Transition at home so far..

We have only been home for about 8 days and I can not believe how it feels like they have been with us for far longer.  I guess in our hearts they have been but what a ride it has been so far.  Don't mistaken our joy for easy, it has been far from it.  Tesfa, who is 2.5, has really adjusted well and is the clown of the family.  He has a deep chuckle that you can hear almost all day long but he is also so snugly and those cheeks of his are almost edible.  He has really attached to his brother and sister.  Tesfa's mom passed away when she was 16 and Tesfa was 1 years old, so he has not been anywhere longer than a year so we are trying to make him feel as stable as possible but he sure seems to be happy. Ageze, who is 4, has had a little tougher time adjusting.  He has been sweet and is very loving but he is also coming from a home with a 7,8, & 11 year old brother and a 2.5 old half sister.  So, he definitely is feeling a loss.  When we visited his birth family and he was given pictures of his brothers to take with him, he just lit up and was so happy to see there faces.  Which for us was very sad because we could see how much he loved them and would miss them.  Initially he would go into a shell and whimper any time he did not get his way and this would last for hours sometimes but as time has gone on, they have become less frequent and a lot shorter.  Grant and Kate have been adjusting well also.  I think sometimes we focus so much on how the adopted child is going to attach and adjust to the family and forget that it is a huge adjustment for the children already at home.  Kate is a natural mother hen and loves to look after the boys but I can see it in Grant's face sometimes when I look at him that he is unsure of what this means for his place in the family and wondering how this is going to change the family.  He is so sensitive and is such a thinker.  So, we have really been focusing on Grant and Kate at night when the boys go to bed to make sure they get a little time with mom and dad because during the day when the boys are discovering everything in the house, things are a little more chaotic. 


XO