Norah turns 3!

We had a great time celebrating Norah's third birthday!  She was so excited to finally be the one having  a birthday party.  We met her and brought her home nearly a year ago, and she had just turned two, so this was a beautiful milestone we hit!  A first birthday together:)  Norah has been very into my little ponies, Dora, and anything pink and purple.  So for her cake, I got pink glitter for on the frosting, a pony for the top, and Dora tableware.  I love this girly girl! 

She also got a big girl bed, and some bookshelves to make her room a bit more organized.  The big bed is super cute and she loves it, but she still comes in our bed every night... oh well.  At least she doesn't start there.  I consider it a victory that she goes to bed on her own.  David and I talked to her about giving up her bottles when she turned three.  It was a conversation that took several weeks, and she was on board.  So on her 3rd birthday, we went to Target with the bottles and she picked out a Dora guitar.  She gave the lady at the check out the bottles, and we had a mini celebration there in the checkout line!  I did not know how it would go down, now that they were no longer an option,  and David actually was gone the first night she did not have it!  How he snaked out of that one seemed a bit too planned.  But anyway, it ended up being ok.   Norah decided to keep two of the bottles for baby Lincoln Chud, who is only 3 months old, and was going to be coming for a visit.  Lincoln was all smiles when Norah gave them to him, and she loved giving them!  She is such a little mama with babies.  It's beautiful to watch!
I am realizing Norah can handle things much better if she is prepared and we have talked it over a lot.  Like the few times David has left to go out of town, we did not prepare her like we should, and it was melt down central each time!  I thought it would not be a big deal since I was still home, but no.  It was!  So expectations and planning is good for her.  She is still really flexible too. 

Birthday girl!  We celebrated Norah's party with family and friends on September 14th.  She loved opening all her presents!  Norah's party was on the back deck.  We had lovely weather.  It's been really cool some days though, so the pool water was freezing!  Some kids went in for a swim, but most did not!  We had chili dogs, chips, and cake. 
For September 12, Norah wanted to go out for Thai food:)  We took her to Thai Place in Westport, and she got the tried and true fried rice.  I got a curry but it seemed too spicy for her.  She loves loves her Thai food! 

 This girl and her dad... just too much!  So much LOVE!! 

 Birthday ice cream after Thai food

BIG girl bed!!  The headboard was mine as a little girl.  My dad brought it home for me one day, and I loved it!

Party time!

The party for Norah was very special.  We had lots of people come in from out of town for it.  Zach and Cora came from Indianapolis for a quick 24 hours!  We felt so honored by everyone's love.  I decided to make a timeline of events of significance in her adoption journey.

It was a clever picture to describe how LONG everything took.  The timeline wrapped around my entire back yard fence! 

 We had about 60 people come to the party, and we had all sorts of yummy things to eat!  Rebecca Dunning and Faith helped me cook the week before.  We served Red Thai Curry, which I still had the curry paste from buying it at the Big C in Thailand.  Pineapple and Pork with rice, Thai lettuce wraps, and 4 flavors of chicken satay skewers.  Thai Iced milk tea too.  It was SO good!  Everything was beautiful and tasted great.  It was to my great disappointment that Norah chose a hot dog to eat like most of the other kids... *sigh*  Oh well...

She is such a gift.  We continue to be amazed by her.  Just today, Norah asked me to talk about Thailand.  She always loves hearing her story.  So I talked about how she was born there, and how Mae cared for her and loved her so so much.  I talked to her about Tong and how much fun they had playing together.  I mentioned tuk tuk rides and all the yummy food in her city!  Then I said, "do you remember daddy singing 'it's gonna be ok'?  Because you were so scared.  Do you remember being scared?"  She said, "yes, but I happy now!"  AHHHHH!!!  Again.  She amazes us.  It's so crazy to think that just 9 months ago we were still strangers to her, and now it's as normal as anything.  She is so brave, even if she doesn't realize it.

It's FINAL! Norah is a Blackwell!!

We finalized Norah's adoption last week!  June 27th, we went to court.  ALL our family came for the big day, and it was incredibly special.  Zach could not be there for the court because he had to work, so he skyped in on Sara's phone.  We had 20 people with us!  I was unsure of what to expect, and I knew it would be a casual formality, but it was really powerful!  The judge had us stand and oath to tell the truth, and then had the lawyer ask us if we understand that this means that Norah Hom Blackwell will be her legal name, if we would treat her like she was born to us, and if we understand that Holt International and courts would be out of our life now!  YES!!  Then she asked me if I was ready to be her forever mama.  I choked up and said yes, of course!  The lawyer said that it was the largest representation of family she's ever seen in an adoption case, and that she could tell Norah has a loving family.  She was even getting emotional about it!  What a story of the Goodness of God.  We have felt His love and presence so strongly in Norah's story.

