"My Grandma" by Baby S.

My grandma had foot surgery today. When I found out I told my mommy, "Let's make a photo diary so Grandma can see what I do all day." My mommy said OK, so here it is. This post is very picture heavy, so if you don't think I'm cute, or you think I'm too cute, you might not want to look. Love, Baby

















1. I like to play in the hall, dangerously near outlets that my mom stuck little plastic things in.



2. I brush my teeth.



3. Next I terrorize my kitties.



4. I pull Punky’s tail. He doesn’t like it.



5. Subluxations are bad. My chiropractor gets me straightened out.



6. Time for a nap.



7. Yay, naptime is over.



8. Another nap? I don’t think so, mommy. (She put me right back down and I gave in.)



9. I can climb up on lots of things.



10. I liked my fresh peach the best.



11. Daddy comes home!!!



12. Big blue has a flat head.



13. I tickle the ivories after almost every meal.



14. Bath time. I like sushi.



15. Night-night bottle. (I’m embarrassed. You saw me in my underwear.)


Ain’t life grand? I love my grandma. Get well soon!

My first tag - awww......

The Rules: 1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts. 2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!) 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I can't decide whether I couldn't do without chocolate or french fries.

2. I've lived in 3 countries and 6 states (U.S., England, Scotland, California, Iowa, South Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, and Texas.)

3. I bought new shoes this morning - Birkenstocks. They are so comfortable I can barely contain my excitement.

4. Every time I go to Thelma's blog I want an apple.

5. I need to shower and wash my hair right now. It's 1:40 p.m.

6. I've had the same pair of Ray Ban sunglasses since 1999.

7. I took ballet lessons for 8 years and was a flower in the Nutcracker for 5 years.

8. When I was little I got a snowcone machine, a bicycle, and a puppy all for quitting sucking my thumb three different times. I finally quit when I was about 12.

I'm going to tag my HP aunties Thelma, Allison, Wendi, Judi, Melody, Niki, and Sarah, plus one more that I'll have to edit this post to add!

Hi, I'm new here.

Taking a break from my hea-vy posts to introduce to you my new computer. I shall call her Fran. Maybe not, but that's the first name that came to my mind.

I've graduated from the iBook G4, which I bought in my first year of graduate school at UT, to the MacBook. It's rather nifty. It has Garage Band which I've always wanted, and iDVD which will be very nice, indeed. I'd love to learn how to do more video editing. Remember "One Kirk Stuck?" I'll have to do another movie some day.

Photo Booth - what's that? How do I use iChat? These are things I must know. One of my first orders of business is to download and send some pictures to my mother who can be quite pesky about that.

(As an aside, we are watching a Star Wars episode right now, and I wonder - was there ever a character as annoying as JarJarBinks? I think not.)

Fran says "bye" - she wants to play.

Childbirth education part II - **pg talk**

I started feeling better right before lunch. There is nothing like a feeling of physical health after I've felt sick. I chalked my body's behavior up to nerves and an excess of fiber and set out to face the rest of the day.

I can't remember now what we talked about right before lunch - oh, yes, relaxation techniques and pain management. "Hee hee hee hoo" and stuff like that, including a nice hand massage. "Wait," I thought, "What about my feet?" (Somewhere in my head I hear my husband saying, "Rub your own stinky, puffy feet," but he would never say that. Think it, maybe.)

There were 20 happy couples in our class, and there might have been one woman there by herself. This started me to thinking about K and how she might have felt in the hospital. Without going into too many details that are her story, because it's hers, she did have support at the hospital, hospital staff treated her like the mother, which she was, and she was the first and only to hold the baby in the first 24 hours.

But there her exclusive rights began to fade. What must she have been thinking as she watched the other moms with their babies? What must she have gone through every time she saw me standing there smiling at her and her baby? It was challenging for us at the hospital not knowing whether this would really be our baby, but I would have much rather been in our position.

Yesterday I used the word "relieved" to describe how it would feel in the hospital knowing that New Baby will be our forever baby. I don't think that was the right choice of words. I think a better word would be blessed. Perhaps we won't even compare the two situations at all, because they really don't compare. But the fact that a childbirth education class brought up all of these unexpected feelings indicates to me that they will come up again at the hospital.

Speaking of word choices, "guilt" wasn't the right word to describe how I feel about having a baby after infertility. So scratch that, but I'll have to come back to that topic tomorrow. It was a big day Saturday and I'm still processing.

Musings of a pregnant adoptive parent.

***Lots of pg talk, as evidenced by my title.***

We went to our childbirth education class yesterday, and it brought up all sorts of ideas and feelings. I was excited about it all week, but then I got nervous. Would I look stupid doing my "hee-hee-hee-hoo" breathing? Was I going to have to lie on the floor with my knees east and west? Were my pillow cases clean?

For the morning session, anatomy and physiology and the process of childbirth, I felt physically ill and had to leave the room several times. It could have been the fiber fiesta I held a night or two before, it could have been something I ate that morning, but it had never occurred to me that I would be squeamish about this. I've seen it, right? I didn't pass out in the delivery room or feel physically ill when Thing 1 was born.

At some point during the morning, as I was sort of reliving the birth of our son, I realized that unlike that time, we know that this baby will be ours from the moment of his/her birth. With Big Guy we spent the first few days of his life wondering if we would really be his parents. I don't begrudge the necessity of that, but it certainly was different than this experience. It will be a relief to be able to really bond with New Baby from minute 1 - before minute 1, actually. (Relief really might not be the right word, here. let me work this out and I'll edit.)

I have much more to say about this, but I need to try to get some extra sleep tonight. Tomorrow night is Girl's Night!

