Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My Dream Come True... And Baby No. 2

Have you all seen Parenthood? It is one of my favorite movies. Scoff if you must, but I love it.

I used to watch it when I was younger (it came out in 1989 - so yes, I was much younger) and I loved, loved Justin - remember Justin? The little boy who ran down during his sister Taylor's recital and ruined the whole thing? Yes, that's him. I always said that I hoped my child would be just like Justin. Apparently, I said this out loud, a lot. It has come true. Instead of blond curls, my son has beautiful brown curls (which I love). But, like Justin, my son has the ability to make us laugh hysterically and the ability to make us leave school-sponsored functions in shame. Let me explain...

Remember when Justin wore a cowboy hat and a holster... and that's it? Micah comes up with outfits like this on a daily basis. Here is a recent ensemble that had me giggling. He asked to have all of these things put on...

It may not look that strange to you, but in person, it was silly. Frog boots (that he specifically asked for at the resale shop), camo shorts, snoopy shirt and a hat. This outfit is mild, comparatively, but some things are not fit for the Internet.

Second, we have recently entered the toddler stage in full force. Micah is testing the limits every day and has acquired the gift of continual movement. Our child has always been "busy" and "spirited" but he is taking it to new levels. Levels that are sometimes questionable - such as when we went to a recent adoption forum put on by our school district and he decided that ALL of the toys in the room were HIS. How dare those other children even pick up a toy? SO, I attempted to follow him around and give the toys back to the children as he ripped them from their hands. Then we received a long look from the administrator, so we left in shame. Thankfully, our parent-educator came two days later and told me how normal it is at this age. She gave me some great ideas (consistency being the most important) and we are working on it.

Tonight we went to a music class and Micah did okay - he tried to pay attention and lasted about 20 minutes, which is good for him. Tomorrow we are taking a trial class at the Little Gym - we believe that Micah has a real strength in the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and we're hoping to foster that in him (as well as get some energy out and offer an opportunity for socialization). We really want to find a way to allow Micah's "spirited" side to grow and prosper in a constructive way, rather than to dampen his spirit and reign him in. It's not easy, but we've known that this would be our challenge from our first few days with him. It's a 'challenge' that we are happy to take on and we hope we can do our best for him.

Okay, if you've made it this far, you probably have a 'spirited' toddler yourself. Otherwise, you'd have grown bored of my long-windedness. (Is that a word?) If you have any stories to share, or tips, I'd love to hear them.

And, baby #2.... I was wrong about the fingerprints - we do have to have them done again. Not a big deal - we're going Thursday and then hopefully we'll have our 171-H 4-6 weeks after that. The plan is to have the dossier finished by then so we can get everything certified and off to Ethiopia by December. So, we're still moving along... albeit a bit more slowly than I thought. :)

And, after a long post such as this, I like to share some random cute pics, so here goes...

Hanging with his peeps

Sweet Yogurt-Face

Scary Yogurt-Face

16 comments:

  1. love the parenthood reference, my fav. part is when justin walks into the wall with a bucket on his had...hee hee hee :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely Toddlerhood. Mari is dong slightly better with the "naughty spot." At least it is being effective as a negative thing, she no longer laughs when I put her there. We start swimming lessons on Saturday...looking for some physical outlets, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. IIRC, our boys are really close in age. We go through the same things with Josh constantly! Even the wacky outfits! I try to wear him down as much as I can by playing outside (while it's still nice!) and playtime at a few places here in town. The gym sounds great for Micah!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loved that movie too. And I love Micah's sense of style. I feel you on the whole active toddler thing even though mine is just 13 months. I just bought Raising Your Spirited Child but have yet to crack it open because when he's up, I'm too busy running after him and when he's down, I'm too exhausted.

    stephanie
    www.mubarek.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I heart Micah and love your blog, so I will try to bot be discouraged that you'll likely have No. 2 before we get No. 1. (we still don't have the finished homestudy out to DCFS.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow..I feel like I'm reading about our 2 yr old son. ha! I'm glad to know I'm not alone. Curious to see how the Little Gym experience goes for you. I was just thinking this week that we need to socialize Nate more and get him used to being around other kids. The church nursery once a week just isn't enough..and he thinks he's the big man on campus there. ha!

