Six-month recap

So, the thing about blogs, is that you're supposed to write in them, aren't you? I've penned many snippets in my mind in the last six months, but haven't typed a-one until now. So, here we go. Recap:
Our baby boy, our Judester, Jude-y cutie, Jude-y cutie fruity, Judicus, or "Handsome", as we often call him, arrived in February and, man... I'm so glad that God sent him to us. Sometimes the best gifts are the ones we didn't know we wanted, didn't know we were missing. Thank you, God. He is perfection and sweetness, and I basically can't stop kissing his widdle cheeks. I won't stop. 

Something very cool happened in the O.R. right after he was born. Dave was next to me, holding my hand. Because I couldn't feel or see anything, I only knew he was born because there was suddenly a baby crying in the room. All of you parents know what a blessed sound that is. Well, almost immediately after hearing Jude cry, my phone "pinged" in Dave's scrubs pocket. It was a Facebook message from almost 5,000 miles away. Tolia knew that Jude was to be born that day, but he didn't know when. So, the timing was amazing:

That came in when Jude was two minutes old. So, that was cool. Here are a few snippets of Jude through the past few months:

The girls are great. They are loving their baby brother. I thought it would wear off a little, but no. Every morning when they see that he's up they cry, "JUDE!" 

Caroline recently earned her wristband at the Y, which means she is an independent swimmer and can go down the waterslides. We are proud and she is thrilled. She is also reading very well. Evy is as sweet and loving as ever. Still obsessed with princesses, and it is pretty darn precious. They are two lovable and loved little girls. 

And in June, Tolia returned for the Summer. 

There is so much to say about our summer so far. It is very good and almost startling how easily Tolia fits into our family. His presence is a crazy blessing. He, too, is very loving. He is fun, funny and helpful. He is crazy-smart and I know that he has a very bright future. 

We have swum, ridden bikes and go-karts. We have picked fruit, which he loves: strawberries, cherries (his favorite), raspberries, blueberries and nectarines. He has probably eaten more watermelon than a human should eat. He and Dave have played a ton of  just a few video games. He has hung out with his best American bud, C. We all went on a retreat with our small group from church, and had a great time. We're looking forward to a few days at the Jersey shore coming up soon. The end of the summer will come too soon. 

The adoption is progressing s-l-o-w-l-y. We'd love prayers on that front!

That's all for now. I will publish this now before the perfectionist in me takes over. Thanks for reading!