Sweet William

William has struggled with breathing all his life. Even though his breathing is improving now, his early days must have been pretty awful. Sadly, having to fight for air appears to have  left him with some marked delays. But this little guy is still working hard to become a "big boy" in the Home. Here he is practising standing up. His ayi is giving lots of support, and you can see his head is still quite floppy for a child of his age. If he tries to look around him, he has lots of trouble controlling his head movement. But look at how much stronger his legs are these days!

Balance and strength are both big challenges for William, so he cannot stand or even sit unsupported yet. Daily physio sessions and a whole lot of practise makes a difference though. While it's true that William takes much longer than most children to reach his milestones,  it feels just as sweet when he gets there. You go for it, William!

Happy Birthday Jesse

It's Jesse's birthday, and so it's time for another party. Of course, there has to be a beautiful cake, lots of singing, and lots of excitement. Jesse uses his fingertips to check out his cake.

It's Jesse's day, and doesn't he look the star of the show. He's sitting up very straight and tall while everyone sings Happy Birthday and wishes him well. He is such a precious child - it is our great hope that a family will recognize his beautiful soul and adopt him. Imagine...Jesse could be celebrating his next birthday as somebody's son. Wouldn't that be amazing!

And now - let the cake eating begin!!! If you love cream and sugar, these cakes are pretty wonderful. And they have fruit on top, so they are even a little bit healthy! Well.... perhaps if you only ate the fruit. But hey, birthdays are not the time to start a health kick.

Happy Birthday Jesse. May your life be full of blessings.

More Christmas mayhem

We know there have been plenty of Christmas pictures here already, but there are a few more which are too cute not to share. It was really such a fun celebration, and of course our supporters were a big part of it. We certainly know that without everyone out there, there would be no celebration, no gifts, and no Butterfly Home. So, thank you everyone!

Every boy needs a football, right? Kicking is actually a pretty tricky skill for a one year old to master. You have to be able to balance on one foot while you kick with the other one. Young Paul is such a well coordinated child that we think he will get the hang of it quite quickly.

 This is a lovely picture of Jesse starting to find out about his new toy. He is using his hands to carefully explore. There was a time when Jesse was so anxious about touching new things - look how far he has come! We love this boy so much, and we really hope that a family will claim him as their son. They will be so blessed: he is a wonderful little boy.

 Sarah is watching carefully to see what is inside her gift. Photographing her from above shows her lovely eyelashes - so pretty.

William enjoying a Christmas cuddle. His eyes are wide as he takes in all the excitement.

Funny little Sarah likes to sit inside boxes - and there were plenty of boxes available for her after Christmas presents were unwrapped. Though this one proved to be a little small for comfort!  And doesn't she look grown up in her little jean leggings?

Party time.

Recently William and Paul both celebrated their first birthdays. You would never guess they are so close in age if you glanced at them side by side. Paul is developing typically and he is learning new things every day. He's robust and active, with an appetite for fun and food.
William on the other hand struggles with the smallest things. He's had stridor and difficulty breathing all his life. His physical development is at about the level of a 3 month old - he can't even hold his head up properly yet. The hard truth is that there are a lot of things William will never do.  We know he might never run or jump or kick a ball - but that doesn't mean he can't take centre stage when he is the birthday boy!
And it was an extra special celebration for our William on party day. He actually managed to eat some of the very extravagant  birthday cake. It was a wonderful moment, as this tiny guy usually takes all his calories as liquids. Maybe he just got caught up with the excitement of the party and had a wild and crazy moment. Or maybe this is a sign of things to come. We will take it either way - we love celebrating our kids achievements, big or small.

It was a great party. The cake was over-the-top (though over-the-top is standard here - you'd think we would get used to it). The kids were all excited and the grown ups were just a bit giddy too. Birthdays always make everyone feel a bit emotional. After all these kids have been through, it's a real privilege to able to honour our precious one year old boys on their birthdays.

Here's William, getting comfortable and enjoying all the action.

A difficult decision for Paul - he has food, presents and a balloon. What to do first?

    

There seems to be a bit of a theme in Paul's pictures. Let's just say he was happy with the catering arrangements. You might notice that the ayis are always willing to keep his spoon topped up. Food in this culture is very closely linked to love. Feeding some-one is not just a practical task - it's a way to show love.  Paul's ayi is not only making sure he doesn't leave the table hungry. She's showing him that she loves him very much.

Poor William - this is not his best angle, but it was too cute to leave out. Apparently having a giant Pooh Bear hovering over you takes a bit of getting used to! 

Pink is for girls - right?

I know we have been celebrating Finlay's pink lips and fingertips .... but some of our other boys are pretty in pink too. It's a cute cultural difference that pink is not necessarily a girls colour here. Nor is purple. So be warned - if you come for a visit, don't ever assume that a baby all dressed in pink or purple is a little girl. Our ayis lovingly pick out clothing for "their" babies - making sure they fit well, and look cute and cosy.  But colour has nothing to do with the selection process, as you can see!

Here is handsome Jonathon, before he moved to foster care. He is looking dashing in candy pink.

 

And here is Paul in sweet pastel stripes. You might notice that he is eating his snack with relish - this is typical Paul! He loves his snacks!

This one shows little William, enjoying a tender moment with his ayi. On this day, he was wearing a soft fleecy pink romper, and looking very cosy in it.

  And this is such a cute shot of William with Paul, Hannah, Swallow and Angel. It especially makes me smile to see Paul's wonderful purple vest.

So next time you see a referral picture of a baby boy in pink or purple - it's probably not because there weren't any other colours available. Babies wear any colour at all here, and they always look cute!

Autumn days

The weather in our city is a little ....... extreme. In summertime every day is hot, hot, hot. Not only hot, it's terribly humid. You have to drinks lots, because you sweat lots. I know - it's not very polite, but it's a fact of life if you live in this city.

Then in wintertime, suddenly it's freezing. You find yourself rummaging around for all that really unattractive thermal underwear which you NEVER imagined you would need again. Your breath comes out as a frosty cloud, and that's even before you go outside.

So springtime and autumn are welcome relief from the two extremes. And right now, we are enjoying the pulse of a more outdoorsy routine. Lots of walks in the pushers, lots of swinging, lots of relaxed autumn days. I think you can tell from the pictures that the babies enjoy it too.