Birthmom's Day Celebration

So today we went to celebrate Birthmom's Day.  The official day is actually next Saturday, always the Saturday right before Mother's Day. However, the agency's been busy, so they choose this weekend to celebrate the sacrifice Birthmoms go through and the selfless love they have for their children.  We were invited to attend, as were all adoptive couples, those waiting to adopt, birthmom's, families, and the community.

We went and while there weren't very many people there, it was fantastic.  It was kind of our way of saying thanks to R in a way that we can't right now.  And it's so important to support these women and the choices they've made so that they know how valued and respected they are.

They had a birthmom (whose daughter is now 21 and she now has two other children who were there) speak to us about her story.  It was so touching (and I bawled through it all).  In short, her initial reaction was to have an abortion.  However, after some loving guidance from her sister, she decided to place the baby for adoption.  She received updates/pictures/phone calls from the family, but it was always up to the child as to when she actually would meet her birthmom.  One day the child called her.  What she said to her was that she never knew the words to say, but one day she heard a song and it was exactly what she wanted to say.  The song is by Mark Schultz, a Christian singer, and his song is called "Everything to Me".  You see, he was adopted and he wrote this song to his birthmom, even though he never knew her.  Here's a video of the story:  

Then they played the song for us.  Adn again, I bawled.  It's exactly how I want Anna to feel about her birthmom.  It's everything I want her birthmom to know about her life.  It's my new favorite song and it's so touching.

After hearing this lady speak and watching these videos, they gave us balloons to let go.  We were told to write on it anything we wanted and here's our picture!

And then, as if it hadn't been enough of a moving and emotional day, we went grocery shopping.  And while in the checkout at the grocery store, a lady behind me asked if Jeremy (who had walked away for a minute) was my husband.  I said yes, and she then asked if Anna was adopted.  I said yes and she explained that both of her children were adopted as well.  Then, as we were talking, the guy in front of me in the checkout says "I couldn't help but overhear, we adopted our daughter from Ethiopia!"  And then another lady sitting near us said "We do Foster Care and our children were adopted as well!"  Um, weird!  It was really cool to share stories and to see such wonderful happy families all built through adoption.  It was just one of those moments where you ask yourself, did that really just happen? 

What a beautiful and uplifting day!

2 Months Old!

This week Anna turned 2 months old!  It was the same day as my dad's 49th birthday, so we got to celebrate at Biaggi's with them.  She is getting so big and doing so many fun things!

She now weighs 10 lbs, 4oz and is 21.5 inches long.  She's in the 30th percentile for weight and 15th for height.  She just wants to be short like her mom apparently :-)!  So basically the doctor said she's doing great and is healthy and she totally hammed it up in the doctors office for them!  Other than hating shots, she did great!  She was in a lot of pain that evening, her legs clearly hurt. Normally she loves to stand and push against things and she was having none of that.  She didn't even want to move them and even touching them made her scream.  So after some tylenol and a great night's sleep (oh wait, we get that every night :-) she was back to her usual self.  Hopefully she stays happy today!

Anna has quite a talent for attracting people, especially ladies over 70!  Everywhere we go, at least one elderly lady comes up to us and can't seem to get enough of her!  Basically Anna's a diva and she knows it!  She's got to be the cutest baby ever!  Here are some fun 2 month pictures!

Easter dress!

Hanging out in her crib!

Well, despite the grumpy face, she actually was enjoying sitting in the chair.  She was just a little mad I wouldn't let her eat the paper!

I hope she knows...

Each and every day I say a prayer (or a hundred) of thanks for the gift of our sweet Anna.  And each and every day when I say those prayers, I think of the sacrifice her birthmom, R, went through in order to ensure that this special gift was proected, loved, and cared for.  There are so many things that I want to say to her, and I fear that I will never get the chance.  I hope in her heart that she knows these things, that somehow she understands.

I want to tell her what a wonderful, sweet, cuddly girl she took such loving care of for 9 months.  I want to show her the smiles that Anna so graciously blesses us with all day long.  I want to tell her about all of the 4-5 month old things Anna is trying to do with her little 7 week old body.  I want her to hear her laugh and coo and squeal in delight.  I want to tell her that she sleeps all through the night most of the time and when she doesn't, she only gets up to eat and goes straight back to sleep.  I want to share with her Anna's love for playing with her daddy and her absolutely delight when we put her in her swing and turn on the mobile.  I want to tell her that Anna is sassy and definitely has a little personality.  I want to show her how she loves to kick her little feet and how she kicks blankets off of her when we put them on her and then squeals like it's the funniest thing ever to her!  I want to tell show her that when Anna's upset, a snuggle from mom is the only thing needed to calm her down.