Stay tuned for the next installment about my emotions surrounding what K must have experienced as she gave birth to her first precious baby - our sweet son. Also, the guilt I feel as a parent preparing for #2 when so many precious women are still waiting for one dear child to love. I hated it when I thought about how my friends might feel badly about being pregnant or being parents when DH and I were struggling with infertility, but the cold, hard, slap-you-in-the-face truth is that I do feel that way. It's not pity guys, really, just understanding and compassion, I think. I love you.

More latah.

What not to say.

Let's revisit what to say and what not to say when talking about children with someone who doesn't have them (yet).

DO NOT say:
Adopt and you will get pregnant. (It's hardly ever true, although it might seem like it is. Only 3-10% of the time is it true.)

Stick with me - I get pregnant just standing next to my husband. (That one is never, ever true. Has that person never taken biology? Nor is it in the water. Sperm can't live that long, they don't travel through the water system, and they don't get to an egg by swimming down through your digestive system.)

You can have mine. (I don't want your children, I want my own children. By "my own," that means by adoption, too.)

At least you don't have to get up in the middle of the night a dozen times. (Never, ever start any sentence with the words "At least," or "Why don't you just...")

You need to relax.

DO say:
That must be difficult.

I'm sorry.

Can I buy you some very tasty chocolates or your dream home while you wait?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
So, I can tell you it's very hurtful for people to say that you need to relax. That makes it your fault that you cannot get pregnant. After we adopted and did actually conceive and it seems like will carry to term, people said, "See, you finally relaxed and then you got pregnant." One person actually did say this directly to me, and several made the comment to friends as I was walking away from a conversation.

First, do they really think that having a newborn baby is relaxing? That's all I have to say about that. Second, doesn't that imply that each and every time my sweet husband and I "got romantic," as one of our nurse practitioners said (love her), in 4 years, we were never relaxed? I'm not going to go into these details for ya', but that's seriously dumb.

Message truncated - going to the airport to pick up K!

Guitars and keyboards

Baby is playing guitar with Daddy right now. We're thinking we might have a little musician on our hands! Both of us are musicians, and his birthparents are, too. It's neat to see this love of music coming out in this boy. When we finish lunch or dinner and walk by the piano, Baby cranes his neck and reaches out to the instrument to play. He loves the drums and tambourine, too.

The other thing this kiddo is interested in right now is the computer. His dad and his birthdad are both computer nuts, too. I'm currently typing with one shift key, because I let Baby play with it and he ripped the other one off. One time he even started a new browser window. He's so cool!

Beckhams

Who cares??????

Saturday laughs

Soul Train, baby! It is hilarious - the outfits, the music, the hair, the dancing - hilarious. It's funny to me because although I was too young to go out dancing in the 1970s, I was certainly old enough to go roller skating and remember dressing in a leotard under tight jeans with one side of my hair pulled back.

There's this one lady who I can only assume tried to dress like Judy Jetson in a red leotard with a space-age collar over black tights, with a sparkly headband and Crystal Gayle hair down past her buttocks. She keeps moving in and out of view, sidling across the stage waving her arms in a very disco-esque movement. Of course there are also the jumpsuits, tubetops, and matching his and hers outfits.

For a good laugh check out an old Soul Train one Saturday afternoon. This is what happens when you and your husband are too cheap to pay for cable TV past the basic package.

Dumb-dumb.

Why am I still up? I'm tired. We started watching "Lost" last week on DVD and it makes me feel very thirsty. I'm tired and thirsty. That's my July 12th update.

Happy Anniversary tomorrow, D & F!

Remember these guys?

Should we be worried?

Religion versus relationship

I started a topic on my online community about a book series that shall remain nameless so that I can avoid going through that again. Many people got hurt by the post, including myself. I absolutely did not mean to start a controversy. I was looking for some people with whom to look forward to the next book in the series. That's it. What I got was a full-blown controversy. For this reason and others, I've given up that group for awhile. It has been a lifeline for me over our years of infertility, and I'm sure I'll be back. For now, though, I wait.

But, I know that some of the people who read my blog are not Christians, that is, have not decided that they believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and to accept Him as their Lord and Savior. So I am going to blog briefly about religion versus relationship. If you don't agree with me, I understand that. I was not a Christian until I was 26 years old, so I have many years of skepticism experience.

When I think of religion I think of rules and regulations. If you are a Christian you have to do x, y, and z. But here's the truth. To be a Christian you have to admit to God that you have made mistakes (i.e. sin), and believe in your heart that you need a savior. No one is good enough, no not one (Philippians 14:1-3, cited in the book of Romans). Not even Mother Theresa! Our standard is God, not man or woman. Jesus was both, which makes him uniquely qualified to be that savior for us.

So for me Christianity is a relationship. Jesus is real to me. No, I can't see him or touch him (who do I look like, Thomas? John 20:25), but I believe that he is real, alive, and at the right hand of God. No other religious figure is alive like that. For a long time I believed in God but could not wrap my brain around Jesus as an actual God-man who literally walked the earth performing miracles. One day it made sense to me (made clear by God's Holy Spirit) and I became a Christian.

As I become more mature in my faith, and as I learn more about God through prayer and His word the Bible, God will teach me new things. I might be convicted to give up some things I am currently doing in order to spend more time with Him. I will do that because He convicts me to out of relationship with Him, not out of law (you must do this, you must do that, etc.). All things are permissible but not all are beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:13). These things might be TV programs, other media, or even church activities.

Some people are convicted not to drink any alcohol. Personally, I enjoy a beer or a glass of wine once in awhile. The Bible is clear on drunkenness, but I know that I don't have a problem stopping with one drink. Someone else may understand that they can't have one drink, because it might lead to drunkenness. So, personally, that person chooses not to have even one drink. There might be something else that I'm convicted of and feel that God is calling me to do, that he has not yet personally called another. That doesn't make either of us a "better" Christian. It means that we are in different places with our personal relationship with God.

