Christmas Day

These are just some of the pictures - I have a ton! But, it seems to take forever to upload on here. Christmas was so much fun this year! We got to do all the Christmasy things - Santa's lap, leaving cookies and milk (and carrots, celery, and water for the reindeer), making the Christmas list..... and.......... matching Christmas pajamas! woo hoo! Oh, and we made Christmas cookies and peanut butter balls too. It all just felt perfect this year. It was our first Christmas as a whole family, and it was awesome! The boys seemed to like what they got, Gabe started playing with his train right away, and Cooper just crawled from toy to toy to toy and played all morning. Craig's family came in the afternoon and we ate lunch and watched a movie. (The movie Despicable Me is soooo cute!) It was a great holiday. I'm kind of sad that it's over actually. Tonight, my family is coming in and we're all going to grandma's to do the family Christmas thing, so I guess it's not totally over. :) which is good - I get one more day of Christmas spirit.

SANTA!!!

Please ignore the fact that Gabe doesn't match in these photos. He dressed himself, and in his defense the shirt sleeves are gray camo and the pants are green camo -so technically he matches. :)

still sick

I know I've been posting a lot about the boys being sick, but they still are! It's been over a month with one or the other, or both being sick. Last week, right after Cooper finished the second antibiotic he got a yeast infection (poor guy). He's fine now. Then he went in for his well-check up 2 days later and he had a rash and a fever. They tested him for strep, but decided it was viral. So, he carried a fever through the weekend. Then Sunday Gabe turns up with a fever and it doesn't go down for 3 days, so yesterday he was off to see the pediatrician. Turns out he has a double ear infection. Guess who's back at the doctor today with a high fever? Cooper. They couldn't find anything wrong with him today though. Again - they think it's viral. sheesh! I just hope that both are feeling better by Christmas morning. It's our first one together as a whole family and I really want it to be special. I'm so excited!

I have all the presents wrapped and labeled, and cleverly disguised as a big pile of something with a blanket thrown over top. lol :o) They're still little so I can get away with that I guess. :o) Also, since the boys haven't really been able to be out and about this season with all this crud they've been dealing with - SANTA IS COMING TO OUR HOUSE TO VISIT THEM TONIGHT! At least this way Gabe will get to sit on his lap and tell him what he wants for Christmas. Cooper will probably sit on his lap, but will look confused. That kid has the funniest facial expressions :o)
Craig and I celebrated 6 yrs of marriage on December 10th. It sure has been a whirlwind year for us!

putting up the tree!

sick again

Cooper either has another ear infection, or did not get over the first one. I called the pediatrician Saturday night and she said that she was going to be at the hospital in the morning making rounds anyway, and just to bring him to the office on Sunday morning. So, I did, and his left ear is inflamed (still). The doctor and I both listened to his lungs multiple times and neither one of us could tell if the congestion had settled in his chest, or if what we were hearing was the rattling from it sitting in his throat. So, she gave him a breathing treatment in the office, he had a really good cough and then sounded a lot better. So, we went home with a prescription for albuterol nebulizers too. He actually does pretty well with them for a 9 month old. He's also getting a new antibiotic for the ear infeciton. He's been pulling at his right ear too, which concerns me. I hope this antibiotic kicks it because I don't want him to have to have tubes in his ears. Poor little guy. As usual - he's in relatively good spirits for a sick baby. :o) that helps.

the little things

This morning I was sitting on the couch laughing my butt off at these two boys laughing their butts off. Cooper was bouncing up and down in his exersaucer, and Gabe thought it was hilarious, and the more Gabe laughed the more Cooper laughed, and kept bouncing. So, we were all laughing for at least 5 minutes straight at a baby bouncing in an exersaucer. We obviously don't get out much :o)

The boys Christmas presents have been purchased, and are either here or on their way. Hooray! I haven't finished the stocking stuff yet, but I have time.

