Happy Father's Day

To a wonderful husband and father. Happy 1st father's day. You are an amazing man and an amazing father. Like many others, you had very little experience with children before Bryson entered our life. You had never fed, dressed, bathed, babysat or changed a child's diaper. You have learned so much in the 4 months that we've had him. Though sometimes you drive me crazy, I wouldn't have picked anyone else in the world to raise a child with. Bryson might not biologically be yours, but it's not possible for him to be anymore like you! I look forward to spending MANY more father's days with you.

To a wonderful dad and pops. I couldn't ask for a more caring father. You have been a wonderful role model my entire life and now you are an amazing grandfather ("pops") to my son. For that, I am forever grateful. You tend to keep to yourself and because of this you never said much through the whole infertility and adoption process, but once we left for our 2nd trip to bring Bryson home, you forever changed. I get joy out of seeing your face light up when Bryson enters the room.

My grandparents have a house on a lake about 45 minutes from us that is available for the family to use. Shane and my dad decided they wanted to go up there for Father's day. Us, my brother and my sister headed up there Saturday late afternoon and stayed the night. We swam a little when we got there. Then on Sunday, my parents, my dad's friend, his daughter, my friends and their 3 kids came up. We BBQ, swam, rode on the boat, went wakeboarding, tubing and rode the jet ski's. It was a really fun day till the rain rolled in after lunch and didn't let up for most of the day. Despite being rained out, we all had a nice father's day.

Bryson's new toy

Since Bryson loves water, I decided to buy him a water sprinkler when I was at Target one day. It's an Elmo one that is made for toddlers (it doesn't spray much water). He wasn't sure about it at first, but quickly warmed up to it. I am not sure who liked it more, Bryson or our dog Angel.

Favorite Photo Friday #14

Bryson & his "kitty, kitty"

4 months Gotcha Day

Sunday was 4 months since Bryson was in our arms and tomorrow will be 4 months that he has been in the U.S. I'm glad to report that he is 100% better from his hospital stay. I must also say that in the last few weeks, I have seen a much happier boy. It has been a huge relief. That is not to say that he still doesn't have his moments, they are just not as often. The food issue still continues to be a battle. Now that the GI specialist said he cannot have ANY milk in his diet, so we have had to go through all his food and snacks. He still will only eat table food that are sweets, so he eats baby food at dinner. He is still protesting the highchair. He is 19 months going on 4 in his opinion. We were letting him sit in the chairs at the dining room table, but he would stand in them. So last night my MIL suggested taking the tray off the highchair and putting it up to the table. He seemed to be fine with that (for now at least).

This past weekend we went back down to Treasure Island beach. This time it was with Shane's family. Shane's Uncle got married down there last year and they decided to have all their friends and family come back down this year at the same time. It was a fun weekend. Shane's cousin's daughter is a few months younger than Bryson. Bryson immediately went over and gave her a kiss on the lips without being asked to. They were so cute together. We went down to the beach for a little while on Saturday, but I have to say, Bryson is not very fond of the water at the beach. He was a little afraid of the waves. Boy he loves the pool though. I can't tell you how many times we went in the pool and how many times we had to chase him away from the pool. Everytime I put a dry shirt on him, next thing I know, he was in the pool with someone. The nice thing about having so much family around is it gives us a break from constantly chasing him. There were plenty of others to do that for us.

Bryson & his cousin Destiny

Bryson & daddy swimming

How much do you tell?

I have recently joined a few local mommy groups. I haven't attended any of the playdates yet, but plan to soon. I am at a loss on how much I tell these others mother's about Bryson. When others ask how old Bryson is and I say 19 months, they are usually like, wow he's small. Family and friends have told me he looks smaller in person than he does in pictures. He is small and is still wearing 9 months short & pants, but that's ok. I don't mind him being small. I also have met two other mommy's during my maternity leave that both had children a few days younger than Bryson and they were much more advanced. I try not to compare him to other children, but I do it mentally and see where Bryson should be. If others knew he was adopted and lived in an orphanage, then they would completely understand why he is small and slightly behind. We plan to raise him to be proud that he is adopted, but I also don't want him to walk around with a "I'm adopted" sticker on his forehead.

I have also taken Bryson to a few Gymboree classes (which he loves) and sometimes feel uncomfortable around the other mommy's there. They will often talk about what their child did at 6 weeks or 6 months and I can't say anything because my baby was sitting in a baby home at that age. There are times that I feel like I have been Bryson's mommy forever, but times like that, I am quickly reminded that I have only been his mommy for 4 months.

How much do you tell others about your adopted child?

Thanks for the comments. Let me add that Bryson's size nor comments made about it does not bother me at all. That was just an example of situations I have been in. He was born at 30 weeks and weighed 3 1/2 pounds and in my opinion he has caught up well. I also want to add that I in no way think Bryson is too far behind or dumb. He is amazingly smart and catches on very quick. He's behind in his language and a few other things I have noticed.

Favorite Photo Friday #13

Bryson at his Uncle's graduation dinner

My baby brother graduates

My baby brother graduated high school last night. It's hard to believe he is now 18 and no longer in high school. Where does time go? On Sunday we went to a graduation party for him and my cousin who also graduated. The graduation was only 2 hours (big change from when I graduated high school) and Bryson did pretty well. He sat with us for awhile, but kept knocking the back of the guy sitting in front of me, so I took him away and let him walk around. Shane came and switched with me after awhile so that I could go back to the stands to see my brother walk across the stage. Afterwards we went to dinner at Olive Garden. Bryson has recently started protesting the highchair, at home and elsewhere. Last night was no different. We have tried letting him sit at the table with us, but after a few minutes, he stands up in the chair. All he wanted to do last night was run around the restaurant. Thankfully we were in a section by ourselves, but I never wanted to be that parent that has a child running around a restaurant. Needless to say, we won't be going out to eat for awhile.

Pops & Bryson

Uncle Garrett & Bryson

Bryson, Mommy & Aunt Caitlin

Daddy, Bryson, Mommy, Aunt Caitlin, Uncle Garrett & Uncle Brandon

Bryson had a follow-up appointment with our pediatrician Monday morning per the doctor's orders at the hospital. My mom was kind enough to bring Bryson for me so that I didn't have to take more time off work. The pediatrician said is still congested and wheezing at times so we have to continue the breathing treatments every 4 hours for at least a week. He also said Bryson is a good candidate for asthma and he has an ear infection. Does it ever end? Poor guy has been through so much. He also can't go back to daycare till next week, so it's been quite an interesting week. My dad watched him on Monday and today is my sister's last day of school and she gets out at noon so she will be staying with us for the week to watch Bryson so I can work. I am very thankful to have family nearby.