Videos

One of Lily



and one of my new wheel

Five years and two days

Five years (and two days) ago, I made the best decision of my life when I married Corey. I am utterly convinced that Corey is my soul mate. It is hard for me to say that, since I don't really believe in that kind of stuff (destiny, etc.). I just feel that if I sat down and tried to design the perfect person to be my mate for life, all of the ingredients would add up to Corey. He is the optimist to balance my pessimism, the strength to my weaknesses, the yin to my yang.

Our life has taken some unexpected paths in the last 5 years. We went through some things that would have driven lots of couples apart. But every unexpected turn and bump in the road has served to drive us closer together rather than farther apart. The thing is, the last 5 years have also been the happiest and most fun of my life. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am. This warm hearted, silly, fun, smart, strong, loving, supportive, adorable guy chose me to spend the rest of his life with? It really blows my mind. I feel like I don't deserve him. He puts up with my sometimes overly-emotional, worried, crazy, weird self. He deserves a metal. And as a dad, Corey is just as about as good as it gets. His love for Lily brings me to tears.

Here is a shot of Corey making me Turtles with homemade caramel for my Birthday. See why I love this man!



And since I alway have to include a cute pic of the kiddo, here it is.

Random

I just like this shot from a few weeks ago:



...and this video of Lily makes me laugh:

Silly face

This face she makes cracks me up to no end. I think she does it because it makes us laugh.

Yesterday was her 4 month doctor's visit. They said she is actually closer in size to the average 6 month old, as she is off the charts now on height and weight. I asked, but they said it isn't really a problem since she is proportionate. She's just a big for her age.

The doctor did his usual poking and prodding and she laughed each time he moved her legs in and out to check her hips. She thought that was really funny. He said she is doing all of the things that she should be doing at this age: rolling over, reaching for things, laughing, etc.

In other news, I bought a spinning wheel. I've had my eye on one for a long time and after selling some things on ebay and other places, I finally decided to get one. It is an inexpensive one, as far as wheels go, but it is absolutely adorable. I think it fits my personality as it is quirky, efficient, and, of course, there is the cute part... I can't wait to try it out this evening.

Great-Grandpa

Here is a photo we took this past weekend of Lily's great-grandpa Joe and all but one of his great-grand children. Great-grandpa is a very generous man who loves his entire family very much.

Four Months

Dear Lily,

You are 4 months old today. Your dad just informed me that this means he is 90 times older than you right now. Man, he's old. It is fun to think about the life you have ahead of you. All kinds of new experiences and things your daddy and I will be able to relive all over again, through you.

You are such a smiley girl these days! You smile with every bit of you - a huge, open mouthed smile. Your eyes get all shimmery and your arms flap away, like a little bird. You also laugh a lot. Especially when we sing "Old McDonald". Whenever we say the animal, as in ... "Old McDonald had a...... HORSE!" You smile huge and giggle. Too cute.

You've started to reach out and pull hair a lot - mine and the dogs and cats. You like to suck on my hair, which I'm not too fond of. Every thing you grab ends up in your mouth these days. Still drooling a lot too, but no sign of teeth yet. You have officially rolled over in each direction, although you've only gone from your back to your front once.

Things we want to remember about your fourth month of life:

-You love your nakie time. You stretch your legs out really straight, glad for your chubby little thighs to be able to finally touch.
-You try and sneak peeks at the TV. We really don't want you to watch TV yet, but when you catch a glimpse, you are mesmerized. It is the same thing with campfires. You can't take your eyes off them.
-You love your toys. Especially things that rattle and squeak.
-You are a super little traveler. You go on long car rides to visit family quite a bit and you do really well just playing with your toys and listening to mom and dad sing to you.
-You love the bath, making little swimmy motions.
-You like when mommy and daddy dance with you.
-You like going for hikes in the backpack. You laugh until you fall asleep.
-You go to sleep around 8:30 at night and wake up at 6 in the morning.
-Just in the last two days, you've started to pull your little legs up to your chest a lot while laying on your back. You really seem to like doing that.

We continue to love you more and more each day. You are our dream come true and we could not be prouder of out little girl.

Love, mommy

Just a little push

This photo is from a week ago but I finally got around to uploading it. This was Lily's first time on a swing set. How fun that she got to swing with daddy, her buddy Henry and his daddy, Steve? We can hardly wait for the day that all of out adoption friends have brought home their children and we can fill the swings at the park.

Say "cheese"

We had a nice visit with our family in Wisconsin this weekend. Lily got to meet her one of her great aunts and assorted cousins for the 1st time. We had such a nice time visiting with everyone. On our way home, of course we had to stop at the Cheese Castle! It was Lily's very first time at the Castle so it was a big event which required cell phone pictures. She is quite the little cheese head.

Family

This afternoon, the time came to say goodbye to Chris and Tiger. In the time they were here, they got to meet our family and some friends. We visited the Children's Museum and toured Bloomington. We roasted marshmallows and ate homemade pie (thanks, Heather!). We laughed a lot.





Tiger is a great kid. He really cracked us up with some of his commentary. He helped out with the animals a lot, especially the chickens. He loved feeding them and he would sit outside the coop for hours waiting for one to lay an egg. If only we could convince Chris to move closer. She is such a sweet and thoughtful person. Lily soaked in all her attention, loving every second of it. Chris even vacuumed and mopped my floor so I could just relax when I got home from work. Did I mention how sweet she is?

