Anna's Adoption Journey: A Monumental Week

There's a reason this blog has gone through a dry spell: the Boltons have been busy, busy, busy! On September 16, Shekina and Godson because US citizens AND our adoption and name changes were finalized, making them official Boltons. Yay! Two days later, Shekina started preschool, her first school experience. (She went for a half day on the 18th, but liked it so much that she started doing full days on the very next day!) Then, on the 22nd, Shekina and Godson were christened in the Episcopal church, after which we had an all-day party at my parents'. Each of these events required paperwork, so when we weren't attending an event, we were filling out, filling out, and filling out. Things are finally settling down now that we've completed the baptism. Kina is in school yet again today (the stimulation seems to be so good for her!), so it's just Godson and me. I've been using his nap time to get the house organized so that I can be extremely organized when I go back to work on Oct 29, a date that is approaching much more rapidly than I'd like it to. Man, I love my job, but how I wish there was a way for me to be a stay-at-home mom or at least just work part-time! This leave is no vacation. I have had a lot to do: get used to being a mom, tour schools, work on behavioral issues, shop for supplies, get health issues under control (thanks to intestinal parasites, I have had to collect stool samples more times than I can now remember, and there are at least two more on the horizon--blech!!!) On top of all that, Godson is the kind of toddler who is into EVERYTHING. He doesn't just pull things out of cabinets, closets, and pantries (though he definitely does those things); he puts things in the toilet and plays in it anytime Shekina or I forget to shut the bathroom door. Even worse bc it's so dangerous, he's discovered the dog door and is pretty much obsessed with it. The second I can't find Godson in my smallish house, I peek outside, and sure enough, he has just finished climbing out the dog door and is headed towards the small fountain I have in the backyard. He absolutely loves playing in the water, and, disgustingly, tries to drink from it just like the dogs do. He also likes to grab a dog bowl, dish water out of the fountain, and then bring the water back inside through the dog door. Why don't I shut the dog door? Sometimes I do, but when I do, my little dog Teddy (who grew up in a hoarding situation and won't let me catch him) takes that as an invitation to use the house as his restroom facility. No thanks! I'd rather watch Godson like a hawk and deal with wet clothes and a wet floor every now and then...or every other hour, realistically. I have started calling Godson my little Labrador, because the other day he went out the dog door in the pouring rain and just stood there grinning! I took pictures until I caught him doing this: