Children's Museum.  He had so much fun playing and discovering new things.  One of his favorite places to hang out was in the market.  He figured out pretty quickly how to fill his little cart and push it quickly through the isles crashing into anything in his way.

He also loved planting and picking all the vegetables with big sister Emma.

Max welcomed his friend Samantha home from China and brought her the American flag to wave.  We can't wait to watch these little Asian cuties grow and blossom together.  We are already working on an arranged marriage.

Max made his first cut out cookies.  He tasted flour and ate a chunk of cookie dough.  It has been fun to see the excitement in his eyes as he continues to discover and try new things.

His sisters and brothers love experiencing life with him.  As you can see everyone is pretty smittin' with each other.

Max celebrated his first Easter with us.  We celebrated the new life Christ gives through his victory over death but also the new life that Max represents in our family.

We had our first official "family of 6" Easter picture taken.

Max quickly caught on to picking up eggs and putting them in his basket.

And oh the fun when he realized there were treats in the eggs.

He also discovered bubbles with his cousins.

This is one of my favorite Easter pictures.  Max's cousin helping him to his feet.

He pet his first animal and Aunt Lori's house.

On Mother's Day we dedicated Max to the Lord at our church.  I feel so blessed to be Max's mommy.

To think these little legs were so weak and Max wasn't walking just 4 months ago .... now these little feet go as fast as they can go!

There are still times that Max is just not sure of his surroundings and takes it in.  This was the first time that Max was in the grass with flowers, well technically dandelions around him.  He just stood in the place that I had placed him and looked around taking it all in.

After about 5 minutes he reached down to grab a dandelion ....

but when he figured out it was safe to run he was off.  There was no stopping him!  I have a feeling there is no stopping this little boy.  We are in for a very busy summer.

Happy 4 month with your forever family sweet boy!