First Post-Placement Home Visit

We had our first official post-placement home visit two days ago. I just have to start out by saying we really do have THE BEST social worker ever! JoAnn - you ROCK! She is super flexible and so thoughtful, understanding and wise about adoption. I'm just so thankful she has been a huge part of this process and it's a big bonus that she works for AGCI (but does lots of other work alongside that).

As far as how Abraham is doing - he's great. We went through a pretty rough stretch where sleeping was a BIG battle. He would SCREAM at the top of his lungs, push against us, etc. while we were rocking him and trying to soothe him. He would do this anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Needless to say, it was VERY trying, exhausting and demoralizing. I knew adoption would be hard, but you can never prepare for the things that will come your way after your child/ren come home. Tom and I said we felt like first time parents all over again. Finally, after a month and a half we decided that Abraham needed to have some boundaries in the sleeping department (and other departments as well i.e. eating, playing by himself). He was definitely running the show for a while (which was totally ok and the way it should have been). But, after we knew he was attaching well and comfortable with us - we knew he needed a little "help" regulating (since he didn't really have that ability to do it on his own). We've helped him to get on a good sleeping schedule and the past week he has slept through the night (compared to waking up 3-5 times a night)! YEAH Abraham! We now rock him for a few minutes before bed and lay him in his bed before he's asleep. He usually lays down now and goes to sleep on his own. I am so proud of him! He's very comfortable here now and has a great time playing and is getting SO much better at putting himself to sleep. We are thrilled with how well he is adjusting and figuring out how to be a part of the Gresham Team :)!! He's a stud for sure.

He LOVES to play with all of us and thinks Lowa and Whitt are great (except when Whitt gets too loud and up in his grill). Peek-a-boo is his FAVORITE game and will crack up over and over again. He will even hold the blanket over his own face and pull it down to play with us! He's super great at sitting up now and tries tummy time (this usually lasts about a minute before rolling on his back again). He does have to go to the OT/PT and speech because he's a bit behind on his gross motor skills and babbling. We're not really worried about it, but better to get things checked out now rather than deal with it as he gets older.

Abraham is definitely a Gresham and we cannot even begin to explain how blessed we feel to call him our son, brother and our blessing from God!

A day in the life of... Mr. Abraham

Wake Up - "I LOVE mommy and especially when she holds me and plays with me!"


"Can you see my first tooth? It's a little hard to see, but it's there!"



Breakfast Time (sorry about my hand getting in the way - but he's just too cute not to put this in). "I like to eat, but I'm pretty picky and I don't eat a ton."


Bath Time - "I think splashing in the tub is so much fun."


"Daddy getting me all dried off."


Play Time - "I like my bouncer!"

Then it's down for NAP!


"I wake up from nap ready to play. Mom and Dad feed me a bottle, then some lunch. Then Lowa, Whitt and I usuually have a great time playing."

"Playing with my brother and sister. That's lots of fun!"

NAP again!


"It's time to wake up again! I love sitting with Daddy."


"Getting kisses from mommy is really great. I love to grab her face and pull it to me. She really likes this..."


"Hanging with Mommy and Whitt. Mom calls this her - 'My boys' picture. I think she really likes us a lot."


"More playing. Mom put the dinosaur tail on me. I thought it was pretty fun."


"Lowa is so good at playing with me. She loves to talk to me and tell me stories. I love her."


"After dinner, we like to go outside and play. We love summer and being able to go on a hike or to the beach. I really love my family!"