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Slow but steady

Moses is definitely settling into family life. He loves saying "Amari!" at night when we put him to bed (I love you!) and has started volunteering hugs. He has started giving full "teeth-smiles" (as I call them) - true joy and delight smiles, not just "yeah, I'm pretty happy" smiles. (He's always been a happy kiddo but there's definitely more freedom in him now to just be a kid who is having fun.)

The kids have been fighting more but also more interested in each other.

But one thing has become apparent: he has never been taught to respect, listen to, or obey women. In fact, in front of his friends, my voice could simply be the wind in his hair... he simply ignores me. This means that we haven't spent time at Home of Love yet as a family (he sees his friends daily at school still). And it means that Daddy has to stay on top of his game when he's home to help Moses learn to respect me and obey me. It also means that I have to be the mommy with a lot of "no's" and discipline...

But overall, we're doing great! It's fun to see the family knitting together in such a slowly-but-surely manner. By the time the baby is born in September, we will hopefully be bonded enough that the new person in the family will not completely throw everyone off... just slightly throw everyone off.. ;-P

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