heaven is...

... lying on the couch with 7 lbs of pure love and joy snuggled against and on your chest sound asleep.

I love being a mom. I feel like he's been part of my life forever- it's hard to believe it's only been 2 weeks and 3 days!

Baby fix

I got to have a baby fix today. My friend had several doctors appointments today. She has a 6 week old, and knew most likely he'd not cooperate the whole time. So, I went with her to hang out, and watched him while she was doing her appointments.

It was nice to visit with her. New parenthood is stressful, but she looks great. I was glad to get to visit with her, and I know she probably felt the same way. We went to lunch after the appointments and then each headed home.

Her little guy is so cute! I hadn't seen him since the day he was born, in the hospital. He sure has grown a lot! And such a sweet little guy. He had his moments, but we (and sometimes it was I while she was in with the DR) got him calmed down. Nothing that couldn't be managed.

The poor little guy is lactose intolerant, and colicky as well. So he sure does give Mom and Dad a run for their money. Sometimes though, he just wants to be held, or just wants his pacifier. But you'd think he was super hungry or had a dirty diaper or something with all the hollering :) It was so sweet!

I really enjoyed spending time with her and getting to help with him. I needed that baby fix.

Mike hasn't seen him since the hospital either- and asked me to take pictures with my camera phone. My friend remarked, and I totally agree, it's so neat to see Mike so genuinely interested in babies and kids, even when they aren't his own. Mike really does care about the kids of our friends, and it's really a special to see.

I know he's going to be a great daddy when the timing is right! I just wish the time was soon!

Glad to be home

It's so nice to be home! I had a great time on the girls cruise, but am so glad to be home! Mike met me at the airport with carnations (my favorite flower!) and a kiss. I was so glad to see him :)

It was a great trip, all 4 of us are Lifetime adoptive families. Two had adopted already and it was nice to chat with them. We even got to meet one of the little babies :) We all meshed really well and had a wonderful time.

Our baby has a footprint

Even though this poem is geared toward international adoption, you could replace "oceans" with "rivers" and it could be relevant to us adopting domestically as well.

We do believe our baby has a foot print, and one day will be in our arms.

Baby Signs

One thing we've decided to do is teach our little ones how to sign. There have been many discussions on this, it's still slightly controversial. There are two schools of thought on this. One is that babies and toddlers who learn to sign are a bit slower to start speaking. Another is that babies and toddlers who learn to sign actually speak quicker because they learn the works as they are signing.

We've been doing some research on this, and have determined that it would be very beneficial for us. We are looking forward to learning along with our children, and communicating with them at an earlier age. Several friends of mine have done this successfully with their little ones, so I am confident it's going to work well for us. After quite a bit of research, we found a couple sets/kits that we are going to try. Babies do react a bit differently to the different styles of learning (even though they all tech the same thing), so we are looking at a few different sets. One thing we are going to do is learn a bit ourselves ahead of time, so we'll be a bit more knowledgeable when the time is right and have an easy transition into doing it.

We purchased one from Discovery Toys. It comes highly recommended because the babies in the books and dvd help the little one to easier comprehend how to sign. From those who have used it, and I've talked to a few people who have, it appeared to be the best for their little ones because they could relate to the other babies and toddlers in the program. We ordered it, and will be watching, teaching ourselves a bit as to how to do it before our little one comes.

We are also looking at Baby Einstein, My First Signs DVD. Mainly because we do like a lot of the Baby Einstein products, and expect that this one would probably be beneficial as well. It appears that an adult, not babies are signing, but many of the Baby Einstein products and dvds are educational and beneficial to babies, so I would expect that this one would have it's positives as well. Even if it's background noise, a little one will pick up on some stuff.

Anyway, our Discovery Toys one comes in any day now, so we can't wait to start learning it!

Mike came home earlier this week

Mike came home earlier this week from work at his usual time. When he came into the office to kiss me, as he does every day, he had a list. Apparently, he'd had some time to think during the day, and work on a list of things we would need should we get the call soon.

He had it divided up into three columns. One was work. The other was house. The third was baby. And boy, did he put some thought into it.

The work one was mostly for him, and things that he might need to bring should we be delayed enough away from home and he'd need to log in some work hours. He also took into account my work, and had notes for things I would need to bring as well. It was a pretty extensive list.

The second was home. It included both things we would need to take (camera, clothes, nice outfits to wear before the judge, books, computer, paperwork, etc) as well as notes to call the lawyer, our home study coordinator, Lifetime, etc. He also included making sure Precious had enough food and water, and that we had someone reliable lined up to come stop in and visit with her while we were gone.

The last was baby. And with this he included things we would need, including diapers, clothing, age related toys, car seat, formula, etc. Everything we'd need to keep baby entertained while stuck in a hotel room for a few days or more.

It was so neat to see him do that, and put such thought into it. With his list, we'll have a fantastic start when we finally do get that call. He is such a sweetie, and will make a wonderful father.

Emotions

Adoption is a roller coaster, that's for sure.

Lately, I've been watching shows on discovery health - adoption stories and a few others. So sweet to hear other people's stories, yet so hard, it brings a tear to your eyes.

We can't wait to be one of those happy families.

We will say, it's nice to spend alone time, just the two of us. We are taking advantage of those "selfish" times, enjoying the moment of just us. Doing things like going out to dinner, sleeping in, just hanging out, things we won't be able to do quite as much when kids are in the picture.

But still, we welcome the challenge, want to be parents so bad that it hurts. Wondering why no one picks us. Sometimes we have to close the door to the nursery, not look at the tiny clothes that are waiting for a baby. The changing table, all ready to go. Diapers, wipes, blankets, everything waiting for a little one.

And stores. Baby things, baby stores, baby clothing. How can you miss a baby sale? Such cute little things in the baby section. It's so hard sometimes to go to the store, and avoid the baby section- be it clothing or supplies. We can't wait to shop there, buying stuff for our little one(s).

The ride sure is interesting.