The boys have also moved into the same room. There were a couple different reasons for the move - reason number one being Gabe. He's afraid to sleep in a room by himself. The first time I put Coop down for a nap in their new room Gabe immediately asked if he could take a nap too. lol It's a been a little more rocky since that first nap, but I think there's improvement. We also seem to be having roof issues over Cooper's room, and it has leaked a couple times. Craig kept going up there and fixing it, but it just made me nervous, so we made that a playroom. We'll re-roof in the spring. Cooper's room is also not directly beside the bathroom anymore, so I won't wake him up when I'm getting ready at 5 am. And Gabe's room was a little bigger than Coop's just because of the way the house is designed; so now they can both share the bigger room and play in the smaller one. Plus......... when both of them are big enough............... bunkbeds! woo hoo!

first sick visit

Cooper had his first sick visit to the doctor today. I thought maybe he had an ear infection because he was just not getting better, and he cried this morning when I cleaned his ears with the baby Qtips. So, off to the doctor we went, and it turned out I was right. His left ear is inflamed. Now we're back home with our pink bottle of amoxicillin and our ear numbing drops.

The first time I used the ear numbing drops on him today he screamed and screamed when I was trying to get him in the right position in my arms. (this is not unusual - he is quite vocal about anything he dislikes - diaper changes - having his face wiped for any reason - etc) So anyway, he's pitching a fit and I got the ear drops in and about 10 - 20 seconds later he just stops and looks up at me like "whoa!" His face was so funny I couldn't help but laugh at him, and then he started smiling too - so the ear drops got a big thumbs-up today.

He's asleep now though. He's in his pj's, he's had his antibiotic, his infant Aleve, and his ear drops. He's set for the night. He's started sleeping with his butt up in the air, which cracks me up. I really want to get a picture of it, but am too afraid I'll wake him up.

little update

Both boys have had a week of being sick. Just mild fevers, and lots of congestion, and quite a bit of crankiness. We're on the upswing now though!

Cooper has sprouted another tooth! Now he has two bottom teeth, and 2 days ago he pulled himself up to standing. He's not very good at it yet, but he's constantly working on it! It just seems like he's doing all of this really really fast! He just started to crawl with his belly off the floor a couple weeks ago!

The boys both took their first bubble bath together last night, and they LOVED it! It was so cute. Cooper was in his baby tub, because it has a special seat for him to sit up in, and not slip. and I filled the rest of the tub around Cooper's tub for Gabe to play in. There was a large amount of splashing going on, and Cooper discovered bath toys - he's a fan.

We're gearing up for the holidays already. For Christmas we've picked out a couple larger items for both boys that we know they'll really like. I can't wait to watch Cooper open presents! I'm sure Gabe will be right there "helping". lol

TOO FAST!

Oh my goodness! This is all happening too fast. Cooper started really crawling last week, this week he's clapping, and trying to pull himself up. He's doing finger foods, and sippy cups, and it's just happening too fast! sheesh - he's just barely 8 months old! Gabe's growing out of all his clothes..... both of them had to get all new shoes............It's all just kind of mowing me over right now. Each new step is so exciting! But, it also makes me panic a little. :o)

pics!

Well, first things first - Candice, we haven't heard from you in awhile. We hope you're doing alright. We're all doing very well here. We still haven't received any court papers, but have been told that the judge is still thinking about the attorney's fees. In any case, we haven't been asked to go back to court, so that's a plus I suppose :o)

Gabe has started his second year of Tuesday school and seems to like it pretty well. I switched from nightshift to dayshift last week, and it seems to have gone pretty well so far. Cooper is now eating finger foods (favorites are graham crackers and noodles) and Craig is.... well, he's still doing the same thing. Nothing new for him this fall.

I'm going to try and post some of our fall pictures

A tooth!

Cooper has sprouted a tooth! Hooray! It's the bottom front, right-sided one. The one beside it is coming in too. Unfortunately, you can't really see the tooth yet, but you can feel it. He's also learned to sit up on his own. By that I mean that he can actually take himself from a laying-down position to sitting. It's really pretty impressive. Gabe never did that - we're having all kinds of new experiences with Cooper!

Also - this weekend is trick-or-treat weekend. I can't wait! They're both going to be little tigers (Gabe's request. He wanted Cooper to match him)

some cooper videos!

nevermind, I can't get them to load. It took forever and then said there was an error.

I'll try again some other time.

anyway, Cooper is about 7 and 1/2 months old now and is scooting around and saying da da, and na na, and some other garbled things. It's pretty cool. He's a very friendly baby, and is quite active. Loves Peekaboo

I'm a speaker?

