Here to STAY!!!

Our sweet "O" is with us for good!!!  We are blown away at how quickly, smoothly, and sweetly these first few days of transition have been meeting this precious boy.

 

We are totally smitten with him and are incredibly pleased with how well our first meeting went on Tues morning! Our social worker, Rose, from Wandisa (the adoption agency here in SA) picked him up at the orphanage with his main caregiver, Rodwin, and they met us at the playground across the street from us. Due to a taxi strike in the town where the orphanage is located, it wasn't quite safe for us to meet there for the first meeting.

 

Rose was holding him when they got to us so the initial meeting was fairly casual to keep him comfortable but we were soon able to push him on the swing, then he sat on my lap as we looked through the audio and photo books we had sent to prepare him. We gave him a lollipop and Maelee gave him a small rubber Spiderman toy for him to hold onto.

The girls were hilarious, as expected, desperately trying to get his attention and show him everything! They were very sweet with him though and he just quietly took it all in. He didn't say much the whole time, but was definitely responsive and didn't seem fearful, which was a huge answer to prayer! He loved the swing and climbing on the equipment.

Renate showed up after a little bit who is another social worker with Wandisa and has been meeting with him daily to prepare him for us. We all eventually went to our home where he LOVED playing with the various puzzles, blocks, and cars we had out. He also cozied into us and let us read a little to him.  One book we read, "A Mother for Choco," is an adorable book about a little bird looking for a mama that a friend sent us who adopted her boy from South Africa a couple years ago. We fed him a snack and he ended up staying through lunch where he and the girls all sat on the floor :). It all was so sweet!

Renate and Rose left after a couple hrs then Steve drove him back with Rodwin after lunch. Steve was able to tuck him in for his nap and he actually started tearing up when he realized Steve was leaving!!! So while that completely broke our hearts, it was a very positive thing!

 The swing are full now!!!

 Listening to the audio book we had sent.

 "Tata's" voice!

 And taking in the photo book we had sent.

 And the laminated photo we had sent.

It is SO sweet how he views these as his little treasures!!!

 Spidey & Giraffe in the pictures!

 Enjoying a lollipop while cuddling in:)

 He's a climber!

 

 Back to the house.

 Family of FIVE with Rodwin :)

 

 We're here!

 

 Going through a Xhosa/English animal book.

 Maelee reading "Choco" to him :)

 Lunch time!

We were just blown away by how that first morning went and so ready to see him the next day, Wednesday! We got the sweetest smiles from him that day at the playground when we discovered he loves to be twirled around in the air. It was so precious!!! We took turns over and over until we were all dizzy. :) He also loved blowing bubbles, rolling the ball back and forth, and riding the little play bike we borrowed from our agency here.

The girls continued to dote on him and he ate and napped like a champ! He loves to keep things organized and in order and is just so gentle and sweet. He talked much more starting Wednesday, but that area will likely be the longest road ahead. He 's been listening very well though and we have been able to communicate well enough!

 Area where the orphanage is.

There is a HUGE gap between extreme poverty here and extreme wealth. It has been fascinating to see.

Beautiful weather for day 2 with our boy!

 Can't wait to soon show the smiles on that adorable face!!!

 Our two little lefties :)

 Cutest!

 Having so much fun!

While "O" won't legally be ours till court on the 28th, he was doing well enough to transition to us full time starting Thursday morning. We have felt incredibly humbled and grateful at how quickly this phase has gone!!! 

 

He actually broke into shaking sobs Wed evening when we had to say goodbye at the orphanage. It was both completely awful and so sweet at the same time. Totally heart breaking for us to witness and we could barely hold it together but so touching to see his emotions like that. He is a very quiet, mild little soul, so that took us by surprise and we couldn't wait to put him to bed Thursday and let him know he'd be home with us to stay!!!

 "Home" for good!

He went straight to some of his favorite puzzles when he got here :)

 Another nice day for outdoor play where he loved playing with and chasing bubbles!

And he loves to stack and line things up :)

 

First dinner together!

Praise, praise, praise!!!

 Finally got to put this sweet boy in these adorable pjs!!!

Cutest ever.

Bedtime Thurs night was a little tough again, with a few quiet tears, but he settled quickly with back rubbing and singing.  So hard to imagine what is going through his head!  He is so protective of the books and photo we sent him and has to have them all in sight wherever he is.  They are next to him on the bed stand at night (with our laminated photo on the pillow- heart melting!!!) and somewhere out in the living room during the day.

Aside from a jarring wake up at 5am, which was quickly soothed again with back rubbing and singing:), he slept well and napped well again today (Friday).  It was an even easier bedtime tonight and today has continued to be so sweet.  He sang a lot today and started saying our names when we'd ask whose who!!!  So precious.

He is understanding so much and is so proud of the English words he knows!  We have little picture magnets that show various daily activities so he's loved referring to those to see what's coming next. 

 
The girls just adore him and have been so great, and he's handled them amazingly well, especially considering how much they vie for his attention!!! We can't get over how well he's adapting and he's getting more and more animated each day, with more and more sweet smiles. He's a very quiet, gentle little guy though, and is such a sweet, welcome addition to our family. He is truly bringing out the best in all of us- God sure knows what He's doing!!!

 

 Our little trio building quite an impressive "castle village,"

 watching the Jesus Storybook Bible put to video,

 watching a gorgeous sunset,

 and giving the sweetest hugs!!!

I can go on and on with praise and gratefulness right now with how these last 3 1/2 days with "O" have been.  So beyond our wildest hopes, expectations, and prayers.  We are crazy over this little boy, and while we know there will be many bumps in this journey ahead, this start has been sweeter than we could've imagine.