Brotherly love

We have been home 8 months and 2 days... yep, I'm still counting. Why? Because we haven't felt like a family yet. I mean we are a family, we do family things- we live together, eat together, go on vacation but we haven't felt like a "real" family.

I've been counting the days because I cannot wait for life to feel "normal" again. Igor has had a terrible time moving from being an only child to a big brother. Igor has also had to deal with a tremendous amount of orphanage dust this year... it's hard to run from your past and it's really hard to deal with your past when you are only 7 years old.

I have hope that our new "normal" is just around the corner. Today, Igor helped Henry put on his shorts. It was so sweet to hear Igor explaining to Henry how to get dressed. Tonight Igor asked me to take Henry out of the swing so they could play on the slide together. I nearly dropped my watering can! A few minutes later Rob came outside and asked, "Are they playing together?" Honestly, Igor has tolerated Henry so Rob and I were very surprised the boys were playing together. After playing I put them in the bath together (a risky move because Henry irritates Igor in the bath). I washed Igor's hair and Henry rinsed Igor's hair. I was amazed! Igor was letting Henry rinse his hair. Even after all the shampoo was out of Igor's hair he allowed Henry to continue to pour water on his head. Henry was delighted that Igor was allowing him to help in the bath.

So, tonight I have hope that after 8 months and 2 days we are quickly approaching a new normal.