Just stepped out of the shower to hear Torin say, "coffee!"...hmmm, I thought. Walk out into the living room to find my coffee cup empty on the floor. Can't remember how full it was on the desk. I think it was almost empty. T's breath smells of coffee. Good thing it's early and we have a lot to do this morning...or it could be a veeeerrrrry long day.

Confessions

This week I feel failed as a mother. Don't balk--you'll agree after I list the afflictions:

• Baby hand burned on hot iron I left on the FLOOR
• Baby flipped out of the Costco Cart--180 degrees onto his back
• Baby swallows remnants of water balloon left on grass in backyard
• = 3 calls to the nurse. I think she may call CPS (if one of you doesn't call first!)
  

A panicked call to my husband after third affliction caused me to feel like Mt. St. Helens was brewing. Dutiful husband dashed home (1 hour and 20 minute bus ride in construction and traffic) to rescue me and I spent an hour at the beach reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while forgetting all my woes.

Baby's okay. I'm okay.

Huh?

I always love walking into scenes like this. The ones that make me remember why I can't ever turn my back...even for a second. The hand burned on the iron yesterday was another brutal reminder.

My Naked Gardeners

Waking up is Hard to Do

Mmmmm...isn't she scrumptious?

The Road that Papa Built

Lest I complain, this endless remodel leaves my boys with some very fun dirt mounds in which to play. Wonderful roads are built. I guess my boys must have some advantage, seeing that their grandpa worked for the Dept. of Transportation for over 40 years. Even in retirement, he's still got it.

Got Milk?

I think they liked it...

Thanks Tricia and Mike! We all can't wait to go again, and maybe this time you could make the seaplanes come even a little bit closer...I don't think feeling their engines vibrate in our chests was close enough. "More, More, More!"

Bounce Housers

I wish they let adults in...I would have so been there.

Welcome to the World, Sweet Girl

Dahlia Annabel
Born: July 9th, 2009 @ 5:22am
Weight: 7lb 11oz. Length: Perfect
Looks: Even cuter than her parents
Loved by: Too many to mention

Making a Splash

First Day

My stomach turned with anxiety and excitement as I left my big boy at pre-school for the first time last week. The 3.5 hours he was there felt like 3.5 days. He is like my arm or my leg, or my heart. Not having him with me felt like something was very very missing. For two years we have been inseparable. Sure, I leave him for a couple hours here and a couple hours there, but we have been together for 98% of the last year and somehow this felt different. Probably because I know that this is the beginning of a new kind of independence. An exciting new adventure in which he will make new friends, discover new things, and have experiences totally apart from me. It is inevitable, necessary and will be very wonderful for him.

After T and I dropped him off, we wandered a bit aimlessly around our neighborhood. We hit two of our favorite spots: the park and our favorite bakery, but it felt so odd to be without our Ashen. Fortunately, my mom came and distracted us for a couple hours, but I couldn't have been more excited to go and pick up the boy, even a few minutes early. He burst into tears the moment I walked in the door. They said he did great and only fussed a bit midway through, but I could see his anxiety release in that cry...and within two minutes, he was done and told me he had a lot of fun. Only yesterday did he tell me that he fell over in his chair backwards, and that he planned not to do that again this week. No wonder.

I am so proud of him. He takes new challenges and adventures in such stride. When I think of all the transitions and new experiences he's had in his short life, I wonder how much one little person can handle. But he does, and he does it so well. His preschool is a language immersion program, his fourth language introduction in his short 2.5 years. A new school, new people, different language. He is an incredible boy.

Waiting for Her

We are thrilled to share that we are officially waiting for our little girl! Our dossier (official paperwork for the Ethiopian government) was accepted in late March and we are on the very loooooooooooong road of waiting for her. The estimated wait for our referral (match with our child) is 12-18 months+...so we're not expecting to meet our baby girl until late next year at the earliest. We are adopting from Ethiopia again, using Children's Home Society and Family Services again.

We are very very excited to grow our family, but know that the wait is going to be long, so we're coping by continuing our very full lives with our boys. It is MUCH easier to wait with children in tow, than it was when we were childless. When we adopted Ashen in 2007, our wait was just 4.5 months from dossier to our referral of Ashen and it felt painfully slow, compared to 18+ months now. Quite a difference! That is due to the increased popularity of our agency (350 families waiting for a referral right now!), an increase in the number of agencies operating in Southern Ethiopia (where the orphanage CHSFS is in partnership is located), and hopefully more family preservation activities occurring, allowing more children to stay with their families. We believe adoption should be the very last resort. Giving families the opportunity to keep and care for their children is the BEST scenario, so we shall not complain about the wait*.

Thanks for being on this exciting journey with us.

*I say that now, but I suppose when I'm absolutely pulling my hair out and the wait timeline keeps extending, I may succomb to whimpering a little.