A Growing Boy....

Christmas was so much fun this year. My parents came out for a few days before Christmas and celebrated. Then we had Christmas morning with the three of us and Christmas dinner with Scott's parents. So all in all Howie felt like he was celebrating for 5 days straight, which in his opinion wasn't long enough. He is still talking about Santa on the roof and his bells. He also wants to know when the tree will come back down out of the attic and be put up again. It has helped getting back into the routine and in preschool. I was sick on Christmas, but that still didn't stop the fun. Lately I look at him and am amazed at how much he has grown. I looked at the pictures from last year and can't believe how much he looks like a little boy now. He is learning so much too. Sometimes I am amazed at what he knows and remembers. Before Howie I had heard often that being a parent was the hardest, but the best job ever. I couldn't agree more. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed that we are in charge of making him a good human being and teaching him so much. Howie knows how to keep us laughing, but he also knows how to love so completely. I just think about the miracle that brought him in our life and can't thank God enough. Recently I read an article about the corruption in adoption in Vietnam and it makes me so sad. I pray that Howie's birth mom was not subjected to any of this. I pray that she knows how much love he is getting and how much he means to us. Ok enough of the serious stuff. Howie is growing and learning. He is making friends and learns something new everyday. So here are some pictures.

Sorry it took so long....

Well it has been over 6 months from our last post and all I can say is I am sorry. We have been so busy these last few months. Howie is a few days shy of 2 1/2 years old. He has grown so much. I was looking at last winter pictures the other day and can't believe how much he has grown. Howie still has a hard time gaining weight, but he is getting taller. We need a 2T size of pants, but even with the adjustable waist they are still to big in the waist. He talks so much now. His favorite saying this week is "whats that mom?" Although he knows what these things are he still has to ask. We have been on a few trips this summer to see my side of the family, which is always fun. Jase, my nephew, is about 7 months younger than Howie, but they have so much fun together. It is so much fun to watch. They don't get to see each other as much as we would like, but once they are together they play non-stop and love being together. We are still working on the potty training, I think it is the hardest thing I have had to teach him yet. I am trying not to force him into anything in fear that he will reject it and make it that much harder. We have added a new member to our family, a new kitten Ace. Howie and Ace play all the time. It is very cute and wears them both out. We have also moved to a new house in August. We love our new house. I am still trying to get pictures for the walls and get everything hung. I was worried about the transition for Howie, but I worried for nothing. He did wonderful. I think he slept better than we did when we first moved. Every one is settling in and enjoying the extra space. Around the same time we moved Howie started pre-school for the first time. He goes Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings. It is perfect. He comes home for lunch and nap, which I like because he sleeps as much as he needs. He LOVES school, puts his back pack on and is ready to go with an hour to spare... He is learning so much and comes home everyday with learning something new and excited about being at school. We love his teacher Mrs. Chris, she is WONDERFUL. She loves all her little kids, but helps me as a parent know what is going on and makes us feel at ease leaving him with her. Howie has also had 3 overnight trips to Nana and Papas too. Each time it goes well, but stays pretty close to Scott and I once he is home. He has a wonderful time there, so it works out well. My mom is coming for a visit next week, to see the new house and visit Howie. We are all excited to see her. There is so much going on that it is hard to keep up with the blog, but I am going to try harder to keep up with it. We have also had a lot of friends come home form Vietnam with there babies, so that is wonderful and more friends traveling soon to get there babies. We are very happy for them and enjoy playing and seeing the little ones. I heard it often before Howie that being a parent is hard, but wonderful. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I never knew how hard it would be. I LOVE being a mom and there are times that I look at Howie and am amazed that he is my son and that I am a mom. I can't imagine anything more important to me than my family, I didn't know how empty my life was before him.

Where did my baby go?

Well Howie is almost 22 months....translation almost 2!!! I can't believe that he is almost 2. Where has my baby gone. He is talking constantly now. Most of the time I understand him, but there are still times I have no clue what he is saying. He has been putting two words together for a month or two. His vocabulary is growing regularly. He is growing too. We are still struggling to put weight on. I have to watch him and make sure he is getting enough calories in a day so that he doesn't lose weight...boy I wish I had that problem. Here I am trying to lose weight and he is trying to gain weight. He is starting swim lessons this week and is looking forward to them. We also are in a playful parenting class that he loves. We are so close to jumping now, but we just haven't made it yet. We can do a forward roll...somersault. I caught him doing it in his bed the other day...so cute. He loves zippers too. If you have a zipper he will try to unzip and zip it. He is such a sweet heart. He will tells us that he loves us with out prompting, which is a great gift. We are trying to start planning his birthday, but it is hard since he doesn't like sweets. I guess we will figure something out. We did a "Local living" segment and it will be airing next week. Who knows how I did, but I hope that it will help some one choose adoption. Well I need to run and get some things done.

Christmas Season

Well we had a wonderful Christmas. It was filled with so much joy and love. It makes these past Christmases without Howie seem so empty. He had so much fun unwrapping the presents. He wasn't as excited about what was in them, but he is enjoying playing with them now. He is still very active. He runs everywhere and is constantly in the go, but we can't seem to get him to eat enough right now. He needs to eat more, but it just doesn't interest him, so it worries us. He is such a good boy during all the traveling and waiting his turn to unwrap gifts. I looed at him the other day and I said my baby is gone. I am enjoying this age, but I know that I am going to miss my baby too. He still enjoys cuddling with me before bed and nap, but that is about it. Well here are some pictures of my growing boy.