So, I went to do another talk about adoption today. 2nd one so far. This one was at a local college for a family relationships class. I don't know what I'm doing, and I'm certainly no public speaker. So far I've just gone and been honest about our experience, how it's changed our family and anwered any questions as honestly as I could. Here's the thing though - I support adoption, but I don't feel called to preach about it. If you ask, I will GLADLY share as much as you're willing to hear, but that's about it. I like sharing our story, and I like answering questions about it. But I don't think I'm any kind of adoption expert or super-advocate. I don't want to make a blog specifically about adoption related topics, but I'll adress them here as they come up in my life. I liked speaking to that class today though. Not sure how informative I was, lol, but I enjoyed it. A large portion of it was Q and A though, so if there's something they wanted to know and didn't ask....... well, it's their fault. :o)

random

Just some thoughts I needed to get out there. We'll begin with my respiratory therapy related thoughts. First of all - I don't care if people smoke. Honest, cross my heart. Frankly, it's your choice (and it provides job security for me) :o) BUT dear parents: if you child is a patient of mine, that means they are having trouble breathing. Going out to smoke every 2 hours, or more, and bringing that residual secondhand smoke back into that tiny little hospital room is NOT helping. At the very least, put on a coat with a hood so it doesn't get caught in your hair and clothes, and then put the coat in a bag before you come back into the room. It's for you child's sake. Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea to put into practice at home either. Again, I don't care if people smoke, but if you're going to, protect your little one from it as much as you can. That's all I had to say. Also, on the respiratory related topics - sometimes I get sick of seeing our regular patients all the time. And I'm sure they're sick of being there and seeing me. But, when we're getting near the end I wish the families would just let go..... and let them go. It breaks my heart to watch them suffer - sometimes it's kinder to just let go. When it's the end, it's the end. I wonder about myself sometimes for wishing people could just die - but it's only so that they can be out of that misery. It's just hard to watch week after week. And for the families out there that did make that hard choice to let them go without prolonging anything I want you to know that most of the medical staff is silently applauding you.

inch by inch

Cooper's mobility is improving. I think he's pretty close to crawling. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth.......... and then faceplants. poor little guy. He can't get the forward motion down. But he seems to be getting around alright by rolling around and wiggling when he wants something. I'm a little nervous for the crawling stage because he's already into everything!

Gabe is doing well. Tuesday school starts next week, so that should be good for him. I think he's pretty excited for it this year. He better soak up all he can - kindergarten is not far away!

brothers

These kids are too cute together! Sometimes one will look at the other and smile, and then they'll both be smiling. I love it!

Today I asked Gabe if he wanted me to take Cooper with me so he wouldn't be bothered, and he said, "No, I like him buggin' me."

These little boys are the most beautiful, wonderful kids I've ever known. I'm not biased, I swear.

pictures!

finalization day!

COOPER IS OFFICIALLY OURS! Finalization was today, and it went really well. The judge decided that it is in Cooper's best interest to be with our family, and so now he will be. Permanently. I'll post some pics as soon as I can get ahold of some where we are all looking at the right camera. :o) woo hoo!

We celebrated by going to Chuck E Cheese. (mom and dad took us out for a paaaaarty) and then got chinese on the way home. awesome awesome day!

6 months!

Our half birthday is coming up on Saturday. I can't believe it! He's so big! He's close to sitting up on his own, but we're not quite there yet. He loves playing in his exersaucer. I have pictures coming in the mail that I had developed on snapfish, so expect some pictures in a week or so Candice! He'll have his check up next week. I'm having to mix rice cereal in all his food because he's just soooo hungry. That kid's about to eat us out of house and home! lol Even the babysitter said, "I did not believe that he would eat that much, but he definitely did. And then he kept looking at me like he was wondering where the rest of it was!" He's definitely a champion eater! But he's not even big - he's just a normal baby size. He's got little chubby baby legs, but that's about it. He's so cute - and he's just chattering away at all of us. No recognizable words yet, but he's quite talkative. No teeth yet either - I keep looking for them, but they have yet to make an appearance.

Busy month ahead of us - and finalization coming up soon!

just an update

We have now tried all of the vegetables and fruits (and combinations of the aforementioned) that there are to try. He seems to like all of them but the green beans! My grandma said he's like a baby bird when he eats - just bobbing around with his mouth open. I thought it was funny, because that's almost exactly what he does! He also drank from a cup today. Not a sippy cup - he is not a fan of those - but a real cup! I couldn't believe it! I am quite impressed.

