the raja family: Friends and Family

"Santa's Candy Cottage"

I had a hard time letting the guys help me decorate this one.

Samedh's "Baby Jesus toys"

For once, the camel is not on the roof and the sheep is not off riding in a train car...

" Santa really did bring M's (M&M's) for Samedh's mouth!"

Samedh and his cousins on Christmas Day

Me, Liz, Joe and Dena in Mom & Dad's new sun room

I rarely have time to post these days, so here are a few pictures from our Christmas celebration at my parents' house. And as luck would have it, Samedh just woke up from his late afternoon nap, so I'm off again. Poor guy - - he was diagnosed with a sinus infection and ear infection this morning, so he's not in the best mood at the moment. At least he had a great Christmas...And Santa did bring the M&M's he asked for:)

A hug from Daddy before he went to work

I don't get much free time to check emails or work on my blog these days, so here's my attempt to catch up with what's been going on in our lives...

Birthday Weekend
Last weekend was very busy for us. On Friday we saw the butterflies at Meijer Gardens, went out to lunch, and then later had an evening snack at Coldstone Creamery in Downtown Holland. Then on Saturday we had dinner with two other families, one of which met Samedh for the first time. Samedh had a blast with all the kids, even though the youngest ones were about 6 years older than him. I have several photos on a CD from that visit, and will post them on Samedh's blog once I get a chance (mymasti.blogspot.com). The next day my family came over to our house to celebrate my birthday. My three nieces were here, and they were as active as ever. We've found that whenever my family comes to visit, Samedh's entire routine gets thrown out the window. Especially nap time. It's just too loud in the house and he can't settle down. Plus, I think he wants to be part of the action.

So after that busy weekend, we discovered something new about Samedh: He can get over-stimulated quite easily. Two nights in a row he woke up around 11:30 just screaming and crying, as if he had a bad dream. It took two of us and several minutes to console him and get him back to sleep. Thankfully, it hasn't happened since then, so we believe Samedh just had too much activity those couple of days. He handles new people and activity very well at that time, but it might be too much for him to process at night when he's trying to sleep.

Pankaj and I have decided to try limiting Samedh's exposure to major family events to just one day per weekend. I'm sure this will help greatly. The next big weekend is coming up April 7-8. Saturday the 7th is my niece Kaleia's birthday party, and Sunday is Easter at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Easter won out, so we'll try to get together with Kaleia on her birthday which is actually April 5th. I think there would be way too much stimulation at my sister's house on Saturday with all of her in-laws and extended family and friends. Samedh will meet them all soon enough.

One Step Closer to Finalization
On Thursday, we met with our social worker for Samedh's second post-placement visit. We had a very good meeting, and she was happy to see that Samedh has adjusted and attached so well. We updated her on his development, new words and skills, and submitted 9 new photos to be included with her next report. Once written, she will send the report and photos to SAI, our placing agency in Kansas. They, in turn, will send copies to India (for the orphanage and court). A copy of the report will also be sent to our local probate court. Our third and final post-placement report (must also be written and submitted by our social worker) should be completed by early June. At that time, Mary Beth will make a recommendation to the court that Samedh's adoption be finalized. We have the option of finalizing via mail or court hearing, and are obviously leaning toward the court hearing. There will be some added expense in doing so, but it will be such a special occasion for our family...how could we NOT do it? The court has told us that we can invite family and friends, decorate with balloons, and have the event video taped. Not your typical courtroom atmosphere, so I'm sure it's an exciting event for the court and judge as well. We have no idea what day we'll be asked to appear for our hearing, but we will certainly keep everyone posted.

Big Plans for April
April looks like it will be a busy month for us as well. Next Tuesday, a friend and former D&W co-worker is coming to visit and meet Samedh for the first time. She has two children and I'm sure Samedh will have lots of fun time with them. And because of Spring Break, my sister and her girls will have some time off later in the week. Samedh and I hope to join them at the Holland Aquatic Center for some fun in the Splash Zone pool. We also hope to fly to Dallas around mid-April to visit friends who recently had a baby boy. They also have a 4-year old son whom I'm sure Samedh will enjoy playing with. Hopefully, we'll have some idea of confirmed dates and tickets this weekend??? Our goal is to make this trip before our friend's mother flies back to New Delhi on April 22. Our final big trip for the month will be to meet a couple of India adoptive families in Lansing; possibly on April 21. We've already postponed our meeting twice due to blizzards and bad colds, so we're hoping that April will bring us better luck.