Adoption: What M&K Think

Q:  Do Miles and Knox know that they have a sister?

Yes!  Though it's hard to tell the depth of their understanding. 

We were totally honest with the boys about everything right from the start.  Before we were matched with Lakey, we told them that they had a little brother or sister who lived in China.  You can probably predict the number of questions this kind of news prompted, and most of them started with the same word.  Why?

Why do we have a brother or a sister?

Why does our brother live in China?

Why could his mommy not take care of him?

Why am I going to be his big brother?

Why he doesn't live in our house?

Can we fly a big jet to China?

Most of these questions came from Miles.  A boy who wants to know everything about everything.  Initially, he wanted a brother.  I tried to prep him for the possibility of having a sister, but he insisted, "No, I will have a brother and Knox can have a sister."

But once we submitted LOI and introduced the boys to Lakey, they were as smitten as we were.  Their teachers tell me they talk about her at school.  They love to go into her room and sit in her rocking chair or play with her stuffed puppy that they lovingly named Lulu.  Almost once a day I catch them dumping 10-20 of their own stuffed animals and blankets in her bed.  "We are sharing with Baby Lakey," they say.

They expressed much concern that I didn't paint their sister's room pink.

Sometimes I wonder if they really grasp that Lakey is a real person who will soon be a permanent presence in our family.  We've talked about her for so long, yet she never shows up.  Sometimes it's hard for me to grasp that she is real.  I need all my senses to take her in.  Soon.

A few months ago, Jeremy was talking to the boys about their role as big brothers to Lakey. 

Miles lovingly said, "Daddy, I'm going to protect her." 

Knox followed up with, "Well, I'm going to scratch her."

This is going to be fun.