The good news, that is, the gospel, is that I don't have to be a perfect Christian. In fact, it's impossible. If it were possible, I would not need Jesus. So while I'm out there on a limb, I might as well give you the whole shebang. It's OK if you don't believe the Bible, many of my close friends do not. I still adore them and don't feel like I look down on them. It is a choice, and I like choices. In the previous post I have shared the gospel with you. Skip it if you like. I'm just sharing something with you that I think is pretty neat.

If all this makes me sound religious, and that's the word you would choose to describe me, then OK. I don't have a problem with the word religious as long as I can suggest the word relationship as being more accurate. If you disagree with me and want to tell me so, do. Just consider that I can't read your tone over the internet. The worst thing that could happen is that I'll cry, feel rejected, and learn some more about God because of it. Maybe that's His point.

Love.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

(This post stems from the above post, "Religion versus relationship," in case it seems like it's comoing out of left field.)

According to the Bible, considered by many to be the infallable word of God, we were created to be in fellowship with God. But through Adam we inherited a sin nature, that is, we don't fully trust and obey God and so err.

Romans 3:23 states that "all sin and fall short of the glory of God."

Because of sin we are separated from God. This is what the Bible means when it says, "For the wages of sin is death...." (Romans 6:23a).

The good news is also in that passage. "...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans, 6:23b).

God gave his only son Jesus as the final sin sacrifice for our sins (Romans 5:8), and when we call on Jesus and ask Him to be our Lord and Savior, we are forever reunited with God (i.e. "saved").

Romans 10:13 states, "for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

I paraphrased some of this, but the basic information was taken directly from the Bible, with reminders from and the webiste http://contenderministries.org/romanroad.php.

This made sense to me one day in 1996 when I was 26. Although my ears had heard it before, my heart hadn't. Maybe you've heard it all before, maybe you haven't. It's the truth as I understand it, revealed to me by the Bible through God's Holy Spirit. On that day I prayed, "Lord, I know I have sinned against you, and what I'm doing on my own isn't working. Jesus, come into my heart and be my personal Lord and Savior." (Or something like that - it was over 10 years ago, after all.) And He is. I love Him for it.

Our poor yard.

Our city gets a jeer for a recent housecall. Our neighbors had a problem with their water that our lovely Fox Plumbing couldn't fix. So, out comes the city at about 4pm on a Saturday. Not to be ugly, but of course we thought, "At least it's not our water that's out." Famous last words.

We share a water line with our neighbors, I guess, and the city went a-diggin'. Not only were we out of water most of the weekend (we were spared Sunday morning), but the city completely dug up our front yard.

Granted, our landscaping wasn't gorgeous, and we had some work to do, but Houston (not our city), we have a problem. For one, we had some shrubs that we planted soon afte we were married. Randy wanted to buy some a little larger, but I had this romantic idea that we'd buy smaller ones and watch them grow as our marriage grew. They're now gone. Also, there is a gorgeous live-oak tree on our neighbor's property that the workers hacked and hacked away at its roots.

After all the digging, until 3am on Sunday morning and midnight on Sunday night, there was no problem.

Introducing, our new front yard.

Hurt.

I like people. I like "good" people and "bad" people. I like people who have made mistakes, and even people who keep making them. Everyone makes them every day. It's called sin, and thanks a lot, Adam, we got it from you (although we would have gone there ourselves eventually.) Right now I do not love Christians. I can understand why people find us judgmental and unyielding.

I try very hard not to be like that, even when I disagree with someone. I know that not everyone thinks like me, and that's OK. When that attitude is not reflected in the other person, though, I find it hard to accept.

I'm very tired. I also already had chocolate cake so I don't think ice cream is going to fix me this time.

I miss my family. I haven't seen them in a long time.

I've temporarily given up something that means a lot to me. For right now and for various reasons it's not right for me. Not that it isn't right for someone, but not for me right now.

This is rambly, but that's fine. It's VBS week and I'm tired.

Happy Birthday!

My dear husband (DH) turned 44 today. Doesn't he look young? I baked a cake. Don't I look like Martha Stewart?

Happy Birthday, Randy!

Head shots

Baby's been in his little hat for a month now. He's doing really well, and the results after just two weeks were already noticeable. I doubt he'll have to wear it past four months, but I'm really just making that up.

Here are some pictures before, after 2 weeks, and after a month of 23 hours a day in the helmet. Pretty nifty, huh?

Happy Anniversary! (10/12/06)

Here we are the night we got the call about our baby! It was our 4th anniversary.

Blast from the past

Last year when we were just about to have our adoption profile shown to expectant moms considering adoption, we went to England. Here is our last dinner in London.

The end.

"One of those days" by Amy

We had some doctor's appointments today. The first one, chiropractor, was at 11:45. The last time I had an appointment for that time we were in and out of there in about 5 minutes. Not so, today.

Baby is catching on to this separation anxiety thing. He was very fussy at the chiropractor, which is uncharacteristic of him. He'd squirm in my arms, but when I put him down on the floor, he'd cry. We had to wait for about 20 minutes, too, which didn't help.

Our next appointment was for 1:00, so we were going to eat lunch and then run errands. Somehow I got the bright idea that I would just carry Big Brother in my arms, along with my purse containing his bottle. Who do I think I am, an octopus? Well, I'm not, at least not today.

So I order my bagel (Hi, Whitney!) and figure I'll feed him first. He was still fussing, so I figured he was hungry. He had a hard time with his bottle, and it is hard for me to feed him in a regular ol' chair (which happened to be in the middle of the restaurant). So he's crying, dribbling milk, I don't have a burp rag, and I'm hungry and hot.

Because I was trying to be the above-mentioned octopus, I decided to go get Baby a high chair, which I'm going to carry in one arm while carrying him in the other (no, I don't drop the baby as a part of this story, you can relax). Somehow I got to the table without dropping either item. Baby sat in the high chair and happily played with his new burp rag - a paper napkin.

