It's been 2 weeks!

I really had planned on updating how things were going daily once P arrived but obviously I under estimated what it was like to have 4 kids! Whew! So, we decided on a name for P! He is attached his current name so we are using it as his middle name & giving him a new first name. He never had a middle name so we explained to him how all of us have a first & middle name & we want him to have 2 names as well since he is part of our family now. After much debate, we decided on Noah Pedro Williams. Gage was NOT a fan of Noah, he wanted Joshua, so he refuses to say Noah. We try to use Noah Pedro as much as possible but a lot of time we still just say Pedro because we were use to it as well. At first he would correct us & just say his name is Pedro. We would only use Pedro when he requested. Now he never corrects us when we use both names but occasionally does if we just say Noah. At night when I get his pj's on, I always just use Noah when we are looking for his arms/legs/head to put his clothes on. If I forget to do it, he tells me to say, "Noah, where is your head"? So, he is slowly warming up to the new name. We know it's a lot of change at once so we are taking his cues on it. He may always want Pedro & that will be fine but legally he will be Noah Pedro in 6 month! Pedro has been doing AMAZING at the transition into our home. My brother met him the 2nd day he lived with us & commented how he acts as if he has always lived here. It has felt so natural. He seriously is a perfect fit for our family. We are learning more about him everyday. He has tested boundaries. One night was a nightmare! He refused to settle down for bed & it was an hour & a half long battle. James & I were nervous it was going to be like that every night. However, we received advice from a friend, foster mom, & our caseworker on suggestions. We now have a bedtime routine that is working. We found out he takes a LONG time to transition from playtime to bedtime. So, at 6:30pm, I give him a bath. 7:00pm we pick up toys & then we gets one on one mommy time. 7:30pm him & daddy lay in his bed & watch TV. 8:00pm I release daddy & do his bedtime story & prayers. I stay by his bed until he falls asleep which usually takes only about 5-15 minutes. Works great! He is just such a sweet child. He is affectionate, happy, funny, friendly, polite, & loves to help. He still has TONS of energy but will sit to play on my ipad when I need him to calm down. He is in the "why" stage which drives me CRAZY! He also says "What?" all the time! He asks for food all day as well! He loves his siblings & puppy...he still can not remember Layla's name! Potty training has not been going well. We were warned he may regress with the change so I am not pushing it until summer begins & he has had more time to adjust. He has started school & just the last 2 days has not cried for me when I drop him off but he still makes me walk him to class every morning. he rides the bus home with Autumn & he enjoys that. He loves buying school lunches & sits with Autumn * her nurse in the cafeteria. He calls Autumn's nurse "the office" I guess he hears nurses office at school or something? Really not sure where he came up with it. He is just so precious! We have had to do about 4 "time-ins" since he has been here. They recommend time-in instead of time-out because separating a child who is trying to attach is not good so his time-ins are in the same room as we are in but the same concept. One day a 5 minute time-in took 20 minutes because he would not stay! They are mainly for not listening to us & doing something we've warned him not to do multiple times. He is understanding what the rules are. Like the other day I was getting him out of the bath. He loves to pour water over his head over & over. Before I get him out I tell him how many more times he can do it then we need to put the cup away. The other day I told him 5 more times, he did 5 more times & then I told him to put the cup down. He started to fill the cup over & over to throw the water & soaked me in the process. I took the cup away & then told him that tomorrow he would not be allowed to use the cup because he did not stop when mommy told him to. So, the next night he asked for the cup & I told him no. He said, "Because I got mommy wet when I did not listen". Well, he had a toy in his tub that he could fill with water so he was using it instead of the cup. When I told him he could do it 3 more times then has to stop, he obeyed & said "I don't get mommy wet". I was proud of him for understanding what he did wrong & then making a good choice not to do it again. The adjustment for me has been challenging. I remember going from 1 to 2 kids was hard but then 2 to 3 did not seem too bad except for all of the adjustments with Autumn & her medical stuff but the family dynamic seemed pretty much the same. Going from 3 to 4 has me exhausted! It's not like bringing home a baby who can not walk or talk right away. This one is ALL over the place, constantly talking, & constantly wanting attention. I also noticed the huge difference in the household chores. There is more laundry, more dishes, & I am still adjusting to how much more food I need to cook each night & the grocery bill our first week was $300! Week 2 was another $180! Even though we were a family of 5 before he came, Autumn does not eat by mouth & Gage rarely eats anything so we had it easy. Noah eats SO much! He has even inspired Gage to try new things which is awesome! I was already busy of course with the 3 kids but now Noah Pedro has the adoption visits & I've been busy making calls for his medical, etc. I actually had to take naps the first week he was here when James was up because I was so tired, I rarely nap! I even miss my other kids at times. I honestly have spent little time with Autumn these past 2 weeks. She is content watching TV in her room so she has not noticed but I have. Gage has been off the video games & playing outside more with Pedro which is great but I have not been able to have my weekend cuddles with him at night when James is working. Madison has been a great big sister & I could not do it without her help on the weekends. She has been downstairs with us more but the first week she had practice every night so I rarely saw her but this week we've spent more time together. It's been an adjustment on all of us, even daddy has had to get less sleep to help watch kids while I run the others around to different appts. It has all been worth it though! To hear him call me mommy is the sweetest sound to my ears. To see him happy & know that he will be safe the rest of his life & have a family to love him is priceless. To see him interact with Madison, Gage, & Autumn is so much fun to watch. He had a rough start to his life & he will have challenges to overcome throughout the years but right now he's just a joyful little boy who has brought so much happiness back into our home & has brought us all closer together.