Referral-versary!

1 year ago- Jonas Ekra at 4 months old (referral pictures)

One year ago today we received the referral of a chubby-cheeked 4 month old baby boy named Ekra. It was one of the best days of our lives. I remember just staring at the four pictures we had of him for days and days. I even put his picture on my nightstand so that I could look at him in the middle of the night if I woke up and forgot what he looked like! :) We used to try to figure out what his personality was like through the pictures. We decided he must be a quiet and serious little guy who loved to sleep. Ha! We couldn't have been more wrong! :) Over the next 3 1/2 months that we were apart, we thought about him constantly, prayed for him constantly, and grew more and more in love with him.

Life for the Hammond family has changed in so many ways in the past year! Now I don't have to wonder what Jonas is doing (other than wondering what kind of trouble he's finding when he goes into another room and gets quiet!). I don't have to wonder if he is sick or well, happy or sad. He makes his emotions VERY evident to us. :) I don't have to stare at his picture to try to imagine his personality. Although, I do sometimes have to fight the urge to sneak into his room to stare at him while he's sleeping, in awe of the fact that I get to be the one to be his mommy. I am convinced that parenting is THE toughest job on the planet. It requires me to have an endless supply of energy even when I feel like I want to sleep all day. It requires patience that I sometimes don't want to give, and it requires wisdom that I don't feel I have. Thankfully, God is more than willing to supply what I lack and to help me to be the best mom that I can be. I pray that I will be the mom that Jonas deserves, and that I will be continually growing so that I can guide him and raise him up in the way that he should go. I pray that I will be an example to Jonas of what a relationship with a living and loving God looks like. Most of all, I pray that Christ's love will be evident in my life and that God will help me to parent Jonas the way that he parents me- with endless patience and unconditional love.

Parenting is the toughest job I've ever had, but also the most rewarding and delightful job I've ever had. I'm so honored and humbled that God chose me to be the mom of Jonas Ekra. Today I am celebrating the anniversary of the day I first laid eyes on my baby boy and I praise the One who brought us together as a family!

Jonas now- 16 months old and at home

Fun with Food

Jonas is becoming more independent at mealtimes, preferring to use the spoon or fork himself. Apparently though, this is what happens when you give him a spoon and his yogurt and turn your back for a second to make your own breakfast.

Summer Fun

An Update and Some Big News

It seems like it's been awhile since I've blogged about what we're up to here! Jonas is 15 months old now, and he's been with us for 8 months. He's developed a fake laugh that he likes to use when he's trying to be silly and wants us to laugh at him. He likes to make silly faces and then do his fake laugh. He's such an expressive and funny kid! He started walking a few weeks ago, and is constantly on the run now. If he sees something he wants to get into when we're carrying him he will tell us, "down, down". He becomes very insistent if we don't let him down right away. With all this new freedom he's been testing his boundaries and is having trouble listening! He keeps us busy!! He loves to get out of the house and "go" anywhere we take him. In the morning he will often start pointing to the door saying "go, go, go". He doesn't care if we stay in our own yard, go to a playground, go grocery shopping, visit people, or whatever else we might do, as long as we get out of the house. I don't blame him, but sometimes it's hard to think of things to go do! The other day Ray was at the church preparing a sermon when Jonas woke up from his nap. Jonas said "go" and I asked him where he wanted to go. He thought for a second and said "daddy!". So, we drove to the church to visit daddy. :)

As much as he loves to be on the go, he also loves to cuddle. He's always given lots of kisses, but he also loves to gives hugs now. I love that!

Finally, the great news is that he decided about a week and a half ago that he would start sleeping through the night in his own room! One night he was sleeping in our bed and waking up 2-3 times a night (on a good night), and the next night he just decided to sleep in his room until 5am. At 5am we brought him into our room and he slept until 8am. He's had about 3 nights since then that he didn't sleep through the night, but I feel like we're making major progress. I think it helps that we've finally found a teddy bear that he likes (thank you Aunt Deb and Uncle Jon!). I'm hoping and praying that his sleep will continue to improve and that it will become more consistent as he gets a little older. Right now he's sleeping in the pack n' play in his room because his crib is attached to our bed. I'm going to give him another week of sleeping and then detach the crib from our bed and put it back in his room.

The fact he is learning to sleep better has come at a good time because..... I'M PREGNANT! I'm in my 12th week and my due date is 1/15/10. We were quite surprised and initially a little overwhelmed at the thought of having 2 kids less than 2 years apart. But we are excited. I can't believe Jonas is going to be a big brother! He still seems so little. Every night when we pray with him we ask God to help him to get ready for the big transition that is coming. On a side note, people often told us that we would get pregnant and "have one of our own" after adopting. I just want to clarify that Jonas is our own child, and this next child will be the second one of our own!