It's been a while...

So it's been a while since I blogged...  We have just been enjoying every moment with our little one, not to mention the lack of sleep and adjusting to life with 2 kids!  I still haven't figured out how to cook dinner while holding a baby or shower every day but we are getting there.  I felt real good last week as I ventured out to the grocery store with both of them, only for a few items.  Joe was excited that I managed to cook a frozen lasagna.  I give mad props to those out there with multiple kids and jobs and so forth as this is tricky.  I remember it being tricky with just one too until we got into a rhythm and we are starting to slowly get there with Jude. He's almost 7 weeks old and starting to be more alert and taking to the swing and chair for longer periods so I can cook, shower, clean, and all that domestic stuff I'm supposed to do!! We want to also give a big THANK YOU to all of you for being so loving and generous.  We appreciated all the meals and all the presents for Jude and Lola - thank you...

We've had some visitors, Grandma stayed with us for a month which was so helpful and we are very grateful for our time with her.  She was there from Jude's birth in Florida to help and love us through that transition and then came back home with us and helped get us acclimated to our new life back here.  What an amazing gift and such a memorable time.  Soon after that my dad came to visit.  I picked him up from the airport and out from behind a pillar came my awesome cousin Karen to surprise us!  What a fabulous surprise!  They stayed for the weekend and just ate up all their time with Jude and Lola.  It was short lived but non the less awesome!

Big sister Lola is super!  She is an extremely proud big sis for sure.  She is helpful with him around the house and everyday can't wait to kiss and hug all over him.  We couldn't have asked for a more positive reaction from a little girl who's been an only child for six years.  She just welcomed and embraced her baby brother coming into our lives as if it was nothing and everything.  It's everything we could have hoped for and more...

We are loving every minute of this role again, as exhausting as it is, it's so precious and amazing!  I'm in love all over again and couldn't be more happy!  Here are some pictures of our time in Florida and cousin Karen loving all over Jude! 

We've had one of three post placement visits with our agency.  We should be done with those in April and then hopefully soon after that we will be finalizing this adoption.  It sometimes is so surreal that we are on this end of this journey...   

Still here...

Well, we are still here waiting to go home.  We haven't heard from the agency letting us know that our ICPC paperwork has been processed yet.  I do know that our home state has received it and then I believe all we do at this point is wait for them to process and return it to Florida, I don't really know how it all works.  I do know that we are more than ready to return home.  I'm a bit homesick.  Travel has always been hard for me and this is no exception.  We just want to be back among our friends, our home, we want to welcome Jude to his home!!  One thing I've learned in this experience is patience so I'm again trying to be patient. 

Lola loves her brother, she wakes up each morning and comes sneaking in our room to be with him.  Whenever he's just laying around awake she comes over and lays across from him and plays with him.  He is such a good baby, very chill!  He had his one week checkup yesterday with a doctor here and all is good.  We've taken many strolls along the beach, gone out to dinner a few times, and just relaxed.  Joe's been working remotely from the Condo and other than our weak WI-FI connection he's getting some stuff accomplished.  My mother is law is hanging in there helping us out - she loves just sitting with her grandson and he enjoys being all wrapped up in her arms.  Me, I'm tired - but loving every minute of it.  I can't remember being a family of three anymore, funny how that happens so immediately. 

Hopefully tomorrow we will hear that we can leave but it might not be till Friday.  Can't wait for you all to meet the little guy and I seriously can't wait for Lola to return to school.  She's been on the winter break that never ended.  My little girl needs her schedule back!!  In a way this has been a blessing because here we are learning to adjust to bringing home a baby and not having to worry about a schedule but then again too long without a schedule, we all need a schedule... 

He's Ours!!!

Wow!  What a crazy past three days...

They were very emotional, exciting, scary and challenging...Thanks everyone for the messages on fb, the prayers and support, it all helped so much.

Yesterday we were discharged from the hospital around 2pm and that is when he became ours!!  It was such an amazing feeling.  We couldn't wait to get out of there and get back to where we are staying, see Lola and just relax.  I can't even begin to explain how emotionally challenging that part of this process was, I was not prepared for that.

We got back to the condo and I felt an extremely needed sense of peace and as sleep deprived as I was - I was calm and happy.  I took a shower, fed Jude and then wrapped him in the Moby Wrap and Lola, Joe and I went out to the heated pool on the beach and watched Lola swim around...listen to the waves....watch the sun glisten on the water...and the palm trees blow in the wind!  Thank you God for that!!!  It couldn't have been any better. 

Now here we are waiting for the OK to come home.  Most likely it will be sometime next week, probably near the end of the week. Our paperwork will be filed with the courts today but since it's Friday they most likely won't get to it till next week.

Jude is awesome!  He's a very content little fella and the breastfeeding is going great!  He's a good eater.  He thrived in the hospital - everyone kept telling us how remarkable he was doing, he didn't even loose any percentile of weight because of all the milk!!  All that pumping really paid off.  Lola is being a wonderful, loving big sister to her baby brother. 

Today...