So we decided on the name Norah "Hom" because we wanted to keep so part of her Thai name.  Gluay Hom means banana, and we were not going to keep that, and Watsana means "luck, and good fortune from past deeds", nope.  Not going to keep that either.  "Hom", however by itself means fragrant.  So her name means "fragrant sunlight, honor, compassion"

 Commissioner Merrigan Approves Norah's Adoption!

ALL our family has come to support and celebrate Norah's finalization!

After court, we all headed to the Great Wolf Lodge to swim and have FUN!  Norah is like a fish this summer.  She has followed the boy's lead of fearlesness in the pool.  We have been preparing for Norah's finalization party for a month now, and all she cares about is that it can be a swimming party.  She continues to amaze me at how capable she is at learning new things.  We had been preparing our yard and house for the next day, because we were hosting a big party for her!  So onto the party...

Easter

Well my dream of getting the most perfect Easter dress sort of failed.  For some reason, I had it in my heart that when I someday had a girl, I would enjoy all things girly with her, and the much anticipated Easter dress shopping was at the very apex of frilly and girly satisfaction.  I just could not find anything that came close to my ideals in the stores.  I ended up ordering a beautiful dress and coat set from Amazon, but when it arrived it was WAY too big!  Maybe it is meant for next year.  Norah did not seem to care one way or another, and that made me wonder what the heck I was getting so bent out of shape about!  She has incredibly cute stuff in the closet that she has not even worn yet!  Besides, she would be cute dressed in a burlap sack.  Expectations and ideals had overtaken the joy and ease of the holiday.  I really needed to focus on the importance of Easter.  After all, it is the BEST holiday in the year!  GOD IS NOT DEAD!  He is alive and because He raised, we have life... and life forever. 

My kiddos did, however, look very lovely and handsome in their Easter Best! 

Will protested the Easter outfit, until he put on the shirt and the hat, and realized he resembled Indiana Jones.  He got so into it.  He kept practicing whipping his gun out of his belt, and took my exercise ball and made it to roll after him (like the big stone in the cave scene).  It was amazing.  He used a yo-yo as his whip in the yard! (Nobody was hurt, and he was only allowed to use it when everyone else was at a distance)

After an incredible Easter message at the Boiler Room, (shameless plug.  Really, if you are reading this, go to the website and download the podcast!!  click here)  we went to an Easter celebration in Gillam Park.  They had pony rides, a bounce house, cotton candy, that sort of thing.  Norah had been on me all morning about riding the ponies, so we were on a mission for those horses!  We waited in line for 25 min, but it was finally her turn.  The boys got to the bounce house first, but then Sam came to the ponies too.  They both did great, but Norah's horse did a shake and knocked her off!  It was a gentle fall, but nonetheless, she was on the ground!  The trainers helped her up again, and she finished the ride!  She wasn't that upset about it either.

 

We finished off the day by celebrating with a ham dinner at Grandma's.  Of course there was candy baskets for all the kids, and she loved that.  Norah broke off her front crown on a chewy caramel, and came to me confused about why her mouth was different!  AHHHH!!!  We found the crown in the candy quickly though, and were glad that at least it did not get thrown out or worse...  She did not mind having a snaggly looking tooth for the rest of the day.  She sat in the dentist's chair the next day like a champ to have it re-cemented.   I am NOT looking forward to that tooth coming off on a regular basis... lets hope it stays put.

Songkran

We celebrated Thai New Year on April 12.  It's a holiday called Songkran, and Thai people celebrate with their naturally cheerful flare!  It is a holiday filled with WATER!  Thais will spray one another with water, or douse passer-bys on the streets.  We went to another Thai adopting family's house that lives close by.  We are so blessed to have 7 Thai adoptive families in the Kansas City area, (that we know, there are probably more) and we will get together every once in awhile to celebrate the Thai holidays.  Norah likes seeing the other Thai children, but since we are not on a regular routine of seeing these families, she still is quite reserved when she is around them. 

 

These pictures are of Norah throwing water balloons with the other kiddos, and also a group shot of some of the other kids in our Thai group:)  There are 3 families in our group that are still waiting on first approval to bring their kids home!  

Another neat part of Songkran is that it's customary for the children to pour scented water on the hands of their parent, or elders.  It is a symbol of respect and honor.  So all the children did it to the adults, with lavender scented water.  It was so beautiful, and we sure could use more of the blessing and honor Asian culture stresses on it's older people!  We had a delicious spread of different Thai dishes, most of which Norah found too spicy or just did not love.  Her palate is getting more Americanized, and her tastes are getting pickier... *sigh*  I hate that I am used to it, but I am with my two picky boys.

It's Been Awhile...

