weekly

213 Days!

August 9, 2018August 9, 2018by Sheridan JohnsonLeave a Comment

malachi 7

Y’all has 7 months really passed by? WOW! It’s been so so busy this summer, and so many changes have actually happened with Malachi within the last two weeks!

It’s hilarious that he actually does NOT want to crawl properly (he always falls down and does like a superman position in order to not do it right) but he usually gets to what he wants by turning precisely in the right direction and streeeetcchiiinnggg his long body to reach the object he is wanting.

He is getting SO big, so fast and I swear with the way things are looking (as he is seriously trying to already pull up on stuff) he might just be walking before he crawls! I have been trying to keep up with weekly pictures of him, because when he turns one, I want to make a collage for him and hang it up in his room.

Weight: 20 pounds (but feels like 40 when you are carrying him all.day.long) LOL.

Length:27 inches taken at home

Likes:

-To be held! This teething machine has stuck to me like glue lately!
-To be loud! I swear he thinks the way to be heard in this loud house of ours is to scream! Lol!
-To eat! He literally doesn’t want ANYTHING to do with baby food, and will eat smushed up table food, or just taste flavors of different foods!
-To suck his thumb when he is sleeping! I was a thumb sucker (and it did a major number on my teeth–sorry mom–but I am glad that he uses it just for nap/bed time and he doesn’t keep it in his mouth all the time).
-His bath! He recently learned how to splash and it is his favorite thing!!

Dislikes:
– When are out of sight and he thinks he is by himself–cue the elephant tears!
– Getting dressed/undressed! He still doesn’t like the fact that people have to wear clothes!

Teeth: He has gotten 2 teeth in the past 2 days! Poor kid!! But yay, all that drooling and fussiness will hopefully subside soon once these pop through!

Language:
He says mama when he is with Shane and won’t do it for me, lol–but he hasn’t really said any more words. He is trying to sign milk and more, but hasn’t gotten that fully either! He definitely know when you sign those two things to him though!

Milestones: He just started to pick up his back left leg to try to crawl to what he wanted but won’t fully do it yet, and he walked in a walker at my parents house (yay!) and he officially is a belly sleeper! Shane and I both are (as are all of our older 4 kids) so we knew it would probably be in his future!

Upcoming:

MD appt: 9 month well check! And I need to schedule a dental visit now that he has some teeth!

I will leave you with a couple of adorable pictures! Thanks for stopping by!

foster, Uncategorized, weekly

Baby girl sees her parents!

August 21, 2016August 21, 2016by Sheridan Johnson7 Comments

visitsitation

I remember when we were in the hospital signing initial paperwork, the CPS lady started telling Shane and I that we had to also take baby girl to see her parents weekly due to court orders, and I started thinking, okay I have two foster kids, two weekly visits, and a ton of appointments to have to make (6 doctors in total) for baby girl.

So logically I scheduled for both kids to have the same time (1:30-2:30) every Tuesday at the same location, to make it easier for everyone. We still have to drive an hour there and an hour back, but it seemed to work best.

Well, it turned out that baby girl had her first follow-up eye exam (see more about that in my post here) in San Antonio, and so we just met at the CPS location that her legal worker was at, to make it easier for both parents and us and it worked. The parents waited until the appointment was over, which actually caused the first visit to be over an hour late, but we all were patient and make it happen.

The difference between our foster childrens legal workers (what a major tongue twister!!), is experience and professionalism. Baby girls legal worker is very professional and seems to know a lot of what he is talking about, and he tries to communicate with both the parents and Shane and I as much as possible. I am so glad to see the right way of how things should be done.

This time, we don’t actually get to meet the parents. I am assuming that is written in court documents, because her legal worker makes sure that we go in one door on one side of the building, while they go in the complete opposite way. Given the history of both mom and dad, I think this the best option, but one day I would like the chance to meet them and let them know that baby girl is in great care, and that we are here to help in any way possible.

After the first visit was over and her legal worker brought baby girl back to me, the parents had changed her outfit, and bought her a lot of clothes that they said they wanted to give to us to take home and use for her. It was a nice gesture of them.

The second and third visits are relatively the same, but after the second visit the legal worker state that the parents wanted to know what they could help us with (if anything at all). I told them that her diapers are her biggest expense (she goes through about 8-10 a day), and that we pretty well stocked on everything else (clothes, formula, wipes, bottles, etc), but I thought that it was nice that they asked. At the end of the third visit, the legal worker brings us back 2 packages of newborn diapers, more clothes for the baby, and a box of wipes. It was very nice to see how much they love and care for their baby girl.

I am not excusing anything that they have done to put them in the position that they are in right now, but forgiveness is so important throughout this journey, and it’s so good to know that they truly do love their child. It makes everything that much easier, knowing that they know they might never get her back, but are going to love her and cherish the moments that they get with her, every week.

I hope that throughout these next few months, with whatever the court decides should happen with this case, that the parents remain this involved in the case and attend each weekly visit, as scheduled. I know it means a lot to baby girl to hear familiar voices and know that she is loved by them as well.

She does appear to be a little fussy after each visit, but nothing that cannot be calmed and soothed by a little rocking and love.

I will definitely keep you updated on any major hearings that could change the route that this journey is going, but for now… please pray for both baby girl so continue to grow and heal and get stronger every day, and for her parents to lean towards God in this difficult time and know that whatever temptation that may come in their way, that they can resist it.

foster, meetandgreet

The first Visit

July 20, 2016July 20, 2016by Sheridan Johnson9 Comments

first

Well yesterday was the first official visit with our foster child and his parents. Well, only one parent showed up, but it was really nice and I was super nervous beforehand, not knowing how everything would go.

You see, the thing about this foster process, is that we never really know what to expect or what we are about to walk into. We know a general synopsis of how it should go, but it never goes that way.

I called his legal worker to let him know that we (me and little man) were there at the office, and I thought he was going to have the supervised room for his parents already set and ready to go when I walk in, and I could just hand him little man and say “see you in an hour”… ya, not what happened at all.

I had to wait in the waiting room while his legal worker was getting the room for the visit(with 2 other people.. one of them being his parent), so I had no way to avoid communication and just kind of introduced myself, started talking about little man and all of the advancements he has made in this last month, and all the sign language he knows and is learning. It felt good in my heart that when little man saw his parent, he started smiling and acting shy and leaning into me. He knows who his parents still are, and that’s what is important, especially in this situation.

I watched how they interacted for a little bit from a double-sided window, and how little man was genuinely having a good time, and it felt so good to watch their relationship start to develop again from a different perspective now. I am so glad that we can help his parent(s) by watching their precious little boy, while they fix what they need to fix in their life, before he goes back. An hour went by so fast and he and I both were happy to reunite once it was over. His parent was so nice and I was glad that we met.

I have no doubt in my mind that he will be returning home to them in 6-12 months. We pray hard every day for both little man and his parents that they follow Gods path for their lives, and see this as a second chance at parenting and their own lives, to get clean and stay healthy. We ask if you would please join us in prayer for them as well, as it would be greatly appreciated.

So cheers to the first visit down, and many more to go(they are weekly)!