He has also moved up into the 6-9 month size clothes. Unfortunately most of Gabe's old clothes are winter clothes, so we have some shopping ahead of us. How said for me. lol. I love buying kids clothes! they're so darn cute.

okey dokey

We're doing alright here still. We have now tried peaches, sweet potatoes, and appleasauce baby food and seem to like all of them just fine. That kid eats so much! and he eats it so fast too! He ate a large jar of baby food in 10 minutes! and he kept kind of yelling at me and hopping around like he wanted me to shovel it in faster! He's too funny. He has also discovered his feet. He grabs them and just stares at them like he can't believe those are his. He's also awfully smiley. Which is great - we've never had a smiley baby before. His whole little face lights up.

We're going up to our original adoption agency next month to kind of share our adoption story at their orientation. It should be cool - I know I really appreciated the couple that shared their story at our orientaiton. It was very encouraging. Then finalization at the end of next month! woo!

update

Well, the little feller has made quite a good dent in the baby food aise. He eats SO much! This is what we've discovered so far:

rice cereal: loves
squash: likes alright
peas: they're ok
carrots: pretty good
grean beans: HATES

peaches are on deck! We'll see how that goes

finalization date!

We go on September 27th to finalize Cooper's adoption! yay! Too bad it's still two months away!

Preparing for Parenthood - funny

I got this out a book I'm skimming.

Preparing for Parenthood

Mother's Preparation for pregnancy: Obtain a 25 pound bag of pinto beans. Attach it to your waist with a belt. Wear it everywhere you go for nine months. Then remove ten beans to indicate the baby has been born.

Mess-management Preparation: Smear grape jelly on the living room furnitur and curtains. Now plungs your hands into a bag of potting soil, wipe them on the walls, and highlight the smudges with Magic Markers.

Inhalation Therapy preparation: Empty a carton of milk onto the cloth upholstery of the family car, park the vehicle in a sunny spot, then leave it to ripen for the month of August. Open the door and breathe deeply.

Shopping Preparation: Herd a flock of goats through the grocery store. Always keep every goat in sight and bring enough money to pay for whatever they eat or destroy.

Financial Preparation: Arrange for the family's paycheck to be split equally between the nearest grocery store and the pediatrician's office for the next two decades.

Aerobic Agility preparation: Try to dress the family cat in a small pantsuit complete with buttom shirt, snap-leg pants, lace-up shoes, and a bow tie while the nieghbor's German shepherd barks out encouragement from two feet away. (Make sure paramedics are standing by).

amused

I am really getting a kick out of this adoption in our small town. SOOOO many people have come up to me and are just shocked - they had no idea I was expecting! It's hilarious! It's a good opportunity to explain that we are adopting, and everyone is so supportive. I guess it just amuses me that everyone in our little town knows everything about everyone and it threw them all for a loop when I didn't look pregnant and then had a newborn all of a sudden. LOL. I may be a little chunky, but heck, I look great for just having a baby 3 weeks ago. HAHAHAHAHA.

but it IS the right time!

Had an interesting conversation with Gabe the other day. You know - 3 year olds are amazing litttle people. On with the story:
He's been talking a lot about "our baby that isn't coming yet". (completley unprovoked - I've actually been trying not to think about the adoption for a little while, and we've kept the nursery door closed)

anyway, we're laying in bed the other night and he says
"Mommy, I miss our baby that isn't coming yet."
to him - missing someone is wanting someone to be here who isn't - whether he knows them or not. I thought it was a sweet way to say it.
So, I say "I miss them too, but God will bring us our baby when it's the right time."
and he sits up, points his finger for emphasis and says
"Yeah, but it IS the right time."

I had to laugh at him because that's exactly how I feel about it too! He's going to be such a great big brother, and I'm glad he's excited about it.

oh my

Turns out I probably have endometriosis. That explains a lot of the fertility issues. Well, actually that explains all of them. So, Friday I go for pre-testing, and next Wednesday I'll have a laparoscopy. They'll look around and see if it is actually endometriosis (which they're pretty sure it is) and to fix any adhesions it caused (and they're pretty sure they're there). I'm actually nervous, I've never had surgery before. I've never had anything major wrong with me before that would require surgery! All things considered though, it's a very minor surgery. So that's good. It'll be nice to have some answers.

