An update - finally...

So I'm feeling pretty bad about how infrequently I post on this blog. I attached a great tool to our adoption profile (our other blog) so that I can see who visits it and where those visits come from. As a side effect, I get those results for this blog too. This blog had 40 hits in the last month! Which was down from the prior month. Meanwhile our adoption blog only had 1 hit :-( It's not like we are really hoping to adopt again right now, but we have this "old" situation hanging out there. Back in late January/early February on the same day as we got the call to be profiled for Colton, we also got an email from my sil saying that she had a friend who had a friend who was thinking about adoption. Our mom's quickly said, what if you get both babies. And we quickly replied that then we'd have two more babies. The odds were, of course, that neither situation would work out. That's just how adoption goes. You cast a wide net and hope something will work out eventually.

So it was on a Friday that we found out about both possible opportunities - one with our agency (Colton) and I'll call the other one a private situation. Well, by the following Wednesday we had been chosen to parent Colton. We couldn't have been happier. It was a very exciting and unexpected phone call - we still can't believe it! Then on Friday we got the sweetest email from this couple (the private situation) basically saying that they chose us too. The only thing was that they were just barely pregnant - maybe six weeks. We decided that it was just too much of a coincidence to let it go, so we replied that we were happy to get their email. We told them that we were expecting Colton any day, but that we would still be interested in their situation as well. We basically put the ball in their court figuring they were just as likely to say take a hike as anything else. Well, they didn't say take a hike, they said we still choose you! We were SO excited with two babies on the way. Our family would be complete!!! That weekend, Colton was born. We were also trying to arrange a phone conversation with this other couple. It was a very exciting weekend! I had several emails back and forth with the birthmom from this private situation and things seemed great. Then, all of a sudden, instead of a phone call, we found out that she had chosen a different option. I think it's my own fault for trying to solidify this connection through our friends - let's just say that I'm not sure that both bm and bd were on the same page here with how this connection was made. But honestly the whole thing sounded just too good to be true. We had pics of the birth parents and they are both absolutely stunning. They seemed to have the babies best interests at heart. They wanted an open adoption. It was a dream really. That's why I tried to make the connection - to be sure I was talking to the people that I thought I was talking to - a friend of a friend of a sil :o) Ooops!

So now, a couple of months later, I check out my stats on our profile page and I keep hoping to see that we have had a visit from the area where these birthparents live. The baby still isn't due for a few more months, so I guess you'd call it wishful thinking. I know we would be crazier than ever with a third little one, but not any crazier than parents of multiples. I don't have a very close connection to my sil's friend and she's friends with the bd not the bm. This means that any info I get is third hand and may only be one side of the story. It looks like bm plans to parent. I just hope that she's making that choice for all of the right reasons. If she changes her mind, we told her we'd always be an option. So until this fall passes with no baby news, we'll keep secretly hoping that we will have another new addition.

Tyler's 1st Birthday

It seems impossible, but Tyler turned one less than two weeks ago! I've been wanting to blog about it, but it's been a little busy around here. As you already know, Tyler's big gift was a baby brother! Surprise to everyone! Of course that makes for a fantastic birthday, but we had a lot of other stuff going on too!

Ty's actual birthday was on a Wednesday, so we celebrated with just us and my mom. We started the morning with presents from family. It's amazing how much better he has gotten at opening gifts just since Christmas. He was far more interested in it this time around. We had homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner, that's Tyler's favorite. My mom and I also made a little teddy bear cake that was super cute and let him eat it all on his own. He made a pretty big mess and Daddy had to give him a bath afterwards.

