Fluff.

Okay, so maybe my last post was a little too harsh.  Sorry if it offended you...that wasn't my intent.  I just get fed up.  Have you ever been there?  Frustrated with everyones apathy?!  That's where I was when I wrote my last post.

Keegan still needs donations.  Lilly still needs donations.  They need families, too.  Well - actually, over 143 million kids need families.  I'll leave it at that - and let you make your own decisions.

Now, I'm on to much fluffier things.  Read on.

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It's been a long time since I've done a Carter update.  So here it is.

Carter is doing great.  We are beyond blessed.  Aside from adjusting to a new culture (and all that goes along with that), he's just an all-around great kid.  He sits through and hour and a half of church without making a peep.  He came with us to a meeting at our new church building the other day, and sat in his stroller for over an hour.  He was happy & content the whole time.  He comes to us for hugs.  He eats (mostly) whatever we give him.

See?  Happy boy.  Even at a construction site.

He is happy 84% of the time.  The other 16% of the time, he's either hurt or being licked in the face by Moses.

Speaking of Moses - you may remember how horrible Carter & Moses' introduction was.  Well - now, they are the best of friends.  Actually, they're really like brothers.  Moses licks Carter - Carter gets ticked and runs away.  Five minutes later...Moses is laying in the doorway - Carter steps on him - Moses gets ticked and runs away (or just lays there and takes it...).  But at lunch time - Carter will toss Moses an apple or a piece of peanut butter bread and everything is right in the world again.

We knew it would happen, eventually.  At it has.  Phew.

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We recently visited what we hope will be Carter's school in the fall.  It's a school outside of our district, so there are a few hoops to jump through before we officially make the switch, but it's an excellent program and will be worth the rigamarole.  Yes, I said rigamarole.  Say it.  It's fun.  Rigamarole.

THIS is the kind of rigamarole that happens when mama is preoccupied for 46 seconds.
Relax.  It's just diaper cream.

Anyhow - we loved the classroom.  We loved the teacher.  And Carter seemed very comfortable there.

The thought of this kid being in school in the fall is crazy to us.  But he's definitely ready - and this mama is ready, too :)  Not that I want him out of the house - because I love being with him each day.  But I know he needs it.  It will be good for him.  And I'm excited to see him learn and grow in new ways.

Soon, he won't need those tippy toes for much of anything.  And someday, I'll look back on this photo with fondness and remember a time when our big boy needed tippy toes.  

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Our area had tons of rain this week....four inches, with three more coming tomorrow.  Lots of basements are flooded.  Ours had some water - but nothing compared to what others are dealing with.

When it rains, there are puddles.  And when there are puddles, little boys are wet.  This week, I decided to embrace it and let Carter do his thing.

He loved it - and as soon as we came back inside, he was signing 'water' and 'outside'.  It was pretty adorable.

But I still said 'no' and 'all done'.  I can sign, too :)

Funny thing - as I was looking for this photo, I realized that all of our outside photos are of the back of Carter's head - booty - legs.  Why?  Because from the moment his feet hit the sidewalk, this boy is on the go.

All boy.  110%.

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Carter has a new love.  He calls him 'lala'.  It's a little red furry monster who loves to love.

Yep, Carter loves Elmo.  And Jake and I can't get enough of songs like this.

Never, ever did I think we'd enjoy watching Elmo.  Welcome to parenthood!

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Sometimes people ask us if we love him.  It's an honest, innocent question.  Because unfortunately, not all adoptive parents can really say that they like & love their adopted child.  To no fault of their own, sometimes the love just isn't there for a very long time.  I feel for those families.  I can't imagine the struggle.

But for this family?  Let me just say, I love this boy more & more every day.  He is our best bud.  It really doesn't get much better than this.

Love, love, love to love this boy.  And we're so glad he tolerates us :)

One Thing I Know For Sure: You're caught up on this little boy!  Enjoy your weekend, friend!