Our Toddler

Samuel will be 14 months old next week, and I have come to understand why women have their kids young. Whew! He is in to EVERYTHING, and if I'm not pulling him out of the dishwasher, I'm pulling dog food out of his mouth.

He has five words---Daddy, Mommeeeee, Rudy, hey, and book. 
He has nine teeth!
He walks a few steps when he's not thinking about it and crawls like lightening otherwise.

Samuel loves to kiss, and he'll kiss anything that stays still long enough, including Rudy (our smaller dog).

11 Months

Our hilarious little boy is 11 months and one week old. He has seven teeth with a molar coming in (making for a couple of sleepless nights recently). He's cruising around the living room, holding on to furniture, and constantly going after remote controls, keys, and dogs. To add to his first greeting, "Hey, Roo!" (for Rudy the dog), he now calls me "Memmeee" and Stan "Dadada". Kisses on the lips are his new favorite trick.

Just shy of a year ago, we got a call from our friend Tena that she had met a young mother who was seriously considering adoption for her third child. Little did we know that we would be walking into joy out of the pain of childlessness. Six years ago, we had our first miscarriage. Eighteen months ago, our adoption fell through. If we had received that baby boy, we would not have adopted Samuel. I cannot even remember life without him. Oh, yeah, I used to nap . . . and shop by myself . . . and go to the movies with my husband. I'll take the trade!

So, so, so thankful to be drinking from God's fire hydrant.

9 Months

As of today, Samuel weighs just over 17 pounds and is only in the 8th percentile! He's a teeny little thing, and it's no wonder with the calories he burns army crawling all over the house. He's still in physical therapy once a week for a gross motor delay in his back, and he's progressing quite well. Just this week, he started mini crawls (four moves at a time) on his knees, but he still doesn't have the hand/knee thing down.

Six big teeth take care of just about anything we put in his mouth, and his favorite is chunky orchard fruit. He can fall asleep at the drop of a hat but loves to be snuggled while doing so. His hair is about 4 inches long when wet, but I just can't bring myself to cut off those adorable, tight curls.

We long to be in touch with his birthparents, but they have not been in contact.

Major Change for Two Ugandan Children

Our friends Brent and Kaylyn Van Camp have come up with a creative fundraiser! Read about it on Kaylyn's blog:

http://amustardseedjourney.blogspot.com/p/van-camp-adoption-puzzle-fundraiser.html

If you have a heart for orphans, adoptions, or no-brainer ways help the TWO MILLION orphans in Uganda, check it out.

6 Months

Samuel will be six months old on November 2. He has sprouted his first two teeth in the last several days, and he voted for the first time yesterday. The touch screen was his favorite part.

A new Kratzer!

At 10:30 this morning, Samuel Myles got a new last name! He is forever a Kratzer. When I was on the witness stand this morning in family court, our lawyer asked me, "Do you  understand that this will be as if you gave birth to him?" I nodded so hard I forgot to say anything, and court reporters have a hard time recording nods.

After a very brief hearing, the judge---who spends most of his day on custody cases and was probably elated to have an adoption on his docket---let us take pictures with him! The police officer and court reporter both came over and held him. I'll get those pics up soon.

The Final Hearing

Next week, the Kratzers will get all gussied up to stand before a family court judge in South Carolina for our final adoption hearing. When we walk out, it will be with Samuel Myles Kratzer, whose legal status will be the same as if I had given birth to him.

Samuel turned four months old on September 2, and he is a character----a flirt who likes to hum as he falls asleep, who goes crazy when he sees the Orioles logo, and who prefers to be upside down whenever possible. He likes green beans, peas, and bananas, but sweet potatoes, not so much. He's a morning person, waking up around 6:00 every morning with a huge smile, expecting a dog lick or two before he gets his bottle. He spends his week days with one of his girlfriends, Stacey or Alyse.

Every few days, one of us will turn to the other and say with amazement, "Hey. You have a son." Next week, a judge will say it and simply confirm what the God of the Universe determined long ago. Thank you, Father.