Where to begin...  I feel like I'm having an out of body experience!  We got here yesterday around noon and then immediately went out on the beautiful beach - the ocean is as clear green as ever and the sand so white.  Absolutely breathtaking.  It's kind of neat being here amidst the most emotional roller coaster inside and then our surroundings so zen like - it's perfect!

We met our potential birth parent's today for lunch around 1 and on my way there I seriously almost vomited, I was so nervous.  I don't ever remember being that nervous before.  Thank God because I really didn't know how I was going to get through it.  We did though and it was beautiful!  They were super sweet and it became extremely comfortable between all of us quickly.  We laughed a lot - they have such beautiful smiles and hours went by and we found ourselves still all sitting there chatting.  I think the social worker who met us wasn't prepared for the amount of time we all took getting to know each other, but non the less she thought it went great and was happy for both parties.  

We are so excited for tomorrow, she is scheduled for a c-section around 10am and we are looking forward to meeting up with them at the hospital tomorrow!  It's been an interesting evening, I'm emotionally drained for the moment and we can't wait to meet our hopeful baby boy!! 

Change of Plans!!!

WOW - what an afternoon!  So **** ****** Vesneski is coming sooner than later.  Our potential BM had a doctor appointment today and since he's weighing in on the small side, they scheduled the c-section for TUESDAY, 1/8!!!!!!!  I seriously just learned of this while I was waiting in the pick up line at Lola's school this afternoon around 2:45.  I've been screaming ever since!  I'm totally caught off my game and super duper excited!  I literally went into crazy adrenalin mode - calling my mother in law, all our friends, the vet, you name it.  We have to change every thing around and leave for Florida in a day!  Luckily we are working it out and it's going well.  I guess the Christmas decorations are going to have to wait to come down until we come back...lol!  Oh my goodness - that's all I can say right now...Oh my!!

I'm Happy!!!

I'm seriously getting butterflies in my belly!  I'm feeling really good right now about everything, thank you for all the prayers!  We have accomplished some of our tasks and plans for our trip.  It just so happens that my mother-in-law resigned from her job the same day we found out about the scheduled c-section.  How convenient right?  Joe and I had  several options and plans for travel with/without Lola to decide on.  We came up with an idea that we went over with my mother in law that she said yes to.  She is going to fly down here next Friday.  We are all going to drive with little miss soon to be BIG SISTER LOLA to Florida on Saturday.  We have secured our place to stay and that is checked off one of my many lists.  We will meet with our potential birth parent's on Sunday for lunch - ACKWARD- and be at the hospital Monday morning for the arrival of **** ******* ********!  I called the hospital yesterday to inquire how much they would be charging us for the room and to my surprise - NOTHING!  That really helps, when in this day and age are things free, let alone at a hosptial?!  I also spoke with the agency today and went over a few of my questions and got some helpful answers on what is needed from us at this point, lots of signatures and paperwork.  What a busy week we have a head of us and I'm finally glad it's our turn.  I've been waiting for this time in the process for a while now.  Yay!!  

What a moment we are in...

We are super excited to say the least, among many other feelings!  I'm scared - I'm trying to picture how it's going to go and can't.  It is so hard to actually see the end even being so close to it.  I wonder if our potential BM is going to want to be with the baby at times or not, or if she's going to want to see us with the baby or not, or if the BF is going to be around, is it going to be ackward or not...there are SO MANY things I am wondering but can't actually spend time wondering about because who knows, it's just so different and new. 

Joe is getting super excited - I can tell how real it is to him now, knowing a date, having an actual plan and it being right around the corner!  He took my mom van to get an oil change, tires rotated and just serviced before our upcoming trip.  Just another way we need to be preparing.  Thanks to some friends, we have located a place to stay that will be available for the time frame we need which is such a relief to have that in place, thanks guys!  Still a lot to figure out but we are moving in the right direction.   

We told Lola, that was hilarious.  So a week ago or so Joe asked me what I thought we should tell her and I verbatim gave him my opinion, which was to tell her we are working with a BM who is having a boy in a couple weeks, nothing is for sure but it looks like this might be our baby.  He thought it sounded great!  Well the time came last night for us to share the news and we did but it was hilarious because it did not go as planned.  I kept saying words like 'might, possibility, maybe' and he kept giving me this confused look like 'what are you doing?'  It was obvious that whatever I was telling him a couple weeks ago was great then but he didn't remember it going the way I remember, (typical marriage), and to him learning the actual planned date of our hopeful babies birthday made it very secure for him to use definite terms.  We were completely not on the same page!  Needless to say Lola was excited, there is no way to play this down or play it up at this point - it is what it is.  Telling her this might be our baby is no different then telling her it is.  At least that is what we are experiencing.  She does not like the name we've picked though!!  She believes she should name him.  Ahh...NO!

 A little about our specific adoption - we are traveling down the road of becoming a transracial family.  We embrace this chapter in our lives, we feel blessed to be given this opportunity to add a child into our hearts, join our family and grow our family.  Lola is going to be a wonderful big sister and that aspect we really look forward to.  This is such an exciting chapter in our families life and we are almost there!