Nataga and brother

The boys waving "hi"

Nataga shocked that his brother waved and so proud of him.

Brother gets a look at Nataga's most prized possession- bear.

Nataga is a wonderful big brother and great helper. He is very careful with his baby brother. We've enjoyed every moment!

Our Newest Addition

Days away from a baby brother

Nataga had his first concert at school. He LOVES singing and "Jingle Bells" is a current favorite. Luckily it was the first song the kids sang. They put all of they kids together from pre-K to 5th grade. Nataga did a GREAT job and had the hand motions, song, etc. down pat. David whispered that "He didn't get that from us" to me! I was so proud! What a smartie. The next few songs... things quickly changed :). He went from the only pre-K kid who "knew his stuff" to the kid the teachers were trying to catch on stage. It was halarious. He was posing for the audience, running from teachers, and causing a scene. "THAT (David whispered) he got from me!" Good memories! That made me just as proud! When asked what Christmas meant to him, Nati replied "Cookies"! The other kids said presents, Santa, etc. but our son, who always thinks about his stomach, said "cookies." It was great!

Well the baby is due this month and we are ready to meet him! Nataga has been practicing being a "big brother" with a couple of his buddies from church who just had little brothers added to their families.

Nataga is as cute as ever. He has grown a ton the past week. His teachers at school even remarked on how much he grew in a couple of days. He was able to wear an outfit one day and a couple of days later it was too short! It's crazy how fast kids can grow. When people say overnight, they aren't joking! He has also been on a vegetable kick and loves "av-Cado" (avacado), broc-key (broccoli), and ranch... what can we say- the boy knows what he likes! ;)

Besides that we've been busy and are ready to relax a little when the new baby comes!!

Firsts

I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the boys and the first time we saw them.

As you can probably tell David has authored the past two blogs. So, I thought I'd post an update.

Nataga has been learning to count and his colors. He has been singing a song about hand washing this month and for the life of us, we cannot figure out what all he is saying and where he learned it. He starts out with "Wash, wash, wash, and then sings a couple lines that ends with "soap"!" It's so cute to hear and we've decided he's authored his own song!

December is just around the corner. It seems to be a good month for us. We received Nati's referral on Dec. 3rd and have a baby boy due in late December. It is interesting to go through a paper pregnancy and then a 9 month pregnancy. There are so many things that are similar and so many things that are different. Seeing your child on a screen for the first time-- priceless. Waiting months for just a referral after filling out paperwork--> I have to say a guaranteed 9ish months is MUCH easier. The body soreness, sickness, etc. that goes along with pregancy-- not so great. The heartache and roller coaster ride as you wait for a child across the ocean- hard. It's much easier to feel the baby move and kick at different times during the day. Still I think both boys were on my mind the same amount of time. I'm sure the joy of meeting your child for the first time- priceless and worth the pain and wait either way. We wanted to adopt first, and then have a biological child. I'm glad we did and there is nothing we would change. A child is a gift from God.

Wandering of the mind...

Nataga had some school pictures taken recently that were filled with fall leaves for a prop and a wicker chair. Coming from me, it will be no surprise, that I find him highly photogenic. He can ham it up! It's not but countless times a day that he will give a priceless expression, and multiply that many times more when a camera is around. Lately he has been singing and talking up a storm. He is very good at repeating things, and is good with most instructions. Perhaps one of the most entertaining things we enjoy is seeing what exactly he is picking up from the both of us. Here are just three examples:

From David: Walks on his tip-toes
From Chelsea: Scrunches up his napkins
From both: says "Uh-huh" (we always seem toanswer one another around the house that way)

Oh and 7 weeks...yeah - we'll really be up to our wits end in cuteness!

Nataga Survives Storybook Parade!

The fierce and ferocious lion evaded capture, braved the masses, and was ultimately a survivor of his first storybook parade! The glimmer in his eye, was him strutting by the crowd of parents, then Nataga carefully perused a Toy Story 2 book (of course, not the "That's Not My Lion" book that he brought!), and finally the somewhat disinterested, "are we done yet?" lion!

Our little vampire ;)