So I'm trying to be all cool, this well-adjusted mom having a light lunch with her child, and I finally began to relax and eat my lunch while BB chews on this napkin. (Can you see where this is going?) The next thing I know, my baby has ingested some of the napkin and is coughing on the verge of choking.

Can I remember the CPR process for choking? Maybe.

So, he coughs the whole thing up, along with a mucosy mound of partially digested formula.

Do you remember that I was sitting in the middle of the restaurant? Well, the single guy at the next table, calmly eating his lunch, witnessed this whole gruesome mess. When I assessed that the threat to my child was over, I put my head down on the table and started to laugh cry. I couldn't decide which to do. He said, "Can I get you some napkins?"

"Yes, please," our heroine said meekly.

Ack! A relaxing lunch, indeed!

When we pulled into the parking lot of the orthopedists office (helmet check up), I saw him get into his car and drive away. This could not be good. He got called away to the hospital and we had to wait for 30 minutes past our appointment to see a different specialist. This is where the story gets anticlimactic. Baby was pretty cool during the wait, smiled at the nice ladies, and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

A day in the life!

It's a surprise!

We've decided (well really, I decided) not to find out the sex of the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Our file knows now, but we don't!

I've always sort of pictured hearing, "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" and being totally surprised. With everything we know about conception and pregnancy after infertility and treatments, I want to be innocent about this one thing.

Today I think it's a boy because when I was feeding Baby #1, Baby #2 was kicking him in the butt. I'm not sure a little girl would be so aggressive! Recently I've thought girl since many people say, "I think it's a boy," and I like to prove people wrong. So, who knows.

My nephew said we should name the baby Larry if it's a boy, and my friend Connie thinks LuLu for a girl. We're honestly not sold on either of these names, but in the meantime Baby Larry or Baby Lulu it is!

Thanks for asking, Liz!

How about this, Grandma?

Picture updates

I really was on a roll there with the blogging, wasn't I? Here are some pictures to spice things up a bit until I have words again:

Sorry about the sideways picture. I'll fix it someday!

It's final!

Whoopee! We had a great morning at the courthouse. Remember the expectant mom we spoke with before K who chose another couple? Well, we finalized with her baby's adoptive family. It was a special treat. Baby got a teddy bear that he loved immediately, and now he is rolling all over the floor in excitement. The only problem is he can only roll one way so he's stuck.

Here are a few quick pics! We're so pleased.

Some comic breaks from our process:

On the way here DH realized that he had left his dress socks at home. He was slightly frustrated about it, but I couldn't stop laughing because I just pictured him walking into the courthouse with no socks. So Miami Vice! So at 9:45 we stopped at Kohl's for some new socks! I was sent in to get them because I had to use the facilities. As I stared at the socks on the wall I lost my color vision. I had to ask a fellow last-minute shopper, "Are these blue?" I had to ask the clerk, too. They were blue enough.

We got to the courthouse without issue, although on about 4 hours of sleep, and somehow found our way to the correct room. We didn't know the judge's name but fortunately saw the other couple on the way in and followed them. When we went to testify (Karen, you'll especially appreciate this) our attorney asked if we'd crossed state lines with the baby. Randy said, "No."

I thought, "What? Oh gosh, yes we did, oh no, what do we do?" The question wasn't phrased correctly. I decided to try not to worry about it. Then she asked, "Is there any criminal background in either your or your wife's history that would cause an issue in parenting this child?" Well DH was still thinking about the previous question and didn't hear, so he hesitated for a few seconds.

"Could you repeat that?" he said.

"Uh-oh," I thought again, "Is there something I don't know?" This time "no" was the answer. Survey says..."Good answer!" (And true, by the way.)

So next I answer a few questions and the attorney said, "Do you agree with the previous testimony?"

Um....Well....Uh....

"We did travel out of state to Colorado for the holidays," I said sheepishly. Oh man, have I just accused my husband of perjury? Are we going to be taken downtown? Wait, we were downtown - was this the end?

The question should have been, "Have you taken the child across state lines for the purposes of this adoption?" The other couple verifies that the question was worded differently, too. I'm not in trouble with my husbadn for clarifying!

What is a formal proceeding without a little humor, right? It's fun to laugh about this now, and maybe we lent some comic relief to a family courtroom in which all cases are not adoption finalizations.

Thanks for tuning in!

It's practically official.

We will be finalizing our adoption tomorrow! I am looking forward to everything being official, but I am also thinking of K. We'll see her on Saturday and I did tell her that we would be in town to finalize the adoption. I hope that was the right thing to do. I didn't want to make a big deal about it but would have felt like we were keeping something important from her if I didn't mention it.

Unfortunately, I think Randy may have just pulled in to the garage and I'm supposed to have been getting ready already. It has been a very busy week and I have not been productive today!

Tee hee

Today we took baby out to lunch and shopping for a little furniture. At the furniture store a man said, "Neat helmet! What is it for? Does he have a fragile skull?" It made me smile. I thanked him for asking about it and we briefly explained plagiocephaly. Inside another worker indicated toward the helmet and said, "Is that for decoration?" We just assume she was curious but didn't want to say, "What's wrong with your baby?" In either case, it was nice to have people ask rather than stare and assume.

We are all adjusting. Today I just started kissing the helmet because I can't easily get to his face, and he is in there after all. He's asleep in it again, and wore it all day. 23 hours a day, here we come!

Pregnancy update

Yep, I'm still with child. I was 16 weeks on Friday. I can't believe that in a few weeks we will be half way!