On Saturday we celebrated with more family and a lot of friends. We had an Elmo themed birthday party complete with a 4 ft tall walking Elmo balloon and a 5 ft tall walking Big Bird balloon. We rented a helium tank to fill these guys up and also filled up a ton of regular balloons for the party. Grandma made Tyler and Elmo cake and some Elmo cupcakes. The party goers had some time to color pictures of the Sesame Street characters playing baseball. Tyler LOVED the party. While he didn't really play with the other kids, he was very happy to play next to them (gotta love parallel play at this age). He was so happy in the living room filled with kids that he didn't even care about lunch. We had to pull him away from his toys just to eat! We had pizza for lunch - Elmo's favorite food. We also had chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks. All easy food for the kids. There were Elmo juice boxes and Dorothy the goldfish crackers. I think everyone had a good time. It was so much fun to celebrate Tyler's amazing first year with so many loved ones. At just two days old, Colton was taking it all in and making plans for his first birthday party, I'm sure! Happy 1 year Tyler! We love you so much!!!!

Another miracle

Colton James

We always planned that once we were able to finalize Tyler's adoption, we'd start working towards adopting again. As many of you know, once we decided to start the adoption process last time around it took a year and a half before we were able to bring Tyler home. Many people cautioned us that it might take longer the second time. Very often birth mothers will choose childless couples over couples who already have a child. We braced ourselves for a long wait and decided that starting as soon as possible was the best way to assure that Tyler wouldn't be too much older than our next new addition.

So in early December we sent in our application to Adoption STAR (the Buffalo agency that helped match us up with Tyler). At about the same time, one of my STAR friends was over for a playdate. She happened to mention another agency that they had come across in their wait - it's called Family Connections - located in Cortland, NY. I got online and filled out an information request with this agency and they called me back within hours. They sent us some information and a week later we scheduled an appointment with them for January 4th. We knew instantly that we were going to choose to work with both agencies - hoping to double our chances of finding a match.



Within weeks we had a profile opportunity with this new agency, but unfortunately it did not work out. Another two weeks went by and we were presented with yet another opportunity to be profiled with this new agency (2/5). We were blown away. This agency is relatively small - they often only place 2-4 babies a year. On top of that, in the year we waited to be matched with Tyler, we were only profiled 3 times before Tyler. Here we were with two opportunities in as many weeks. Not even two weeks ago, on Wednesday, February 10th, FC called to tell us that we had been chosen to parent a baby, gender unknown, due any day. We were ecstatic!



We began preparing for the birth of our newest addition immediately. We knew that we might not have a lot of time. Amazingly, we got all of our ducks in a row and even had my parents down for a visit (which made a great babysitting arrangement for Tyler), when in the early hours of Monday morning (1 am on the 15th) we got THE call that birthmom was in labor. We got the car loaded and headed for the Cortland hospital. At 3am we received a phone call from our social worker saying that the baby had been born at 2:56am - a baby boy weighing 7lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long! It was simply amazing! We named him Colton James



We arrived at the hospital at 3:30am and were brought in to meet Colton and his birthmom. It was such a great experience to meet her face-to-face and talk with her for a while. After a couple of hours they ushered us out so that J could take a shower. Just a little bit later they brought J to her room and then they brought us and Colton to our very own room. It was such a great experience to be able to stay right at the hospital with Colton all day Monday and Tuesday. We were able to see J one more time before we left. She had been discharged on Monday, but she returned on Tuesday to say goodbye to all of us. She brought the cutest outfit for Colton along with a teddy bear. She also brought a birthday present for Tyler and the most beautiful care for me and Chris. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon we were discharged. We made the 2 + hour drive home where we've been ever since. What an amazing week we had!

11 months old

I simply cannot believe that Tyler will be 11 months old on Sunday. Where has the time gone? His growth and progress amaze me every single day. So here we are, planning an Elmo themed birthday party and actually beginning the process of adopting a second time. Meanwhile, a year ago, we didn't even have a child. It's just amazing how fast life can change.

