Advice needed

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and decided I need some input. I don't know if there are still many people reading this - but if you're out there and have some ideas to help, I would love some advice.

We are very lucky to have a lot of information on Jesse's birth family. We have pictures of his birthmother and regularly have conversations about her. That seems to be the easy part. For now, in his 2 year old understanding he's got the information down....and as he gets older we'll add more and more information. However, Jesse also has a birth brother that I have not mentioned to him yet. It seems more of a slippery slope to go down especially since he already understand the concept of brother (having Ian). How do I explain that he has a birth brother in Thailand that lives with his birth mother....without him getting overly confused or sad. We have a picture of his b.brother but soon Jesse will be older than his brother is in the picture. So I haven't shown that to him yet either.

I don't want to wait too long because I don't want it to be a surprise one day - like a brother drops from the sky that he's never heard of before. Any advice on how to start this conversation and introduce this information into Jesse (and Ian's) life? thanks.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone out there has a great holiday season and the new year brings you great happiness!

Can it be for real?

I can't believe I'm actually going to type this....but Jesse is potty trained. He's been going good for a while but it just seems so fast - I wasn't sure it was really happening. The whole nine yards - done! He's been wearing underwear (the cutest little underwear to fit his little 23lb body) and although we are keeping him in pull-ups at night, stays dry. I'm such a proud mom!

Both the boys are doing great. Ian had his first holiday concert at school and it was so cute. I have some video when Sam downloads it (and my computer is fixed). I'm on Sam's computer now because he's trying to update mine and make it faster but he bought a broken part. That means at the moment I can't get to my pictures. But soon, I'll post our holiday card (which will go out in the mail on Monday), and some videos - hopefully of Ian's concert and of him playing the guitar over Thanksgiving.

We are in full winter swing here - although not as bad as the ice storms in the New England area. However, a friend of mine did slip on the ice and she had to have surgery - she broke her leg in 3 places!!!!!! Winter is not my friend, but at least I'm lucky enough to have not had any serious injuries associated with it! (knock on wood)

We're looking forward to the holidays. Hanukkah starts next Sunday night and the boys are done with school this week. We don't really have much planned for over the break (anyone up for a playdate?).

Things are good here and I hope you all are having a good holiday season - we wish you all health and happiness in the new year!