Three Weeks Home & Father's Day!

Papa & Jonatan prepare for a ride through the City Island area of Harrisburg! Jonatan absolutely loves the "Wee Ride" that his Abuelito and Abuelita got him! We snuck Fawn in this picture as she joined us for this adventure, although Mama and she explored on foot!

Jonatan still enjoys passing on his besitos to his furry and not so furry friends!

One of the first children that Jonatan met from our church was "Bubba", our Childrens Pastor's son. Bubba has quickly become one of Jonatan's favorite buddies. One evening while he and his family were visiting for dinner, the boys jumped in a 'froggy' pool that a friend bought (Thanks so much Amy! He loves it!). We also brought out a lion that blows bubbles (battery operated)...so the boys ended up having a good ol' soapy time!

My Mom and Sister dropped off a huge load of clothes and fun stuff for Jonatan not too long ago. It has taken me forever to sort through their gift as well as many others that we have received. It just so happened that Jonatan had found a tiger outfit and thought it was so fun to run around in! You should hear him growl; it is so very convincing!

It is so hard to believe that we have been home for three weeks now! Each day has been a complete blessing and filled with many fun surprises and challenges for us as a family!

Some discoveries or milestones along the way:

1. Jonatan loves to eat green beans and brocolli raw, but completely dislikes them cooked! I keep thinking to myself, "Is this toddler for real?!?!?!" Ha!

2. Um, can we say potty training already! Yikes and LOL! Admittedly, we weren't quite ready for this one...in fact, we were thinking that this one would come well after Jonatan's 2 yr. old birthday. I won't go into details, but will say that shortly after we arrived back to the states Jonatan began announcing to us when he was either going or had to go 'pee pee'...although right now 'pee pee' is used universally to mean #1 or #2, so we have had a few surprises with this along the way. Oh my! I can say that on the whole this part of parenting has been pretty funny and challenging!

3. The words 'yes' and 'no' are being road tested! What I mean by this is that Jonatan seems to stumbled upon the use of these words, rather than just shaking his head for yes and no...the funny part of this is that he will often use them incorrectly; at first, this was a bit frustrating for Papa and Mama as we were functioning with the commonly accepted definitions for these words. Now, we are used to hearing 'yes' but half expect to hear 'no' in the end for some things...and vice versa. Actually, it was pretty cute, one night shortly after he began consistently using these words and as we were going through our bedtime routine, Jonatan laid back on his pillow, would turn his head one way and announce 'yes', then the other way and announce 'no'.

4. Our little guy can now go up and down stairs 'solo'! (Although Papa and Mama are still a bit nervous about this one as our staircase to the second floor is pretty steep.)

5. Compassion should be Jonatan's middle name as he often surprises us with his responses to people and situations around him. Twice now, he has cried when he realized that someone else was hurting and in need of comforting. At first, we thought he was scared, but it turned out that he was truly concerned for the people around him. And, on another occasion, we were reading a book to hin in which the main character is sad in a particular part of the book. In this particular time, he began to cry and point to the main character while trying to get our attention to confirm that it was indeed an appropriate moment for sadness. There have additionally been occasions where he has seen someones "owie" and needed to not just point it out, but to approach them and hug them or stroke their head to communicate care. It has been very touching to watch this growing sense of care for those around him.

6. Phone fetish! Ok, there is definitely one area of life together that is a bit of a hurdle...in our paperwork from Jonatan's foster parents, we were told that he loved phones...what we did not know is that he REALLY LOVES PHONES!!!!! This doesn't seem to be a phase either! Oh my! And, he will not just settle for the toy version, but is pretty determined to get his little hands on the real deal! When he does, it is pretty cute! He walks around with his phone propped on one shoulder while waving his opposite hand in the air and talking up a storm...knowing that he is a pretty great mimic, I wonder how much of this is a picture of one of his foster parents or siblings. At any rate, it is pretty funny. Needless to say, he loves to get on the phone and 'chat' with family and friends.

Ok, I am sure that there are many other things that I could list here, but will end with sharing a bit about Dave. It is such a blessing to watch Dave as a Father! I know that I don't say it enough, but I have one amazing husband! In the three weeks that we have been home, Dave returned to work, has jumped back into being Treasurer for our church, has continued in other obligations...yet still has devoted very intentional time to us as a family.

As a Father, Dave is very loving, patient, gentle, fun-loving, adventurous, and creative. I am blessed each evening to watch as Father and Son run around the house being goofy, exploring, practicing new words, or just romping around. I am also blessed in watching Jonatan as he responds to his Papa...he absolutely adores being with Dave and will often ask where Papa is throughout the day. It is also a blessing to watch as Dave leads his Son in pursuit of Christ each evening. I get 'chills' as I write this because I often think about what sort of lasting impressions we are sharing with Jonatan...and, this is one that I pray plants a seed of eternity in his heart and mind. I know we all have something to share about our spouses, if married, but needed to take this opportunity to share just how special my husband is to me. What an amazing seven years of marriage, the highs and lows, and I look forward to many more as we continue to grow in our love and care of each other as well as in our parenting of Jonatan and any other children God blesses us with down the road!