Quick update

Well, I have a few minutes so I will try to get everyone up to speed! We went on our agency's list at the end of April 2011 for adoption number 2. We had only waited 5.5 months to be matched with Tulip, so we knew that it would likely take longer this time around (for a variety of reasons). We were hoping to have a match by about a year, but we were ready regardless. We had a call in June that we were being considered, but the first mom ended up choosing another family. Then we had a call in September about a first mom who liked us but had some questions about our religious beliefs. It turned out we would not have had similar views, so we were glad to not be matched in that situation. While that mom was still trying to make a decision, another first family was considering us after seeing us on the agency's website. She contacted them in November, and we were officially matched on 12/2. There was a lot to take in with this match, as far as social/medical history goes, but we agreed to meet and hope all would work out. The first meeting went well, but BigTex and I were nearly convinced they would choose to parent at the end anyway. December seemed like a really long month.

I prayed constantly...and God was in control the entire time. Turns out, this match was made for us, and for them. We needed each other. We were even lucky enough to be visiting friends for New Year's Eve in the city where the first family lives when she called to let us know she was in labor. That was at 7:30pm 12/31 and instead of being 4 hours away, we were 30 minutes from the hospital! Our sweet Poppy was born at 1:31am on 1/1/12, we were in the room for the delivery and I even cut the umbilical cord! The hospital was amazing and we had our own room during the 72 hour wait. Poppy came and stayed with us at night since the first family had given us one of the baby bands. It was wonderful to spend that time both with Poppy and her first parents, and everything was mostly smooth throughout the wait and signing of papers. We brought Poppy home on 1/4 and became a great little family of four!!

More to come.

1.4.12

This might have been the best day of my life...my two beautiful girls meet for the first time.

The pajamas were a coincidence, by the way!

So trying this thing out...

From my phone. Maybe then I can get back to this space which I love. There is a lot to update!!!

Internal Clarity

Tonight, I will rest.

Assured.

It is not mine to bear.

I do not have to.

I will rest.  Assured in my Father's love for me and in His will for my future.

Working on it...

More to come...but this is where I am right now.

Waiting.

Life keeps right on moving

I miss this space. I miss you, dear internets. I miss recording my feelings and joys and frustrations here for posterity.

Tulip is amazing, as usual. We've finally shaken all the ickies from winter and we are now on week 3 of all being healthy. That is so nice! She wakes up without a snotty nose and runny eyes--she is rested, smiling and ready to go for the day. It has been a very big deal to all be healthy, for sure.

At 14.5 months, Tulip is around 20lbs and 30" long--still a supermodel! She is in some 12m clothing, but mostly into 18m due to her length. She wears size 3 diapers, but we are getting ready to move up to size 4 (especially for overnights). Tulip has been off the bottle completely since the beginning of the month, and we've identified that straw-cups are her preference v. sippy for her milk. She usually drinks 12-16oz of milk per day and also eats 4oz of Yo.baby (LOVES it so much) in order to get all her calcium/vitamin D. She eats just about anything you put in front of her, but some favorites are pasta with red sauce, Puff.s, mandarin oranges, and pureed sweet peas. We still feed her a jar of veg at dinner since she usually won't eat the whole ones on her own. Naps are still very much all over the place. She's mostly down to 1 nap at school, mid-day. At home it is usually 2 (early morning and mid-day). But she still sleeps for 12hrs at night. We went through about a month recently where she was waking sometimes 2-3 times a night, but I think she was still getting over a bad sinus infection and possibly a bit of tonsillitis (we both had that, and she is the likely culprit). I had also read that just before a big milestone in gross motor development, some young toddlers have a sleep regression. And as of last weekend, we have a walker on our hands! She's started sleeping better again, so I think her little body was just getting itself together for this big event! Tulip has discovered the joys of outside and would spend all her time out there if we'd let her. She also prefers to sit in my lap and read books than play with any of the toys scattered in the living room or her bedroom. She even cries when you tell her all done, time for bed. She just wants to read another book! Her vocabulary is in her own language, but "dada/daddy" is clear, as is "ba" for book and "mo" for more. "Mama" is sporadic still, and hi/bye is just a wave. She signs "all done" and "more" and she will blow kisses by smacking her hand to her lips. She'll only give cuddles or kisses when she wants to, usually accompanied by much slobber. Tulip has 8 teeth and is cutting the incisors on top and possibly a molar or two but we can't tell. She likes to have her teeth brushed before bed but it is still tough to see in the back of her mouth. She has been such a trooper with all those teeth!

I absolutely love seeing the world as Tulip sees it--new and exciting and even a bit scary. Her blue eyes light up my life and I am so very very lucky to be her mama.

Happy Easter!