Texas Day One

Texas Day One – September 20^th, 2012

Day One of our adventure started really early! After staying up too late the night before with last minute packing, visitors, and nerves, 4:15am alarm seemed like it rang way too soon! Amber was sleeping on the couch because Jeff’s parents were staying in her room for the night. The alarm clock rang and we all sprang into action. We let buddy boy sleep as long as possible, much easier to haul our luggage around without taking turns passing the baby. Plus he had slept so good the night before we knew he would be starving when he woke up. Amber woke up with no problem; she was so excited to get the show on the road! She was nervous about flying too, but more excited than anything. We woke up little man, fed, changed, clean jammies, and loaded him in the car seat. He was all smiles of course. I wonder if he thought something was out of the ordinary. There usually are not so many people at the house scurrying around at 5am. We loaded the cars, picked up my Mom from her house next door, and headed to the airport. We had received an email the night before that our flight would be delayed about 40 minutes but they suggested still arriving on time in case they were able to move things along quicker.

 

All in all, I think we did pretty good getting through security – all seven of us. An infant, a nine year old, 5 adults – 2 non-flyers. We did fail security the first time through. My MIL had hair gel in her carry-on and apparently I was packing too much Desitin. A crime, I know. Well, my mother in law took the items and was going to backtrack to the ticket counter to see if we could put the items in our suitcase. When she came back she was trying to talk to me through the glass wall, well, I could not hear her so I opened the door, maybe 2 inches. You would have thought I had committed the biggest crime of the century! The security workers started yelling at me “You must go out the door! Once the door is open, you must go out!” Well I calmly told them that I had already gone through security, my id and boarding pass were with the other members of our party at our gate. Well, they didn’t care, they made me go through the door, only to wait at security for my mother in law to pass security (after we threw our liquids away cause the plane was already loaded), she then had to go dig out my boarding pass and ID and bring them back to me so I could proceed. It’s a good thing our airport is so very small, or it would have been an even bigger debacle. But, the good news is that we made it, and we were ready to board our first flight!!

 

It is only a 45 minute flight from our home to Charlotte, NC so once we got seated and leveled out good it was time to start our descent already. Amber loved flying! She thought it was pretty much the coolest thing ever! She had a window seat next to Jeff, Johnny & Debbie sat behind Mom and I, and Caleb sat with us as a lap baby. He was the PERFECT flying companion! Seriously, I could not have planned it any more perfect! He took a bottle on take-off, slept the entire flight, awoke when we landed. He actually did this on all four flights this weekend! Others on the plane commented that he was so quiet they didn’t even realize there was a baby on the account! That’s my boy!J

 

We landed in Charlotte and had over an hour to burn before our next flight to San Antonio. We grabbed some breakfast (breakfast burrito at Salsaritos!!), let Caleb stretch, and play on a blanket on the floor, and then it was about time to board. This was a 2.5 hour flight, all went well, but we all were ready for the plane to land! Except Caleb, cause he was still sleeping so good. We landed in beautiful San Antonio at 1pm (their time), and after locating our luggage went to the car rental counter where I had reserved our 2 vehicles. We ended up with 2 cars because all 7 of us and our luggage could not fit in one comfortably. We hopped on a tram that dropped us off at the car lot and we loaded our GPS with our next destination. Lunch…..at Bill Miller’s BBQ. Jeff and I had eaten there on our first trip in January and we had enjoyed it so much and were looking forward to it again. We didn’t waste any time.

After lunch we headed to our adoption agency to drop off our final 6mo report including pics and doc report on Caleb. We also wanted the family to meet the ladies at the agency, and of course they wanted to love on sweet baby Caleb. They scooped him up right away, although he gave them his little head drop/shy look. We stayed and talked for a few minutes and they said they would welcome us back when we were ready to adopt again. J

From there, we headed to find our rental house. We were very pleased with our house! It was a great, new neighborhood and the house was clean and beautifully decorated. It was spacious, nice and cool inside, and the furniture was very comfortable. I had communicated with the house owner beforehand and wouldn’t you know it, out of all the houses I researched, I chose the one whose owners were also adoptive parents! How cool is that? She was able to share our joy with first hand experience. Caleb loved the carpet and he is oh so close to crawling! I don’t think it will be long now. Eek.

