**If you haven't seen the news, the people of Guatemala could really use your help. They were hit with a tropical storm that has caused a lot of destruction and many deaths. I emailed Will's foster family a few days ago but haven't heard back from them yet.
Click here to read the story about the situation and see shocking photos of a sinkhole that developed as a result of the storm.**
Back when our kids were first learning to talk, we taught them to answer simple questions. There was the typical, "What's your name?" and, "How old are you?" We also threw in, "Where were you born?" In part we taught them this because, still to this day, is it just too darn cute to hear them try to pronounce "Guatemala". More importantly, it was the simplest way we could begin to introduce them to their roots and open the door for them to start asking us questions.
For the past year or so, Will randomly would say to whoever is listening, "I was born in Guatemala." We would agree and he would go off to doing whatever he was doing. Maybe an hour would pass or maybe a whole week before we would hear again, "I was born in Guatemala."
Being the talker that he is, it was no surprise that this conversation would progress. And it has. Lately it has turned into him randomly telling us several times a day, "I was a baby when I was in Guatemala. You had to hold me. I couldn't walk. I cried. I couldn't eat. I drank from a bottle. I drank milk." I usually follow up his statements with some information about living with his foster family, or his birthparents, or how we traveled to Guatemala to adopt him. He usually ignores me and goes on to tell me about how he got his beloved (stuffed) dino that he sleeps with every night when he was in Guatemala. I am sure some of the information I tell him is sinking in but mainly at this age, he is just making connections.
He loves to talk about when he was a baby and he loves to talk about his family. To anyone he meets, or any random stranger that says hello to him when we are out and about, he points to Marcus and says, "This is my brother Marcus." On rare occasions Greg and I are lucky enough to have him introduce us as his Daddy and Mommy as well.
In our family, we read books about adoption regularly. Also in our rotation are a couple books about Guatemala. (If you are looking for an introductory book on Guatemala, I recommend
Guatemala ABC's.) I dropped the ball on putting together "Life Books", or the adopted child's version of a baby book, for my kids. (According to Marcus's Life Book, he is still in Guatemala and Will's book was never started.) I know at the age of three - and being the complete motormouth that he is - Will is happy and open to talk about his past and his adoption. I always hope we have this open communication in our family.
