Thursday, September 30, 2010

Mom's New Toy!

I have been looking for a double jogger pretty much ever since we found out in March that we'd be getting a second baby. The problem is that no one in town stocks them. You have to order them online or special order. And the nice ones are super expensive. I wanted a jogger because they handle so much better than a traditional double stroller. Not so much so that I could take it jogging (although I do like having that option.) Anyway I had finally consigned myself to the fact that it was just going to be a $200 purchase I'd have to eventually bite the bullet and make. (And $200 was getting a lower end stroller from a discount retailer.)

And then my dad found an ad! Long story short I got it for just $80 and it's almost like new. The lady never used it much so it's just been taking up space in her garage for a while. We took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and took it out for a walk today. It handles wonderfully and just glides along so smoothly that it put both kids to sleep before we made it to the end of the block.




In other happy news, B. had her hearing today and signed termination papers, so Parker is no longer in legal risk. Because of the updated guidelines we can call a lawyer tomorrow and start the finalization process. YAY!!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

My Beautiful Babies

I wanted to see a visual comparison of my two babies, so I put one of Gideon's old outfits on Parker and took some pictures. Tell me what you think.

Gideon Daniel 10 Days Old







Parker Holland 9 Days Old







Love These Kids!

This goofy little fireball completely stole my heart 2 1/2 years ago. Today I still love him to pieces. He's just so silly and so much fun!



(And yes, those are, in fact, Lightning McQueen house slippers! Aren't you jealous!)
And this precious little princess already has every one of us wrapped around her tiny little finger!


Seriously, how did I get so lucky!?!?!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Nope. No Buyer's Remorse!

We're thinking she's a keeper! (Just ask her big brother!)
















Friday, September 24, 2010

What We've Learned About Parker So Far...

1. She has her days and nights mixed up. I hear this is common with newborns and can be corrected. But right now, she's up through the night and sleeps like an angel all day long.

2. She burps better than any baby I've ever seen. She makes her daddy very proud!

3. She doesn't like the dark! We have to keep the hall light on or she doesn't sleep as well. (This is super weird and hard for me because I wear a sleep mask every night anyway because I can't stand even the glow off the alarm clock! Gideon is like me, even too much light coming in under his door bothers him as he's trying to sleep. Guess we'll have to invest in a night light for Parker's room!)

4. She's a much noiser sleeper than her brother. I run to check her all the time because I think she's in distress, but she's just making noises in her sleep.

5. She DOES NOT like sponge baths or getting her hair washed. (Not a surprise. Very few babies are fond of it.)

6. She has her daddy completely wrapped around her finger. She is already his little Princess.

7. In two days she's managed to get her brother to share more of his toys than he's ever shared with any friends or cousins who have come to visit.

8. She's the sweetest, prettiest, most wonderful baby girl ever! And we love her to pieces.





(Of course I think she's much too pretty to be mistaken for a boy! But I've loved this shirt ever since Cami bought it for Lily so we had to wear it!)








Gideon finds uses for all of the baby stuff that she's not occupying in any particular moment. Because he's resourceful like that. Did you know a bouncy seat can be used as a costume to make growling noises and scare mom with?

She's so teeny, even newborn size clothes dwarf her! (For now. I have a feeling she'll be growing into and then out of these clothes in no time!)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

We're Finally Complete!

It is so hard for me to put into words just how blessed we feel right now. Our little family is finally complete. We're not just a couple anymore. Or the couple with a baby. We're actually a little family. Today was hard. SOOOOOOOOOOO hard. But if you've followed my blog you knew that it would be. I didn't sleep well last night. Which is no surprise.

We had to be at the agency at 10:30 this morning to sign the paperwork. Then we were going over to the hospital with the caseworker to pick up our baby girl. B. was supposed to be released at noon, so we figured this would give us time to get all of the discharge red tape done and spend a few minutes with her before we left.

The first part of the day went well. At the agency the caseworker had everything ready so all we had to do was sign and date about a million different forms and go over some legal jargon. (Side note: we got some super exciting news that the agency has changed their policy. We no longer have to wait six months to finalize the adoption. We can begin legal proceedings to finalize as soon as the birth mother signs her termination which should be within the next two weeks.)

When we arrived at the hospital just after 11, we were told that the hospital's social worker and notary wouldn't be arriving until noon. We were asked to wait at the nurses station because B. was really starting to get emotional and wanted to spend some time alone with the baby. We absolutely respected that, so we just tried our best to keep Gideon occupied while we visited with our case worker (who was in and out of her room during this time.) Fortunately we'd brought along a few new presents and toys for Gideon, so he was pretty good for a while.

My only frustration with the entire day came with the hospital staff. It just seemed like they couldn't get it together. Seriously. For two hours we sat and waited. After half an hour the social worker showed up and said a nurse was going to come and get us started on the discharge procedures. But it was still another 45 minutes before that happened. (By this time our two year old was hungry for lunch and starting to climb the walls because he was bored. They were nice enough to scrounge up some cookies for him which I appreciated.) Finally at 12:15 we started the discharge proceedings. First they left us in a room with a video on baby CPR, choking, etc. Then when the video was over, we told them we were done and it was still another 20 minutes before they came in with the paperwork. (At this point Gideon was trying to push all the buttons a vitals monitor that had been left out.) We finally finished the paper work and were told to wait AGAIN while they checked with the birth mom and caseworkers. At 12:55 we were taken back to see B.

B. was sobbing hard when we entered the room. Gideon was so excited to see the baby again, he tried giving her all of his new toys. When Gideon was placed with us, we visited with B. and her family for about an hour before placement actually happened. Today we only spent about 5 minutes with her. She and her dad were there. She and I were both crying. And we barely spoke. There was no need for words. Nothing we could say was going to make it better. Finally she kissed Parker and handed her to me. I hugged and kissed her and we gathered all of our things and left the room.

They had to take Parker back to the nursery to take the clamp off of her cord, so that gave us an opportunity to dress her in her new outfit Nana bought especially to bring her home in.

Doesn't she look like the sweetest thing ever!?!?!?! (Note: See Gideon's Ice Age Beanie babies. He was so excited he kept giving them to her!)
Gideon jumped, and skipped and yelled happily all the way out of the hospital. He was so thrilled we were taking his baby home!




In the car big brother actually got upset because their car seats are on either side of the car and he wasn't close enough to touch her. But by this time it was 1:15 and he was tired and cranky anyway. He actually fell asleep on the way home.

At home, Parker had a great welcoming committee....Aunt Skye...


Grandma Cindy

Grandpa (who's been sick with a cold and wanted to make sure he didn't infect her.)

And Trav's cousin Deeann who I somehow didn't manage to get a photo of.


It's been a busy and emotional day. But we're so happy and excited to have her home with us at last. I told Travis on the way home from the hospital that I'm glad this is it for us. There's just no way I can go through this again. So I feel so blessed to have two such beautiful and healthy kids. It's more than I deserve!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

What does Gideon think?

"Mom, look! It's a baby!"

"Shhhh...She's Sleeping. Can I hold her please!"
"See I'm very good at holding her, I'll be very still."

"Okay fine. Daddy can have a turn, but just a short one."
"Please let me hold her by myself. Please, please, please!"
"I love you baby sister."
"I will take care of you always."
"No! No! No! We have to take baby home. We can't leave her here! That's MY baby!"