Happy Friday! 😀
Today is the end of our fourth week in USCIS (U.S. Cizitenship & Immigration Services), which means there is a very good chance we will receive a very exciting email within the next couple of weeks! Most families spend 4-6 weeks in USCIS before they’re I-600 form is approved, so we may be reeeeally close to getting some reeeeally great news in our inbox any moment!
After USCIS, there’s (usually) only 1-2 weeks of appointments (for Steevenson) and travel planning (for us), so our homecoming trip window could really be coming into focus soon! 😀
I guess it’s time to buy (and figure out how to use!) a car seat. 😉 I think we’ve settled on this Britax, but I’ve also heard great things about this Diono. If you have any thoughts on which one we should go with, I’d love to hear them!
On the home front, the folks from The Cottage Journal came over to photograph our house about a year ago and the issue they’re in is on newsstands now. Here’s a pic of the cutie cover:
I was especially touched by the title of the article and that the writer (sweet Katie Wood) included so much about our sweet Sonny.
When I saw that Katie said we had “championed” patience in the subtitle, my initial reaction was: “Oh, gosh! I wish!“. 😀
I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m the most impatient person in the world sometimes! But here’s what’s really neat: the same day I read that subtitle, Ephesians 3:20 also popped up on a page in front of me:
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
What a great reminder that just because we don’t always feel like we “do patience well”, doesn’t mean It isn’t right there within us…working…accomplishing…time and again. 🙂
Oh my goodness you don’t give yourself enough credit. You have waited longer than most people I know for your precious son. So excited for your family and I don’t even know you. You are so close. I’m patiently checking your blog everyday for an update?
Diono all the way! I’ve owned a britax and it was fine but the diono we now own is soooo great! Skinny. Strong. Easy to use and can rear face for a LONG time! Research extended rear facing in car seats and you’ll find out why people do it. My son is almost four and we are still going strong backwards! Hoping to make it to age five like they require in other countries. Sooo excited for you that VERY SOON your little man will be home with you.
Amen for extended rear facing!!! (Also keeping your kid in a 5 point harness as long as possible) look up car seat for littles blog… http://csftl.org They have TONS of info and reccomendation/reviews. But I have heard amazing things about the Diono
We kept our daughter in a 5 point harness until she was 7. Just for extra security. Now she is just sitting on the booster seat part.
We only use Britax car seats – all 3 of my kids are in them (5 yo and 2 yo forward facing Boulevards and 1 yo rear facing Boulevard). I LOVE Britax and every car seat inspection site we’ve visited praises them like crazy. If e’s small (I seem to remember you saying he was – maybe I’m wrong?) then I’d probably push for a 5 pt harness seat but be advised, it’ll likely be a hard sell either way. Our son was adopted from Korea and they don’t have car seat laws there so our car was his first experience with being strapped in… it did not go great! You may have to try a few options to get him comfortable and let’s face it, the best seat fit is the one he and you will use properly. Good luck!
I’m glad your waiting time is almost over! Congrats on the magazine!
Beth
We love our Diono! It feels so sturdy, our son is comfy, extended rear facing…
I don’t think you could go wrong with either one, though.
Can’t wait for you to bring sonny home!
I hope you get the news you are waiting to hear very soon and congratulations on the magazine article! Great news!
We have a Diono and a britax. Honestly I love both but the diono can be a bear to install in certain vehicles and the britax has always been so easy. You really can’t go wrong with either. So excited for you sweetie to be coming home so soon!
Congrats on the magazine feature! And so exciting to know your waiting is almost over. Patience….it’s a virtue God develops in us. You are probably more patient than you used to be. Having children was my biggest patience developer (lol) but I still have more learning to go (obviously since I’m having to be patient for the right time to move to the farm!). I’m so excited for you! God bless and may time fly quickly to your bring home date!
Love this! As for the car seats, we went with Britax but are now switching to diono for our second. The extended rear facing comfort of the Diono is what sold us. Good luck mama! Xo
Layla,
I’m not sure which is the better of the two car seats but rear facing is what we have to use where I live in Canada.
That sure is a a lot of excitement with Sonny’s news, and Cottage Living. I’m so happy for you. I think you have helped define the word ‘patience’.
Yay, the wait is almost over! You have shown great patience in this long wait, there’s no denying that.
Congrats on the magazine article – I’m not familiar with that magazine, but will be searching for it now!
