Happy Gotcha Day, Michael!

How has it been one year already?

At the same time...how has it only been one year?

When I started looking back at photos from the day we met Michael, I was astounded. When I picked him up for the first time that day, I remember he felt enormous. I didn't know how we were going to carry him all over Guangzhou for two weeks--and then after we got home.

Then I look at these photos from our China trip and he looks so small. So now he must be bigger than enormous.

Maybe I should have been paying attention when he started calling himself a big boy months ago.

Michael is big in all kinds of ways. He's full of energy, opinions, and determination. Don't try to discuss colors or letters with him. That is just not his thing--well, unless he's picking which color lollipop he wants. But he'll talk on and on about vehicles or whose turn it is to play with the bullet train or about why he needs a fifth book at bedtime. And he has such a big heart, giving hugs whenever we say goodbye to friends and family.

He also loves his food. (Here he's eating ice cream with chopsticks.)

He loves being outside.

He has become a water fountain afficionado.

And he has figured out how to cheese for the camera--and sometimes he'll treat me to one of those smiles.

This is going to sound silly, but one of the hardest adjustments for Michael and me was that he had been living in an entirely childproof environment in the orphanage. Suddenly he had to learn that some things were off-limits. He couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to open the oven to check on the food, for example. And the standard childproofing devices? Well, they were a joke for a child who casually pulled a hinge out of a door one afternoon just weeks after we arrived home.

It's amazing how quickly a 2-year-old learns. Anything Michael hasn't figured out on his own or in preschool (which he started attending three days a week in June) he's picked up from his big brother.

The transition from one child to two...well, I wouldn't say it was easy. We have two amazing children, each of whom made a beautiful transition to our family. But don't let anyone ever tell you one plus one equals two.

It equals something truly wonderful, something we're so blessed to experience every day, but it's way more than two. Just look at the laundry, listen to the noise level, and experience the fun. Was it love at first sight for both of these boys? I'm not so sure. But they love each other deeply now, and they really have a very close friendship--along with all the other brother moments they have.

I mean, just look at the joy they find in each other (and while wearing Mama and Baba's shoes).

It's hard to believe that last Aug. 22 we were just getting to know this personality-packed little guy.

He didn't have much to say then, and we thought maybe he was quiet. We were curious to see how he would get along with his big brother.

Then we got home and found out that Michael was only quiet compared to what he calls "Michaeldykles" (motorcycles). Quiet was just his persona on airplane flights. He hit the tarmac in the U.S. running and never stopped.

Last night I made Michael a cake. At the last minute, I decided to make it in the shape of China--a rough approximation--and insert lollipops for the boys' provinces.

This morning I showed Michael the cake and he tried to take the lollipops out. Then he noticed the chicken noodle soup I was cooking for their lunches and his face lit up with excitement. "Doop! Doop!" he shouted.

We are definitely more fans of soup than of cake, though Michael does enjoy baked goods.

When I showed the cake to Louis, I told him, "It's in the shape of China."

"Yes," he said, and he paused. I thought he was probably noticing that I hadn't done a good job with the eastern edge, or maybe he was wondering why I had forgotten to include Taiwan.

"Mama," Louis said, "for my Gotcha Day will you make me a cake in the shape of a hedgehog and give it a lollipop for its nose?"

Of course I agreed. So tune in for the hedgehog cake in December.

Then tonight, as luck would have it, we all got caught in traffic, ended up having to eat dinner out instead of in, and all the boys wanted tonight were lollipops--not cake. They could not be more different in many ways, but you can really see God's hand in bringing these two brothers together.

Happy Gotcha Day, Michael! We are so very blessed to be your parents, and to watch you grow and become an even bigger boy every day.