Some New Things to Remember

Last week, I had taken Joshua out of his high chair and he was running up and down the hallway. All of a sudden, I realized, there was no pitter-patter of feet, so I decided to investigate. I found that our bedroom door and specifically the master bath (if you'd even call it that) had been left open. "Oh no, what was he getting into." I walked into the bathroom and there he was, standing on the scale.

Also, over the weekend when we had the TV on, there was an African American woman on the news, I think it was. He stopped and pointed excitedly, so we asked what? Who is that? Joshua answered "ME!!"

He can and has for awhile been able to point to his eyes, ears, nose (sometimes), teeth, tummy, and belly button (his favorite). He also has been saying "apple", "up", "down", "out", "off", "Rocky" (his yellow stuffed raccoon), "donkey" (what his stuffed animal, Eeyore is). He amzes me at the words he already knows and says. He also says "potty" (no, we aren't potty training him yet, but when I'm home alone with him, I'll say mommy has to go potty and he stated repeating me and running ahead of me to the bathroom.) I also heard him say today for the first time, "no". Yikes, off to bed for me.

15 month Doctor's Visit

Joshua had his 15 month doctor's appointment. He ended up getting 4 shots and needs only one more to be all caught up with his vaccines. He now weighs 23 lbs 8 oz. and is 31 and a quarter inches tall. He's gained almost 4 lbs and grown 3 and a half inches, since we brought him home! He's at the 35th percentile for weight and the 56th percentile for weight.

Animal Sounds

Most children probably start out with moo and baa and maybe woof. He loves dogs, so woof or some form of it would make sense.

His nursery is in a jungle theme, so he has a picture of a lion and other animals hanging above his changing table, as well as on his bedding and wall hanging. His first animal noise was a kind of lion's roar; really cute. Just yesterday, I was going through a book of animals and when we came to the pigs, he didn't oink, but made a snorting sound! Whenever I pointed a pig out to him, I'd oink and also snort like a pig. He'd laugh like crazy when I did the snorting,! But hearing him snort is so funny, when I realized what he was doing I couldn't help, but laugh! Also, when we look at his baby animals book and get to the gorilla, he beats his chest. Oh my gosh, this is adorable.

He also says wawa for water and mil for milk and he says and signs more. He also signs fish when we sing the fish song or sometimes when he sees a picture of fish. I bet he'll enjoy "Finding Nemo" when he is a little older. He says feet and shoe, also. He tries to repeat us a lot. He's starting to put block shapes through the right holes. It takes a little bit for him to figure the right hole, but he is getting there. Well, he is awake now, so I better get going!

Smart Shopping and Great Deals

Last week, while I was checking my couponing sites, I saw this deal. Walmart.com had the Garth Brooks The Limited Series Box Collection for $5. That's right for $5 dollars, I got 5 CDs: Sevens, Scarecrow, Double Live- 2 CDs, The Lost Sessions and a DVD with Interview Footage, Music Videos, Live Performances, etc. Tax and shipping only came out to an extra $2 or so and then it turned out to be delivered by FedEx, not the post office (no offense to those of you with the USPS, but you know what I mean).

Also, last night, I went to Walgreens and spent only $5.70 for all this: (I was going to take a picture, but forgot and unpacked everything. I got a jumbo package of Huggies diapers, paper plates, 6 Hershey bars, and 3 packages of Jello. Actually, now that I check the receipt, I should have saved 30 more cents, because the candy bars were 80 cents each and I had 3 buy one got one (BOGO) free coupons and she entered only 70 cents for each of the coupons, but the diapers at regular price were 10.99 (now I'd never spend that much), so basically everything else was free and the diapers half price. Oh yeah, I also got $2 in register rewards to use next time!

Things I've Done and Words I Say

Joshua's first experience playing in the snow.


Joshua meets Santa for the 1st time.

Joshua's First Christmas

I just wanted to take sometime to mark down a few things about Joshua.

When we brought him home at 8 1/2 months, he was already pulling himself up and almost immediately was cruising, holding onto furniture

His first doctor's appointment, he weighed in at 19.6 lbs. (38%ile) and was 28 inches tall (53%ile).

7/10 was his first trip to Brookfield Zoo.

Over Labor Day weekend, he took his first overnite, out-of-state trip to Michigan and met his Grandpa Bill and Uncle Jeff.

He took his first steps in 9/11 in front of me and his grandma, my mom (Kevin was at a H.S. football game at the time). Actually, he walked across the living room. For the first couple weeks, his walking resembled the song, "Monster Mash". It really was cute to see.

He puckered up and gave me his first real kiss when I was getting out of the car to catch the train for work on October 14th.

Joshua turned 1 year old on October 16th.

