I just love this guy!!

I mean really...how could anyone not? Not that anyone I know doesn't love Marley, in fact everyone I meet comments on how happy and fabulous he is! We met with our social worker yesterday for our 6 month post placement visit and I was again reminded of what a fantastic little child we have. When asked how Mike and I are dealing with the exhaustion of being parents, we both kind of looked at each other and said, we aren't really exhausted! The kid sleeps at least 11 hours a night, most nights 12 or 13. He is almost always alseep by 7pm, affording us some "adult time" every night! And he hardly ever cries, and when he does he looks like a Cling-on from Star Trek, so it's super funny!

Every morning when he wakes up he is in such an amazing mood! I will have to get some video of it, because it's pretty entertaining! He is still throwing himself around the crib in fits of laughter much like he did in the Surgery Day video! He gets so excited to see me when I pick him up from the clink...that's daycare! As soon as he sees me he starts waving goodbye to everyone!! He's growing so fast and changing so much everyday! His latest hobby is practicing the art of escape!

Now that he's a walker, he wants to walk everywhere and is of course discovering new things. The latest attraction are the Buddha statues we have on our front...porch...stoop...cement area...I don't know what you call that part of a condo! When he first noticed the happy Buddha he bent down, looked him right in the eye and started laughing...perhaps he sees a bit oh himself in that statue!! You be the judge!

When I was putting ear drops in his ears the other night, which he hates, I put my head on his little chest so I could be right in his face to soothe him...it was the first time I had ever heard his heartbeat! Of course I cried...it was beautiful! I started thinking about Zenebek, his birth mother, and wondered if she ever did that...listened to his heart beat...I know she was never able to hear it while she carried him in her body, but it just struck me while I was laying there that his is part of her heartbeat too! It made me happy to know that he gets to carry that around inside of him forever! I have a picture of Marley's birth parents on a shelf in his room, and I can tell he knows who they are! I am happy he does! We pray for them and his brothers every night after story time and I hope as he gets older he will know who we are praying for and why!

I love this little man and I am so grateful that MIke and I have been given the amazing privlege of being his parents and watching him grow! I never knew how much my heart could expand, but it seems I wake up every day just so much more in love with him!

Thank you universe for this gift! I will cherish every day I am blessed to have with him!!

I HEART MARLEY!!

Longing...

Marley has been sick this week, a fever, runny nose, coughing and general mallaise ...he hasn't even smiled in the past couple of days! Michael is at the urgent care center with him right now...letting me catch up on some sleep (Just called, we have a double ear infection folks)! We both took Thursday off after being up all night with the little guy and Mike stayed home with him Friday morning while I taught 3 classes and then came home!!

I miss being home with him terribly!! I NEVER thought I would miss it as much as I do!! Teaching was always my passion, staying up late reading about new pedagogical strategies, writing grants for new projects, even bringing lesson planning materials on vacation to France last summer! But I am just not into it at all this year!! I don't hate it, and I don't dread going; thank God I am ony teaching until 12:30 and have great, high performing students this year, but being home with him the last couple of days really made me miss it again! I was so fortunate to be able to stay home with him for 6 months, but it just wasn't long enough! And now we are desperate to get out from under the $30K credit card debt we racked up while I wasn't working (which shouldn't have been that high except Mike was told by our district he was going to be getting $7K that he didn't! Three days before we were expecting it, they told us they made a mistake!!).

I never saw myself as the stay at home Mom type, but I guess, I never had such a wonderful son before!! Only three weeks into the school year, I am already longing for summer vacation!! I do have a new friend Sandie who is helping me realize my goals of paying off our debt and making enough money to quite my job!! So I thank her for that awesome opportunity, which is already going better than I expected!! And, of course, I thank my fabulous husband for allowing me to stay home and not freak out about the highest credit card payment we have ever had!!

Here are some pix of happier times!!

And a video of the future: Marley and Mom working from home!!

Video to come soon....

AHOPE for Children Fundraiser

I have been asked to inform my loyal followers, of which there is 1...thanks J-Lo, that AHOPE for Children is currently seeling t-shirts and bracelets to raise funds to support the orphans in Ethiopia who are living with HIV/AIDS!! This is a fantastic organization who does nothing but good for these amazing little fighters!!

Ethiopian Play Date

Fun with Friends!! Every month we get together with friends in Little Ethiopia...this was the first time Marley was standing!! We had fun!!

Fun With Cousins!!

We were in Tucson last weekend while Dad was fishing in Mexico! Marley tried to make friends with my sisiters cat!

Steven Birch Aquarium

Last weekend we went to San Diego with Gramma and Grandpa and had a great time at the Steven Birch Aquarium!!

Yummmm...Toes!!!

