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BALTIMORE -- Thousands of children in Haiti were living in orphanages at the time of last year's devastating earthquake, and one of them was able to finally make it to America two weeks later to live with his adopted family.
Long before the earthquake hit, Monica and Michael Simonsen were in the process of adopting a little boy named Stanley.
Stanley, now 2 years old, has come a long way. He has a new family complete with a baby brother, 18-month-old Dane.
"Sometimes it feels like it was yesterday when we were down there, and other times it feels like he's been part of our family forever," Michael Simonsen said.
The couple said they were devastated when they learned about the earthquake that destroyed many parts of Haiti, where Stanley was in an orphanage.
Michael Simonsen traveled to Haiti with hopes of bringing the child home. On Jan. 24, he did.
"One of my biggest fears was I was going to go down there and not be able to bring him home. I don't know that I could have left Haiti without him," he said.
When Stanley arrived in the U.S., he was 20 months old, and he wasn't walking or talking.
"The first couple of weeks were tough. He was sick and scared, and he wasn't sleeping. We weren't sleeping, and we were trying so hard to make sure he knew we weren't going anywhere," Monica Simonsen said.
But within six months, Stanley was speaking English. His first word was his brother's name -- Dane. Then he started calling the Simonsens mommy and daddy.
Within a year, they said he gained 15 pounds and grew 7 inches.
"He's so smart. When he came home, he hadn't been exposed to English that much, but he was very quick to follow directions. He was picking stuff up very quickly," Monica Simonsen said.
"I can't imagine life without him. That's part of the reason it seems like it was more than a year ago," Michael Simonsen said.
Stanley's adoption was finalized in July. He became a U.S. citizen in October.
The couple said he and Dane are inseparable and, together, they keep them on their toes.
BALTIMORE -- Thousands of children in Haiti were living in orphanages at the time of last year's devastating earthquake, and one of them was able to finally make it to America two weeks later to live with his adopted family.
Long before the earthquake hit, Monica and Michael Simonsen were in the process of adopting a little boy named Stanley.
Stanley, now 2 years old, has come a long way. He has a new family complete with a baby brother, 18-month-old Dane.
"Sometimes it feels like it was yesterday when we were down there, and other times it feels like he's been part of our family forever," Michael Simonsen said.
The couple said they were devastated when they learned about the earthquake that destroyed many parts of Haiti, where Stanley was in an orphanage.
Michael Simonsen traveled to Haiti with hopes of bringing the child home. On Jan. 24, he did.
"One of my biggest fears was I was going to go down there and not be able to bring him home. I don't know that I could have left Haiti without him," he said.
When Stanley arrived in the U.S., he was 20 months old, and he wasn't walking or talking.
"The first couple of weeks were tough. He was sick and scared, and he wasn't sleeping. We weren't sleeping, and we were trying so hard to make sure he knew we weren't going anywhere," Monica Simonsen said.
But within six months, Stanley was speaking English. His first word was his brother's name -- Dane. Then he started calling the Simonsens mommy and daddy.
Within a year, they said he gained 15 pounds and grew 7 inches.
"He's so smart. When he came home, he hadn't been exposed to English that much, but he was very quick to follow directions. He was picking stuff up very quickly," Monica Simonsen said.
"I can't imagine life without him. That's part of the reason it seems like it was more than a year ago," Michael Simonsen said.
Stanley's adoption was finalized in July. He became a U.S. citizen in October.
The couple said he and Dane are inseparable and, together, they keep them on their toes.
