Welcome Home Jake Tea Party Pictures

Jake meeting my best friend Patty for the first time! So many neat toys and clothes!

Good friends!
Jake received a doll that was called "Dress Me Jake"! Too Cute!
Mom, Jake and I, and the hostesses
The beautiful table setting

Jake has been home 1 month today!

Wow! I can't believe that Jake flew home one month ago today. Time has flown! It is amazing to see how far he has come in such a short amount of time. He is doing great! I really can't imagine our family without him. He is so happy and blends in as if he was with us from day 1. He is eating great, still on great sleep schedules, and rarely bites or hits anymore. He will occasionally think about it but has gained the self control to choose another outlet that is much more acceptable.

He has also learned more words and some signing which has been his greatest help to control any of his frustrations...he can now tell someone "no!" if he doesn't want you to take his toy or if he isn't done with his plate, etc. I know most people don't like to hear "NO" from their children...but it has been a great help in communicating for us. He has also learned mama, dada, nana (Nadia), mimi (Mia), Lu (Luke), up, down, done, more, eat, baba, dipe (diaper), kittykitty, nightnight, bye bye, hi, Lu Ooh (love you)etc. He can now point to his eyes, nose, ears, mouth and hair when we ask him to. He understands many other things we tell him. He has an amazing vocabulary for a 19 month old who has heard English for a total of 4 weeks. He is absolutely so cuddly, silly, happy and full of life. He has the most beautiful smile too! (and he loves to brush his pretty teeth now!) He loves to run off with the other three children and play with them. They are all doing so good and thrilled to have him as their brother.

Last Friday, some dear friends threw a "Welcome Home Jake" tea party. It was so fun. We had many friends there and Jake received so many new toys and beautiful clothes. It was wonderful to have so many share in our joy. He is loved by so many already. I will try to post some pictures of the tea soon.

Thank you so much for all of you who encouraged us and prayed for us on this long journey. We have so much to be thankful for and learned so much along the way. Very importantly, we know that God has His perfect timing in everything. There were many times we became impatient and frustrated waiting on our sweet Jake. We know he was perfectly chosen for our family and God's timing placed him perfectly in our home. We thank Him everyday for allowing us the honor to raise Jake. Every day I look at him and I am in awe that God would allow us to have this awesome gift. It is our hope that everything we do in raising our children will glorify God. Have a wonderful week. Natalie

" 'I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him.' " 1 Samuel 1:27

Just keeps getting better and better!

Well, I thought I would post another update on another ordinary day in the life of the Nelsons. We are getting into a great routine...I am all about schedule/routine if you couldn't tell by now. Jake is doing great and is more and more comfortable each day. Actually, if you didn't know us, you might think he has been with us forever. He is soooo happy every morning I wake him up and gives the most warm hugs you can imagine. He raises his head and looks at me to give me a kiss and buries his head back into my shoulder. Often he will just look at me and say "MaMA"...and I say, "YES, I AM your MaMa!". Can you even imagine a better way to start your day? Luke loves to be the first one in his room and says in a real high pitch voice, "Hi buddy!" Jake has learned to say approximately 10 words in English but understands a lot more of what we are saying. He is using some sign to communicate and it has helped his frustrations tremendously. His tantrums and hitting/biting episodes still occur but much much less (thank goodness).

Jake is still quite the ham. Every time we take him somewhere he waves and says loudly "HI HI" and then immediately starts blowing kisses to everyone. He loves the reaction he gets from everyone....all the ooohs and aaaahs. He loves to act silly and even when he does something bad he will look at us knowing we are displeased and smile big with his teeth showing and squint his eyes and give us this big look of "CHEEEEESE"....and like "how could anyone be upset with a cute silly fella like me?"!!!

We had the honor of speaking at a local CHI meeting Sunday afternoon and share our adoption story with some families. It was fun for everyone to see Jake too. He is quite the celebrity lately b/c everywhere we go someone will say, "Weren't you all on tv over the holidays?" Many people have recognized him around town and he doesn't shy away from the attention!

Now for the part that many of you will be a little uncomfortable with....

