As 2021 comes to an end, it’s hard to believe we are still in a pandemic and that COVID cases are spiking again. This year has not been easy for so many of our family and friends. With aching hearts we continue to remind ourselves to be thankful for every moment of joy that the year has brought us. And at top of our list is little Rafa, whose smiles and laughter are pure delight.

But little Rafa is not so little anymore. At almost 11 months old, he is almost 25 lbs and wearing 18 month clothing. He is incredibly curious and crawls at rapid speed when something he wants is in sight - like a ball, Ori’s new LOL doll, or an open toddler gate. He hasn’t made it out a gate yet, but he's tested the chewability of Ori’s rainbow marker bag on more than one occasion. In truth, he tests the chewability of just about everything he encounters, from the speaker system to oak leaves. He has yet to meet something he wasn’t willing to chew twice!

Ori is still just as obsessed with her little brother as she was on day one. She showers him with love and attention and tries to make him laugh every chance she gets. Thankfully, Rafa smiles and laughs at all of her jokes. Ori has also taken it upon herself to teach Rafa new words. Just today she excitedly told us that he now says, “Papa,” bringing his discernible total to four words: Baba, Dada, Mama, and Papa. Thankfully Ori didn’t feel as snubbed as I did that half of his words meant Dad, though it's unclear how much meaning we should attribute to any of what he says at this point.

Unfortunately, there has not been a lot of movement in the adoption finalization since our last update. The birthmother’s situation is complicated and so the adoption case is not straightforward. This has resulted in the legal team being asked to provide a lot of additional information for the court. And it turns out that each bit of information takes time to find. The hearings scheduled this year for the termination of parental rights and finalization came and went, and we do not know when they will be rescheduled. No one believes our adoption is at risk, and so we continue to be patient. We also continue to emphasize our desire for a path that is beneficial to everyone - not just Rafa and us, but also his birthmother.

We thank all of you for continuing to follow our adoption journey, and for your emotional and financial support. We know that this journey is not yet over, and appreciate that there are so many out there helping us along the way.