Looking back on these days together, my heart is very full. Lily is too young to understand how far they came to see her, but she absolutely understands how much they love her. We are already looking forward to the next time we can be together. Chris summed it up best on the way to the airport. She told us that when people asked her "Why are you going to Indiana?". At first, she didn't know what to say. It is such a long and personal story. In the end, she thought of the perfect thing. She said "I'm going to visit family". She said after this week, she feels that way even more. We feel the exact same way.

For the love of a little girl...

As you have probably gathered in reading this blog, We have an open adoption with Lily's birth family. We feel so fortunate to be able to maintain this special bond with her birth relatives. We have have found that we have much in common, but most of all we share a tremendous love for this little girl. We were thrilled this week when Lily's birth grandma Chris and cousin Tiger were able to come all the way from California to visit! It has been wonderful spending time with them and watching them love Lily to pieces. Here are just a few shots from the last few days:

Wedding #2 for little girl

Daddy's tie kept her occupied during the ceremony. Who knew ties were so tasty?

In other news, Lily is eagerly awaiting two very special visitors who are traveling a very long way to see her. We are all so excited!! More soon...

It's been awhile

It's about time for some photos. 3 posts with no photos should be a crime.

I've been getting back into my hobbies a little, now that Lily is spending more time entertaining herself and (a little) less time in my arms. She is very into chewing on toys and she'll happily sit in her bouncy seat watching me work while sucking the spit out of of her stuffed animal. It is quite a disgusting noise, not unlike nails on a chalkboard. But, you know, it makes her happy. I recently washed a bunch of raw wool and combed it into little fleece birdnests to make it easier to spin. Corey had other ideas for the slivers of fleece...



Here is a random photo of a recent lazy summer afternoon, from the cat's perspective...



And, of course, Lily just being cute...

It continues

More adorable photos of Hank and Lil here.

Sleep-over

Lily had her first sleep-over with a friend yesterday. Or would that be a nap-over? Unfortunately, she was pretty fussy the rest of the time she was there. We think she may be teething as she just doesn't feel like herself sometimes. I wasn't able to stay long to help her adjust to her new surroundings too, so that might have contributed to the munchkin's distress. Anyway, it resulted in some very cute pictures. Check it out on Lisa's blog here.

Moments I treasure

As I rocked Lil to sleep tonight, singing "Hush Little Baby" like I always do, making up the lyrics as I go because I don't know the real ones, I was overcome with emotion. In her tiny left hand she grabbed the blanket, pulling it up to caress her face the way she likes to, her right hand was firmly gripped around my little finger. As her eyes fluttered and eventually shut for good, I thought about how I never ever want to forget this feeling or these moments. I teared up, realizing that I had envisioned this very scene in my mind many times over the years, and here I was living it. Unbelievable. I think all of the yearning and the wanting has made these moments even sweeter.

I felt this same way a few nights ago when I went out in the moonlight to retrieve the diapers I'd set out to dry on the deck. I caught a glimpse of movement in the lit window, it was Lily's chubby little legs kicking in the air. Her daddy was cooing and smiling at her while changing her diaper, and her little legs kicked in appreciation. He cocked his head and smiled again, a huge, silly smile, this time bending down to kiss her bare little belly. Then he reached up and grabbed the pull cord for her beautiful butterfly mobile to send it into flight. Her legs kicked even wilder than before. I had to pinch myself. Is this my life? It is. And I am so grateful.

On our way to finalization

On our drive to the finalization in Indianapolis, Lily decided to try out a real laugh for the very first time. The thing that did it was a silly growling voice I was making. I was located to the left of the camera and I find it funny how, when she laughs, she looks directly at the camera each time.



Here is another photo from outside the courthouse. I like how Lil looks like she's thinking "Oh crud. You mean I'm stuck with these people now??". Click on the photo to make it bigger. It will crack you up even more. I promise.

Forever and ever

Today was a joyous day for us. This was the day that we finalized our adoption of Lily. We were extremely honored to have our families witness the moment we officially and legally became a family. We pretty much filled the courtroom. The finalization is a legal proceeding where a lawyer represents you in front of a judge who signs endorses your petition for adoption. Corey and I were sworn in and we each had to testify as to our intent to adopt and accept Lily into our lives forever. I cried, of course, so luckily I was able to just agree with everything Corey said and not answer too many questions myself.

We couldn't be happier. This is the end of a very long road. The road turned out to have many twists and left turns, but it the end, it led us to the place that we always wanted to be. We have our girl and she is the most special thing we could have ever imagined. Our hearts are over flowing with love for her and we can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together.

A very good day indeed.

The photo above is of us with the judge.

Pssssst!

Tomorrow will be a SUPER SPECIAL day for our little family. I'll fill you in tomorrow night!!

And just because, here is a picture that I love that I don't think I had ever posted before. Her cheeks and little chin kill me. She looks so much like her birthmother.

Ups and downs of the past week.

My dear husband canned peach preserves last week. I'm thinking I probably shouldn't be publicizing this, for fear that hordes of women will come searching out this man who makes yummy preserves and decadent chocolates. I am a lucky girl, that is for sure.



In other news, Lil has a new friend, a giraffe that Corey has dubbed "Jake", because, if Lily named him, his name would be "aaaaaagoooo" and Jake just seemed to fit better.



Just a random shot of nakie time. Got to air all of your parts out once and awhile.



Lily has officially gotten her first cold. Saturday night she started to get a little congested and letting out pitiful little coughs. It is so hard to see her under the weather. She still puts on a smile but you can tell she feels icky. She slept a whole lot today, so hopefully that will help speed her recovery.