Keeping It In The Family

Adoption is a funny thing. You become so focussed on the process itself that you forget about what it is that you are actually doing. Because I didn't just adopt a set of parents... I adopted two whole new sets of families.

I have three new grandparents, three new uncles, three new aunts, two new cousins, not to mention my parent's combined 17 aunts and uncles and over 30 cousins. That's a lot for one 12 month old kid to absorb. So I decided to set up a plan where I would meet my family... but a little bit at a time.

The first to come would be my Daddy's sister Sandy. She brought along my cousin Nicole. She's 16 and about to begin her junior year in high school.

My aunt Sandy is awesome. She talks to me a lot in a funny voice and you can tell that she's experienced with little kids because she never gets tired or frustrated. Even 3 days ago when I pooped my diapers twice in a matter of 4 minutes. She reacted like it was Christmas morning and she was opening presents.

Aunt Sandy lives in Texas with my uncle Ken and Nicole. She's a pharmacist and my uncle Ken is a college professor. Aunt Sandy said that she was going to invite me out to Texas next summer so I could spend a couple of weeks with her and her family. Mommy said that she would have to think about it... Daddy said that 2 weeks seemed too short a time for visiting a state as big as Texas.

Three days later, Abuelita Angie also came for a visit. She flew in all the way from Puerto Rico just to meet me. I felt like I already knew her because I would see her everyday on the computer. Abuelita also said that she wanted to take me back home with her to Puerto Rico so I could meet my Abuelo Papo and go horse-back riding with my Uncle Andres.

Everybody is really excited to meet me and they act like they've known me my entire life. I don't know how long they can keep this up but all of this attention is really making me feel good. For the longest time I've felt like an outsider that didn't really belong anywhere. And now I feel like I'm a part of something special.

Daddy calls it the power of the new infant... Mommy just calls it family.
Um... I don't know about this Michele. Number one, you're pregnant... number two, you're married to Daddy's best friend...
Oh, what the heck. Go ahead and give us a smooch. But make it quick.
Okay... I'm going to show all of you how to let Mommy know that you are full and do not wish to eat anymore breakfast. Step 1... pretend you are a robot and take your last bite and eat it without any expression on your face.
Step 2... bring that robot to life and let her know that you will not be accepting anymore food from her.
If she insists on continuing to try to feed you, move on to step 3... applying the world famous back breaker defense system. Warning: This move requires that you stretch for at least 15 minutes before attempting.
Any questions?
Uh... Mommy? This is going to sound crazy but lately I've been feeling like if people are watching every move I make. Is that the craziest paranoid stuff you've ever heard or what?
The secret to swallowing your entire arm is patience and discipline. Besides, once you get past the wrist, it's all down-hill from there.
Whenever I see a girl that interests me I just simply roll up to her and whistle as loud as I can...
If she turns around then I give her my patented mack-daddy papito chulo smile. After that it's like shooting fish in a barrel, baby.
Am I full? Uh... let me check.
Well, peek-a-boo to you too.
Are all the women in Puerto Rico as fun as you, Abuelita Angie? No wonder Daddy likes it so much over there.