I'm finding I have very little time...

Since adding a 17 month old to our household a little over one month ago, I am finding that I have much less time to "play" on the computer than I did before he arrived!

I can't believe he has been with us for a month. It mostly seems like he has always been with us and there is still a little part of me that remembers how "easy" life was with our two girls.

Edison is now officially a United States Citizen - we received his Certificate of Citizenship and a letter from George W. Bush welcoming him to our wonderful country and referring to him as a "Fellow American"! Since we are changing his name, we will have to pay for a new Certificate of Citizenship which costs $200.00! Paul suggested that Eddy is a fine name and Edison could be his nickname. I am holding firm - I think he needs a grown-up name! For those of you adopting from China, be happy that you get to rename your child in China - it saves money and eliminates extra paperwork - believe me when I say that I am soooo tired of adoption paperwork! Can I get an amen??? Paperwork is the last thing you want to think about when the adoption is final!!

Edison is into a nice little routine now. We still keep all of the doors closed but he checks each of them periodically to see if he can get into the "fun places". His favorite game to play (and the place we can always find him when he is missing) is in the bathroom, transferring the garbage out of the trash can into the toilet! Gross!

Edison knows several words - Mama (my favorite), Dad-da, look, doggie, drink, he calls Emily - "Nemma" and he calls Kensley something that I don't know how to type. He kept saying one word over and over that sounded like "mom" but I knew it wasn't Mama. He used the word when he wanted a drink or was eating. One day, I thought, maybe he was saying "more" or "mas" (the Spanish word for "more") so when he said it, I asked, "Mas?" and he looked at me with this gleam in his eye that said, "Wow! You know Spanish???" Since then, I have tried to use more Spanish words that I think he might have known. His favorite food is eggs and you can tell he knew the word "huevos". I took him into work the other day and Maria heard him say "Ja!". He says that a lot and I thought it was just baby talk. Come to find out - in Spanish, Ja means "ready" and that is exactly when he says it - after changing his diaper or when we tell him we are ready to go! Amazing! The best thing is to see the twinkle in his eye when he understands what we are saying.

Other things he does:

• Says "Tah-Daaa" when he does something cool!
• Climbs up and jumps off of everything!!
• Expects someone to catch him when he jumps - even if you are across the room!
• Plays "peek-a-boo" and covers his ears instead of his eyes.
• Plays patty-cake.
• Chases the cats - they have learned to run if he comes in their direction.
• Loves to watch ceiling fans!
• Emily says he will be 50 years old, pointing at ceiling fans and saying "Ah!"
• Philip told me to take him to Lowe's Ceiling Fan Dept - he will think he is in heaven!
• Loves to dance and is partial to rap music!
• Leaves bruises when he bites - just ask Kensley - she'll be glad to show you hers!
• Throws tantrums by throwing his head and arching his back - usually these are due to him not getting his way!
• Loves to play outside.

There is much more I could write but it is time I go to bed - I'm tired!

Things We Have Learned About Edison...

You can learn alot about a child's personality after being with them for a very short period of time. When I look back at the pictures of the first days we had him in Guatemala, he looks very "out of sorts". I'm sure the little guy was terrified with new people with light skin who spoke like aliens. As each day passes, we are learning more and more about Mr. Edison Underwood. He seems to be adjusting very well and each day comes out of his shell a little more showing us who the real Eddy actually is. I have to admit that I asked him today where the little boy we adopted in Guatemala was because the new little boy that is running around my house is a WILD MAN!

I like to call him Hurricane Ed and let me tell you, he may have arrived in the United States the same time as Hurricane Ike but Ike has nothing on my Hurricane Ed because he continues to search and destroy all that is in his path!

I would like to make my own list called...
"Things We Have Learned About Eddy in Less than Two Weeks"

• He has a mouth full of very pretty, straight, white teeth.
• He can bite really hard!
• He likes to play in the water (swimming pools, bathtubs and toilets!)
• He laughs really loud while unrolling a roll of toilet paper.
• He likes to eat cat food (Meow Mix must be quite tasty)!
• He picks up the cat by its tail (and thankfully the cat just looks at him).
• He can squeeze into tiny places when he has an object he shouldn't.
• He hates getting his haircut.
• He likes to eat most everything.
• If you give him a bite of something he doesn't like, he will spit it out for at least 5 minutes.
• He likes to smack people of all sizes - preferably in the face.
• He can smack very hard!
• He is down from 8 bottles to 3 bottles a day.
• He sleeps through the night in his own bed!
• He takes two naps each day - one very long and the other very short.
• He is frightened of dogs.
• His baby talk sounds "spanish".
• He is very smart and catches on to new things quickly.
• He enjoys being the center of attention.
• He likes to be held and rocked.
• He gives good "besitos" or "little kisses".
• He gets his money's worth at the KFC Buffet.
• He can scream very loud if he doesn't get his way.
• He is a very good dancer - he has the Latin rhythm going on.
• He likes to walk on his hands while you hold his feet up behind him (wheelbarrow)
• He has cleared everything from the end tables in our living room.
• He has forced us to keep all bedroom and bathroom doors closed down the hallway.
• He loves to sneak into Emily or Kensley's bedroom.
• He is partial to a real cell phone over a toy phone.
• He can run very fast and likes to run onto the soccer field during his sister's game.
• He is a whirlwind of activity!
• He is a good source of exercise for his mom!
• He is loved beyond measure!