On October 17th, he had his baby dedication at Cary Grove Evangelical Church.

Poor kid on October 28th, he had a circumcision. He bounced back remarkably. He was walking around that afternoon when we got home and before the end of the weekend, one would never know he had had surgery. He mended incredibly quick.

On November 13th, he went to Illinois State University, his mom's college alma mater to watch the H.S. volleyball championships, his probable high school alma mater, Cary-Grove H.S. vs. Lyons Twp. H.S., his mom's high school alma mater.

November 14th, he started saying nana for banana. He already says mama and dada.

November 19th was the 1st time I celebrated my birthday as a mother.

Although, it probably snowed some before, December 11 was his first experience playing in the snow.

December 11th was also the first time he saw Santa. He did very well with him. I wasn't sure how he'd do, but he didn't cry or anything. Of course, he didn't really understand the significance. I really wasn't that thrilled about this Santa, but after all this Santa was at our local Walgreen's.

Christmas Eve, Joshua weighed about 23 pounds and was 31 inches tall.

January 2nd was his 1st visit to Immediate Care. He had an earache and cough/cold.

He went to his 1st gathering with other kids adopted from Ethiopia to celebrate Genna -Ethiopian Christmas, on January 8th.

Words he says: mama, dada, daddy, bye, hi, nana - banana, peas - please, teet - teeth, ba - ball, hat, baby, cookie, and doggy.

I really need to keep this up, even if it is only a short little blurb of a couple sentences.

6 Months Ago

6 months ago, we returned home from Ethiopia.

Here is one of the 1st pictures that we took after meeting him at just over 8 months old.


And here is a picture of him just a couple weeks ago at almost 14 months.

Don't Give Up!

I will be back; I just need to find the time. Joshua is doing great!

My Review of BABYBJORN(R) Baby Carrier Active

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

How comfortable is this BABYBJORN carrier? Well, it's the one our head buyer chose for herself - and she's pretty much tested them all. It's simply more comfortable for longer periods: the ergonomic straps lift the weight off your shoulders, while the lumbar support protects your back...

BABYBJORN(R) Baby Carrier Active

Lifesaver/backsaver

By an80slady6886 from Chicago suburbs on 7/6/2010

 

5out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Lightweight, Strong Construction, Comfortable

Best Uses: Infants, Travel, Daily Use, Out & About

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

We just adopted an 8 month baby boy. Once we figured out how to put it together, it seemed so simple. It was great as we were walking around his birth country to not always have to carry him in our arms. Being a 1st-time mom, it made it easier to carry him around going right to a 19 lb. baby was not easy. He's also so comfortable in it that he falls asleep in there. I've also been able to put him in there as I do some cleaning up around the house. The lumbar support in the Baby Bjorn active model is great and makes carrying him around so much easier. I really haven't tried getting him in there myself; my husband always helps; getting him in there by oneself may be a little challenging.

(legalese)

More Photos of Joshua

Photos of Joshua

We're Home. Details later, but here are some photos to hold you until then

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Yes, we got confirmation that the VISA will indeed be 6/24/10, so we will be leaving on Saturday! Only 5 more days!

Prayers Needed!

We are 12 days from travel and yesterday are adoption agency told us 5 families who are waiting to travel in a little over a week that final confirmation probably won't be until next Monday or Tuesday. This will give families only between 2-5 days of notice, which will greatly increase the cost of travel to probably skyrocketing prices. We were told this delay is from the U.S, Embassy. At least, one of the traveling families took the chance and booked tickets. The $750 per ticket changeover fee would be cheaper than buying tickets just a few days before. The rest of us families need to decide if we should take the chance and buy our tickets. Please pray that we decide what is best for our situation and also for travel confirmation to come much sooner. Thank you!

We passed court! Here he is!

Here was his referral picture!

Today was Our Court Date

Tune in later to find out the result. Have we been named Joshua's parents? Has the case been re-scheduled? We don't know the answer yet. Check back later tonight or if you are on Facebook, you may find out sooner.

Just a little over 1 more day until court; please keep us in your prayers and thoughts that we will become parents to Joshua on Tuesday. As we sleep Monday night into Tuesday, our case should be up in Ethiopian Federal court.

Baby Shower #1

Last Saturday, I had my first of several baby showers. A group of women meet every 1st Saturday of the month for what has been named Coffee and Conversation. They threw a small shower for me with many of the regulars. I haven't gotten pictures yet, but hope to receive them soon. I did snap a picture of part of the cake, that was left over and I brought home.

It was so delicious. It was from Costco and had chocolate mousse filling. So good and tasty, but way more than I could or should eat, especially since Kevin does not like chocolate. But we shared it with our small group which met the following night. I still have one or two more pieces. I think I'll see if I can freeze them, since I have another shower tomorrow with another Costco cake. This one Kevin can eat, since it won't be chocolate.