We settled in to the house, unpacked and lounged for a bit then it was time to meet D. and her husband T. for dinner at the Alamo Café. Oh boy, that restaurant was great! They make their own tortillas and they were scrumptious. It was great to catch up with them, although the meal was over way too soon. We hugged each other so tightly, we had been through so much in the last 6 months. She looked fantastic! It was soooo good to hear her laugh!

 

 

After dinner I returned her baby blanket and bear from her childhood that she had given to us on our first visit this year. She had given them to us since she had chosen us to raise her child, it was to be a sweet gift for baby. But, since our story was written differently, she needs those items back, because one day she will have a little bundle in her arms that will love those precious items.

 

After a very long day, lots of emotions and excitement, we drove home, all of us dozing in the car. Well, except for Jeff, our driver. LOL And what trip out of town would be complete without a trip (or 4) to Walmart??? We made a quick stop (remember the Desitin that I had to toss?) and grab a few food items for the house. Then we finally made it to the house and settled in for the rest of the night. We were gonna need a good nights sleep, cause the next was was COURT!!!

 

To be continued......

6 months!

Oh my gracious, Buddy Boy is 6 months old!!! This has been the fastest six months of my life! Now that we have finally turned the corner on the sleep situation, I am actually remembering more of each passing day. Ha-ha I will be the first to admit, I totally and completely underestimated the whole sleep deprivation thing. I will also admit that it has been 100% totally and completely worth it. Even if I did go to work with mismatched socks/shoes, etc. I only fell asleep at my desk once, but thankfully I don’t think anyone noticed. Caleb continues to thrive and has the sweetest personality. We feel so blessed and often say “Not only were we chosen for a healthy baby, but he is so handsome AND so good and sweet!” He does love to be held but also loves to spend time in his various activities. He loves his exersaucer, Johnny jump up, and lately just rolling around on the floor with his toys. At his recent 6mo well-baby checkup the Doc was impressed by how well he is sitting up so straight. He had to show off his tricks: picking up small toys, passing them from one hand to the other, then to his mouth, holding items above his head, leaning forward while sitting to reach a toy and then sitting back up again without toppling over. He finally made it up to the 25% in weight!! Yay!!! And it did my Mommy heart good to hear her say that even though he is on the small side he is beyond his age developmentally. Tears started to sting my eyes, isn’t that silly? Oh, and by the way, I absolutely adore our pediatrician’s office. There are several doctors in the practice, and I love them all. They are so kind and patient and are great with the babies as well as Amber’s age. They never look at me funny when I have questions that probably sound stupid. They understood when I burst into tears when they sent us to the hospital when Caleb was 8 weeks old. And they all have shared in our joy over our adoption. If you are not 100% satisfied with your Pediatrician, find another one. Makes all the difference.

Jeff’s parents bought Caleb a Cars themed walker that has a honking horn, steering wheel, and turn signals that beep. Super cute and he loves it! He loves to lay down on the horn and then looks around and grins. He can not go forward in the walker yet, but he is good at going backwards across the floor. LOL I’m glad we don’t have carpet in our main living areas anymore; I think he will really be able to ZOOM across the floor soon! He also has a new trick, just this week. He rolls off the blanket onto the floor and then scoots backwards on his belly all the way across the room. Kind of like a reverse army crawl. It’s precious. He also saw his shadow for the first time last night when sitting on the floor in the living room. He slowly waved his hand around, and then tried to “scoop” up the shadow and eat it! hahaha I’m thankful I got it on film.

