An answer to prayer...we went in yesterday to sign documents with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. This puts us one step closer to finalizing CJ's adoption. I was actually nervous as we drove down to Mesa yesterday. The woman we met with, Kim, was very nice and walked us through the rest of the process. Thankfully, there isn't too much left!
They will file everything with the court, and we should be able to find out our court date on July 11th. Our date should be within the next 90 days, although it could be much sooner than that. We will go to the Mesa location for our finalization, which Kim said was a good thing. It sounds like they get families on the court docket a little faster than the Phoenix location. Sounds good to me!
It's funny, sometimes I forget that we are still in the process of adopting CJ. At home, we're constantly living in the moment, and watching him grow and develop. It isn't until we get a phone call or letter that I realize that we are not legally his parents yet. I take that to mean that we've adjusted well to each other. At this point, it's hard to remember our lives B.C. (before Caleb).
I also want to throw in a little something about Father's Day. I just realized that I didn't post anything, and I thought it was important to put at least a few sentiments into this post. I've waited a long time to be able to tell Matt "Happy Father's Day," and I know he's been waiting a long time to hear those words. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am to be married to such a great guy. I take it for granted that he is an honest, faithful and loving provider for our family. I know that he has made sacrifices since we welcomed CJ in January, and I hope he realizes how much I appreciate that. I have told him, but I know I need to be more intentional about showing my appreciation. I am so grateful for all that he does. He is a wonderful role model for CJ!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
CJ's First Road Trip!
This past weekend, we loaded up the car and headed to Flagstaff for a few days. Thanks to the generosity of a family at Matt’s school, we were able to stay in a cabin with CJ’s godparents (and our dear friends) Tim & Lisa. As we planned for the trip, I was so excited. We were going to Antelope Canyon on Saturday, Sedona on Sunday, and taking lots of opportunities to just relax. About a week before the trip, I realized that I was going to have to pack for a baby! Holy cow…
So I did what any Type A person would do, I made a list. I mentally went through the day, and wrote down everything that we use. As I wrote, I could not believe how much goes into the day of a baby. When you are at home, you take for granted the fact that everything is right there at your fingertips. Even getting him ready for daycare wasn’t that bad because I didn’t have to worry about activities or a bed. A road trip was a whole different scenario!
At one point, I definitely got a little concerned that we wouldn’t have enough room in the trunk. Mind you, we were taking our SUV, so there should have been ample space for all of the luggage. I put all of the “necessities” in a stack on our bed, took one look, and realized that I would have to cut it down. After some work, I got it down to a manageable size, but there was still a lot of stuff. The Pack & Play, Bumbo, and Boppy were necessities in my mind. We needed places for him to sleep, eat and relax. Unfortunately, he did not like sleeping in the Pack & Play, so we had to use his car seat at night. Not ideal, but it did help with his congestion (we think from the altitude change). Other than food, diapers/wipes, clothes and blankets, we really didn’t need much else. I think because we have so many other baby items, we feel like he can’t live without them. I just had to keep reminding myself that as long as he is clean, rested and fed, he’s a pretty happy guy. We didn’t need to worry about bringing much else. After all, his favorite “toy” right now is a burp cloth.
Ultimately, we had a great time. Even hiking wasn’t difficult with him, although those baby carriers make you really hot. While we didn’t have all of the luxuries of being at our house, we had enough to get by. It was a nice trial run. This summer, we’ll be traveling to two weddings (one includes flying), so we now have a better idea of how to prepare.
I hope that we continue to do things like this. I really want CJ to experience as much as possible, even though he is just a baby right now. Hopefully, we can get him used to going different places, so that he stays somewhat flexible with his schedule. We’ll see…
So I did what any Type A person would do, I made a list. I mentally went through the day, and wrote down everything that we use. As I wrote, I could not believe how much goes into the day of a baby. When you are at home, you take for granted the fact that everything is right there at your fingertips. Even getting him ready for daycare wasn’t that bad because I didn’t have to worry about activities or a bed. A road trip was a whole different scenario!