( I lost the battle on your fireplace BTW – hubs won with his pick. 🙁 But your brick is going on the outside of our house for all the world to see! )
And I have no experience with car seats these days, my babes are almost your age! 😉
I picked up the magazine last week and was flipping through it when I say the pics of your house – so I immediately purchased it! Such a sweet surprise. So excited for you guys that you will be bringing sweet Sonny home soon. God is good!
We have had 6 Britax seats and have loved them. (Two infant seats and 4 convertible Boulevard seats) Their customer service is EXCELLENT!!! That being said this past June we needed a big kid booster style carseat. We debated between a five point and seatbelt version. I took my son to the store and put ALL of the carseats on the floor that I read rated well and he tried them all out. He ended up loving the Chico Keyfit because the cupholders and arm rests were better than the Britax and it had a zip off cover. My kid sweats…. A LOT…. so this was a nice feature. It only comes in seat belt thought. If he was any younger than 5 it would have been the britax five point for sure. Can’t go wrong with Britax! 🙂
I’m so excited for you! We had a the
Britax seat with the first child and it was a good seat but quite bulky. We switch to three dionos when my twins came along because you can fit three across so easily. They are heavy steel and sturdy, but sleek and take up so much less space!
Good luck! I can’t wait to see that guy in your arms!
What exciting news! As for car seat advice I recommend joining the Facebook group Carseats for the Littles. They can give seat recommendations based off of your child’s height and weight and the model of car you drive.
I was just thinking of your family this morning and that you have waiting so long for your precious little boy and how you have faithfully kept us informed – patience – yes you do it well, Layla!
I am way past the car seat stage, so no suggestions for which one to choose. But you must get that boy a fishing rod and reel!
I love our diono. It also folds to take it on the plane and love the added protection of the steel cage. The slim profile is great as well so you can get 2 other people comfortably in the back of the car with the car seat. Originally had a different britax and wished we had bought the diono from the start.
So excited for you and your family. Having adopted a child, I can tell you there is nothing like it. Everyone says he was blessed to be in our family but really we are the blessed ones.
As far as car seat, Diono all the way. Have had both buy love the narrowness and heavy duty of the Diono.
Impatiently waiting on your behalf for news soon!!!! Lol
We love our Dinio but it is very large in comparison to other car seats. I would suggest researching your vehicle and the model of car seats you are looking at. Some need slight modifications (cushions, etc) underneath to make sure it will work in your vehicle. Going to look at them at the store is always helpful too. Good luck and congratulations!
I have happy tears in my eyes for you right now.
Blessings to your family!
Love love love our Diono Radian. My sister-in-law recommended it to us and we absolutely love it. Have tried Britax and other brands when traveling in relatives’ vehicles and much prefer the Diono. My favorite thing about it (other than it being extremely sturdy and safe) is that it’s very slim, so we can still fit two other people comfortably in the back seat of my sedan along with it. (We can’t do that in my husband’s car with a bulkier car seat.) I used a promo code and got it from Kohl’s. We also had the fire station here install ours and it’s in there so snug that it can barely wiggle at all, so if your fire stations offer that service, I would definitely recommend it no matter which car seat you end up with! Congratulations on being able to bring home your little guy really soon! ?
So exciting!! We are in the waiting process for adoption too and the wait can be so hard!! I can’t imagine how happy y’all are to be almost there!!
Car Seats for the Littles is the best resource out there for safe and proper car seat use! They have tons of reviews, and even provide information as to what seats fit in different types of vehicles.
You have so many cheerleaders! Know there will be some difficult transitions ahead ( building, decoration, parenting) but always keep in mind that none of us have slipped though life without them. We stand with you and rejoice with you every step of the way! Love your enthusiasm.
I’m heading to the beach next week, so I’ll be picking up my copy to take along! I may have to read your article before – don’t think I’ll be able to wait!!! So happy for you and Kevin! Your journey is an inspiration for others! Thanks for sharing it with us! Praying that everything continues to go smoothly and your little family will all be together soon! Can’t wait to see your dreams come true! God is faithful!
Congratulations on being able to bring your son home soon!
We have both the Diono and Britax seats. You really can’t go wrong with either. We were involved in a roll-over crash and both seats protected my kids (3 1/2 and 12 months) the way they were supposed to. A responding officer commented that was due in part to the seats being properly installed. If possible look into having them professionally installed (usually at a local fire station). The Diono is heavy, but slim which is nice if you have passengers in the back or need to eventually fit 3 across.
Continued Blessings!