I want to tell her all of those things and more.  But what I really want to tell her is thank you.  I want to thank her for being so selfless.  I want to thank her for giving this sweet baby life and for loving her so much that she would care for her for 9 months and lovingly place her in the arms of two people who can give her everything.  I want to say thank you for enduring the hurt and pain she goes through each and every day just so this little baby can have a wonderful life in a loving home.  I want to thank her for taking care of herself during those 9 months and making sure that sweet Anna was healthy and well cared for. 

Are there really any words to say to say thank you for giving us our daughter?  Can I even express it and do it justice?  If I get the chance to meet her, will I be able to tell her what she means to our family?  We are eternally grateful for her sacrifice and it brings me to tears to realize the pain she's endured so that Anna can have the life she deserves. 

Her sacrifice reminds me of the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross, as I think about the significance of the next three days in the Church's year.  To lay down one's life for another, to give 100% of yourself for the good of another.  Jesus laid down his life for all of us.  R laid down her life for Anna.  She gave of herself so that another person might live.  I can only hope and pray that in my life I can do the same for my daughter and my husband.  To give of myself so totally and completely so that Anna may grow and live in her faith.

This is my prayer as we embark on the three holiest days of the year.  That I, like Christ, and like R, can lay down my life for my family, loving and serving to bring them closer in holiness.  And that R may know in her heart that her sacrifice has not gone unnoticed and that we are eternally grateful.

Time flies!

As of yesterday, Anna has been a part of our family for exactly a month.  Time has definitely flown.  At the same time, it feels like she's been a part of our family for a very long time.  We just love her to pieces!

She's 6 weeks old today and she has quite the personality!  She's very sassy, she knows what she wants and she'll make sure you know that!  At the same time, she's so very happy all of the time!  She loves to interact with people and she's so expressive!  She smiles and laughs and loves to play with her daddy!  She loves to snuggle with mommy and she loves to be around people (as long as she's in my arms...)  She tries really hard to talk to us, usually she just moves her mouth without making any noise but once in a while we'll get a squeal or a coo out of her! 

She also is a very strong baby.  Even the doctor commented on how strong she is.  She is doing things most 3 month olds do and she holds herself up extremely well.  In fact, I often get "corrected" for not holding her head by people who don't really know her.  I don't have to hold her head, she does it all by herself!  She tries to roll over and she's much more awake and alert than the average 6 week old.  Especially when we're in public!  She's very nosy, although one nice lady at Caffe Italia called in curious instead...  Whatever, she's very curious then!

She's getting so big so fast and although most people say she looks so small, she's definitely growing like a weed!  She's out of her newborn clothes and into 0-3 month clothes, which totally swim on her, but she'll grow into them!  Her hair gets curlier by the day and although it often looks a little wild, it's pretty cute and holds a bow very well!  She's still a fantastic eater and she still sleeps great almost all of the time (there've been a few exceptions) And she slept through the night for the first time on Saturday night!  So we're hoping to repeat that again soon!!



She loves the play gym, she now has 2 and she loves them both!



Sporting the shades!



So happy!

 So there's my weekly update on Anna.  I'm sure at some point I'll post about something other than Anna, but we're just so thankful for her and she's the center of our lives at the moment!  We love every minute we spend with her!

Busy weekend!

So I've had a lot of people ask why I haven't posted pictures in a while on FB and here.  My answer, I'm just busy and it takes some time to get them all loaded off the camera, loaded onto FB or here, written about, etc...  And I thought maybe people were sick of the mass amounts of pictures, but apparently Anna's just so cute everyone wants to look at her :-)  But after this weekend, things should settle down to a more normal routine.

Last week I started again watching the 4 month old that I had been watching before Anna came to us.  Things went very well with the two of them, they're both excellent babies!  It was fun to watch them interact in the little way they can at this age and it was very fun to see how they handled the sharing of my attention, as they both are first babies and get plenty of attention!  They were wonderful and we had a very fun week!

This weekend, Anna got to meet her Uncle Joey for the first time!  He came home and we got to hang out with the family for a while on Saturday.  I also baby-sat Raine and Jade on Saturday evening at our home and Anna LOVED them, she watched them the whole time and wouldn't take her eyes off of Jade!  That's a great thing, cause I'm watching them all summer!

On Sunday we had our family baby shower.  My aunts, cousins, grandma, and Jeremy's aunts, counsins, great-aunts, and more came to see Anna and we had a lot of fun!  It was great to see everyone and Anna was perfect through the whole thing!  This child sure loves a crowd, as long as she's in my arms watching the crowd...  She gets a little upset when she's awake and in someone else's arms watching the crowd! 

We got some fun new things, and we got some gift cards and coincidentally enough, the things I was purchasing with them are on sale for today only!  Score!! 

So here are a few pictures of what we've been up to!

Top 10 most used baby items

Well, I probably could have written my top favorite baby items long before I had a baby, after working in an infant room for many years... And it probably would be the same list (minus the cloth diapers, a few years ago, I would've thought that was nuts!:-) So here are a few baby items that I use most often and love and pretty much couldn't live without now that we have sweet Anna.