It has been way too long since our last post!  So much has happened with Norah, and she continues to thrive in transitioning into our family.  In February, Norah had to go through extensive dental treatment.  I fortunately took her to an amazing doctor that put me at ease of all my anxiety around her treatment!  She had to be put under general anaesthesia because there was no other way to get 6 crowns and a filling done on a two year old without it!  My nerves were all over the place.  What if she is that .00001% that would not wake up?  I don't know her extensive family health history or any if there are any adverse reactions to anaesthesia in her bloodline.  It all turned out fine, with a very out-of-it toddler at the end of the appointment! 
Norah started acting normal a few hours later, and was upset that the band-aids on her hands were not cute.  They just used normal medical tape and cotton balls!  The nerve!  This girl insisted on Hello Kitty band-aids.  So I did what any mother would do.  We went to Target, and I opened the gates to whatever she wanted!  Cute band-aids.  Check.  But then what else would she pick?  Then, to my heart's desire, she chose a dress with a sparkly heart on the front, and a coral orange tulle skirt!!  I asked her if she really wanted this dress.  "Do you want a toy instead?  Or should we look at other things?"  I asked.  "NO.  I want heart for Daddy!"  She insisted.  She had her father in mind when she chose her prize for bravery, and wanted her dad's heart to melt:)  You can bet it did the trick!

Norah's "Heart for Daddy" Dress

Norah's English has really taken off.  She speaks like most other kids her age, and repeats everything!  She is such a fast learner, and very competent at many things.  Grandma Ruth was with her just this week, and was amazed at how she wanted to do the kitchen chores with her, and actually did them with surprising accuracy!  This girl continues to amaze us. 
Ever since we had dreamed of having a girl, there were a few things I set aside in my mind of pending excitement, that is only fulfilled in having a daughter.  One of them was going to get pedicures done.  It was my birthday this week, so I asked Norah if she'd like to go together to get our toenails painted.  She looked up and said, "Sure!  Let's go!"  So I explained that she would have to sit very still, and she agreed to all of it!  So we went Wednesday to get our toenails painted, and she sat and behaved like a star.  The other dreaming I've had, amongst others, is buying an Easter dress.  I don't know why this purchase is some sort of important purchase, but to me it is!  I have not found it yet, but we continue to look.

 

Playing Horsey with Dad

Sam and Will are amazing brothers.  They really do love Norah so well, and are getting used to sharing more of their time and stuff with her.  Will is still adjusting to his new place as the middle child, and throwing around his new-found (perceived) authority with her all the time.  That boy is a BIG TEASE!  David and I really are exhausted with all the bicker and teasing that goes on, but realize, it's totally common sibling stuff.  Which is great news if you want to look at the glass half full:)

This picture was taken a few weeks ago.  Norah wanted to wear every bow in her basket!  She looked like she was wearing a hat of bows, and she loved it!  She walked over to the neighbor's house to show off her creative style.

Going to Court!

 Norah loves loves her Daddy!

We went to court Friday, Jan 24th.  I think we could have gone sooner, but I have been dragging my heels with this post-placement business, and have not been really paying attention to what I was supposed to do next!  We need to finalize according to Missouri law, and going to court twice is required.  Once for transferring custody of Norah from Holt to us, and another after she has been with us for 6 months, and Holt has done post-placement visits up to 6 months.  So it's looking like April we will finalize, and Norah Blackwell will really for real be a Blackwell!!  Of course she already is.  

She was in a really funny mood as I took these pictures.  I love them!  The Gilchrists went to court on Friday as well to finalize Cora's adoption.  What a celebration!  Adoption milestones happened here for us:)  We showed up to court, and were scheduled with back to back hearings with Greg and Mandy W. who brought their twins home from Thailand a month before we did.  Their kids Zoe and Nolan are great, and doing so good!  It's so good to have other Thai adoptive families in the area.  Greg and Mandy are one of about 6 other couples with adoptive Thai kids in the KC metro that we know of, and have relationship with.

I was promptly scolded by someone here at the courthouse for taking this picture!  No signs were up, but apparently photos are prohibited.  I pretended to delete it as I apologized profusely...

The hearing itself was very short, and we got the commissioner everyone says you want.  She is nice, smiles, and is overall pleasant.  She paid us lots of compliments, and told us that Norah looks comfortable with us.  Norah even made her laugh!  It really was just saying yes to a bunch of questions, and then it was over. 

Proud Parents

We walked out of court so proud.  Proud of Norah for everything she has gone through.  For leaving her country and people to be a part of our family, and being surprisingly pleasant about it along the way!  I was also so thankful to our Good Father, the giver of ALL good gifts, that He is the giver of life.  That Norah's life is beautiful, and has made ours more as well.  Her story is beautiful.  Her future is beautiful, and it's all because He is good, and worthy of all my thankful heart.