I think I began reading about the time you decided to join this group to adopt in another country and you shared back then the long journeys of others and it gave you hope. And so I’ve seen photos of a baby to “big boy” plus have watched as you patiently redo our home so tastefully. I watch the videos ( yes the wasp one just recently) and I’ve prayed for you, a stranger , when the road kept getting more windy and steeper than thought. But your faith to build you built me, a reader, keep the Word in front and not grow weary in my journey. Then today at the very end of your post. Your post brought tears–at the very end and what came next…this happens not so often–my whole body inside jumped when I read your verse Now all glory to God, who is able…like my Spirit leaped with joy within me for the end is in sight!!! Hard to explain and by the time I type it too fades. But I think that the Holy Spirit was within me leaping for joy…that you brought it all back to the power of God within us!! Exciting days ahead!!!
Oh, I’ll have to go hunt for that magazine. They are so hard to find!
Yaaaay! Awesome news!!!
So I haven’t tried the britax, but we have an earlier version of the diono and while we love that it is slim for fitting three across in our small car if necessary, it is HEAVY AS ANYTHING!!! So if you’re thinking you’ll be moving it from car to car or traveling with it, I’d take that into consideration! It’s , like, super duper heavy.
??????
Your faith is an encouragement to many! Can’t wait for the big homecoming!
Sooo close! I can’t wait to see a picture of your sweet boy in your home..in the room you made for him.
Both car seats are excellent. The Diono is heavvvy. It’s good if you want a narrow fitting car seat. My two kids have always used Britax seats for the last 8 years. I absolutely love the seats. Easy to clean, no hard tugging on straps.
So happy for you in so many ways! I must go out and get that magazine today!
How can I find this little lovely? YOU darling girl + Kev are patience on a billboard!
Cannot WAIT for the picture of Sweet P in whichever car seat you choose! Haha
xoxox
Sonny will be home before you know it! I’m so excited for you and Kevin. As far as the car seat goes my daughter and son-in-law love the britax. After much research she felt the britax was the one for them. It’s rated extremely high on the safety chart too.
We have the Diono and the Chicco Keyfit. We picked the Diono for it’s narrow profile, and the Keyfits for the ease of installation. They both live up to those expectations.
It really comes down to personal needs. We have an SUV with a 3rd row, so when squeezing past the carseats in the 2nd row captain’s chairs, it is easier to get by the slimmer profile of the Diono. But the Keyfit was the only carseat we could install rear-facing in the 3rd row and keep the 2 in the second row rear-facing. And oh my, how much easier it is to install!
You are already getting a lot of pressure in the comments on rear-faing. But I will add – we had a complicated situation, with multiple infants/toddlers, and keeping everyone extended rear-faing was difficult. We tried to keep them all rear-facing until 2 at least, because there really is a HUGE safety benefit to it. But every carseat tech we spoke to was very reassuring that after 2, the safety benefits drop to very very small percentages, and agreed that we could start putting other concerns – which, given the difficulty in reaching all of the straps, included other safety issues – ahead of the issue of keeping them rear-facing. As another poster mentioned, kids completely unaccustomed to riding in a carseat may find rear-facing a very strange and terrifying prospect. You don’t need to feel badly about making a different choice.
All that being said, if I was picking out carseats TODAY, and no longer dealing with the concerns of making them all fit rear-facing, I would base my choice on the ease of tightening the straps. Both the Keyfit and the Diono are SO difficult to pull the straps totally tight. It is hard to get a good angle in a tall SUV. I honestly don’t know the best way to test it. But I am dead serious – this would be my main criteria (after safety ratings, of course). Once a seat is installed, this is the only thing you really have to do on a daily basis. So making it as easy as possible, especially on my crampy, early-arthritis hands, is very important. The loosening pull on the Diono is SO much easier than the button on the Keyfit. And I would definitely only look at seats with no re-thread harnesses, because I am not taking the seat apart every time the child grows.
I got goosebumps reading your post. It won’t be long now and Sweet Pea makes Three will be a reality! I’m so excited for you.
We have both of those car seats (one in each car). They are both great!! My 4 year old seems perfectly happy and comfortable in both of them also. I give the slight edge to the britax just because I like the look and feel of it a bit better and I like that there are 2 built in cup holders (one on each side). The diono only has one that clips on the side.
I am so excited and joyful that Sweet P is about to come home, along with his friend from the orphanage and your friends! So meaningful that you will be travelling together. For all six of you!!….As for the carseat, I am not an expert on what is best for a four year old. We have our special needs grandaughter in a full-size carseat, in the middle of the back seat, but she is just 2. My bff has her grandsons in forward-facing booster- seats and they are wonderful. They even have cup-holders. Their legs get too long for a rear-facing seat. Very soon, Sweet P will be scrambling into his booster seat all by himself, and all you will have to do is check to make sure he is buckled in properly! ……Praying for your family (and your friends) and hoping everything goes smoothly…….On another thought, there is a Little. Golden Book about a little girl taking her first airplane ride – she has a brother, too – you may want to get ahold of one of those books – it is a nice, re-assuring story.
