Asa's Been Home For TWO MONTHS!

Wow. It's just so hard to believe. We are blessed beyond measure; Asa is such an adorable, funny, polite, happy and smart little boy. He's doing so well. Asa learns so much every day, but it already feels like he's always been here. We have a nice routine with sleep, meals, playtime, etc... He loves to tell us what's going to happen next and the way things work. His favorite phrase right now is an-nen (which means "and then"). It's usually used like this, "Asa eats, an-nen nap," or "Get bathing suit, an-nen jump in pool, an-nen hair wet." His English just astounds us - he'll remember a word he heard once (days before) and will use it in the right context. His easy-going personality makes outings or slight variations in our schedule very pleasant - he takes everything in stride.

I had mentioned that we were having some sleep issues and those have seemed to subside. Asa is going to bed without much fuss and usually wakes once in the middle of the night to use the potty, but generally goes right back to sleep. He can still be a little too friendly with strangers, sometimes, but that's getting better, also. Since he understands so much English, we've been able to talk about family: "We hug people in our family: Daddy, Mommy, Ally, Chloe and Camden. We can give high-fives or wave at friends." The cutest thing is how he'll high-five a friend and church, then turn and whisper in my ear "Mommy, high-fibe fwend."

As for the rest of us... everyone in the family just wants to eat him up. Cam and Chloe never tire of kissing his cheeks, Ally loves to cuddle him, Daddy gives giant bear hugs and I nibble on his little feet (piddy toes in Asa-speak) every chance I get. It's a miracle he's not sick of us, yet. Asa seems to feel secure; he is growing and thriving. We're so grateful that God chose us to be his parents.

Mommy and Asa

Brothers...

I just love dressing them all "matchy."

Sand And Sun...

We made another trip to the beach last week when Mamaw (my mom) was visiting. It was windy and cloudy but Asa had so much fun in the sand with daddy...




And Asa LOVES the pool! He wears a floaty-suit (just like all the other kids did as toddlers) but we think he'll be swimming by the end of summer. He watched the bigger kids hold their breath, so he did it, too. He watched daddy toss the other kids in and he asked to be tossed too. Once we finish homeschooling for the year (in the next few weeks) I think we'll be living out back in the pool.

The Scary Monster...

Becomes Asa's trusted companion.

An Update:

Asa has been home for seven weeks. His adjustment really has been miraculous.

• Language: His English is fantastic, but we're still keeping some of his Kreyòl words (even though he knows their English counterparts) simply because they are cute, and even the other kids enjoy saying them. There were a few Kreyòl words and phrases that he was still using consistently, and we weren't quite sure what they meant, but our friends from Haiti helped us out and now we know! I know that so many children adopted from other countries actually end up rejecting their native language, but we really do hope to keep him connected with the Haitian-American community here so he might retain some of it. For the most part, we all understand each other and here are a few of the cutest phrases with which Asa has surprised us...

"Papa bear shoe, bank you!"
He was telling me that daddy put the shoe on his bear and he told daddy 'thank you.'

"Henry! Chicken! Eat it!!"
Henry got a toy chick that was in Asa's Easter basket and had run off with it in his mouth. Asa was alerting us to the situation.

Also, we had run out of toilet paper in a bathroom and Asa wanted to know where we could get some more. I said, "Come on, I'll show you." He responded, "Show ME!" Awesome pronoun use, buddy!!

• Behavior: For the most part, Asa is a sweet and compliant little guy. He loves to learn and he wants to be good. He responds so well to praise for good behavior and we've found that positive encouragement goes a long way. He does need to be supervised 100% of his waking hours, though. If he gets away for even a minute or two, we've found pencil drawings on the wall, handfuls of Q-tips flushed down the toilet and purse contents dumped. Occasionally, there will be some defiance that seems quite intentional - especially when he doesn't feel he's getting attention when he wants it (i.e. when we're all busy getting ready for church or if I'm on the phone). Some days he's extra clingy and just wants to be held for hours - if it seems like a genuine need to be reassured of our love and that we are his permanent family, we meet that need.
  

• Sleep: Hahaha. No comment. Actually, for transparency's sake and because I think this might be helpful for other adoptive parents, I'll share. We have yet to get into a consistent sleep mode despite our very consistent routine and bed time. He only woke once last night which was heavenly but the previous two weeks were a bit rough. He was waking 3-4 times a night. I try not to get too worked up about it and I know it's simply a phase (just like when the other three seemed to want to nurse all night long as babies). It'll pass.

• Attachment: Asa is clearly very attached to all of us. We do have to be careful about close contact with others because he has tried to reach out and hug anyone who shows interest in him. It's so difficult to tell people that we can't allow hugs or kisses yet because his primary bond to his parents must be secure before he branches out to other relationships. Without a lengthy explanation, it might come across to them as if we are being paranoid or overly protective but, after all the research and recommendations from our social workers, we know that we have to continue to stay the course and be very intentional about this. Asa does know what people make up our family and even seems to understand extended family like aunts, uncles and grandparents.

And it's true... just like the pain of childbirth is forgotten (even 31 hours of unmedicated labor!) the pain of a two year adoption process is quickly fading. I remember the emotions but can't feel them any more. Asa's here and we feel nothing but blessed! Look at this adorable little guy...

Spring In Florida {Alternate Title: Beach Baby}

Asa belongs in Florida, for sure. He enjoys being outside and we've taken advantage of the amazing weather over the past few weeks. We spent most of Saturday on Ft. Desoto Beach - riding bikes, picnicking and swimming. Asa absolutely loves the bike cart (incidentally, we took an 11 mile ride last week!) but we found one thing he just might like even better. THE BEACH!!










One family member was conspicuously absent from this trip. Allyson (16) is spending her third spring break on a mission trip in Brazil. :o)

"Bank You, Mommmmmmy"

I hear this no less that 50 times a day. It is absolutely precious. Asa is a very grateful little boy. According to the woman who acts as the live-in manager at the creche, Asa would say thank you to his aunties and caretakers all the time - - when they would help him with buttons, give him food or tie his shoes. When he first came home, he'd say "Mesi Mama" (and still does, sometimes). He has transitioned to the adorable and very dramatic "Bank you, mommmy!" which melts my heart! We try to model gratitude with all of our children since it's just such an important character trait. I'm so happy that our little Asa takes such joy in giving thanks! He loves to thank God in his prayers, too. His bedtime prayer is usually pretty long and fervent, includes some singing, names of children from the creche and some other things I'm not quite sure of. But this is what he says before breakfast, lunch and dinner:

"Bank you, God for cee-ee-al (cereal... Rice Krispies to be precise),
for Papa,
Mama,
Ally,
Klo-eeee,
Can-den,
Ahn-ry (Henry the dog, they are best friends now)
and Asa Mackenley.
De De-dus name (in Jesus name)
AMEN!"

What a cutie pie. I want to eat him up!! And in other news... Asa hasn't had any of the crying spells that had been common, initially. He is responding well to correction; instead of "disconnecting" and looking away, he makes eye contact and seems eager to understand what we're trying to tell him. And bedtime has been a joy the past two nights. Tonight was hilarious because he kept yelling to Camden (long after Cam had been asleep) "Can-den... I love YOU. Can-den! Can-den! I loooooove yooooou!" Yeah. It made me cry.