I felt pretty sick from about 6 to 9 weeks. I wasn't vomiting but I sure felt terrible. The only foods that really sounded good were McDonald's (I'm a die-hard fan), hot and sour soup, and vegetables with lemon pepper and white balsamic vinegar. I had a really hard time with Thing 1, too. It was very discouraging when I couldn't wait for him to take a nap so I could lie down.

One ongoing challenge of having gone through infertility is that you feel like you should enjoy every minute of being a parent and being pregnant. It doesn't work that way! Cognitively I could reason why I should be grateful, but I didn't feel grateful all the time. There was one day when I was resenting Thing 1 for needing me so I couldn't relax and get some rest, and I was concurrently resenting Thing 2 for taking all my energy so I had none for #1. (If you're not familiar with Thing 1 and Thing 2, you need to review your Cat in the Hat!) That was the worst day.

Things got a lot easier when I started feeling better at about 10 weeks. I was still exhausted, but I could eat again. I loves to eat, so I was thrilled about this! I started wanting fruit and cottage cheese. All along I loved loved loved milk. I love milk anyway, but I'm going through it like water. In fact, let me go get a glass RIGHT now.

OK. Got milk.

At week 14 or so I had my first real craving. I've never experienced anything like it. It was for garlic bread. Other things have sounded good to me, and I would have thought it was a craving, but this was the real deal. I couldn't stop thinking about it all day. I made it from scratch and practically ate the whole loaf. I almost jumped for joy when it was almost done, and it tasted mm-mm-good. (Unlike the Campbell's soup I ate during week 7 out of which I ended up picking out all of the chicken and the noodles.)

Now my big mystery is when will I get a baby belly? Pregnancy feels like such a novelty to me that I'm anxious to see it progress. If I push out my belly and put my hand on the middle where my usual pooch indents I look about 6-7 months. But then I can suck it in and look like the old me. I am wearing maternity clothes because my others feel too tight when I sit down. Fortunately many of today's fashions look like maternity clothes IMHO, so I don't look like I'm trying too hard to appear pregnant. I think my time as a non-pregnant-looking woman are going to be short-lived, though.

The things I don't like about being pregnant are the words preggo, preggie, and preggers. I will never use them, and please don't use them on me. I'll cringe and you'll feel badly. Or you won't. Please don't get a chance to take your pick!

I feel so blessed and so grateful to experience this, but not any more blessed than I feel about our firstborn Baby. Pregnancy is something I was not sure I would. I know many who read this blog will have different reactions to reading these details. I sincerely feel for and love you ladies, and I hope to always be sensitive.

By the way, we don't plan to find out the sex of this babe. So we'll just call this creature New Baby (or the Very Hungry Caterpillar!)

Adjusting

I think we can do this. Today Mr. Man spent most of the day in the helmet, and we are trying to put him to bed in it tonight. He is supposed to wear it for a few more hours. He's pretty tired so we hope he'll go for it.

When Bob put the little hat on tonight Baby didn't even cry. He's crying now, I can hear him being put to bed.

Baby is definitely adjusting, and I am, too. I know it's not the same, but it's sort of like adjusting to a prosthesis. At first it's so foreign and it doesn't fit your image. But soon, as you get used to it, it becomes a part of you. It helps you. Today I was kissing the helmet because it was the only thing I could get to. Bob asked me, "Are you kissing that baby?" and I said, "Yes."

I'm not nuts about it when he dives for me and conks me in the head with the hard hat, but at least he still dives for me like he has for the past few months. I could do without the stares at the restaurant, but then I hear people say, "What a cute baby." He IS cute. That is not debatable.

I have a couple of friends whose sons have worn helmets, and I emailed one the other day. I actually don't know either of these women very well, but I have a feeling I'm about to. My new friend emailed me a wonderful response about how he and her son adjusted to the helmet, and it helped me feel not so alone.

In the grand scheme of things this is nothing. It is 4 months of our lives, it is only cosmetic, it is not life-threatening. But of course we only want the best for our children. This is the best for him. He could care less about that hat so it's my problem. All sorts of things happen in life, and we choose how we are going to deal.

I know I've quoted this scripture here recently, but Romans 8:28 says that God will work all things for good to those called according to His purposes. Maybe we'll meet someone along the way who needs some hope and acceptance, like I received from my friend. We just won't know until we "walk purposefully about" (Davis, 2000) in this helmet!

By the way, I don't hear any more crying, so maybe the Big Guy has fallen asleep in his new head.

First nap in the helmet.

This is not happening. He slept for about 15 minutes and has been crying ever since.

Sometimes when I feed him and my hair is down, he likes to tug on it. It's okay when he gets large chunks of hair, but when he only grabs a few and yanks it out it hurts like crazy! Listening to him try to sleep in that God-forsaken thing makes me want to pull them out myself few by few.

Hateful, dreaded helmet.

I'm a plagio mom.

Well, gosh. Here it all is. You can't really tell from a front view how flat this kids noggin really is. In this picture the front of his head is facing the bottom of the screen and a little bit to the right. I actually thinnk it rounded out a bit from when we first started repositioning him, but in the words of our cranial-facial specialist, "It's pretty flat." Hello, Dr. Obvious! But we told ourselves it really wasn't that bad. This look is OK on a baby, but if he's ever in the military or bald, this might not be such a good look for him.















Here is baby's first hour in the helmet. Doesn't he look miserable? It does squinch his little cheeks together, but again, this look works for a baby.


















Here's round 2 of the helmet. Poor baby is really affected by it.



I had a real hard time of this yesterday. Obviously the helmet doesn't phase baby at all, but it sure phased me one good when he screamed and writhed in misery as I put that thing on his head. Also, I have to work really hard at getting in a kiss. I can basically get a top-of-the-head if I pucker up real good or a kiss on the lips if I come in directly from the front. When I snuggle up with him I can feel a bunch of plastic on my face and it doesn't smell like baby head.