Got quite a few gifts, I can't name everything, but a sample were some adorable stuffed animals, books, a child's Storybook Bible, homemade blankets (beautiful), Photo frames and photo albums (always need those) and more. I just can't name everything. It was then that everything really started to feel real. Thanks to everyone who came!

Court Date 5/11

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted here. I am usually on facebook and so are most people that I know so I just neglect this site. Last month, we finally were notified that our paperwork had been submitted to the court. Usually we aren't told when this exactly happens, but with the upcoming deadline for one or two trips, they did. Then a day or two later, we were told that our court date would be May 11th. Now that is only a few days away. Since Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of the Central Time Zone, it will happen as we sleep Monday night into Tuesday morning. Please pray that all the paperwork from the different agencies and orphanage are there in court, everything is spelled correctly, all the people who need to be in court, are in court, and that the court's electricity is working at the time. If any of these things aren't just right, our case will be rescheduled, so let's hope, pray, think positive thoughts, whatever it takes for us to become Joshua's legal parents. Remember once we hear that we pass, I will share his pictre online. Also, remember, I will be at work and will be unable to post his pictures until I get home, so please be patient. Lately, there has been some phone difficulties, so we could be declared his parents and our agency might be unable to get through to our Agency's Ethiopian representative.

One Trip or Two?

It looked like we'd squeak in under the old 1 trip rule, but it's very unsure if that will happen now. The U.S. Department of State made this announcement : The Federal First Instance Court of Ethiopia has announced that as of May 9, 2010, adoptive parents must appear at the federal court hearing for their adoptive child in order for the adoption to be approved. This new requirement will affect all pending and new adoption cases that have not yet been presented to the court. Here it is in full: http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2010/04/dos-adoption-notice-ethiopia.html

It is unclear whether one will have to have to have their courtdate by that, pass court by that time, or if the paperwork will merely need to be submitted to the court. Please pray that we have to take only one trip. This is also the most expensive time to travel to Ethiopia, so finding the funds to make two trips will be difficult.

Have You Heard?

If you're not on either of our Facebook accounts, work with us, are in the know among our extended family, or attend our church, you probably haven't heard the great news! WE HAVE A SON!!! We got our referral call on Monday, March 22nd (a belated birthday gift for Kevin, whose birthday was March 20th). After exactly a 10 month wait on this waiting list and over 3 years and 3 months, since 1st submitting our application, we receive the news that there was a 5 month old boy who had been selected for us.

The day started out not that hot, liteally. We woke up to a relatively cold house, our furnace turned off over night and it as in the very low 60s when we awoke. Kevin stayed home and waited for the heating guy to make his service call. Since our furnace is only 6 years old, it turned out to be some small piece that broke and needed replacing. So, we got a new part relatively soon and Kevin as able to leave and be at work a little after 10.

We both were at work when we got THE CALL. Kevin got the call first. He was outside with the kids, so a co-worker got him. Then Ashley, our adoption consultant called me. Luckily, I had my cellphone out on the desk and it started to ring. I thought who the heck is calling me on my cell; then I looked down and saw that it was the adoption agency. Once I answered, Ashley put Kevin and I on as a conference call and told us she had our referral and told us all about our son. He was born October 16, 2009, so at the time was just a little over 5 months.

When we will pick him up is not yet known specifically, but we hope to have him home during the first part of the summer. There is talk of requiring two trips, but it now seems to be taking effect later in May. If we can get all of our paperwork translated, etc. and filed with the court before Mother's day weekend, it looks like there is a good chance that we may only have to travel once. This would be so much better financial -wise. Traveling once will be expensive enough. Also, leaving our son after the first trip would be so difficult since it might be 6-8 weeks or more until we travel again. One of the positives of 2 trips would be that he would be an automatic U.S. citizen when we landed back on American soil. So please pray that all the paperwork is submitted to the courts in early May and that we don't have to wait long for a court date. Once we pass court, we have to wait to get assigned an embassy appointment and then we'll learn when we travel.

By the way, we will call him Joshua and his middle name will be his Ethiopian name. We can't post his picture or e-mail any pictures untiil we have passed court and are in the eyes of the Ethiopian government, "Joshua's" legal parents, but if we see you in person, we will be happy to show you his picture.

Nursery Help

I've been looking at lots of crib bedding and can't quite decide. Here are I think, the top 5 contenders, in no specific order. Please give me your feedback and help me make a decision..







Animal Acres




Fisher Price Ocean Wonders

Fisher Price Precious Planet











Jungle Babies

Modern Sports