Wow One Year

Its been a long time since my last post, but it has been very busy. Howie is more and more active every day. He is talking so much anymore. Everyday he says something new and I love it. It is so nice being able to communicate with him so much. He can actually tell me what he wants anymore. Its hard for me to believe that it has been a year since we saw his beautiful face. It has been one long year, but the best of our lives. It feels like he has been with us for much longer, but at times I look at him and can't believe that he is ours. We are looking forward to the holidays. We think that it is going to be so much fun. Last week we went to Iowa to celebrate my nephew's first birthday. We had a good time. Our little man is becoming such a traveler. We go to Colorado next month for Christmas. We will be home for Christmas, so I am excited to decorate the house.

Halloween was fun too. He was a little scared Trick or Treating, but he had a lot of fun handing out candy to the kids. He loved his costume and didn't try to take it off.

The doctor says that we are progressing great. We are still on the small side, but I imagine that we always will be. She is very happy with his communication skills. We are still getting shots, which is NOT fun. He knows what is coming now, so it seems to make it worse.

We are praying that Vietnam does not close again. We have many friends that are in the middle of an adoption and we would like to go back to Vietnam eventually too.

Here are a few pictures of our little man.

Updates

Updates

Well it has been a while since I have updated our blog. I am sure that those of you that have or have had one year olds know that sometimes it is hard to sit down for long periods of time with out interuptions. Howie is doing great. I have had so many people tell me how much he is coming out of his shell and how great he looks. I hardly go a day with out some one telling me how cute he is. We have had a lot happen in the last month or so. We have finalized our adoption here. I already knew that he was ours forever, but it felt like a load off knowing that his name has been changed and he is officially an Eoff. He has been walking and talking non-stop. He loves to climb and just be active. His favorite word is Tractor. Grandpa loves it since he also loves tractors. We went to our first birthday party for our friend Ben. We had a lot of fun. At first it was overwhelming, but once he knew it was ok he was off and looking for toys and playing. We are being watched by the doctor because of our weight gain. We haven't been gaining as much as she would like, so we are on pediasure right now so that we can gain and maintain our weight. I think that he has finally reached the 20 pound mark, but we should know for sure in a week. He is still wearing 12 month and some 9 month clothing. Our shorts are 6 months and they fit perfect. I can tell that when it comes time to wear pants we are going to have to search for the right brand to work for us. There are so many times when Scott and I comment on how much he wants to be a big boy. Even though he wants to be a big boy he still loves to cuddle with mom. I can't believe that he has been ours for 4 months already. It feels like he has been in our life for so much longer. Some days I just look at him and am amazed that God blessed us with such a wonderful little boy. I have also posted some pictures so you can see how he is growing.

Trip to Colorado

Update

We got back this week from our first trip tp Colorado to meet some more of the family. Howie got to meet his Great Grandma, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Dan and his cousin Jase. We had a lot of fun. He did really well traveling and he did well to get back on his schedule when we got home. He is starting to walk more and enjoying it. It is still not fast enough for him, but he is trying which is what counts. We have another tooth coming in so we are pretty cranky right now. When this tooth comes in we will have 4 top and 4 bottom. We are still working on the talking, but it is coming. He is using his signs a lot and is stringing more than one together, like more please. We are really proud of him. We go to the doctor in a week or so and I am excited to hear what she has to say. I will try to post more often.

Some Pictures

Home!!!

Home!!!

Sorry that it has taken me so long to update the blog, but I have been busy, tired and just trying to get my barrings as a new mom. Lets see where to start, time change. We have been very lucky Howie has adjusted to the time change great. He goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up between 6:30 and 7am. He knew the first night that it was night time and went right to sleep. He has still been waking up every 2-3 hours for a bottle, but he goes right back to sleep after he eats. We are still working on the baby food, but he is doing much better. Some days he chows down others he is just not interested. We have found his current favorite food, mashed potatoes. He loves them. He has explored the whole house and is on the move most of the time now. He talks all the time (in jibber) and smiling all the time. We are all very happy with his adjustment. He is cutting a new tooth so this weekend has been kind of tough, but all in all his is still a happy little guy. I will try to keep this updated, but those of you who have children know how hard it is to find time to clean, cook, do laundry and do computer work. I will post some pictures though.

Delayed Due to Weather

We will be in at 1:15pm via Frontier due to the fact that our flight to and from Dallas was canceled. We were lucky and are able to still be in today, just a little later. See you all soon.

Comming Home

Stacy, Howie and I are set to start comming home Wednesday night if the visa for Howie comes through as we expect it too. We will be checking out of the hotel in Hanoi at 2:30PM and we head to pickup the visa and then to the airport. We are looking to be back in Arkansas Thursday May 10th. We will be arriving on American Airlines 3533 at 8:40AM. We were really hoping to get back sooner but with the holidays here in Vietnam we are only getting to make 1 day earlier. We are so excited to see our family and friends and be home in our own beds.

See you all home soon!

Picture Update 5/8/07

Howie copies daddy

Pictures Update Saturday May 6th

Playing "Get yea" with Howie