I got a call today from an individual I have never spoken with or met before. They live across the country but have been in contact with Tam Bihn 1 orphanage from their own personal adoption experience. They have become friends with the directors there b/c he is Vietnamese too and have kept in contact with them. The lady who loved Jake as her own got in contact with him and asked him to call me and check on Jake today. She is wanting updates and to keep in contact. Although somewhat reluctant to keep too close of contact, I do understand what she is going through. I gave him an update and he said he would contact her to tell her he is happy and bonding strongly with his new forever family. I pray it will give her some peace and comfort knowing that he has a family who loves him deeply and feels like God placed him in our lives with a great purpose. We have all committed to love him and provide a wonderful life for him.....we truly feel like he has been with us forever! Of course the first week was hard on everyone...but was to be expected. It is amazing how quickly he has adjusted and knows we are here for him forever.

Each night I rock him he just melts on me and before he goes to bed I sit him up and have him look at me and I take his hands and place them on me and say "Mama" . I then take his hands and place them on my heart and then hug him and say ,"LOVES"....and then I take his hands and place them on him and say "JAKE". He loves when I do this but is so calm as if he truly understands what I am saying and is soaking it completely up. Every time I rock him I can't help but think about the first 18 months of his life and how I wish I could have been there for him. I think about his past and I also think about his future. Tonight I kept whispering "Mama loves Jake" in his ear and he gave me a big hug and kissed me before I layed him down. I cannot even put into words how it makes me feel. I almost feel guilty saying that before I adopted I didn't know how the love would compare between a child I gave birth to and a child that we adopted. However, I can say with complete honesty, the love is no different. It may have taken me an extra week to feel "bonded" with him but I can tell you that even though I personally did not give him the "gift of life" I know and believe that God gave us the gift of Jake.
Have a wonderful week. Natalie

"For He planned in love for us to be adopted as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will." Ephesians 1:5

Life is Great!

Things are finally coming together at the Nelson house! I am getting a routine together and things are going smoothly. Jake is doing AWESOME and he is so happy to fit right in....he was never too shy about it! :) Luke and Jake finally decided today that they were going to be buddies. They played together all day and had no problems. Now that the girls have started back to school it has finally hit them that it is just "us two brothers so we might as well have fun!". They are both on a great play, eat and nap schedule and I actually got some time today to pick up the house and do some laundry...it made me feel great. On top of that, I got my makeup on, hair curled and dressed at a decent time (I won't mention the time...but hey....it happened!)

The kids and I went to see my parents over New Year's (Rick was on call) and Jake got to meet all of his cousins and aunts and uncles (minus Jeff...but soon). He had no problem warming up to everyone and ended up playing in the play room with all the big guys each day. I really believe he sensed it was "all family" and was so at ease. I think everyone fell in love with him (and Jake knows it!....he likes to put on a show and make everyone laugh!).

He is such a great eater and takes a wonderful nap and goes to bed perfectly. He loves his bath but we are still battling brushing his teeth. He adjusted to the carseat and highchair beautifully too. I work hard every day to teach him that hitting, biting and tantrums aren't acceptable and we have worked on finding new outlets to let him show us when he is frustrated....I am telling you there has been some major improvements. He is bonding with me wonderfully....I think having Rick back at work forced him to come to me and trust me and meet all his daily needs. Last night he wanted me instead of dada!!!! YEA! We are working on his language and he has learned mama, dada, more (for food) , down(when he is done eating) , ball (thank you aunt Julie), hi and bye! He freely gives us lots of kisses and blows kisses and he LOVES to dance. He says many other things but I think they are in Vietnamese.... he will sign to us what he wants. Today when we went to pick up the girls from school he got so excited when he saw them he started yelling "YEA YEA YEA"! Once we got home, they all four took off upstairs playing together. It is amazing how well he has adjusted in such a short time. To be perfectly honest, the first few days were a little stressful, and I was unsure how well things would go. We have prayed everyday for guidance and patience and God has been very good to all of us. He always knows our needs and always has His perfect timing. We feel so blessed to have Jake in our lives. He has brought so much to each of us and he reminds us every day that love has no boundaries or borders. I love being a mother of four...life is certainly a lot more messy, chaotic and unorganized and I am learning to accept it joyfully! It is also more full of laughter, smiles, patience, hugs and kisses and I accept that joyfully too. Rick is threatening to hang a sign over our family room that says, "Nelson Daycare"....b/c that is what it looks like! I love it! Life is great!