But what can I do besides get used to it? Get him a t-shirt made that says, "I was abducted by aliens and all I got was this lousy helmet?" Exclaim to on-lookers, "What are you looking at!?!?!?!" Nah - not my style.

Do you think he looks like an astronaut?

Tomorrow is helmet day.

I don't want it. (Spoken in a whiny voice.)

First mother

I like this term. I use it sometimes, and Christine used it in a comment on my "Special Occasions for Birthmothers" post. (By the way, I decided that Birthmother's Day should not be in October. It should not exist at all. A mother is a mother.)

Anyway, first mother. I am Mommy. I dry the tears, clean the bottom, administer the teething tablets, etc. And Kelly conceived this miracle, went through the morning sickness, nurtured him in her womb, painstakingly chose adoption for him. She loved him in her womb as she loves him now. She was his first mother. Is his first mother.

One time I asked a birthmom how she felt about the word "birthmom." I agree that it has its issues, and she definitely thought so. She also said that it was hard to come up with a different word. Nothing is sufficient to describe her or any other first mom.

While I'm at it, and I think I've said this on here before, a woman is an "expectant mother" until she signs termination of parental rights (TPR) papers. She is not a birthmom, she is a mom. Mommy. She is the only mommy that child knows. He knows her voice, her habits, her heartbeat. She's not a birthmom.

Also, I'm not sure about when people say "Our birthmom." Kelly isn't my birthmom, she isn't Randy's birthmom. She is our baby's birthmom. Any thoughts on this one?

That's it. I'm hungry. Love.

Birthmother Dream

OK guys, this is a weird one! You might think that an adoptive parent would have dreams about her child's birthmom coming to "take him back," wanting to co-parent, etc. Here's what I dream about.

This may have been about the Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Jack in the Box I ate at 9:pm and then having John Tesh on the radio tell me not to eat to fast music lest I'll eat too much and gain weight, because my dream was set to "It's the end of the world as we know it" by R.E.M. - a very fast, frantic song.

So in my dream, I, my husband, Kelly, and her boyfriend must have been camping or something. The baby must have been there too, but he wasn't in the dream. So, I'm running down the trail as fast as I can, doing the Phoebe run (if you know what I mean), and my bob is running after me. Kelly is quickly digging through the bushes looking for Sean who's hiding. I wave at her and she laughs.

Then, weirdest of all, I get down on the ground on my side and do a breakdance-type move where I'm rotating in the dirt with my legs making running movements and propelling me along the ground in a circle. I looked to see if this "move" has a name, but my breakdancing site didn't have anything like it. Maybe I dreamed it up. (Ha ha, get it? Dreamed it up? Huh? Huh?)

So that's what I dream about - having fun together. Frantic, "are you on speed?" fun this time, but I have fun thinking about this silly dream. My only dream analysis is that I should have skipped that Spicy Chicken sandwich. It was tasty, though.

An email I received. Rather than fwd...

(My cool friend Terry suggested a look at the following website http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/prayer.asp, as Paul Harvey apparently didn't write this.)

Keep this going around the globe.....read it and forward every time you receive it. We can't give up on this issue. (Paul Harvey) and Prayer

(Paul Harvey) says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire! a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his theory of evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game.

So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue. Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect - somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome.

But what about the atheists? is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating; to pray before we go to sleep.

Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we let that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority don't care what they want. It is time the majority rules! It's time we tell them, you don't have to pray; you don't have to say the pledge of allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right. But by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back ... and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all ... especially those who denounce Him. God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all...

God bless our service men and women who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

May 2007 be the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions.

Keep looking up.

If you agree with this, please pass it on. If not delete it.


Keep this going around the globe.....read it and forward every time you receive it. We can't give up on this issue. Paul Harvey and Prayer

Paul Harvey says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire! a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his theory of evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game.

So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue. Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect - somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome.

But what about the atheists? is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating; to pray before we go to sleep.

Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we let that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority don't care what they want. It is time the majority rules! It's time we tell them, you don't have to pray; you don't have to say the pledge of allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right. But by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back ... and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all ... especially those who denounce Him. God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all...

God bless our service men and women who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

May 2007 be the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions.

Keep looking up.

If you agree with this, please pass it on. If not delete it.

To infinity and beyond!

Buzz Lightyear may or not be modeling the latest in baby helmets. I don't think astronauts call their little hats "helmets," in fact, I doubt they're called "little hats," either. I need to do some research on this. You know, actually, having done some google research just now, they are in fact called astronaut space helmets.

All that to say, Baby got fitted for a helmet yesterday. He has what's scarily called "positional plagiocephaly." He has a mixture of brachiocephaly (back of the head is flat straight across, which his really isn't) and another kind that I'll affectionately call parallelogram-head. By the way, if you want to hear about more scary sounding medical words, your child likely has normocephaly! But don't freak out, it just means their head is totally normal. Anything with "cephaly" sounds frightening, I think.

So, off we went to the helmet lady. (The helmets are actually called a cranial band.) After lots and lots of measurements and questions, the official verdict was, "It's flat." Um, yeah, I did notice that. The doctor was very nice, but the experience did feel a little humiliating.

As parents, don't we feel responsible for everything our child experiences? Kelly thinks this is her fault because of how she carried him. I think it's mine for not being more rigorous with tummy time and sleep positioning. Maybe she and I could agree to blame each other to take some pressure off ourselves. Maybe that's not such a good idea. The deal is, his head has a flat spot. It just does.



Anyway, then the doctor put a very funny looking do-rag on him, cut ear-holes through, and tied it in the front of his head like a bonnet. A velcro head-band went under his chin and over the top of his head and she used a laser to make a computer-generated model of his noggin. He did not like the do-rag, but the scanning involved a cool light-up toy that he got to look at and try to eat. I certainly do not know what that baby is looking at, because ours didn't sit that still for sure.

