The Big Two

Two days ago, Titus turned two.  We set the theme due to Titus' love for the fury red character, Elmo.  We laugh because for a year he has loved Elmo despite the fact that we have never watched Elmo, played with Elmo, or read any Elmo books.  Elmo was only on some of his diapers and I think in passing one day I said that the character was Elmo. Nothing more, not a big deal. However, despite my nonchalant attitude about him, Titus loves Elmo dearly.  He can spot Elmo clear across a store even when Daddy and I can't.  Odd....   So, Daddy and I set about to make his day fun filled and full of Elmo.

Friday, I spent the morning in the kitchen creating an Elmo cake.  I breathed an audible sigh of relief when it was finished and prayed that NOTHING would happen to it between then and Saturday.  Nothing happened to the cake...but...Friday night my camera was dropped and my prime lens will not come off.  I'm so sad.  :(  I love my DSLR camera and can't imagine life with out it.  The prime lens is great for taking portrait pictures but not for party pictures.  So despite my best effort we don't have a lot of great pictures of Titus' day.  But, we have a lot of great fun filled memories! 

It was sad thinking about this being the last time we would put our one year old to bed.  But two is fun too!  He was full of smiles and energy and I'm sure he could sense something fun was brewing in the house.

While he was sleeping we wrapped presents, blew up balloons to fill his room and hung streamers in his doorway.  

 

After some balloon fun we enjoyed delicious chocolate chip waffles.  Yummy!  He wasn't sure what to think about the candles in his waffles and being sung Happy Birthday, but he was patient with us. 

The rest of the day was filled up and overflowing with all things birthday.  Titus' day was sprinkled with many of his favorites: food, fun, and family. 

Thanks Georgia, for emailing me this wonderful idea for a veggie plate!  

Titus' red envelope filled with a crisp $2 bill

Titus loved his big day and we are so thankful for all our family that came and showered him with lots of love and gifts.  We are blessed!

From one mother's heart to another

It is the eve before Titus' second birthday and my thoughts are consumed with a young woman who sacrificed and gave us the wonderful blessing of our son.  My heart often aches for this young woman.  A woman of whom we have one small picture and a name but nothing more.  A woman who gave us something that we desired but could not achieve on our own.   A woman whom I have prayed for and thanked God for often.  A woman whom I have never met.  A woman whom I hold so much gratitude for.   A woman who made a choice to give my son life.   A woman who holds a part of my son's DNA as part of her own.

On the eve of our son's birthday I pray for this woman.  I pray that she will know that Titus is unconditionally loved and cared for.  I pray that she will have peace in her decision.  I pray that one day she will know the Prince of Peace.  I pray for healing for her.  I pray for this woman's loss and wish she could know how bright, handsome, and joyful Titus is.  I pray that on Titus' birthday that God will comfort and be by her side and whisper reassurances in her heart and mind from one mother to another.

Tomorrow I will celebrate my son's second birthday.  I will smile a lot.  I will put a candle in the chocolate Elmo cake I will make just for him and watch him blow out the flickering flame.  I will take pictures and gush about how cute he is.  I will do all the things that a mother does on her child's birthday and be thankful for this woman and for her part in who my son is today.

For adoption is filled with both indescribable losses and unending joy.

Making Music

Today we had the privilege of attending our city's symphony petting zoo.  It was honestly geared for children older than Titus.  But all the same, he enjoyed it a lot!  First we were introduced to each section of the symphony and then each instrument was demonstrated.  What fun!  Titus' eyes quickly lit up as he heard the first stroke of the violin being demonstrated.  After the children heard each instrument, learned a little bit about it, and were shown how to properly handle it they were given the chance to play each one.  Titus loved all the instruments, but his favorite was the violin.  

Humbled

Many of my experiences in the past week further prove that God uses my child to humble me from time to time and completely draw me out of my comfort zone.  I like to be unseen and unnoticed by the general public; not my son.

My child has rarely ever met a stranger.  He carries on conversations with anyone and everyone who will talk to him or gives him even a tiny dose of attention.  Unless of course, you want him to.  Then he takes a vow of silence. None of the times we were out in public this week were as humbling as when we were at a prenatal imagining clinic.

Side story-my friend Morgan lives over an hour away so when I had the chance to meet up with her this week, I jumped at the opportunity.  Morgan is a kindred spirit of mine.  We share many of the same views on health, parenting, life, etc.  It's always a pleasure to spend time with her and her family.  We met Morgan and her husband, Kevin during one of our adoption classes and found out they too were attempting to adopt from THOGL.  Come to find out, God had different plans for their family and they were pregnant with their little girl, Naomi.

