COC, Final Week & To Bunny or Not To Bunny

It's here! We (finally) received Oliver's Certificate of Citizenship. Our proof that he is a Citizen of the United States. While he became a citizen when we landed on December 26th, we had no proof of his citizenship. Now we have it! Unfortunately it is under his birth name, so we still have several steps to get everything in order under Oliver Anthony Meyers. But it is a big step forward and one worth celebrating (with a glass of wine as I write this). Here's the official document (so glad to know he's single!):

This is also my final week at home before returning to work. I have mixed feelings about not being home with Oliver all day, but I am hoping that the transition goes well for all of us. I think my having something outside of the house will be good for me (the days sure get long sometimes), but I haven't yet wrapped my head around how everything else is going to work -- getting dinner on the table at a reasonable time, continuing to attach with Oliver, having time to play with and teach him, plus the usual bed time routine. I'm sure all mom's who work outside the home (and some dad's too) are nodding their head in agreement that those are all legitimate concerns but they work themselves out. Let's hope that is the case here too. 

We are continuing our efforts to get Oliver on a good sleep schedule. A friend of mine shared our story with her coworker, who does home visits with families in the Anoka-Hennepin district. Today she stopped by and gave us some terrific and practical tips and tidbits -- more than tidbits, really. Lots of great information. Hopefully having a few more tools in our box will help us help Oliver as he struggles to fall asleep at a reasonable hour.

Finally, as we are embarking on our first holiday with Oliver, we need to decide if we will be a family celebrating Christian holidays with secular components (i.e., the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus) or not. Tony and I both grew up excited about the Easter Bunny, Santa, etc. As a youngster it was the most important part of the holiday! So it's not an easy decision, at least not for me. I want to raise him focused on the Godly reason for the holidays, but I also want to be sure he's having fun, creating awesome memories and exciting holidays. What family traditions do we continue from our growing up years, and what do we start as our own traditions? How do we balance that with what his peers are experiencing? Lots of tough decisions to be sure we start off on the right foot! (And yes, we did celebrate Christmas together. But it wasn't a holiday we could do much to prepare for or properly celebrate given the circumstances.)

To close us out, here's a great snapshot of how Oliver might look as a grumpy old man. He snagged my glasses off the nightstand and then refused to smile for a photo. He's cute even when he's looking grumpy!

Wednesday Wrap Up

On Saturday Tony and I had our first date since taking custody of Oliver back in December. Our first meal served by someone else with no little hands to mind and little mouth to feed (I didn't even check to see if they had a kid's menu!). Our first time alone to share adult conversations -- and beverages -- without constant distraction or extreme exhaustion. It was lovely. We were gone only four hours and were home a little after 8:00, but it was a wonderful and necessary!

As with most forward steps (date night) we've also had some regression in Oliver's sleeping. While he still sleeps through the night, we are having an increasingly difficult time getting him to fall asleep...meaning he often falls asleep closer to 10:00. In addition we are having more trouble getting him to take naps. If he doesn't nap around lunch time, he will want to sleep around dinner time -- and is really difficult to keep awake! He also gets very crabby and his aggression increases. Therefore, we don't believe he's ready to skip naps altogether. I don't know if this weekend's time change will help or hurt, but I've been warned it will probably be very challenging. Ugh.

Today was a double whammy for Oliver. The morning began with his re-scheduled eye exam. He did great! The eye drops to dilate his eyes stung, but other than that he was in a good mood and cooperated with everyone. According to the marvelous Dr. P., his eyes are "perfect" and she doesn't believe he will have any major vision problems down the line.

His newest two word combo: doctor eye (though he's starting to say it in the right order). He's also "roaring" a lot -- at home and at others when we are out and about! Also new: a lunch full of bribery. He didn't want to eat his peanut butter and fruit roll up, so it was one bite of that for each korean fry (potato stick). He ended up finishing the sandwich, and I was giving him small pieces of fries, so I will count that as a successful meal!

This afternoon we had to get his vaccinations done...again (apparently the initial vaccines were safe but something was wrong with the effectiveness due to a power outage). He did as well as can be expected and enjoyed a scoop of birthday cake ice cream afterward. So far his pain seems less than last time. I hope that means the rest of the night will go well!

On Friday we are heading downtown to visit my office and Tony's, then we will have lunch with "Daddy" before heading back home. It will be nice to see my coworkers again and to meet some of Tony's. Friday night I get to have dinner out with a friend -- can't wait!

In other news, I have apparently been wearing my underwear all wrong. I can't believe it! Here's the proper way, according to Oliver:

10 Weeks

Oliver has been a part of our family for 10 weeks. That's 70 days! Earlier this month the state of Minnesota officially recognized Oliver as a part of our family under his new name (certified re-adoption via the state's court system). His Minnesota birth certificate is (hopefully) on it's way to us now. While we still have some red tape to weed through, there is light at the end of the paperwork tunnel. Whew!

This week was a busy one for us. Oliver had three play dates, all of which went really well. He has been adding to his finger painting portfolio, got to play in the snow on the one day where the high was in the double digits (the "feels like" temp was still below zero, but Oliver has been itching to get outside), has been working on his jumping skills and has been interested in reading more than recent weeks. We also enrolled him in our district's preschool for next fall (2 days a week, 2.5 hours each day). We found out on Monday that the lottery drawing was Wednesday (thanks for the alert Becca!), so I didn't have as much time to research the program or visit the classrooms. However, the location is very close to his Grandma's house, where he will be spending the rest of the work day.  

Some of his new and/or favorite words this week include: bus, snow, Jack (a friend), puppy (Jack's puppy), Ian (his cousin), pocky (a type of cookie), Ms (m&ms), and of course Daddy.

As for me, staying at home with Oliver is beginning to feel a little easier; more manageable. I still don't feel like I have this parenting thing in hand -- will I ever? But it's nice to see both Oliver and I growing in our roles. He also introduced me to his play date friends as "Mommy" -- so cute!

Tomorrow is the beginning of March, the month I will be returning to work. I have mixed feelings about going back full time; likely most parents do, too. Shortly before leaving for our second trip to Korea I learned that my company will be closing in June, so I also have some big career decisions to make (what do I want to do when I grow up; do I want to work full time or part time; what kind of income do I need or can I make; etc.). Some of the decisions will need to be made or thoroughly considered in the next few days. For those of you who are the praying type, I could really use some guidance from above on this one.

Our Monday Morning

After a rather sleepless night (on my part) our Monday morning began with a good-bye to Daddy and a little couch time for Oliver. I made him oatmeal, which he refused flat out. He insisted on an Asian noodle bowl, and gobbled it right up (when I tried to redirect to a more traditional breakfast option he got really upset and aggressive; I relented as it's better than something like a pop tart). 

We eventually got ready to go, heading to Menards for dimmer switches. Then it was off for a Monday morning treat: "api" or coffee. A favorite of Oliver's! Here he is enjoying his coffee (aka hot chocolate) at Caribou. He was so well behaved and really enjoyed the treat!

When we got home he wanted to finger paint. At first he kept it on the paper, but eventually he got bored with the paper and decided to paint himself instead. He wanted me to take pictures so he could see himself; here's the progressive line up: 

Now he's relaxing a bit before lunch and (please please please) naptime and an afternoon play date.  Busy boy!!