So, the helmet will be ready in two weeks, and we'll work up to having him wear it 23 hours a day. We'll go for adjustments every two weeks and see what happens. I didn't get an estimate on how long he'll have to wear it. I'll say four to six months, since I'm a doctor and all. Since Randy was not there I had to pick the design for the little hat. I decided to forego the camoflage one for one with planets and stars. This is a theme for this guy since he came home from the hospital in a similar-looking outfit. Ergo, the Buzz Lightyear reference.

We're not thrilled about this. People keep telling me, "He'll look so cute in it!" and of course he will. But he looks so cute without it! Alas, if this is the most serious medical intervention he will ever need, we'll take it. Even if it isn't, it'll all work out for God's glory somehow.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called accoring to His purpose."

Today Show

The Today Show is doing a special this week about infertility. I haven't caught the whole thing, but I'm watching it right now. The reproductive psychologist on now is good. Today they are answering emails about infertility. I am sorry that I missed the rest of the series.

The series is called, "I want a baby," though, which I'm not crazy about. It's frustrating to me how people who have not gone through infertility sometimes look at those of us who have as being desperate for a child to the point of selfishness. "Why don't you travel the world instead?" "Serve in the children's area at your church," and "Maybe it's just not God's plan for you."

All of those things might be true or good for some, but the desire for a child is more than a selfish, cognitive idea. It's a biological drive. It goes beyond cognition to a place of deep longing. It's not the same as desperately wanting a Porsche or desperately wanting to be a famous author. Those things are nice, too, but I just don't think it is the same.

This is a rough week for a lot of my sweet friends and compatriots. More on that in another post. Just know I'm thinking about you and praying for you this week, sweet friends.

San Saba

Tonight we went to a leadership meeting at church and brought the baby. He had taken a late nap so I felt pretty good about taking him. With the new baby on the way in the fall we decided to step down from leadership next year, so I wanted to attend the last meeting.

He was a doll! He made about 4 sounds the whole hour, stayed up past his bedtime, and was still smiling at 7:30. He's usually in bed before 7:00. I also strapped him on in the Mei Tai baby carrier to take him to choir to show him off for awhile. He is quite the show piece! He is so fun and is my best friend. I know I should cherish these days in order to survive the future times when he thinks I'm the lamest mom in the world!

Baby's favorite thing to do lately is to grab my face with both hands, jut out his lower jaw in a weird smile, and shake his head back and forth, sometimes rubbing his drooly chin all over my face. Then we each need a burp rag!

I'm reading John Grisham's book Testament and I'm almost done. It's nice to read again. I hope to finish it tonight, so I'd better get a readin'!

Scars

I got a C in creative writing in college. I had always considered myself a good writer and had received commendations to the same, so that C knocked me out. Granted, I was a freshman in college and did not apply myself to the class, so I probably got what I deserved, but since then I quit trying to write stories. I have permanent writer's block. I can't even start one, and when I do it sounds so dumb to me I think, "Forget it." I know that being able to write fiction is different from being able to write non-fiction, but I'd like to think I could tell my kid a good story once in awhile.

I always thought I'd be a good conductor, too. I got a B in conducting and was basically told not to pursue a choir director job due to lack of experience. I would have liked to have done that, but I have no confidence left.

Isn't it sad how people, without necessarily meaning to, can so shape our self image so that we won't even try to succeed? Words are damaging, (grades too, sometime). I know that feedback is important, so maybe it's just my sensitive nature ruining my own creativity. That bites.

Oh, man, I'm afraid to fail. That's it. Man!

One of the papers I wrote for my creative writing class was about the split ends of the girl in front of me. Now, how is that not good material???

Special occasions for birthmoms.

Tomorrow is baby's birthmom's birthday. Triple B. Then next weekend is Birthmother's Day on Saturday and Mother's Day on Sunday. I'm not sure how I feel about Birthmother's Day. Isn't she a mother, birth or otherwise? I'd like for Birthmother's Day to be in October or something. This way kind of feels like Saturday is an appeasement holiday for Sunday. A few birthmoms created Birthmother's Day, so I guess it might be PC. I think I'll send a Mother's Day card instead. As I said, she is a mother. Yeah.

We keep telling Baby that tomorrow is his Kelly's birthday. She is 10, count them, 10 years younger than me. Well, nine years and two months younger than me if I'm trying to make myself feel better.

We'll be finalizing our adoption this month. I wonder how K feels about that? Does it make everything harder? Easier? (Not likely.) Our mandatory monthly visits are up. Is she worried we will disappear? It's good that we have some special occasions this month. They will hopefully let her know that we still love her and want her in our lives. We do.

Back to our subject

The jig is up. (**pg ment**)

Wanna know why I haven't posted much this last few months? Really, really?

...


Morning sickness. In the words of the eloquent Elisabeth Hasselbeck, "I'm like totally three months pregnant."

We found out in early March and told family and close friends right away. Not that you are not a close friend, but we wanted to tell Kelly (baby's birthmom) before publicly announcing this pregnancy. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is due to be born on November 9, 2007. Everything is looking good, and we got to hear the heartbeat earlier this week. Amazing.

So this is a weird place to be. It took several weeks to really wrap my brain around this. It's not that I wasn't excited at first, but more nervous. Babe and New Baby will be just 12.5 months apart. Best friends, right? Then I didn't feel well for the next few weeks and I watched a LOT of TV. I am feeling better now, although I picked up a cold this week. I'm hoping to get my energy back soon.

So what happens about this blog, eh? Will I suddenly go on and on about pregnancy? I don't think so. I don't plan to. One of the hard things about finding out we were expecting was that we didn't want to minimize adoption. So many people have said, "I told you that once you adopted you'd get pregnant." Those words are becoming quite thorny to me. I know people mean well, but adoption is not means to an end. We love our baby more than anything, and God meant for us to have him as our son.