His six month birthday is also an important time in our adoption process. Finalization can not take place in TX until 6mo after our placement date. He was born on the 5^th of March; we received The Call on March 7^th, and we checked him out of hospital on March 8^th. So now that 6mo has passed our placement date we can now officially finalize in Texas. Of course, we have been waiting for this day for months, but the actually plane tickets and court date could not be set until they received our 5^th month post placement visit last month. But, everything is now set! Rental cars (2- cause all 7 of us and car seat won’t fit in one), rental house (Love VRBO.com), and plane tickets (OUCH!) Being the planner that I am, I also have a list of suggested restaurants and activities to do while we are there. I know we are going to Sea World and the Alamo, and if we have time I would love to visit the zoo. We will also be having family photos taken with my sweet friend Briana. So excited to see them again!! They recently shared some exciting news, but since she hasn’t written a blog post about it, I’m not going to say a thing......but I am so happy for them!! Anywhoo….. we will also get to spending some time with my sweet D. and her husband T. I miss her smiling face and even though we email and text regularly, I’m looking forward to hugging her neck. And I know she is looking forward to seeing our sweet baby and meeting the rest of the family!

 

Baby Boy we love you so very much! Thank you for letting me be your Mommy, it is the greatest feeling in the world.

 

 

5 months!!! (Yes, this post is really late!)

Caleb (aka Boudreau, Buddy, Bubby, Sunny boy, Hims) is 5 months old!!!!! He had another great month and is just growing and changing so much! He continues to be one happy little fella who just lights up a room. He has the sweetest, melt your heart smile that makes you want to cry and grin from ear to ear at the same time. He loves to laugh, cackle, listen to music, chew on ANYTHING, play on the floor, fly through the air, splash in the bath, pound the floor in his jump-up, eat baby food, drain a bottle, attack his feet, and pretty much excels at being adorable.

We had our LAST post placement visit this month too!! We have been so amazingly blessed with a caring Christian social worker, who didn't just do her job, but became a wonderful friend, motivator, encourager, and prayer warrior. She bent over backwards and pushed other things aside so she could concentrate on our final reports and get them done in record time. She communicated with our TX agency and was able to complete everything they needed so we could schedule a court date! We owe so much to our sweet Dawn! I'm very sad (selfishly) that she and her family have moved away in the last few days, but thankful they are still in the same state. And thankful that even though things were up in the air for her for a few months, God saw fit to keep her here for a little bit longer. I'm pretty sure HE knew I would need her! She does a wonderful work and I know she will continue to help many more families like ours.

Speaking of court date, we fly out of here on the 20th of Sept and finalize in court on the 21st!!! We are taking Amber with us as well as my Mom and Jeff's parents. So all 7 of us will be sharing in this experience. We have rented a house in San Antonio as well and we are really looking forward to doing some sight seeing too! We are also VERY excited about seeing our friend Briana and Noel (our amazing friends who housed us), and of course we have plans to see our sweet Danielle again!!!

Caleb has become quite the little busy guy this month! When you hold him, he stands, jumps, swings his arms, reaches for EVERYTHING, and can get quite mad if you take something away. LOL He has also started making more sounds, stringing sounds together. My fave is MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA especially when accompanied by a sloppy grin. He is rolling around everywhere and is trying so hard to get his knees under him enough to inch forward. I am so not ready for him to learn how to crawl. :( He is doing great at sitting for about 15 minutes by himself. Especially if he has a toy in front of him to occupy his hands. AND, he can not sit in a shopping cart!! Yippeeee, that will make grocery shopping much easier for this Mama!

Little man had a great checkup this month, he is still on the petite side but Doc said he is still not concerned because he has grown about the same amount every month and he is on target if not ahead developmentally. So I'm not going to worry because he might just be a little fella. :) Good, maybe he will snuggle me longer!

So without further ado here are his 5 months stats and some yummy pics!

Weight - 14.9lbs

Length - 26in
Size 3 Diapers
Clothes - Mostly 3/6 mo, some 6mo

Food - LOVES baby food: Carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, peaches, not a huge fan of the green stuff though. And he is enjoying the mix of a couple with cherry bananas and strawberry/bananas being his fave.

