grace led in life: Zeke turns 2!

Zeke turned two just a couple weeks ago!
Happy two years to our sweet, funny, thoughtful, stubborn, silly, inquisitive, bright, detailed, joyful little guy!

THINGS ABOUT ZEKE

Zeke now weighs 23.5 lbs
is 32.5" in height
is just about growing out of his size 4 shoes...we've been able to pull off 5s now :)
Z is wearing 12 & 18 month old clothes. Our little peanut is still a peanut, but getting bigger!

Zeke still loves to take a bath but loves his showers just as much! He loves to pretend he is swimming and loves to put his face in the water and blow bubbles! Excited for the day we can do swimming lessons! He's a little fish!
loves to brush his teeth, but with teething currently (4 new teeth comin' in) he loves to try to chew on the brush more than brush.
sits really still for haircuts...we cut his hair every 3-4 weeks. Thomas the train playing on the laptop in front of him is a great help ;)
There are always SO many new things he learns about in a day...just when you think we talked about everything in our home with Zeke...he will find something new to talk about!
HE LOVES TO LEARN! :) He truly is a curious George! Love it!
Father's day was a GREAT day not only to celebrate Justin being Zeke's Dada, but also because Zeke learned that day how to "suck" from a sippy cup or straw for the first time! Kiddos born with cleft palate do not have the "sucking" ability. We've used specific bottles and cups to help him drink...but that day June 21st, 2015 he figured it out! After his palate closure, the doctors said it could take up to a year for him to learn. We are so proud of him. Drinking has become much easier now! He learned how to suck 4 months after his palate closure!

First time sippin' (sucking) in his life!

Zeke is really connecting sounds with things. whether cars passing by, construction equipment at work, animals, or specific instruments playing music...he will point to his cheek when he hears something and want to talk about it. recently he wants to learn more and more animals and their sounds his most recent that he loves to say all day is "mwaaaaack hello" like a parrot :)
Zeke has been feeding himself more and trying more whole foods. He still has a lot of trouble breaking down/chewing foods...so we're slowly adding in those whole foods and he's still eating some pureed veggies and fruits. He has grown to love eating and is doing such a great job at it right now...we are so excited for him!

Zeke is still teething. Currently four more teethers are making their way in...let's just say, we are very excited for the day he gets a break from teeth coming in! ;)
Zeke still LOVES coloring time! Each time he picks up a crayon, we say what color it is and his smile is huge. He loves the activity! Favorite coloring books: Elmo and Thomas

Books are still treasures here. He would still like to be looking at and having us read books to him all day. Current fav. books: trucks, tractors, and machines, train books, "first words" books, Sheep in a Jeep, any learning books, Go Dog Go, I Spy books, and Gordon and Lili (words in Chinese and English books)...honestly, the list could go on and on :)
The other commonality in those photos is HATS!!! Hats and Sunglasses...he loves them!

Zeke still loves his "flashcards". We have the alphabet, colors, shapes, and counting. He gets so excited to go through those! It's too cute! His favorite letters are "a" and "o", favorite number is "9", favorite color is blue, and he doesn't seem to have a favorite shape ;)

Zeke loves to help Dada with any "fix-it" projects! Unfortunately he is too little to get his hands dirty in the project most of the time...but boy, does he love to observe and ask questions!

Zeke is extremely detailed...he will find every fuzzy or string out there. He loves to look at the details of all his toys, even looks at the details of how a book is put together. He is detailed and organized in how he plays with his trucks and toys...lines them up in rows, sometimes by color, sometimes by size and sometimes just lines them up without over-thinking it ;)

Zeke's little blankie (pink wash cloth) that was his from China started coming apart...so we braved trying to find a new one so we can keep what is left of his old one...we headed to target...and Zeke quickly became comfortable with the new pink blankie :) Another great victory!

Zeke still loves music. He LOVES to listen to his Dada play. We found an old banjo to get Dada for father's day...so that has been the new "music time" instrument at the moment.
So very fun! Sometimes that music time is also bath time :)

From the time Zeke came home 'til about a month ago in June...Zeke had a lot of frustration and anxiety over wearing new shoes and especially sandals this summer. It was one area where he would just break down in tears over the change/if they were not the same shoes every time.
Recently he has braved the change and now likes his shoes...asks to put them on. Love these little victories!!

Zeke's "fear walls" are starting to come down...we saw this happening about the third week of June. His "walls" with us had been coming down for quite some time...but he still has some struggles in social situations. He can seem to do OK in the moment, but it's after that he still has trouble processing and he becomes anxious. The fear starts to creep in, too, with new things or changes. We think that a big part of the walls starting to come down, was the break from surgery and really getting to spend some fun family time together...this happened at such a wonderful time...we left or MN a week later for Zeke to meet family. (That MN blog post is next ;) It was a huge blessing that he handled MN as well as he did...we were so thankful. Since arriving home, we've attempted some changes and social situations. Some have been ok but, some have clearly not been ok. Like I said before, he can tend to do ok in the moment, but struggles in the "after". Zeke's moments of fear are not gone, but it is a victory each time we see his bravery and openness to try something new. It takes time...there is no "time-table" for this...it's the journey it takes in time and building trust. God is so good...we are so thankful for the training we have gotten in understanding what these little ones face each day and how best we can help. We celebrate each little victory...because it actually is a big one! Proud of him! One major victory is Zeke's trust toward Justin and I. Recently he has become very attached and more so through physical touch. He often now wants to hold our hand during the day, wants many hugs, wants lots of kisses, wants to sit with or on our laps to be holding hands during meals, and if not that...having us sit right by him so he can touch us with his foot. :) This is such an amazing sign of trust. We pray for him to feel safe, and those actions of connection strongly show his safe feelings and trust with us. Praise the Lord! :)

I wanted to share this article for those interested in understanding what many adopted kiddos go through. It can be difficult as a parent to know how to put situations into words, and I felt this was well written in gaining some perspective into what some foster and adoptive kiddos (and kiddos in other situations in life) may face in their minds with the journey they have been on.

I was brought to tears reading this...feeling for these children. I also cried because it greatly explains tid-bits of what we have seen/sometimes see with our precious, Zeke.
No pressure to read it, but if you are willing to take the time...please do (even if you have not seen the movie!) To read, just click on this link below.

The Adopted Child From the Inside Out