Now back to the story at hand, Morgan is now pregnant with their second little one, hence the prenatal imagining clinic. She kindly welcomed us to come back to the ultrasound room but knowing my little bundle of energy I decided to wait in the waiting room and offered to keep her little girl too.  Naomi sat in her chair and looked at one of Titus' book the entire time her mother was gone and only talked a few times.  Seriously, a perfect little angel.  Now, Titus was not naughty or disobedient he's just well...friendly.

A couple expecting their first bundle of joy walked into the office excited to find out what whether they should buy pink or blue.  Titus was happily sitting next to Naomi reading; until they made the grievous error to initiate conversation with him. Next thing I knew my son was out of his chair, sitting on a stranger's lap, cuddled up against this daddy-to-be's chest, and being read the book "How Much Does God Love You?".   It happened so fast.  I kindly told the man he didn't need to read to my child...really.  He politely responded, "It's okay, I need all the practice I can get.  In a few months I'll have a little one of my own."  Oh my....   Thankfully the couple was very nice, very sweet, very obliging, and very gracious to my little extrovert.  However, I was mortified.  Since Titus has come home I have been drawn into more conversations with strangers than I care to count; whether by his initiation or theirs.

The man read in a loud boisterous voice to Titus declaring over him how much God loved him.  The woman sitting next to her husband looked as uncomfortable as I felt during my son's charade.  But, neither Titus nor the man seemed uncomfortable and both seemed to be in their natural element.  As the book droned on I felt God giving me a sense of peace that someone was hearing this little children's book that needed to.  God bless my little boy who is proud to boldly share the love and truth of God.  Once again, I feel like my son sometimes teaches me more than I teach him.

* Please keep Morgan, Kevin, Naomi, and their unborn little one in prayer as she was just placed on bed rest this week indefinitely.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

I love snow days!  There's nothing better than watching snow fall slowly and peacefully, covering the ground in a blanket of white.  I also love what snow days bring: staying at home, enjoying yummy soup, hot drinks, cuddling with family, and curling up together reading books.  And, oh yes, going out and enjoying some snow fun.   Sign me up for snow days any day!  This year has been a bit disappointing for a snow lover like myself-we have had none, zip, zilch, zero.  But, we finally had our first small bit of snow and the best part of the snow fun this year, was that Titus loved the snow.  This snow loving mama is so happy!  

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Or 

 Or

Happy Chinese New Year!

 Ushering in the year of the dragon.

An amazing dragon cake made by another HOGL family.

Once again this year we drove a couple of hours to celebrate the new year with other HOGL families. It is truly a blessing to get together with these families every year to celebrate our chlidrens' heritage, what God has done in our individual families, and pray for Ted and Bev.  For without their servant hearts' none of this would be.  We are blessed!

Since the celebration is in the same town that Uncle Braden, Aunt Clarissa, and Cousins Hadley and Braxton live, we spent the weekend enjoying some time together.  They too attended CNY.  We are thrilled that once again they have chosen to help us celebrate Titus' heritage.  Braxton and Hadley always seem to have a great time playing with all the other children, making crafts and trying new food.  I was so busy talking and catching up that I failed to take a lot of pictures.  Oops!  :(

Auntie C helping Titus with his dragon craft

B&T playing in a tunnel

Hadley's completed dragon

Which will he be?

From the time Titus was 9 months old he
ALWAYS used his right hand, no matter what.  

Lately, though he's been switching it up on us.   

So, will he be a righty...

or a lefty...

or... could be be ambidextrous like his mama?

Winter, where are you?

Mid January.

70 degrees.

Yes, please! 

I'm a big boy now!

We started 2012 off with a bang.  If you were in our home right now these would be the most widely spoken phrases you would hear no less than a hundred times a day.  "Let Mommy or Daddy know if you need to go potty."  "No accidents!"  "No diapers!  "Woo-hoo, way to go, Titus!!!"  