Sleep - 2 naps a day ranging anywhere from 45min to 1.5hours. At night he sleeps from 9-1, eats 6-8oz, then sleep another 2 - 3 hours.

* I know most of you aren't interested in these little bits of info but this is my record of his accomplishments and I would like to print after a year, so bear with me :)

My precious baby boy, how you have changed my life for the good. I never imagined my life and heart would be so full. You are completely and wonderfully bonded with our little family. You adore his sister and laughs so hard at her antics. I absolutely swoon when you smile at me and lay your face on my chest. I love the way you still tuck a small hand in my shirt and like to play with the strands of hair around my ear, but only on the left side. I love the way you anticipate and appreciate all of the attention you receive, everywhere we go, especially church. I hope you know how wonderfully made you are and how much you are cherished and loved. Love you always sweet boy - Momma.

This one's for you MVH

Well, today we celebrated the 40th birthday of my dearest friend, cousin, and pseudo sister Vesta. (AKA Mary). And since I failed to give her a card today due to all the busyness, she gets a whole blog post dedicated just to her. :) I feel so sorry for anyone who has never met her or does not have a friend as great as her. Our relationship goes way beyond being first cousins. She is my best friend. I know, I know, you are are thinking that Jeff should be my best friend. And he is. But this is different. Vesta is my best friend/sister/partner in crime/therapist/encourager/confidant all rolled into one.

When I think of all we have been through together, all the things we have been through in our own lives, how much we have relied on each other through the years. I can't imagine a life without her in it. She is a wonderful daughter who loved and honored her parents and was loved and valued by her parents until they passed way too soon. But they left her with so much. She is courageous and strong. She received the kind heart, gentle spirit, and the ability to cook GOOD southern food. She can bake anything you can imagine and has the best lasagna, chicken n pastry, sausage balls, and pretty much everything she touches is amazing. From her Father she learned never to give up, keep fighting, and an impeccable work ethic that is unmatched. She will and does give her all in everything she signs up for. She has a problem telling people NO, but she still manages to get it all done.

We have been through all the years of dating. College graduation, more dating, engagements, weddings, and her babies being born. She was there when my Dad died. She "got" it. She understood. She told me it would be ok. We would survive this. That she was there for me. She understood when it was hard for me to show emotion, she knew that if it started, I feared it would never end.

She supported me through my divorce, was elated when Jeff and I met, rejoiced when I had an instant family with Amber, and was one of the biggest supporters of our adoption. For two years of holidays she helped me bake, bake, and bake some more. Hundreds of dozens of peanut butter balls were rolled, dipped, and prepared to sell. Over a hundred cheesecakes were lovingly made by hand and sold. All to raise money for our adoption. Many late nights spent in her kitchen. I think of her when I hold my son. And I tell him how many people love him and worked to help us bring him home. I tell him about his Aunt Vesta and how much she did for us, for him. I know he will love her the way I love her.

She has a great laugh. Especially when she gets really tickled over something. It is contagious. She is a wonderful teacher and has the talent and ability to teach high school students every day. I know she makes a difference in their lives. She is a natural. She is also really creative. We have a mutual love for Sonic drinks, office supplies - good writing pens, and fresh new notebooks. We love the beach and fondly remember riding home in her convertible after a long day at the beach. :) We have years of shared memories of the days we spent wondering how our lives would turn out. And lots of memories that are just ours. Of silly choices made, fun times, inside jokes, stupid boys, and the kind of secrets that you can only tell your best friend. Because you know she won't look at you funny and she will still be your best friend.

Anyway, I'm sure you get the gist of how wonderful she is. Here are a few pictures of us over the years. And if you don't have a friend like Vesta, go out and find you one, quick. Your life will be much better, fuller, happier, and have more meaning if you have a friend like her on your side.

Vesta's Birthday - 1979 That's me, the little person in the front. We were party animals way back then. LOL

Our infamous trip to Stone Mtn, NC. I still think you can see our hearts beating if you look closely! That was a big mountain!

Vesta's College Graduation

It was a great decision to skip my Senior Prom to go to this race. What a great time!

