At this point I am 9 months late to posting, ha! But, let’s back track and talk about what Christmas was like with Israel home!
First of all, I’m sure he had not a clue what was going on. He hadn’t been home long and our house had red and green EVERYWHERE. Sparkly lights. Presents Galore. Big Fat Man with a Red Suit. Oh my! We couldn’t even attempt to explain it because he spoke ZERO English when he got here. Thankfully he did know how to smile, ha!
Dressing up two children in Christmas jammies was probably my favorite thing EVER!
Joelle had asked Santa for remote control cars for both her and Israel. She was always so sweet to think of him even when he wasn’t home.
He does love cars, so this worked out perfect for him!
Joelle was also stoked to finally get a trampoline. We had told her that would NEVER happen, but who can say no to that sweet smile?? The trampoline actually came in very useful. Israel’s legs had almost no muscle tone and he hadn’t ever exerted much energy. The jumping helped him with strength and balance 🙂
Even though he had only been home a short time, we still wanted to keep our family traditions for Joelle. We knew it would be overwhelming and a lot to take in, but we didn’t want her to suffer. It turned out being okay. We just held him close to us and monitored the interaction he was having with family. We had already asked them not to hug or kiss him. At that point he was still learning to trust us and look at us as his parents. It was an adjustment period for sure!
Now looking back on it I just miss those chubby cheeks so much! I’m so thankful for how far he has come, but that babyface is so kissable!
I’m definitely looking forward to this year because he will understand every single part of the holiday! It will be like his first Christmas all over again 🙂