New Year's Eve I was at the store buying no less than 25 pairs of little boys' underwear, re-reading the Three Day Potty Training book, cleaning the potty chair and gearing up for an exciting day of potty training.   Oh the exciting life of a Mama with a plan!  :)

Day 1:  We packed away the diapers to give away, had a talk about potty training, showed Titus his new potty chair, and dressed our tiny tot in a pair of new underwear and a t-shirt only, just as the book suggested.  Within 20 seconds of putting on his brand new underwear they were soaked.  Of course, it was only going to get worse and go exactly as the book said it would...6 pairs of underwear in the first hour was discouraging and I was beginning to think I was crazy despite the warnings the book had given me.  By the end of day one we had gone through ONLY 19 pairs and spot cleaned the carpet more than I care to think about. With the dryer happily humming we put day one to rest, prayed that this plan of motion was correct and that we really only did have 2 more days left of hard core training.

Day 2:  Thankfully Daddy was home for a final day of Christmas vacation to help out again with this training as we were all exhausted.  We once again dressed Titus in his new underwear and t-shirt and reminded him to let us know when he had to go potty.  By afternoon, we were shocked and ecstatic when he went several times in his potty chair.  After all, the book said this wouldn't happen until the end of day 3, so we  were beyond proud and feeling like we would all survive. 

Day 3:  Our morning started a bit too early at 5:00 am, but with a dry underwear!  I was on my own and terrified to what the day might bring.  Since the day was a bit cooler I decided to add a light weight pair of knit pants to his ensemble; unfortunately I think the added layer made him feel more comfortable and confident and that was when a few accidents occurred.  The pants quickly went to the way-side and we continued on accident free. 

Day 4:  Another dry morning underwear-success!  Because we were feeling a bit stir crazy we invited Aunt Kate and Cousins E&Z over to spend the day.  I was a bit distracted and we had a couple of accidents.  As I was preparing lunch for everyone I asked where Titus was.   I guess he needed to go and decided since I was busy he would go on his own.  He sat down and went potty, underwear on and all.  Oops! 

Day 5:  We were crazy and took a road to see Grandpa and Grandma.  He boldly declared to them, "No accidents!  No diapers!"  We had zero accidents!  But, I was thrilled and relieved to be at home with much success later that evening.

We are continuing our journey to be a big boy and for the most part Titus has very few accidents and I would consider him potty trained.  He knows what to do and most mornings and naps he wakes up dry.   We are so proud of our little guy and are thrilled with his success.  Way to go, Titus!!!!

 

A funny side story, one day I walked around the corner as Kevin was supervising Titus in the bathroom and I had to laugh and of course grab my camera.

Like Father, like Son

Our Christmas

Wow, I took a much longer break from blogging than I thought I would.  We spent the last of 2011 and the very beginning of 2012 enjoying some much needed quiet family time with just the three of us.  We were blessed that Kevin had ten days off from work and we enjoyed every minute together. 

Titus and I were both sick leading up to Christmas.  Thankfully, I started feeling semi-well enough to attend church on Christmas Eve, because holding that candle in the dark church singing Silent Night ranks as being one of the best moments of the entire year.  Unfortunately our house was not at all in the shape I desired nor dreamed it to be, lists did not get checked off, and quite simply I just wasn't ready.  But, Christmas still came and once again I had to remind myself that this holiday is not about the fluff.  Not at all.

After church we had a light dinner with Uncle Eric, Aunt Kate, and Cousins Elle and Zane. Titus adores his uncle, aunt, and cousins and we are so thankful for their sweet relationship and the blessings they are in our lives.   

Having a little one in the house brings so much joy to the holidays!   Despite feeling awful I was looking forward to watching Titus experience Christmas a bit more this year.   He didn't disappoint.  I loved watching Titus' wide eyed wonder and curiosity; such a precious, precious time to watch and be a part of.   Christmas Eve, Mommy and Daddy worked hard to create a winter wonderland for some indoor snow fun.

His shirt says it all!

 We took our time reading the Christmas story, talking on Skype to G&G W, eating breakfast, and opening a few simple gifts.  Titus was content to open a gift, play and enjoy it for quite awhile.  He had no idea that another one was coming.  It was very sweet and innocent.  He loved all of his gifts. 
Titus was so diligent opening each present and he had to remove every tiny piece of paper before he would open the box.  Again, I love this stage!

 Later Christmas day, we traveled to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas on Monday morning when all of my siblings would be available.  It's definitely a full house when we are all all there and never a dull moment either. 

My talented mom, made all three of her grandchildren coats for an early Christmas present, so we have been enjoying them throughout the month of December.  They are quite soft and warm.  Titus calls it his "Grandma coat".

That, in a nutshell, was our Christmas.  We loved every single second of it, felt loved and blessed beyond measure.   What a joy to be able to celebrate the season with our family.