    ReplyDelete
  7. LOVE the yogurt face. Also - Raising Your Spirited Child has been very helpful for us and our spirited wild one.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You have to post about how the Little Gym goes. I tried to put Braden in a gymnastics class at our Ymca, and it was a horrible, horrible experience. First of all, he was the only wild 2 year-old boy in a class full of sweet, calm little girls. I thought it would be more of a "free play" experience, but the teacher wanted them to all line up at the equipment and wait their turns, which with all of the temptation of balance beams and tunnels and trampolines definitely didn't work for Braden. I spent every class chasing him around and trying to force him to wait in line while getting glares from all the other moms. I am exhausted just writing about it! We quit after 3 classes. I bet the Little Gym has a better program though - I look forward to hearing about it!

    PS Sorry this was so long.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I hope he loves the Little Gym... if it is anything like gymboree, he can run a lot of energy out! :)

    Cute pictures.. love his developing sense of style! I can't believe he brought those items to you to have you put them on him!

    Love the baby number 2 update... I think you are going to have her sooner than you think...:) You are moving FAST!

    ReplyDelete
  10. We are very much in that toddler phase too. The first thing Ted told me today was that he hoped I had strength for the battle. Yes, consistency is key. But I still shake my head in wonder at times, no idea how to handle certain things.

    I just tagged you, fyi.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm officially out of the spirited boy toddlerhood phase,(yet beginning the spirited boy school age phase) but I'm hear to say that you'll survive it! I had my doubts that I would, and age 2-5 had its MANY challenges, but also MANY fabulous rewards! Surround yourself with seasoned moms who will tell you not to worry about it... their kids did the same thing at that age, find BOYS to play with (unfortunately when my son was a toddler, all of my friends had girls!!) And playing with older kids really helped too.... they didn't seem to pitch as big of a fit when my son struggled at sharing with them. :) And.... my friend also had to remind me that before my son was born I had told her that I hoped he'd be the creative goggle wearing, cape donning, foil wrapped cardboard sword type of kid... and he is and then some!! Embrace the fun that is a spirited boy!

    Sorry for the LONG response... it's my sensitive spot. Little boys are absolutely wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  12. ha ha. i tend to describe my son "feisty", especially when he is doing something embarrassing in public. and talk about energy. we tried the little gym program and he wouldn't sit for the circle group time AT ALL. and the instructors were not happy about me allowing him to walk around so they kept pushing him back to me. and he ended up having a fit about having to sit down and let's just say, we never went back. there's a great book out there called "raising your spirited child" that i would recommend all the parents of "feisty or spirited" children to read. my son also has less than ideal social skills. he doesn't grab things from other kids so much as scare them away from them by screaming in their face. i think my guy is a little older than yours. but at least he's got plenty of personality. life is never boring. good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, my, his eyes in that sweet yogurt face photo are incredible!!!
    "Parenthood" is a must see anytime we are w/ my bro..it seems to be based on my family :) Diane Wiest's character IS my mom ;)
    Thanks for the update on your adoption. I pray those fingerprints come back as fast as mine (10 days) when I was told to expect 6-10 weeks.
    I am not quite there with the same "spirited child issues" YET but I know I'll be calling on you in the next 6 months when I am going through it. hang in there :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Stacie, have you been tagged yet? If not, I tagged you!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stacie,
    I hope you love Little Gym as much as we do. It has been hands down the best environment for our *spirited* boy to thrive. He is able to spend a lot of energy in a great, dynamic, loving, directed environment. Have fun!
    Noelle

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your little boy is adorable! What a beauty! Congrats on starting the journey to #2.

    I am in Alberta, waiting 2 months 5 days (but who's counting!)for a referral so far from Ethiopia.

    Look forward to sharing your journey with you.

    Tammy

    ReplyDelete