Tyler continues to be a very happy and laid back child. He's so content to hang out and play most of the day. He's a great sleeper - which we are very thankful for. At the moment, he's getting close to his first steps. He's cruising along all of our furniture and he's even starting to let go from time to time. He's talking non-stop in baby babble, but on occasion we hear a word or two. He's had mama and dada down for quite a while, but kitty is a new addition to his vocabulary. Once in a while I think I hear doggie too. My favorite part of this stage is how obvious it is that he loves his mommy and his daddy. His little hand will reach out for you the instant you enter a room. It just melts my heart!

As for our next adoption, we anticipate a long wait, but you just never know. I think it would be amazing for Tyler to have a sibling or two who are close to his age. So, we have filled out the mounds of paperwork and we now we are waiting for our fingerprint clearances to come back - after that - it's out of our hands. We simply wait and see what the future holds for us! I have to say, I'm much more excited than I thought I would be. I really thought that for the next year I wouldn't think about it all that much, but I am. Maybe it's just because the paperwork is so fresh in my mind, but I really think it's that I just can't wait to get my hands on another little baby! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love everything about Tyler right now, but I also miss that itty bitty baby I was holding just 11 short months ago.

All I want for Christmas is Elmo Live Encore

After Tyler's finalization we headed out to the mall for a little visit with Santa. I was worried that Tyler would be scared of him and cry, but he didn't! We were the first ones there to greet Santa and there was no line behind us so we got to take a lot of pics. The hardest part was that they would only let you choose one for your photos for the photo cd :-( I had a tough time picking between this one and the one of him actually looking at the camera. In the end I decided it was pretty cute that he was looking up at Santa and so we picked this one. I think it will be somehow integrated into our Christmas cards this year. The tree goes up tomorrow - I can hardly wait!

Finalization - yay!

This morning we finalized Tyler's adoption! We waited a long 9 1/2 months for this day and I have to say, it was pretty anticlimactic. We arrived early, as our attorney had directed us to - you have to pass through metal detectors and the lines can be long. In our case, we didn't have to wait long. We were in the waiting area for Surrogate's Court at about 8:40 for our 9:00 appointment. We waited until nearly 9 when our attorney showed up. One of the Sheriff's who was working brought us back to the judge's chambers where we sat and talked about sports while the judge signed/initialed a multitude of paperwork. He explained the details of getting Tyler's amended birth certificate and social security number. We posed for a few pics and that was it. We were in our car and headed out by 9:15! What a great birthday present for Chris!

9 month check-up

Tyler had his 9 month check-up this morning. He weighs 22 pounds (75th percentile) and he's 29.5 inches (90th percentile). That's right where he was at 6 months. The doctor says he's doing great in every way. He's healthy and clearly happy - he spent the whole exam clapping and blowing raspberries at her. He got his last dose of Hep B and the 2nd part of the seasonal flu vaccine. They didn't have any H1N1, but she said that he should get it. There has already been one round of H1N1 flu in the area and they are anticipating a second round in January when the seasonal flu typically hits. She suggested we either take him to a clinic - yippee there were like a million people standing in line for hours at the one that was yesterday - or we keep checking the pediatrician's website as they will post when they have the vaccine in the office. She also recommends the vaccine for Chris and I, but we aren't in the category that's allowed to get it at this point. I think that's about it... we go back at 1 year!

Good Deals!

I've been surfing around online today checking out all of the great deals that are around. I don't know if any of you check out the same sites or not, but I thought I'd share what I've found -especially with Christmas coming! I really started at www.babycheapskate.com and went from there. I LOVE that site!

Several of the websites I visited point to www.coupons.com for some Hasbro toy coupons which can sometimes be added with other coupons at certain stores - like Target that has their own coupons that just came out this week. I'm going to check out some of these today - might make some nice Christmas presents :-)

http://earlymotherhood.blogspot.com/, which I linked to from babycheapskate, shares several great ideas:

* How to get 7 preschool games for basically less than $4 at Toys R Us (this deal subtracts off the $10 gift card that you earn so you really pay $14 plus mail in rebates but you get that $10 gift card for later). The webpage with the rebates includes many other great games that cost a little more - you can still get a great deal though http://www.hasbro.com/familygamenight/en_US/discover/upload/RevisedHasbroGameNightRebateForm.pdf

I also found freebies on this blog (thank you earlymotherhood!):

*I followed this link for free Mozart for Infants and Toddlers downloads http://www.munchkin.com/information_station/downloads.html.