1) My Moby wrap and Mei Tei!  I love that I can carry Anna around (since she loves to be snuggled) and still get things like laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc... done around the house.  It's nice to have her close and when she's fussy, putting her in one of the carriers instantly calms her down. 

2) The swing!  Anna LOVES her swing.  She likes to play in it and sleep in it and it's so fun to see her enjoy it! 

3) The infant sleep and play.  It's like a hammock/cradleish thing that we found for her to sleep in.  She HATED the pack n play, I think it was just too open for her, she likes to be swaddled and snug when she sleeps.  So we found this and she sleeps GREAT in it!  It's wonderful and it rocks, so putting her back to sleep at night is super easy!  We've started to have her sleep in the pack n play more during the day and she's doing better, so when we decide to move her to her crib, hopefully it goes weel!

4) Formula dispensers.  We have some single and triple dispensers that you can pre-scoop formula into!  It's life saver in the middle of the night and for going out places.  And since the formula scoopers are the same size as the opening of her bottle, the formula dispensers save us a lot of formula mess and waste!

5) Cloth diapers!  I love using cloth diapers even more than I thought I would.  They're so easy and her bottom always stays dry with them.  We had a little leakage issues at the beginning but soon learned we just weren't drying them enough.  Now we very rarely have a leak and if we do, it's usually when we're out and I just didn't change her as often as I do at home!  I just love the fact that her little bottom is covered in a soft material that keeps her free of chemicals and scratchy paper!  And it works well that the little 4 month old that I watch every day uses cloth as well, so I never have stinky diapers sitting around in trash cans until garbage pick-up.  My house doesn't smell like poop :-)!  Her little bum is just so cute in the diapers!

6) Cloth wipes.  Well, with my diapers, I use cloth wipes (actually, most of them are just baby wash cloths).  I just spray them with water from a spray bottle and wipe!  I very rarely have to use more than one (unlike the slimy store bought ones when you have to use a billion to get the job done) and again, they're nice and soft on her butt and don't make it raw like I've seen wipes do a lot! 

7)  Wet bag.  Since I'm on the cloth diaper theme... I couldn't live without my wet/dry bags.  They keep dirty diapers contained and I wash them when I wash the diapers.  They're easy to take with me wherever I go and they keep the smell/any fluids from escaping!  We just got a second one for a shower and it's been wonderful!

8) Miracle blanket.  Since she loves to be swaddled and she's a little escape artist, the Miracle blanket has been WONDERFUL!  She can't get out of it and she falls asleep almost instantly when we wrap her in it. We reserve it only for night time and that seems to help her distinguish longer sleeping times vs. naps! 

9) Dishwasher bottle holder thing...  Very practical and kinda boring, but we use it like 2 times a day.  It's got a place for all of her bottle pieces and keeps them contained and gets them washed nicely!

10) Finally, the play gym.  Anna loves to lay and play on it, it's got lights, sound, and a mobile that spins and she spends a lot of time playing on it!  Enjoy the video of her playing on it!

 So with that, we are so thankful to all of the people that have sent cards, gifts, and most importantly prayers.  We couldn't function without all of our family and friends and their support and prayers!  We are so blessed and so thankful!  It's a huge load lifted off knowing we are surrounded by people who love us and who love Anna so much!

Happy Girl

Anna is such a wonderful baby.  She is always happy and is so calm!  She very rarely cries and when she does it's usually because she's hungry!  The girl loves to eat!  She's growing like crazy and is going to soon outgrow her newborn clothes.  They still fit, but her arms are super long, so they look like 3/4 length sleeves on her now!  But she's not quite into the 0-3 month clothes yet, they're still pretty big on her! 

She loves to lay on the floor and play and she also loves tummy time!  She enjoys her swing and she loves to be held and snuggled!  She's a very cuddly baby and is quick to give smiles and contented sighs when her daddy or I pick her up and give her hugs and kisses!  She also loves to be carried in my Mei Tai and in the Moby wrap as I do chores and stuff around the house!  If she's fussy (which is rare) it instantly calms her down and she smiles and sighs!  She knows what she wants, that's for sure!

We have quite the social butterfly on our hands.  Anna loves a crowd and generally is VERY alert and willing to show off her cute facial expressions and gaze sweetly at every camera!  We're in trouble when she starts talking, she's never going to stop!  She's definitely not shy! 

Overall, we have a super sweet baby who is calm and just loves people!  We are so blessed!  In addition, she is a fantastic sleeper and we're getting as much sleep now as we did before Anna!  Last night, for example, she slept 10-6, getting up only at 3 to eat, burp, and go back to sleep!  We thank God for her a million times a day.  She is truly a joy and a delight in our lives, and we're so lucky to be her parents!  I can't wait to watch her grow up and become a beautiful young lady!  I am so blessed to get to stay home with her and take care of her all day long!  I get to snuggle with my girl for hours and hours a day! 

Here are a few fun pictures of her!