Almost Four Months!

Boy! Jonathan (Johnnie) is growing like a weed. I think he's grown about two inches since we brought him home! He is the joy of our lives. I don't think I've ever been so sleep-deprived, or maybe God purposely took away those memories of getting up with the girls night after night after night. Jonathan is still sleeping in his toddler bed at the foot of our king-sized. He continues to struggle with nightmares and will call out, "MOM!" in his sleep. If I don't answer him back, he will start crying. I can't imaging what goes on in his sweet mind at night. He probably fears he will wake up back in the orphanage or that he will wake up and we won't be there. We're going to begin the process of moving him to his bedroom this summer. Our pediatrician said to start moving his bed a little closer to the door each night, then out in the hallway and finally in his room. The thought cracks me up! I can't image Johnnie willingly laying in his bed in the middle of the hallway :).

Jonathan is the most loving child! He loves to be hugged and cuddled with, and since my love language is physical touch, I'm in hog heaven! He will often be playing with his toys then drop everything and run up to me for a big hug and kiss. When he's had enough, he runs back off to play again. That child must have received about a million hugs and kisses from this family in the short time he's been with us. It's like each one takes away the loneliness and loss of physical contact and security he experienced in the orphanage.

Scott and I decided it was time for me to quit my part-time Kraft Foods job. I have three more weeks left. I can't wait until I can stay home with Jonathan full-time! Jonathan is starting to talk in English a lot more. His favorite TV shows are Big Comfy Couch and Sesame Street. He's beginning to recognize his letters and numbers, and he still loves to take apart everything he can get his hands on to see how it works. He can zip up his jacket by himself and is fascinated with watching me tie his shoes. He likes to unlace them and try to lace them back up. He does pretty well!

Jonathan got his first haircut as a Watson last week. I had the lady put the clippers to his hair, and he looks so adorable! He kept laughing and squirming around because the clippers tickled the back of his neck and head. The girls like his hair longer, but Scott & I like it short. I told them when they have kids of their own, they can do whatever they want with their children's hair :).

We are headed down to Anchorage on Thursday the 10th for Jackie's youth bowling tournament. Kaylee has to stay home because she can't miss work & school. We are meeting some old friends of ours from our first church when we lived in Anchorage 14 years ago! We are also going to check out some property for when we retire. We haven't been down to the big city (the biggest in Alaska) since we had to re-do our fingerprints at the FBI headquarters for the adoption last March. I'll be celebrating my 41st birthday on Saturday. It will be a great day! Last year at this time Scott was deployed to Saudi Arabia and the projected date our adoption agency gave us for getting our Chinese baby kept increasing. It wasn't until after Scott came back from the Middle East that we decided to go on the Special Needs list. It was just a couple months after that we received our referral for Jonathan! The folks in our original group (to get healthy girls) are still waiting for their referrals, and it looks like it will be another eight months or so before they get them.

We have an appointment with a judge on April 17th to re-adopt Jonathan. This is the final step (well, almost) in this incredible journey. Our adoption agency strongly encourages families who have adopted overseas to re-adopt their children in the U.S. While the overseas adoption is legal in the foreign country and with Customs and Immigrations, there is no paperwork at the U.S. courthouses and with vital statistics so the adopted overseas children cannot acquire a U.S. birth certificate. The re-adoption is handled by a lawyer who files all the necessary paperwork with the courthouse. We have a 15 minute appointment with a judge, sign some paperwork, and we're done. After that, on June 7th, we have a 6-month post-placement review with our social worker, Linden. China requires 6 and 12 month post placement visits when you adopt one of their children. The 12-month post placement visit in December will complete our adoption process! Wow!!

We have some friends on base who at this very moment are getting ready to bring back their adopted little girl home from China. Her name is JiJue (they kept her Chinese name), and they will be coming home in just three days! She is turning 2 in about a week, and I can hardly wait for Jonathan to meet her. I think they are going to be good friends. Well, that's about it for now. I'll update again in a few weeks. It is April 8th and there is still snow on the ground! In fact, it snowed the entire weekend!! Spring is in the air, though. Praise God!!