Surviving

We are adjusting pretty well. We went several weeks with night after night of bad sleeping. Benaiah was waking up every 1-2 hours.

While we were buying shea butter at the local African market, a wise man from Ivory Coast told us that the bumps on Benaiah's face were heat rash and shared that he also gets that. He cannot sleep with covers up past his waist. So, that night when we put Benaiah to bed, we did not cover him. He slept so well! No blankets or heavy jammies for him! He even gets uncomfortable when we leave on his socks.

Benaiah is comfortable with sleeping in-between us in the king bed now. We like having him there. We were taken aback that he didn't care to sleep with us right away, but now that he has claimed us as his own, he is good with it! He still uses the crib when he first goes to bed and for naps; however, yesterday, he managed to flip himself out of it! YIKES!

We have yet to declare publicly that WE HATE BOTTLES!!! Nursing is so much more convenient! Benaiah is getting 1-2 bottles of Susan's breast milk each day, but it is still a bottle. We are constantly rounding up the dirty bottles and running the dishwasher.

We have put 2 pounds on the boy in the 5 weeks he has been in our care! He is going on 17 lbs. now.

We are easing back into a school routine only to be derailed by the birthday and holidays in the next few weeks. Ahhhh! (Marissa's is the 17th, and Annika's is the 31st!)

The kids are dying to put up the tree, but William and I know the battle that lies ahead with Benaiah in the house. He is RUNNING, and he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. This is an unbreakable ornament year for sure.

As you can see, Jasmine is taking it easy these days. She really enjoys a nice nap outside on the colder days. When she isn't sleeping on the deck, she is on the couch -sometimes, sunny-side-up! I just missed that photo!