Easter Fun

We had a great Easter yesterday. We went up to Wisconsin to visit Scott's sister and his neices. Noah seemed to have a lot of fun. We did learn, though, that no matter how tired Noah is, he won't sleep in the car. When he's extremely tired, he does this thing where he starts blinking constantly. He was already doing that at 11:30 AM yesterday. We thought for sure he would sleep during the drive to Wisconsin, but it never happened (both Jaden and Danielle fell asleep instead - and Danielle almost never sleeps in the car!).

Things have been going well around here. In general, Noah is a happy, fun little boy. I am definitely happy that Noah was able to come home to another three-year-old and a five-year-old. I've just loved watching the kids run around the house together - Noah fits right in!

On the other side of things, I do feel bad because I think that the words I say most to Noah are "pas touche" (don't touch). It's hard because there are so many things that Jaden and Danielle can do that Noah just can't. They play on the computer, but I generally have to keep Noah away from it because he just pounds on the keyboard and repeatedly clicks the mouse. The older kids can use the remote, but Noah tries to grab it at random times and ends up messing up the TV settings. He loves to play with the doors on the cabinet that holds DVD's - the doors are glass, though and I worry about him opening and closing it repeatedly - another "don't touch". The list goes on - poor kiddo. I really hate to make this our most popular phrase, but it seems necessary at this point. Hopefully that will change soon.

Another frustration is Noah's method of playing - it pretty much consists of dumping everything onto the floor (although, he was a bit better about it today - he played with dinosaurs with Jaden and Danielle and seemed to have fun actually playing - he then cradled his giant dinosaur and rocked it like a baby - so cute!). Whenever Noah is naughty, he gets this grin on his face and laughs - I think he got away with a lot at the orphanage by being cute, but it really just frustrates me when he knows he's disobeying and he's giggling about it. I have to remind myself that this is a learned behavior - the way he got what he wanted at the orphanage - and that it will eventually go away (I hope). Noah threw his first fit (which really just consisted of crying- no tantrum behavior) when we took away his Easter basket. Boy, does he love candy!! Not too bad, though - we went almost two weeks without a fit being thrown. I'd say that's fantastic! And Noah sleeps straight through the night, which is a big deal to me - I am not good on no sleep. I can't wait until Noah can talk a bit more so that communication is easier. But, otherwise things are good.

Anyway, it's impossible to describe everything that goes on around here - it's just way too complex. But, this post kind of gives you an idea of how this transitionary period is going. It's already starting to feel more and more "normal" - I'm sure we'll have more surprises along the way, though.