The Call

I wrote this post a month ago, but didn't post until things were a little closer. Like I said, not a for sure situation, but I wanted to write it and get my thoughts out when I was thinking them!

We got our "call" on Monday afternoon, August 11th! I was outside working on a project and still had my phone on silent from nap time so I missed our social worker, Kim's, call, but Glenn came out of the back door and said, "Kelly, it's Kim, we were matched!"

He put Kim on speaker phone and she gave us the details. We had read some of our birthmom's details and situation in a email the previous week, but she told us a few more things and more importantly, she wants to meet us! I feel like we didn't express our gratitude to Kim as much as we should have, but I think we were both in a little bit of shock. We have only been "in the books" for a month. This is only the second birthmother who has looked at our profile. It's been less than 5 months since we went to our first informational meeting with our agency.

We are headed up to Delaware next Thursday!

The last 48 hours have been a whole lot of mixed emotions! I'm so excited to hold our little tiny baby GIRL in our arms. But at the same time, she's not ours yet. We're nervous that the mom will change her mind (which she has every right to choose to do). I'm so anxious... I spent all of nap time yesterday organizing the basement and going through all of our baby gear and pulling out tiny clothes that didn't say "Daddy's Big Guy" all over them. I bought a changing table on Craigslist and I stopped at Target and bought some pink storage containers. I feel like I crammed about a trimester's worth of nesting in to one day!

Glenn and I spent Monday night researching all sorts of things - how to take care of ethnic hair, how to install a satellite so we can eliminate Direct TV to save some money since we will have TWO KIDS! Names! I've been reading our baby name book like crazy to come up with girl names that we both like.

I'm incredibly nervous to meet our birthmom. What if she doesn't like us in person like she did in person? What if we say something that upsets her? What if Lincoln is a terror and we look like bad parents?

We are meeting with Kim on Monday so that we can go over my list of questions and she can tell us what to do and not to do. Every situation is different so we will go over more of the details in person.

I'm obviously posting this after the fact since nothing is a done deal, but I wanted to get my emotions out so I have them for her in the future. Lincoln has a scrapbook showing every week of my pregnancy with him and I want her to have something similar. Her story is unique and special.

I hope this is the beginning of our story as a family of 4!

Two More Weeks

We found out on August 11th that a birthmother had chosen us and we are going to be placed with a baby girl! Our adoption wait was only 5 weeks. We were baffled and kind of in shock when our social worker told us.

A 3D Ultrasound of baby girl at 36 weeks.

The last month has been busy busy. We've been transitioning Lincoln to a twin "big boy" bed so that we could move the crib to the other room for baby girl. We took down all of Glenn's Navy pictures from the office/guest room and adding lots of pink so that it is now a nursery/guest room! We left the guest bed in the room for now while we are in this house since that is probably only another year. That's another post though.

I've been getting the more gender-neutral newborn and small baby clothes out of the basement and thanks to several friends, she's got lots of newborn clothes to wear. Good thing lots of friends had baby girls in the last couple years!

We still have some things we will need- like a double stroller and another camera for the monitor- but those major purchases will wait until baby girl is home and then probably several weeks after that. Although a birthmother has picked us, it is not final or binding in any way. In fact, she has 14 days after the birth and signing of the paperwork to change her mind. We'll celebrate after 14 days. :)

We get a lot of questions since adoption isn't super common so I'll try to answer a few.

Where is the baby from?
Wilmington, Delaware. We will travel up to Delaware when mom goes in to labor and will stay there until all of the paperwork is approved to bring her back to Virginia. Probably at least a week. If you have any hotel connections, please let us know. We'll be staying in a hotel near the hospital until she is discharged and then probably to a more affordable hotel.

What do you know about mom? 
We met her a few weeks ago and got to know her a little bit. She is very young and not ready to be a mom.

What about dad?
We don't know much about dad, including his medical history. He isn't in the picture and is no longer in Delaware.

Will the baby know her mom?
Yes, we are working with an open adoption agency and will continue to send pictures and letters of baby girl to her birthmother until she is 18. We will try to meet at least once a year so that baby girl knows her birthmother and where she came from.

Do you have a name picked out? Do you get to name the baby?
We have been discussing different options. Our family names, perhaps part of the birthmother's name? We haven't decided yet. The birthmother has the right to name the baby and that is what will appear on her original birth certificate, but when we finalize the adoption (which takes about 6 months) we can put our chosen name on her birth certificate which will appear along side our names.

The next couple weeks will be a waiting game. We are packing bags and enjoying time as a family of 3! Baby girl will be here before we know it!

Grayson Sanford Valone

Lincoln has a new cousin! He was born on Saturday morning 9/13 at 5:58 am CST!

