Visitors and a party

Last Thurs, my sister and her husband came to Denver to visit us and meet E. We had been showing E a picture of Aunt Laura and Uncle Phillip leading up to the visit and talked about how they were coming to visit. When they first arrived, E was napping. When he woke up and first saw them, he ran up to Laura and gave her a huge hug then gave on to Phillip. He was not shy at all! He couldn't wait to show them his toys or his room. We always know if E "approves" of someone as he wants to take them upstairs so he can show them his room.

I think E really enjoyed having four people totally focusing only on him. At the foster homes that he was in, there were always other children. E had so much fun coloring and playing with cars with Laura and Phillip. E can't say Aunt Laura or Uncle Phillip yet. He can say "aura"...well when he wants to. For Phillip, well he became Pop Pop.

On Saturday, E, Laura, and I went to a "Welcome E" party that was hosted by some amazing friends. E had so much fun with all the kiddos and loves all the gifts that he received. One of the ladies that hosted the party is E's Guardian Ad Litem(GAL). C is the one who told us about E. Without her, we would have never met E much less have him now as our son.

Andy and I had been talking for awhile about getting something for C just to say thank you. How do you find something that can even begin to say thank you for letting us be E's parents?? Every time I thought of C being E's GAL, I just kept thinking about how he was so lucky to have such a great caring person to watch out for his best interests through out the time he has been in the system. Someone who was there to make sure he was safe, to make sure a loving home was found for him. Unfortunately some kids who are in the system don't have GALS who are as great as C.

One of the kiddos(age 4) that was on my caseload when I was a caseworker, would always call her GAL her Guardian Angel. I always thought that was so cute. Once E came into our life, I realized how right that little girl was about how a Guardian Ad Litem really could be a Guardian Angel. I found a Willow Tree figurine that was called "Guardian Angel". It is an angel holding the hands of a child. This was what we had been looking for since C truly is E's Guardian Angel.

At the Welcome Party, we gave C the figurine. Of course as soon as I gave it to her, I had tears rolling down my face. Those happy tears have been flowing alot lately. =)

On Sunday morning, Laura and Phillip had an early morning flight. E was still asleep when I took them to the airport. I was so sad for them to leave but it wasn't as hard as it usually is since we'll be seeing them again in just over a month. After E woke up and finally realized that they were gone, he was so sad. He was not a happy camper for at least two days. He kept asking for "aura" and "pop pop".

A few things we learned about E during the time Laura and Phillip were here:

*If you have a hooded sweatshirt on and are holding E. Hide the strings. He likes to try to put them up his nose. Also, if pillows have tassells that hang down..hide them as he likes to put them up his nose as well.

*If you are the lucky one to put E on the potty, do not stand in front of him. If so, hope his legs are closed when he pees. If they're not, you will get peed on. Laura was the lucky one to get peed on. I don't think I've ever seen her laugh so hard.