Hanging out in the kitchen even back then! Summer 1995

Fast forward a few year, marriages, and kids. Still looking good!

Love my Sis

Holding down the fort on our yearly gate duty at EXCITE. We have always made a great team!

Just an update

Just wanted to check in, I feel like I have neglected this little blog lately. We are quickly approaching 4^th months of Caleb being home and most nights I faceplant into the bed with a promise to write a blog post tomorrow. But then the next day comes and I still haven’t made the time to write. Caleb is changing and growing so fast it blows my mind. I have always heard people say that kids grow up so fast and I have witnessed it with Amber over the last 6 years but sometimes I think I can actually see Caleb changing from one day to the next. Every morning I ask him “Did you grow last night?” He just grins and kicks his little chubby legs. Oh my, what a sweet baby boy we do have! We are all enjoying how he recognizes us; he really knows how to make you feel special!

I also thought I would answer a few questions that we are often asked:

1. Is Caleb’s adoption process over? Mostly. Our agency requires us to have a post placement visit in our home with our social worker, Dawn every month for 6 months. After the 5^th month home visit our TX social worker will contact the agency attorney and we will be able to schedule our court date and finalization which can take place any Friday after he reaches six months, which will be in September. The whole heehaw gang (Jeff, Amber, Caleb, myself, my Mom, and Jeff’s parents) are all traveling to TX for a long weekend to have our special day in court! So looking forward to this time!!! We will then be able to order his social security card and birth certificate! Yay, then I can open him a bank account!! Yippee

2. Do you have contact with Caleb’s birth parents? No, we have not had any contact with them. They requested the adoption be closed. The agency requires that we send pics and an update to them monthly for the first six months (then 2x a year). The pics and monthly birthmom letter that we write are held at their office in case S. wanted them. But as of last week, she has yet to pick up the pictures or letters. At first this made me sad because I thought she might want to see them. But then I thought about my own feelings if I was in her situation. It might would just be too hard to see pictures of him. We do know that Caleb’s birth parents are no longer together and that their other children remain with grandparents. We also know that the birth mom is still very confident in her decision and has no regrets with placing him for adoption. We continue to pray for them.

3. “Will you do this again?” If they are asking if we will adopt again, the answer is possibly. If they are meaning adopting a newborn specifically, the answer is who knows????. LOL Cause let’s face it; we are not getting any younger! I would never ever change a single second of the time we have had thus far with Caleb, but I also seriously underestimated exactly how exhausted I would be. I don’t like to complain because I really don’t want to hear “You asked for this, blah blah blah”. I was doing pretty good until it was time for me to return to work. Now the evenings are a whirlwind and I know they will only get worse when school is back in. I am balancing the desire to cuddle on the couch with baby boy all evening with the need to do other necessities, you know, like feed my family. I am balancing the need to feed my family with the want to play games and crafts with Amber. Let’s not even discuss laundry. Or grocery shopping. Grocery shopping takes time, precious time away from my little family. There is just not enough time in the evening to accomplish everything I desire, want, need to do. So we eat easy meals, use bath towels more than once to cut down on laundry, and spread crafts and board games over several nights. Yes, I realize this was a very long answer to Question #3, but I digress.

4. "How is Amber?" She is over the moon, totally, completely in love with Caleb. And he feels the same way about her! He laughs, smiles, and drools every time she approaches him, it is too sweet! She is such a great help too! She loves to feed him, lay on the floor and play, pick out his clothes, and even changes wet diapers too. She likes to carry the diaper bag which is really helpful! She is amazing at calming him down in while we are in the car. He has definitely gotten much better about riding in the car seat but we still occasionally need intervention from Big Sissy while they are in the backseat. She tells me frequently that she is so glad that he is home with us. I love our big girl and she has made a great Big Sister!