*I followed this link to the leapfrong website to sign up for a free board book: http://earlymotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-leapfrog-abc-animal-orchestra.html

*This link will let you sign up for a free Geotrax train dvd at https://store.mattel.com/transition.aspx?TransitionID=155.

Happy shopping!

Halloween 2009

Tyler's first Halloween was a great success. We took him to Target for his 8 month pictures a couple of weeks early. The pictures came out great, but he refused to smile at all! Here are a couple of pictures of him in his costume.

We also had regular 8 month pictures taken. These also came out very cute, even without a smile. They asked us to sign a release so they can use his pictures to show to others :-) I mean, we know we have a SUPER cute kid, but it's nice to hear it from unbiased parties!

On the Sunday before Halloween we carved our pumpkins. Tyler really liked that part! After Daddy took the top off and scooped out most of the seeds, he let Tyler stick his hands in. Tyler LOVED it! He couldn't get enough of it! He had both hands all the way inside the pumpkin up to his armpits. He even pulled a little bit of pumkin guts out and had a taste - yummy!

On Halloween night we took Tyler out kind of early, around 6:30pm. We visited a few select neighbors that we new would appreciate seeing him in costume. It was a long walk for Daddy carrying his heavy little man. It's unbelievable how big he's gotten and how fast! Tyler loved Halloween! He enjoyed the entire trip out - he even liked his costume! I wonder what he'll be next year????

7 months

People always say how fast kids grow, but it's so amazing to see it happening right before your very own eyes! Tyler turned 7 months old a week ago today. I can't believe that we are closer to age 1 than we are to the day he was born. It's so unreal! I swear he gets cuter every day - not that I'm biased or anything :-) His latest development is trying to crawl - I say trying as he likes to lay on his tummy, lift his arms and legs off of the ground, and then move all 4 limbs like crazy. He looks like he's pretending to swim! Now if he can just get the opposite down (belly up - legs and arms on the ground), we're going to be in big trouble!

6 months old

Tyler had his six month check up this morning. It went very well. He didn't really care for the exam portion this time, which was new. I think he was playing a little strange with the doc. Of course the shots went over like a lead balloon, but other than that, he did very well. We found out that he now weighs 19 pounds 3 ounces (surprisingly low for anyone who's carried him around at all) and he's 28 inches long. His percentiles have totally flipped now... He's in the 75th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height. Not a bad place to be! Maybe there's hope for a basketball player yet... I was beginning to think football was a better fit :-)

We got the green light to go ahead and try many new things. He can now have a little water in a sippy cup (she says still no juice - think of it like soda - only once in a great while as a treat). He is also moving to 2nds for food, but can start with 3rd stage in the next month or two. She said that 2nds are really the same as 1sts just bigger containers and sometimes combining more than one ingredient. 3rds will have pieces of actual food in them - more like mashed up peas instead of pureed peas. At about the same time as 3rds he can have cheerios (she doesn't recommend puffs or teething biscuits or anything like that b/c of sugar content). She did say that some developmental specialists recommend Kix b/c of the difference in shape - it has something to do with development of the mouth... who knows. What he's eating now is great - we can add the same meal at lunch as well at any point now. Hmmmm... what else... also when we starts 3rds we can start some real food too - no honey is the big thing - aside from that he can eat pretty much what we eat - minus choking hazards.

As for shots, we were happy to learn that he only needed 3 - no polio this time, but then she added in the flu shot so the poor little man got 4 anyway. When we go back at 9 months he gets part 2 of the flu shot and probably a swine flu shot too. So much for thinking 9 mos would be shot free :-(

I think that's about it. He's doing great!