so here I sit

Seems like I only want to blog when I'm in a confusing mood. Go figure. Right now I'm struggling to hold on to the hope that our adoption will happen. I actually am now wondering if this is really what God wanted. I was so sure, there were so many things that happened that I thought were definitely pointing us in this direction. But that was a year ago, and still we have no baby sleeping in the nursery. I know the average wait time is two years. blah blah blah. I hate waiting. I know that this process is definitely being used by God to teach me patience, but I think it's alright to say that I don't appreciate it. I also am trying to continually focus away from myself, and onto the many birthmothers out there who are making decisions that they never wanted to make. That helps some. I also focus on the fact that we do have a sweet little 3 year old sleeping in the room right next to the nursery, and I am so thankful for that. I'm also exercising more and eating really well. Trying to get that last 20 pounds off of me. Hopefully I'll be a hot mamma when our little bundle arrives. (in case you're wondering - no I'm not being patient with the weight loss process either) Seems like everything I want takes time.......

prayers

I'm praying about quite a few adoption and pregnancy related things right now, but none of them are pertaining to me! lol A friend is taking injections trying to keep her 5th pregnancy and the outlook isn't good - she'll know today. She has one healthy child, but has had 3 miscarriages. It's so hard on her, and I've been there so I know how she feels. I'm praying for the new orphans the earthquake in Haiti created, and I'm hoping that the country can decide things quickly for their sakes. and a person I've never met before just posted a blog on adoptionvoices. She is 6 months pregnant w/twins and is having more trouble than any person should have while placing her children for adoption - read the post if you want, I'm not going to recap it. There's a possiblity that she's a scammer, but I'm going to pray for her anyway. Also, Tracy, the preacher's wife is considering going on a mission trip to an orphanage in China. Maybe all this praying for other people will help me refocus during this adoption process. I think that's what I need

beauty from ashes

Haitian orphans are being brought to the US to be adopted! How wonderful is that?! Not just for me, lol, for them! How amazing that their government allowed this instead of just shutting everything down. For once someone thought of the motherless and fatherless! Praise God! However, I'm curious about how this is going to work. Do the families need an international homestudy? If so, there's no way to get one approved - the Haitian government is in shambles right now. How will they make these adoptions legal? Is there some type of "calamity citizenship" offered by the US for such an occasion as this? I wish I knew the answers, because boy is this a situation that's close to my heart. My dad went to Haiti when I was 4 and I remember it vividly. I still have a maraca that he brought me. That was my dream growing up - to go on a mission trip to Haiti like my dad. Well, life happens you know, and there was never an opportunity. Wouldn't it be wicked awesome to have a Haitian mission trip right here? and wouldn't it be even awesomer (haha) to fulfill one of my heart's greatest desires at the same time? Oh who knows what will happen, not me that's for sure. But I do know that our God is GREAT. And I'm so thankful that the orphans are being adopted. Even if we're not part of it, I am so full of thanksgiving for all involved with that.

wondering

I am very thankful for my life, my husband, our son, our home, our church family, everything we have! So I wonder, why am I consumed with this desire/obsession over becoming a mommy again? I have so much here to keep me busy, so much to be thankful for. I shouldn't want more! But I can't just lay these thoughts aside - they will not go. Part of me feels that if Im truly thankful for everything I have, than I wouldn't want anymore. But, that's obviously not the case. I am ready for a little one! What's a girl to do?

no foster adoption for us

We are not a match with the foster child that we inquired about. We were informed that our son is too close to his age, and he has many needs. I suppose they think we won't be able to handle the needs of two little ones in the house at the same time. At least we got a fast answer. All the other foster children that we are homestudy approved for (those who are under 2 years old) have even more severe medical needs. This really depresses me - I would love to adopt a foster child! I know at least one of them lives in a medical facility, and not even in a home. Sometimes you have the capacity to help, and sometimes you just don't. Maybe later in life. We do want to be foster parents when our current children are grown. Only time will tell.

decisions?

Well, right now we are considering adopting a 1 yr old from foster care. He has a lot of delays, and has a family history of mental retardation, but I keep thinking about him. From what they listed, I think we would probably be able to manage his needs pretty well, but who knows. I don't know anything about the process when you are adopting from foster care, or how long it takes, or anything! I joined an adoption group for those who are adopting from foster care, so hopefully I can get some questions answered. Who knows what we will be led to do...... but the worst part is in the not knowing. for me anyway.