Happy Father's Day! And an update on brotherly love

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and future dads out there! 

Today is a happy and sad day for me.  It's happy because its Bill's first Father's Day with two sons!  It's sad because it is the first Father's Day since my dad passed away.  My dad passed away this May, between our Court and Pickup trips for Ivan.  It was very sad to lose him but I know he is in a better place now (sorry for the cliche).  My dad was diagnosed with alzheimers several years ago and was advanced in his decline.  I'd estimate he stopped knowing me between 3 and 4 years ago.  I had a long time to greive for the loss of my Dad as I knew him, the loss of him knowing my children, the loss of him knowing me, my siblings and my stepmom.  I thought I had greived all that I could for my Dad already, but have found myself getting teary eyed now and then over the past few days, knowing that Father's Day was approaching.  Given how events played out over the past few months I am so happy that we chose to keep Ivan's given name, which is the Russion version of John.  John was my Dad's name and I am glad we were able to honor him in this way!

We have now been home for two weeks and things are going well although we've had some rough spots.  Ivan's adjustment has been good for the most part.  He is crawling more on his knees than on his stomach and he loves cruising on the furniture.  He is feeding himself finger foods and is starting to enjoy eating food with more texture.  We are still mainly on baby food, stage 2 and 3 and I hope to introduce more "real" food such as pasta, soft fruits and veggies in the upcoming weeks. 

Ivan is a good sleeper and sleeps 11 hours per night almost like clockwork.  He then takes two naps that total 3 - 4 hours.  He doesn't cry when he wakes up, which can be challenging if you're sleeping, or not checking on him every 15 minutes. 

He doesn't like having his diaper changed and also doesn't like getting dressed, which makes for some challenges throughout the day.  He is definitely getting more comfortable with the routine and surroundings and his true personality is showing through.

Now onto Nick, I would say the adjustment for him has been much harder to manage than the adjustment for Ivan.  Ever since bringing Nick home he has had difficulties with transitions.  The transitions of teachers and classrooms at his pre-school/daycare have been the hardest for him to handle up to this point.  After moving classes or getting a new teacher it takes Nick between 2 and 3 weeks to settle in to the change.  The addition of a brother has proven to be difficult as well but he is coming around.

Nick is extremely interested in Ivan's sleeping, eating, pooping, etc.  Every night at bedtime he wants to check on Ivan before reading stories and every morning he wants to check on Ivan.  He likes to give him kisses and recently has shown interest in picking him up/holding him.  He is getting better about sharing his toys and is pretty adept at redirecting Ivan away from things he doesn't want him playing with.

Nick has regressed in some ways as he now wants help every morning when getting dressed and he also often wants help eating.  Another recent development is the over-dramatization when he hurts himself.  For example, if Nick trips and falls down, in the past he would get up and brush it off.  Lately, if he falls or whatever, he makes a big deal about it, cries, needs to be picked up and generally over reacts.  I don't think this is unusual in any way.  Its just how things are these days.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday and Father's Day!