1, 2, 3, 4, . . 5 Steps!

Can you believe it? I steadied Rocco on the kitchen floor tonight after we got home from church. Encouraging him to come to me, I wondered if he would do the same as before. . . just stand there and whine for me. After a few seconds of thinking about it, he took two steps toward me. Jason was sitting on the couch and saw it; we all celebrated and clapped. If he can do that, I thought, I bet he can do more. So. . . I just kept on steadying him on the floor and backing away just enough so that he couldn't reach me. He was so cute to watch; his little legs would wobble. Every now and then he would fall completely backwards. I'd have to hurry and catch him. With all of the encouragement we kept giving him, he knew he was doing something big. He'd just grin when he walked and laugh when he'd fall. I'd pick him up and go on and on about what a big boy he was. Fifteen minutes later, he was taking up to five steps. He's walking!

What Can I Get Into Next?

Rocco has this little wagon that you can put little blocks in. Tonight he threw all of the blocks out of it and put himself inside. I get tickled at him. He's getting braver and braver about getting into things lately. It's nothing for him to open and close doors, climb up and down the stairs, or just make himself at home (in a tiny wagon). I don't know of any other 14 month old babies that could fit in it. Rocco is so agile; I just know he is going to be doing all sorts of acrobatics before too much longer!

I'm Still Standing

I'm Still Standing. . . Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. That eighties song keeps playing in my head. Why? Because Rocco can stand on his own now. Before when he would do this he would fall in a matter of seconds. Not now. Beginning today I steadied him on his feet and what do you know? Little man kept standing all by himself. I don't know if he realized what he was doing or if he was amazed at all the commotion and clapping his mama was doing, but he made the sweetest smile. Yeah! Today was a new "first" and I was here to view it. I had him stand several times today. He does get a little frustrated; he reaches out to me as if to say, "Come here! Hold my hands!" I've included a few pictures of him standing (and no he is not leaning against his bed). There's nothing like seeing your baby learn and do new things.

Day at the Beach

Our family of three headed off to the beach Thursday night and met up with four other families from church. They had been there a week already but invited us to spend some time with them. Having many kids to play with, there was never a dull moment. We spent all day Friday at the beach boogie boarding, playing in the kiddie pool, exploring the funny texture of wet sand, and trying not to get sunburned (I didn't succeed on the latter). Rocco and I played for most of the morning and mid-afternoon while daddy enjoyed a round of golf with Roger. Our little boy reacted the same to the water as he did when he was first introduced to the beach in Ninh Thuan on the South China Sea right after he was adopted; he liked to look at it from afar but the water scared him. I was surprised he even sat in the kiddie pool next to the waves coming in. Caley and I sat in it with him so that the tide coming in wouldn't wash out little fella to the vast, blue sea. There were many people to hold Rocco and show him the sea shells while I had some fun in the waves with the kids and Shari. He enjoyed tapping the shells together to make sounds.

The evening was complete after we watched the spaceshuttle in the sky. That was definitely cool! This trip was much too short but certainly fun. I learned how to play Blokus and Rocco had a time just playing with the magnets on the refrigerator.

Summer Memories in the Backyard

Date Night

What a wonderful family we have! Uncle Ben, Aunt Tonya, and Cousin Drew came down today, a four hour drive, to spend a couple of days with us and play with Rocco. They are so good with him. Drew can make him laugh so easily. He is eight years old. I think an older brother or sister would be so good for Rocco. Hmm. . not sure how that would ever happen. But when I see Drew and Rocco playing together it is just so natural. Those two were meant to be cousins. When Drew was feeding him today, Rocco tried to feed Drew in return. Drew just pointed at him and said, "No, you eat it!" Rocco thought this was SOOO funny, so for I don't know how long this went on and on. Everyone in the house was laughing because of Rocco's constant, little laugh. When I tried doing/saying the same thing, it was not funny. Must be a Drew thing!

Jason and I were able to go out to eat and spend time alone for the first time since we got Rocco. Outback was our restaurant of choice. Afterwards we did what most couples do if they've been married for any length of time. . . went to Lowe's to buy some flowers to plant and then to Walmart to get some groceries. Once we returned from our date, Rocco was in the bathtub. He had already been for a walk in his stroller outside. Needless to say, he had a great time and did really well with them. He didn't cry until he caught a glimpse of me and heard my voice. It was all over then. Little man had to have his mama.

Little Man is a Mess

Rocco is starting to get into things. And he's showing a little bit of a temper. What am I going to do? My sweet little baby is slowly becoming a toddler. After supper last night I was loading the dishwasher and he crawled up underneath it. The other day he climbed on top of it and sat on the door. Today as I was cleaning the house, he followed me everywhere I went. Of course it was by crawling. He doesn't yet walk on his own. But he has learned how to play with the doors. When he shuts them he gets upset. When he shuts them and I'm on the other side of the door he goes ballistic! I immediately knock on the door and open it for him. As I got ready for church this morning, he opened the bottom drawer and threw out all of my velcro rollers onto the floor. I get tickled at him for all the little things he does. This afternoon he pulled himself up to the bar stools and was doing some sort of calf exercise. Then, he crawled up to the kitchen table, pulled up to a chair, and ended up underneath the table. He is certainly enjoying exploring the world around him. It's the temper I'm concerned about. Tonight at church he was playing with some pencils. When it came time to stand for the invitation, I took them away from him and boy did he let me know about it. He was NOT happy. He let out the highest pitched scream. I took him out really quick. Later after church we went to eat with some friends. It must have been the night to show his lack of patience because when he didn't get his way or if I wasn't feeding him fast enough he just screamed. You could hear him on the other side of the restaurant. I keep telling him when he gets a little older he is going to be in big trouble for pitching those fits. For now, I'm not even sure if he understands what, "No screaming," means or not. But boy has he sure heard that a lot today. I speak to him sternly when I tell him this. We're trying not to give him what he wants when he screams like that because he'll begin to think that screaming gets him what he wants. But then on the other hand, many people don't understand why we keep letting our 1 year old yell at the top of his voice when we could simply stop it by giving him what he wants. Today a girl let him look at her cell phone. When she had to take it away, he balled up his fists and pitched a little fit. Maybe this is how he got attention his first year of life in the orphanage, but he's going to have to learn one way or another that screaming is not the answer. But for now. . . his communication is a little limited. . . and he's still a little fella. . . We're working on it; it just may take some time. For the most part he's a happy little boy. He adores his mama and gives her sweet kisses every day. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful and loving child. I tell him every day, "You are mama's beautiful blessing." And he is. . . even if he does scream every now and then.