Caught Red Handed

He wasn't really doing anythign culpable, but he sure does look guilty!!

What a Difference!!

I noticed one of the Jamaica pix was a very similar pose as one of the Ethiopia pix...look how healthy and plumpy our little guy looks!!

Our Seasoned Traveller

Here's Marley on our way to Jamaica...letting me enjoy a pre-flight margarita and snoozing with Dad!! Gotta love the red-eye flights!!

Jamaican Fun

Here are some pix of us having fun in the hotel room...naked style!!

Go Bolts!!!

He watched his first Chargers game last week and of course was wearing his Chargers jersey!! He looked awesome and helped San Diego to victory!!

He's Walking!!!!

The end of yet another era and a new milestone reached! He started this week, the same week he started daycare...needless to say, it was an emotional week for Mom!!

Sandman 1 - Marley 0

Fight as he might, he was just no match for the sleepies!!

My Parental Pledge

I heard some very disturbing news this morning.

The family of a boy who was shot to death at school is suing the school district because they (the school) allowed the boy to wear make up and feminie clothing to school. You can read the whole article if you think that sounds too ridiculous to be true!

My search of "Family sues school district for son's death" yielded 5,070,000 results...where are the parents? Where is the accountability? As a high school teacher and, most importantly, Mom I am absolutely blown away by the consequence free environment in which so many Americans live. I think the school district should counter-sue the parents for allowing their child to leave the house wearing make-up and feminie clothing! Or am I being presumptious in thinking that this poor child even had parents at home when he would leave for, or come home from, school each day.

But wait...I was a latch key kid...I came home to an empty house (until our house was broken into and then my parents got me a sitter). And still my parents knew everything that was going on in my life.

My parents gave me consequences...really, really bad consequences, like grounding me from the curling iron in 1987 (uh-huh...no more baseball bangs) when I talked back to my mom, or grounding me from my car the summer before my senior year in high school because I got a D in Geometry...remember now, I grew up in Tucson, was gothic (ie: wore only black) and had to walk to summer school to make up that grade! And the best was getting grounded when I was caught in the act of lying...I told my parents I was going to a basketball game, when in fact I went to Mo Udall park and made out with Lenny Robles for like 3 hours...oh..high school...My parents had a hunch I was fibbing, so my dad drove to the game to see if I was there and when I wasn't, he stayed in the parking lot until we pulled up...I am pretty sure I was grounded for the remainder of my freshman year!!

So my pledge is this:

I PROMISE to, first and foremost, BE THERE for Marley; physically present as often as I can without smothering him to death or taking away his independence! But more importantly, when I can't be there physically, I will do all I can to be there emotionally, to provide a place for him that is safe to talk about anything...like my parents did! I told them EVERYTHING...when I was thinking about doing drugs in college, when I lost my virginity, when I was dealing with the scars left from my biological mother's leaving...they were there! And they taught me that it's OK to be hurt and angry or sad, but it's NOT ok to mess up my life because of it...and until I was old enough to suffer consequences of my own...they were there making sure I suffered through theirs.

And my parents are still there for me and Mike, and I know for Marley too, which really rocks!!

Secondly, I PROMISE to give Marley consequences when he makes bad choices. I hated being grounded, and I was grounded a lot as a child, and teen, but rarely did I make the same mistake twice!

And last, I PROMISE to look to these people first when Marley does mess up! Not to the school, not to his friends, but to us...what can we do to ensure Marley makes good choices? That is what we will ask...we will not blame others, we will take responsibility to raise our beautiful baby boy to be a strong, smart, accountable, young Ethiopian-American man!!

Thank you Mom and Dad for being such great role models!! I love you both to death!!

Oh...Jamaica

I will be making a montage soon, but I just wanted to give you all a sneak peek of our fabulous trip!!

Bring Your Marley to Work Day

So sad that's it's over...every Thursday morning during summer school, Mike would take Marley to work with him so I could sleep in and catch up on some alone time! This is what usually went on while I snoozed!!

Crashed Out COOL!!!

While Mom and Dad enjoyed a delicious repass at Pasadena's Yard House (Mike's favorite eating and drinking establishment), Marley was chillin and snoozin'!

The Latest in Headware

Introducing the Big Bird Cracker hat...or Headband really!!

A Visit From Friends

Before we went to Jamaica we had some friends from Portland visit us! Karin and Steve were gracious enough to open their home to us last Thanksgiving and they didn't even know us! It was a Turkey Day blind date that went great! Within minutes we felt like we had known them, and their friends, forever...but alas the tragic flaw...they live in Portland! They are sitting in the pole position in the infamous "List" and have been there forever...or since the courts closed anyway!! We know their wait will be worth it...just like ours!!

Oh yeah, Marley was also teaching them how to do the laundry!!