January Thaw

While our East Coast friends were prepping for the big blizzard earlier this week, we enjoyed a beautiful January thaw.

 We went for a bike ride/walk one day and had a lunchtime picnic by the lake on another day. 

 It was gorgeous!

January Boys

source

If you are looking for a book gift for a construction-loving toddler, may I suggest this one?



 We found it at the library, and enjoyed it so much, we gifted it to our special friends who have birthdays in January: a five year old in Virginia, a four year old in California, and a three year old in Connecticut.  The two year old and the thirty-somethings in this house loved it, so we hope they do too!

Adoption Update: Our New Baby J at 1 Month

Hello Friends!

Here is a little update on our adoption of baby J.

We were blessed to be at the hospital for his birthday, and we got to bring him home with us the very next day.  He is such a sweet, snugly little guy with lots of dark hair!  He loves to be held, and he has consistently been a good eater, now taking 3-4 ounce bottles regularly.  We have about 3 nighttime feedings on average, so over the next month I'm going to see if we can stretch these out any further.  It seems like with M we still had 2 night feedings at 6 weeks of age, and I distinctly recall that he first slept through the night right after he was 2 months old.  So you know I'll be watching for this!

The first couple of weeks he didn't seem to like sleeping flat in his bassinet, so we used the rock n play more.  He is doing better in the bassinet now, but isn't yet taking naps there regularly.  He is having more alert time and tummy time, and he first rolled from front to back when he was 6 days old.  But I think that big heavy head of his really helped with that!  He is cooing a little bit, and the doctor has twice remarked that he "likes the sound of his own voice."  I think that might be a little bit of quackery, but whatever. ;).   He loves to watch his big brother and his big brother sure likes to give him kisses and tickle his toes.  He is our sweetheart and we love him to pieces!

He really is a snuggle bug and sleeps best when he is being held.  He seems to like a little one ounce bottle and a rock right before going down for the evening.  I call it his "nightcap."  

We found out that his birth mom had chosen us about two months before he was born, via our agency Idaho Youth Ranch.  If you have any questions about the specifics of how we connected with his Bio mom or how our open adoptions work, please feel free to contact me directly!  I'm still deciding what to share publicly, so please let me know if you have specific questions.

Life

Today, especially, I am so grateful that their moms gave these boys life.  

We thank God every day for their selfless generosity and love.

Midnight Feeding & Reading

If you liked Gone Girl, or even if you didn't like it but couldn't put it down (me!), the you should read The Dinner by Herman Koch.

It's a page turner and a thriller, but it won't leave you feeling warm fuzzy thoughts about any of the characters!  I read it recently over the course of several late night feeding sessions, and I couldn't put it down.  Let me know what you think!

Christmas Photo Dump

I'm sure it is not socially acceptable to do a Christmas recap this late, but for my own record-keeping sake, here are some shots!

Our beautiful Church before the Children's Christmas Eve Mass

Christmas Day table

Our happy big boy

Little rockstar on his new keyboard from Grammie D and Granddad

A Letter to My Big Boy

A little love letter to M from me, written shortly before we brought baby J home.

My sweet big boy, you are about to become a big brother!

And what a wonderful big brother you will be.  You are truly a special, amazing miracle.  For as long as I live, I will never forget the moment I met you.  You had a sweet little hat on, and you looked at me and the world with your big blue eyes and your long, slender neck.  You were so alert, and you have been ever since - you don't miss a thing!

First bottle

I love to watch you drive your trucks and read to yourself.  I am amazed every time you pick out (correctly!) the instruments when we are listening to "Peter and the Wolf."  No one can play air guitar like you and no one can sing "Danny Boy" like you.  You have a zest for life that warms my heart.  You are truly a gift from God. 

It is the greatest joy of my life to be your mom.  It is an honor and privilege to care for you.  I am amazed as I watch you learn and grow - you get smarter every day, you remember things all of the time that I have forgotten and you are so pleasant with your good manners and cheerful smile!

Waiting for the Sing-A-Long with Mudgy the Moose, Millie the Mouse & Santa - 2014

Every day with you is a gift.  I am so grateful to your biological mother that she has allowed Daddy and me to care for you and love you with our whole hearts.  We love you so much and are so thankful for you.  You are amazing.

Finding Our New Normal

Wow!  We made it through our first week as a solo family of four!

Last week was our first week back to our new normal life since bringing baby J home.  Whew!  D's parents were here helping us for three weeks, and then we went to Big Sky to visit my family, so we have been surrounded by many wonderful helping hands!  And I am so grateful for all of the help!

D returned to work on Monday, and naturally, M woke up (earlier than usual) with a fever.  I think he just has a yucky cold, and he responds well to Motrin, but it has meant we've been stuck at home for the most part.  We had one fun adventure out of the house to the assessor's office where I pushed M in the stroller with one hand (and nearly ran into every wall corner!) and tried to hold baby J steady in the Moby wrap (couldn't seem to get it comfortable for both of us).  We're a work in progress!  

I am bouncing back and forth between responding to each of the boys' needs. And then all of a sudden it is 5:00 pm and I'm supposed to be making dinner, whoops! And I have gained a new respect for all you moms out there who handle all of the night feedings and then still get up and go with busy toddlers or other children!  Wow!  

When we all sit down to dinner together though, I look at these two amazing little boys and want to pinch myself.  I'm so grateful for the chance to raise, care and love them.  So very, very grateful.  It is the greatest privilege of my life.