At one point, I definitely got a little concerned that we wouldn’t have enough room in the trunk. Mind you, we were taking our SUV, so there should have been ample space for all of the luggage. I put all of the “necessities” in a stack on our bed, took one look, and realized that I would have to cut it down. After some work, I got it down to a manageable size, but there was still a lot of stuff. The Pack & Play, Bumbo, and Boppy were necessities in my mind. We needed places for him to sleep, eat and relax. Unfortunately, he did not like sleeping in the Pack & Play, so we had to use his car seat at night. Not ideal, but it did help with his congestion (we think from the altitude change). Other than food, diapers/wipes, clothes and blankets, we really didn’t need much else. I think because we have so many other baby items, we feel like he can’t live without them. I just had to keep reminding myself that as long as he is clean, rested and fed, he’s a pretty happy guy. We didn’t need to worry about bringing much else. After all, his favorite “toy” right now is a burp cloth.
Ultimately, we had a great time. Even hiking wasn’t difficult with him, although those baby carriers make you really hot. While we didn’t have all of the luxuries of being at our house, we had enough to get by. It was a nice trial run. This summer, we’ll be traveling to two weddings (one includes flying), so we now have a better idea of how to prepare.
I hope that we continue to do things like this. I really want CJ to experience as much as possible, even though he is just a baby right now. Hopefully, we can get him used to going different places, so that he stays somewhat flexible with his schedule. We’ll see…
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
On the move!
Well, in less than 24 hours, CJ hit not one, but two milestones. Within just a few short hours of posting an update about his first experience with rice cereal, I have another big piece of news to report. He has rolled over! Sadly, I had just gone out to run a few errands. Not to worry, he graciously rolled over again this morning so that I could witness his big accomplishment.
As I mentioned a few posts ago, he had been getting very close to rolling over. He just couldn't figure out how to move that back leg. Last night, he got so frustrated on his back that he kicked over and made the full rotation.
My worry was that he was going to roll while at daycare, which would have made sense because he is there for a good portion of the day. I just wanted to be there to witness it. Well, it didn't happen at daycare, but I sure did miss it. :( I literally had been gone only 15 minutes...go figure. Matt called me and the first words out of his mouth were "you're gonna be mad." I assumed something had broken or spilled. I was so bummed to find out what I'd missed! If I'd just left a little later, I could have been there. Oh well. What are you going to do? Thankfully, he did it again this morning for me. Big smiles!
As soon as he rolled this morning, we commented that we'll need to be more careful about leaving him alone now. Before, if I put him on our obnoxiously large ottoman, it was no big deal. Now, one roll and he's practically at the edge! As we were talking about this, we both went into the kitchen to clean up our breakfast dishes. CJ made a weird sound, so I peeked around the corner. I'm sure you can guess what he'd done. No, he had not rolled off the ottoman, but he had rolled over again. That just confirmed our earlier conversation!
All of this excitement further proved that these milestones are going to start coming fast. Every day he is picking up something else. It is simply amazing to watch him grasp a new action or idea.
I'm definitely one proud mama!
As I mentioned a few posts ago, he had been getting very close to rolling over. He just couldn't figure out how to move that back leg. Last night, he got so frustrated on his back that he kicked over and made the full rotation.
My worry was that he was going to roll while at daycare, which would have made sense because he is there for a good portion of the day. I just wanted to be there to witness it. Well, it didn't happen at daycare, but I sure did miss it. :( I literally had been gone only 15 minutes...go figure. Matt called me and the first words out of his mouth were "you're gonna be mad." I assumed something had broken or spilled. I was so bummed to find out what I'd missed! If I'd just left a little later, I could have been there. Oh well. What are you going to do? Thankfully, he did it again this morning for me. Big smiles!
As soon as he rolled this morning, we commented that we'll need to be more careful about leaving him alone now. Before, if I put him on our obnoxiously large ottoman, it was no big deal. Now, one roll and he's practically at the edge! As we were talking about this, we both went into the kitchen to clean up our breakfast dishes. CJ made a weird sound, so I peeked around the corner. I'm sure you can guess what he'd done. No, he had not rolled off the ottoman, but he had rolled over again. That just confirmed our earlier conversation!
All of this excitement further proved that these milestones are going to start coming fast. Every day he is picking up something else. It is simply amazing to watch him grasp a new action or idea.
I'm definitely one proud mama!
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