5. "How is D., our first birth mom?" D. is doing really well. We still talk, email, text regularly and I am so thankful for that friendship. I don’t know why, but people are often so surprised to hear that we still communicate? Why is that? Perhaps people have a misconception that she was the reason our first match fell through. Well, I wish I could set all of those people straight! She had no control over that situation and did her very best to keep us She had no control over that situation and did her very best to keep us involved and informed. We truly want the best for her and look forward to a very long friendship. We also look forward to seeing her and her hubby in just a few months when we return to TX! Can’t wait!!!!

Well, I did it! I managed to update the blog!!!!! Yay!!! Of course, everyone else is asleep now, as I should be.......

3 Months!!!

My precious Caleb is 3 months old!!! May was a really busy month! What am I saying?? The last three months have been busy and I don't see it slowing down any time soon. Tomorrow will be one week since I started back to work after 12 weeks home with Caleb. The first day was bad, really bad. I held it together when I left, and did ok at work when around my co-workers. It was the quiet times during the day that it hit me. I don't get to see his smiling face all day long. I don't get to hear him "talking" to me when we play. I know that is selfish, and 12 weeks home is way more time that many new parents have. It was tough at times but I would not trade that time we had together for anything. And Caleb knew when I went back to work. The first two days he cried, often. And this is not very common for my easy going little fella. My Aunt is coming to my house and caring for him, which is another blessing. I like being able to come home on my lunch and call home as many times as I want to. And I am pretty sure my Mom likes being able to stop over after work anytime she wants to get her baby love. I also felt feel really guilty for leaving him. And VERY protective and particular. Would she know how he likes his bottle? Would she know that sometimes he just likes to swing and be left alone? That he doesn't really like his pacifier unless he is sleepy, facing the crook of your arm and in a snug hold? That he will tolerate tummy time for a bit but only if it is on his terms? I have relayed all of these things to his sitter, but still felt like no one could care for him like me. I don't know if that makes me crazy or not. But anyway, every day back at work is getting easier and he seems to be transitioning just fine now. So without further ado here are his 3mo stats and a few pictures!

12 lb 9oz 23 inches long

Size 2 diapers

Size 3mo clothes

Eats 3-4 oz ever 2-3 hours

Consistently sleeps from 8:30 – 1:30, then every 2 -3 hours

Several quick naps during the day

Can sit in the bumbo - which he LOVES!

Sits in the exersaucer with a towel cushion

Still enjoys bath time

Laughs, coos, squeals

Drools & blows lots of bubbles

Tolerates the car seat better now that the head support is out (YAY!)

Enjoys tummy time now that he can rest on the back of the nap nappy

Loves his sissy and loves for her to read to him

Still enjoying his swing :)

My sweet precious boy, your personality has really started to shine this month. The thought of your wide grin and twinkling eyes gets me through the work day. I can hardly get home quick enough, in a hurry to hold you close to me. You are such a joy to be around and I’m pretty sure you are loving all the attention you receive everywhere we go. I’m so glad you reward others with a beautiful smile when they speak to you. I know it melts their hearts also. I love how you hear my voice and search the room for me. Makes me feel like the most important person. I love your super messy crazy hair when you wake up. I love when you are drinking your bottle, making eye contact and you stop drinking…..to smile around the bottle at me, even though it makes milk run everywhere. I love how you tuck a small hand in the neck of my shirt when I’m rocking you to sleep. I love how you react when I hold you so that you can stand up on me. You are so excited and so proud of yourself like you are the king of the world. I love that you LOVE songs even when they are coming out of my mouth. There are so many things we look forward to doing with you, watching you learn and grow. We love you baby boy and I give thanks every day that you are my son.

Deliciousness

Resting in Grandma's Arms

My first attempt at Bumbo sitting, he can not sit without any blanket assistance.

Spending time with Uncle Kevin

Mother's Day

Surfing!

Look what I can do!!!!

You know you are an adoptive parent WHEN.....

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real" parents.

7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.

8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you He will provide.

9. You have ever taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met.

10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You know what the word "Dossier" means, and you can actually pronounce it!

13. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

14. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

Read this today, and touched my heart. Hope it touches yours too. Love - K.