The R Family: One Year With Our Boy

One year ago today we were applying for D's visa and getting ready to head home from Uganda. It is completely surreal that one year has so quickly flown by. Our boy has grown and changed into a completely different kid in so many ways, and in many ways he is still the sweetest, most caring boy ever.

Six months ago I updated you on his progress and wanted to update again at a year for years to come. I want him to see and know that the Lord is good. He redeems, restores, and grows us in ways we never dreamed possible. L and I get in bed many nights and talk about how blessed we are to have D, how awesome he is and how we could not imagine life without him. He is the best.

One year ago D...

weighed 28 pounds and stood 30 inches tall. Today he is 38 pounds and 38 inches tall. That is 10 pounds and eight inches in twelve months!!
wore a size 5 shoe, is now growing out of a size 10.
wore 18 month clothes, he is now a 4T.
was sick with a cold and fever, today his body is completely healthy (PRAISE GOD!).
knew three words in English - mommy, daddy, and no. Today he is one of the most talkative kids I know. He is well beyond targets for his age in vocabulary and sentence composition. In December his talking really took off and has only escalated since (including a little three year old sass at times ;)
had a beautiful Ugandan accent, and is still hanging on to it by a thread.

Today D...

can recognize all letters/ and single digit numbers, as well as count to 50. He is starting to spell and sound out words.
has officially stopped using his native language :( I wish we knew more of this to teach him.
loves McDonald's and calls it "Old McDonald". Also, loves to play with his "friends" at Chick-fil-a.
his current favorite book - the Five Little Monkey series.
loves HEB, the grocery store, and is quick to point them out when we drive by.
memorizes EVERYTHING quickly. So, we only listen to Christian music for the most part. We realized this was important when he started walking around singing Rihanna's Diamonds song. He has so many of the songs memorized word for word and it blesses my heart SO much each time he sings them. His "special song" is 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) by Matt Redman
favorite food - baconS. with an S. (he tends to add Ss to his favorite things)
is pretty much potty trained after several attempts.
favorite movies - Toy Story and Cars I & II
some of my favorite sayings he has picked up over the last few months: "of course", "I love you too, mom/dad", "Look at that, it is so cute!", "That is delicious!", "Oh my goodness!", "Oh man", "Good job mom/dad" (think we use positive affirmation a little?!?! :)
takes swim lessons and is awesome at it. He is also starting soccer soon. I think it is safe to say we likely have an athlete on our hands.
loves church and praying to Jesus.

D is such a caring little boy and very sensitive. He loves others so much and definitely likes to please. His current love languages are without a doubt touch and words of affirmation. He had his 3rd birthday in March and it was such a joy to watch him as he soaked up each moment. My favorite is the video of everyone singing happy birthday to him, he was so happy.

We are constantly amazed at all God has done this year - all glory and praise to Him. He has blessed are family in unbelievable ways and we cannot wait to see all this next year has in store for D.