I'm thankful and humbled that I will get to experience the miracles of adoption and pregnancy. I hope this announcement is not painful, but I know it will be for some. I'm sorry.

I'll close this post with my new favorite verse, and I want this for you. Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Chops

I've lost my writing chops. I need to not try so hard and to just be a pen for God to use. (Or a keyboard, if we want to keep our metaphors straight.)

At our retreat we had a theme Bible verse. This happens to be the first verse I ever memorized, during a Bible study called "Experiencing God." It is John 15:5 which states,

"I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing."

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling so lonesome. I missed being in the physical presence of so many Christian sisters just like me, who can all relate in some way or another to my experiences. I missed going to sleep and waking up in the presence of a sweet roommate whose presence just made me feel peace and a quiet joy.

(BTW, this reminds me of a verse I just studied in BSF last week. Romans 15:13 which states,

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.")

In any case, back to my topic of loneliness, I pondered John 15:5 and was given some insights as to why I can not miss my HP sisters. We are one in Jesus since he is our vine. Whether we are together or not, we are the branches - related. Together in Christ even when we are apart physically.

Also, I live with a branch, too, who I would certainly miss if I moved permanently to the Sheraton Westport in St. Louis, Missouri! But ultimately, wherever I am and whomever I'm with (cannot get who and whom straight), Christ is in me, and I in Him. I need never be lonely when I remember that miracle.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the savlation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." Romans 1:16.

TTFN.

Down from the Mountaintop

A low often results after a mountaintop experience. I'm feeling low down today. Part of this is that I am exhausted from lack of sleep at the retreat. I would have something more profound to say, but I'm profoundless. Goodnight.

Retreat!

I've spent the past three days in St. Louis, Missouri away from my sweet husband and son. I haven't been blogging very faithfully lately, obviously, and soon you'll know why. I also haven't checked my "readership" lately, so I don't know if anyone other than my friends and family read this bloogle. I am going to work on being a more faithful blogger and a less faithful television watcher.

I spent the weekend with 30 or so women who I've never met but I've known for 3 years. You can catch the link over yonder (see right), I've been a member of Hannah's Prayer since January of 2004. We spent the weekend studying God's word, laughing, crying, staying up too late, and eating a tremendous amount of snack foods and chocolate (mostly the latter).

Hannah's Prayer is an online Christian community of women who have experienced infertility, miscarriage, and child loss. Although it sounds quite sad, and of course these things are, it is really encouraging and humbling to share our tragedies and triumphs with one another. Being in the real-life presence of some of these women this weekend was like spending time with some of the women I've read about in the Bible. It was amazing, touching, and life-changing. I'm happy to be home, but also feeling that let down that happens after I've been looking forward to something for a long time.

John 15:5 "I am the vine, and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing." I think writing is more fruitful than watching America's Next Top Model, don't you?

Love.

Baby's first piano playing

Today as I was playing the piano with Baby in my lap, he began to bang on the keys. He actually hit a few right notes in his banging. Coincidence? Hmmmm...

Babe has this weird camera thing. He'll be smiling along, and then see the camera and give his blank camera face. However, I caught him this time.

Happy Easter!

Busy!

I've been a terrible blogger lately! Life with a 5-month-old is pretty nuts. I promise to be a more exciting blogger in the future.

Baby's a big boy in his chair. (Well, Sarah and Emma's chair.)

How sweet is my baby?

Thursday mornings I go to a Bible study group called Mom to Mom. Baby always does a great job in the nursery, and Maria, Jo, and Ann are wonderful childcare workers. When we walked in today all of the babies were engaged in one way or the other, and Maria took Erik in her lap. We always get stellar reports about how wonderful and easy he is.

Then I went to lunch with a friend, and got back home about 2:15. We had been out all day.

He woke up from a nap at 3:45 (I could have used an extra 15 minutes!), and I put him in his jumper/exersaucer. I stayed in the room with him, and he kept turning to me and pouting, saying, "Mbuh, mbuh," and spitting. I would say, "Hi," in a cheery voice, with a goofy grin, and hope that he would be happier in there by himself. It was a no-go. I could tell he wanted me, and wanted to be held, so I picked him up.

Within minutes he was giggling, laughing, and smiling, and he has been kicking and waving his arms under his mobile for about 20 minutes while I type.

Isn't he the sweetest? It's true love.

Who's so cute?

Me?

Chompers!

We have toothage! For weeks now I have thought that Mr. Baby was teething. He's soaked through several outfits each day with drool, lost his appetite, had red cheeks, was pulling on his ears, etc. Yesterday I thought I saw something white in there, and today I can feel the baby tooth. He seems shy about it, because when I try to open his mouth to look he puts his tongue out, but it is definitely there. It is on his bottom right.

Wait 'til Kelly hears this.

(This is an older picture, but I knew I might not be forgiven if I didn't include a picture.)

Introducing...

Solids!

More pictures

Hook 'em, Horns!











Hangin' out with Mom.











My birthcat!

I'm 4 months old!

I am getting to be a big boy. I weigh over 14 pounds and am 24 inches long!

Here are some of the things I'm doing:

Talking a lot. I especially like the sounds I make when my hand is in my mouth or my tongue is sticking out. When I'm upset I say, "Mbuh, mbuh, muh, muh, muh."
Giving Mama kisses! Big wet ones on her cheeks and chin.
Standing up any chance I get.
Sleeping through the night.
Laughing.
Wowing my birthmom with how much I've grown and how cute I am!
Rolling over from front to back sometimes.
Grabbing everything I can and chewing on those things.
Being the light of my parents' lives.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Right back atcha, Mattcha!

Hook 'em, Horns!

At least we have each other...

Our people are very preoccupied these days.