Aiden. Yep - that is what is new in our family's life. He did move in with us, as scheduled, on January 13th. It has been such a blessing, hard at times, but overall very good! He is a very sweet little guy, he is adventurous and athletic. He is quiet, yet comfortable. He loves to climb and he can balance on a moving skateboard. Aiden is friendly when meeting new people but also quiet and reserved. He is silly, he is loving, he is stubborn and full of happiness. He is doing so well considering all that he has been through. The transition has gone very smoothly, as smooth as I could hope for. The first night he was with us things kind of felt like a sleepover. The kids were excited. Aiden's old foster family was great to him, but he just jumped right in without too much sadness.
Levi has had a lot of adjusting to do as well. Aiden plays with his toys sometimes, breaks stuff, and they share a room, etc. At first there was much fighting and crying ... and there still is to some degree, but they are becoming very close. Aiden adores Levi and likes to follow him around and copy him. I love it when they giggle and play together as brothers, it melts my heart.
If you have known me well in the past, you may have known how it bothered me that Levi was growing up as an only child. I like having a sister, so of course I wanted the same for him. I think siblings are good for so many reasons ... to have a buddy and someone to play with; learning to share and learning to live with someone in a close relationship. When I see the two of them interact, and my dream of having more than one kid is coming true, I am thankful.
Even with a two year old as mellow as Aiden life has changed much. We don't quite go out to eat as much, more dishes, laundry etc. But the level of craziness and excitement around this place has quadrupled. It's not so quiet here between all four of us. I mostly enjoy that though, and appreciate the lack of dull and boring. I am also aware that having small children is just a short season in life overall ... so I am embracing the loudness and activity and crazy as much as I can.
Aiden is our foster son currently, but of course we are moving in the direction to adopt him. His biological mom's rights are going to be terminated this week. I really like her as a person, the several times I have met with her, and we plan to keep this an open adoption with Aiden growing up knowing who is biological mother is. After the court date this week we begin the official adoption process. We are looking at the finalization to take place around late July. Then he will be legally recognized as ours, forever.
Not to get all sappy on you or anything, but people say how lucky Aiden is to have ended up in our family. Really I feel like we are the lucky ones. He is an awesome little guy. He is a gift, and I feel privileged to raise him and have him call me mama.