An adjustment - yes! Would I change any of it? Absolutely not! (well - I would like to do away with the poopy diapers...)

If you haven't already, be sure to go to our shutterfly account to see photos: http://www.edisonisourson.shutterfly.com

We have a playdate tomorrow (Thursday) with Edison's friend, Kayma. We are going to eat at McDonald's and then play at the park. I hope to get lots of good pictures and hopefully can post some of them tomorrow.

To see pictures - go to this site...

http://www.edisonisourson.shutterfly.com

I'm sorry - I've had computer trouble

I know alot of you are wondering what is going on. We are fine - we made it into and out of Houston. I'll talk more about that later. If my computer will cooperate - I will attach photos very soon.

~Dana

Our little Tyke wants to come home Ike! Please don't mess with Texas...

For those of you wondering, Edison had a much better night last night. Paul and I have been trying to stay on Kentucky time and have done a pretty good job of getting Edison on our schedule. Of course that means we have been up since 4:30 this morning!

I also forgot to mention yesterday that Eddy loves the swimming pool. He was not scared at all and enjoyed splashing me. We floated around a little bit and he kept putting his face in the water until he took a big gulp and started coughing and gagging. Live and learn. He didn't try that again. We then sat in the hot tub and he was so relaxed. He layed back in my arms and was totally peaceful to the point of almost falling asleep. We took him to the room and he took a very good nap.

When he came to us he was drinking 8 bottles a day and had zero naps. Now he has learned to drink from a sippy cup, is down to 3 bottles a day and 2 naps!!!! He prefers the bottle when he is getting ready to sleep. I was the mother who took her kids bottles the day after their 1st birthday but I am not going to rush it with Edison. He has had so many changes and will have so many more, the least I can do is let him keep his bottle. Oh, by the way mom, if you are reading this, will you go to Wal-Mart and buy a couple of bottles so we will have them when we get home? He came to us with a Gerber that has Barney and Baby Bop on it and we hate it! We brought with us an Avent and he likes it - so 2 Gerbers or 2 Avents will be great!!!

This has been a pretty long day. Anna Maria came and picked us up at 12:45 and took us to see God Bless the Children's orphanage. When we were here in February it was their offices and it still is, but they have set it up in anticipation of accepting children. I hate it that Guatemala has changed the rules and will no longer allow children to be fostered. Cinthya and Anna Maria and the rest of the staff at God Bless the Children truly want their orphanage to be like a home and I think it will be. They still need some things to fully furnish the orphanage but the biggest thing they need right now are monthly sponsors.

When Anna Maria and Cinthya were in the USA the last time, I invited them to eat with my family. My mom prepared a fabulous meal for Father's Day and she and my dad hosted. Paul's parents were there as well as my sister and her family and my grandmother. Our Guatemalan guests loved my mom's cooking and my mom's house. Today, they returned the favor. Cinthya prepared a traditional Guatemalan meal for Paul, Edison and I and brought it to the office. It was delicious!! It was a nice time to spend with all of her staff who had worked on our case. They knew Edison and obviously loved him. He made himself quite at home and walked around like he owned the place. It was a time I will never forget.

Afterwards, Anna Maria drove our family to the US Embassy to pick up Eddy's visa. We only had to wait a few minutes for them to call our name. We checked that everything was correct and left the Embassy with Edison´s Guatemalan passport, his United States immigrant visa and a sealed package that can only be opened by the Immigration officers at the Houston airport...

The Houston airport -- as I type this, our flight in the morning from Guatemala to Houston is still a go. We will take the 4:10 am shuttle from the hotel to the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40 a.m. (8:40 a.m. your time). We arrive in Houston a few hours later. Also as I type this, our flight to Louisville is the last Continental flight leaving from the Houston Airport tomorrow. All others after ours have been cancelled. Southwest Airlines have already shut down in order to get their planes and employees out of Houston. So far - so good. Please continue to pray that Ike will stay out to sea so that we can get out of Houston. Our girls want us to come home because they want to see their little brother. We want to get Edison home to meet his sisters, and his grandparents, and everyone else. We also want to introduce him to his home and his bedroom and his toys and his new life!

We do have a backup plan in place if the airport shuts down in Houston after we arrive there. There is a rental car held in our names with a car seat and we will just start driving home - I can't even think about riding in a car for 16 hours now so I am convinced this is not going to happen. We also have two seats reserved on a Delta flight from Guatemala to Atlanta that leaves around lunch time tomorrow. I know the girls want us home and we are going to do all we can to get there. I just pray we stay on schedule. Times up.