Waiting is hard. It took 3 years for me to get pregnant. It took a toll on my body and mind. You have had very long wait too… Just know there are many others out there like you in “waiting”. :). So happy for all of you.
We had a Britax car seat for our dd when she transitioned out of her baby carrier. I loved the multi-buckle system as well as the safety rating. She seemed to like it as well.
Congrats on the great news about Sonny and how much closer he is to coming home.
We had a Britax carseat, and just switched over to a Britax booster seat. Loved them both — very safe.
Whatever you choose, make sure you get it checked by a carseat technician. I forget the exact statistic, but there is a scary high number of carseats that are installed incorrectly. Where you can get it done varies — around here, it’s a specific police station, but some places it’s the fire department and sometimes baby stores will do it periodically. But find out the details as soon as you can — around here, the police only do it one afternoon each month, so if you miss your chance you have to wait another month.
Also, I’m not sure how big Sonny is, but here’s the FAA recommendations on flying:
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/
As you can see, if he’s between 22 and 44 lbs., he can use something called a CARES child safety device — it’s basically a harness that you thread the airplane seat belt through. It fits in a small bag and is much, much easier than trying to use a carseat on the airplane seat. (And if he’s in that size range, much safer than just the airplane seatbelt.)
Good luck! I have found with many parenting decisions, there isn’t really a right choice or a wrong choice — it’s just a matter of choosing between two or more good choices.
I think my heart skips a beat whenever I see “adoption news” in the subject!
So exciting for both of you!
I’ll have to look for a copy of Country Cottage, looks like a great magazine to read on the patio!
I am so excited that your time is growing close to when you are able to bring your sweet little boy home. It seems like an eternity since you first started writing about your adoption plans, so I am in agreement that you and Kevin have definitely championed what it is to be patient.
Congrats on the magazine article (that’s actually SO cool)!
All the waitng, all the prayers and it’s almost time! God’s timing is always perfect (even when I am in a hurry..) isn’t it. The magazine feature looks so sweet!
I have used 5 different brands of car seats (for different kids and different ages). The last one was a Britax click-tight. I will never go back. It is so easy to install, and I know it’s in good a secure. You move the whole car trying the budge it. The straps are also really easy to tighten. Those are the 2 most important things for me when choosing car seats
I, too, purchased the magazine after seeing your oh so familiar home.. I think Miss Mustard Seed is in that same issue …so I feel like I hit the jackpot!
Can’t wait for your baby boy to come home…. which reminds me of something from when my kids were small. We measured in sleeps, not days. Every night before Christmas it was how many sleeps til Christmas…. I guess because sleeping was the hardest thing to do while waiting….I can’t stop smiling at your wonderful news, Layla…
Hi Layla —
How awesome to have your beautiful house in the magazine. That’s always a dream of mine! And it’s so good to hear about your sweet Sonny coming to you soon. How wonderful that will be!!
I’m wondering if you could offer any advice to me about getting my blog “out there” and/or noticed by Country Cottage or other magazines. I would be so grateful !
Can’t wait to hear your good news soon!
Tammy
We use the same Britax. It’s good until Sonny is something like 125 pounds. It’s insane – in a great way. My six year old can buckle herself in and out of it which is really helpful in the pouring rain.
Hi Layla, I just bought that magazine. Great article!
Ah! What a beautiful cover, and beautiful story! I have to get a copy! Prayers for peace and patience. What a journey!
Oh, what a precious article! That will be a neat thing to show Sonny when he is a little older. 🙂 Praying for speedy appointments and safe travel, and that he will be in your arms very soon!
I forgot to add my 2 cents about the car seat. 🙂 We used the Britax Marathon for our two older boys, and then switched them to the Graco Highback Turbo Booster when they reached the weight limit on the Britax, which was 65 lbs. I think. The Britax you’re considering looks to be a great combination of the two. The Diono looks good too, but I don’t have any experience with that brand. I guess I’m not much help! 😉 I think either one will be a safe choice, so maybe choose whichever is less expensive. Oh, man… I just looked again and they are pretty much the same price! Ha. I guess pick whichever you like the look/style of better! Again, I’m no help! 🙂 I do empathize with researching and trying to decide, though!