7 lbs 20 3/4 inches of baby goodness!

He's at home with mom and dad now! I hope his first night went well! Can't wait to meet you Grayson!

I think they look like cousins. L on top. G on the bottom. 

Target Inspiration: Elephant Art

Saw this in the wall art section of my local Target. I think it was $29.99. 

Made this today for $0 with stuff I had around the house:

I whitewashed a piece of plywood with old ceiling paint and the edges are painted pink with leftover spray paint. Glenn nailed the 80 nails in for me. They don't all match but I like it that way. I just printed the first picture and he hammered right thru the pic. Easy!

Can't wait to hang it up tomorrow!

Obsession

My kid loves ketchup. He would put the tasty red sauce on most things but here are a few favorites:

- Grapes

- Banana bread

- Sautéed fish

- Blueberries

Here he is with a cookie in one hand but chooses to eat plain ketchup instead. 

I guess he really is mine. I've been known to say, "I feel like ketchup. What can we have for dinner that goes with ketchup?"

Saving Water

I snagged this free barrel from work before I quit and it's been sitting on the side of the house for a month. We've had some cooler weather and not so busy weekends so the hubster helped me out and hooked it up! 

It took some wandering around Lowes to find the right parts and cost about $50, but after 2 moderate rainfalls it was full. Probably should have done this 2 years ago and at the beginning of planting season. 

It would nice if it was another row of cinder blocks high but we were worried about the 450 lbs tipping when it was full.  I can still fit a watering can under the spout, it's just not super easy. I also got a soaker hose that can reach the herb/veggie garden. That will be the best option I think. 

Should be perfect for next summer!

Blueberry Picking

I saw an article in the paper in July about local blueberry picking and thought, "Lincoln LOVES blueberries!" So 4 mamas and 4 babies drove out to Pungo and checked it out a few days later.

There were blackberries too which were much easier for L to pick.

By the time we got to blueberries, the kiddos were a sticky mess (mostly Kai) and had full bellies! Wear purple or blue shirts if you go next summer.

Chivalry is not dead. 

Lincoln loved the wagons and the golf cart most of all, not surprised. He's obsessed with anything with wheels and shouts, "Tuk!" from the backseat of the car at every truck or van or large vehicle we see these days.

We came home with $5 worth of really delicious blueberries and blackberries. At $1.95 a pound, you can do the math. Lincoln was not so helpful when it came to picking the berries, but super helpful when it came to emptying the buckets.

We had some sweaty, sticky kiddos and a few nasty diapers in the coming days, but it was a success! I'm excited for apples and pumpkins in a few months!

Baby Valone!

He's not here yet, but we celebrated his upcoming arrival when Lincoln and I were in Minnesota in July. I kept things simple and had it at a British pub in downtown Minneapolis. They prepared the food and they cleaned up! Easy!

We made an alphabet book and played a little gift bingo. I think the mama to be enjoyed herself!

We had a great turnout and Blair's grandma made it from Virginia too!

I don't predict that she will make it to her September 14th due date. My guess is September 8th (full moon).

Good luck, Blair! Get ready to have your world rocked! (In mostly an amazingly awesome way, but also in a lack of sleep lose your hair lots of poop incredibly crazy kind of way.)

Flying Baby

Lincoln took his first flight at 7 weeks and we've taken several trips in between including one international. The older he got, the harder it's gotten, but this last trip wasn't so bad. He'll finally watch a video for 8 minutes or play with stickers or playdough. My girlfriend compared herself to Mary Poppins while flying with a toddler and I don't think she's too far off!

Lincoln screamed for 20 minutes during our holding/waiting for take off. Then we got our own row of 3 seats. Nice work, buddy. No, I didn't pinch him, but the guy next to me have. (not really).

Occasionally he sleeps. That is glorious.

We tried the baby leash. Hated it at the airport. Loved it at home. Go figure.

Layovers are the worst, but when there is a USO inside of security, it can be tolerable. A room with a door that closes is a novel idea with a curious toddler. I enjoyed the fact that I could sit in a chair and know he couldn't go far. Drink a coffee even. People like him cause he's cute and I don't mind letting them play with him either. :)

The USO at MDW even had toys and computers with access to YouTube. Hooray!

This lasted over an hour. It's going to be tough when he out grows the baby carrier!

Summer Buzz

Lincoln's hair was getting a little crazy and the back of his hair has a different texture that made it always look like he just woke up from a nap so one afternoon we decided to give him a summer buzz. Glenn had just cut his a few weeks earlier.

 He did really well til the end when he got kind of squirmy so we missed a few small patches, but it has grown on me. He looked so much older as soon as we did it!

 

 Just like daddy!