happy spring!

Hi everyone, happy spring! I hope everyone closed 2016 well, and 2017 is also finding you in a good place.

J and I adopted a toddler boy in December 2016 and brought him back to the U.S. in January. He is a kind, sweet, and funny little boy, and we love him very much. This is a silly example, but with Sammy, I finally understand what the heart exploding emoticon means. He likes to eat snacks, will offer a toy or snack to any new little friend as his opening move, and when something is particularly amusing has a really satisfying chuckle that makes his little shoulders bob up and down. J and I were able to overlap with two months of parental leave and spent this time in a cozy cocoon of three. With J back at work and me returning in July, Sammy and I currently spend our days playing outside, going grocery shopping, rolling cars, reading books, and when I'm feeling brave, going on mini-adventures to places far enough that require car naps and lunch in the thermos. 

Everything is new and exciting to him and it is such an education and refreshment to marvel along with him at what I've already relegated as mundane. He especially likes any and all vehicles and will exclaim over anything with wheels or that flies. He'll tap my arm and exclaim and when I turn to look it's a Toyota Sienna minivan and I exclaim too because it's fun. 

Many years from now, Lord willing, I know I'll look back at an everyday photo of us bouncing balls in the backyard waiting for J to return from work and will wish so much to crawl inside the photo and live there.