Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to our great Dad's and Grandads, and all the wonderful men who have helped father us.  Hope your father's day was very special!

Happy Mother's Day

 I have always felt like a mother, and Allan has always celebrated me as a mother on Mother's Day, but this was the first Mother's Day that everyone saw me as a mother.  It felt good.

We have had a busy couple of weeks, but they have been good.  Last week the younger children in the city put on their annual play.  We always try to go, and they are always super cute.  This time so many children were involved that they did two different casts.  We had friends with children in both casts so I ended up going twice.  I love theatre though so it wasn't too big of a sacrifice :)  Both casts were great!  Allan and I went on our first date without A since she was born to see the cast that performed on Saturday evening.  We really enjoyed the time together, and the children were adorable as always.

Outfit that we bought for her, bow from a good friend in AZ

Cute outfit from little A's birthmom's friend.  We love this one!

Little A attended her first baptism that Saturday as well.  Allan was trying to come with us, but he was painting the nursery and ran out of time. She was a little angel at the baptism and just sat on my lap and looked at everything until she fell fast asleep.

Outfit from some good friends in AZ

Our tradition after we go to the plays is to get frozen yogurt.  However, this time our date was interrupted.  We needed to have our last supervisory visit with our caseworker.  She was coming into town that night and asked if we could do it then.  So, the play ended a little after 6, we picked up A and went home.  Our caseworker came about 7 and we began our interview.  There was an adoptive couple in town that needed a place to sign some paperwork, and we arranged to have them over as well that night.  They arrived at 7:15.  We all had a fun chat about adoption, they signed their papers, and we finished the part of our interview we could, and then they left for a placement ceremony that night.  We were bummed that we didn't get to finish our date but happy we could help someone out, and now we have everything done to finalize A's adoption in July!

Cute ballet outfit from K6, bow from a good friend in AZ

 This week we had a fun Un-birthday BBQ with some friends and their children.  Several of us have birthdays in April so we got together and celebrated.  We always love getting together with friends.

Snuggling with A.  She'll snuggle with whatever happens to be near her face.  This time it was my sweater.

We got a chest to put our games in so little A can't get into them when she starts moving around.  A had a ball helping Allan put it together.

Outfit from a good friend in AZ.

Another cute outfit from a friend in AZ.  A is getting really good at posing for the camera.  This time I said, "Where's my baby's smile?", and this is what she gave me.

We celebrated our 5th anniversary!  Poor Allan had several ideas about things to get for me and one by one they fell through until he finally just got me a bag of goodies on his way home from work.  Poor guy.  He is taking us for a fun day in the city in a couple weeks.  He had planned on doing it this weekend, but all the hotels were booked because of college graduations.  I got him a Willow Tree figurine called "New Dad".  For the last five years he has wanted to be a father and now he finally is.  It's a dream come true for us.  The night of our anniversary we went out to eat and then went on a drive together.  A is always quiet in the car so it was good to spend some quiet time together where we could talk and focus on each other a little bit.

Onsie from her birthmom.  It says "Mommies Little Miracle".  She's definitely a miracle for both of us!

Tummy time with Daddy.  She still hates tummy time, but she's getting better at it!

Little A has recently asserted her displeasure at falling asleep.  She'll often only fall asleep as pictured above, lol! Hanging over Allan's arm while he pats her back.  Sometimes we have to hold the pacifier in her mouth as well. Today in Sunday School, she refused to be happy unless she was in this position with Allan holding the pacifier in her mouth. Much to one sister's amusement she managed to completely cover Allan's hand in thick drool while sucking on the pacifier.

Cute outfit from Nana.  I wore these sandals when I was a baby.

A can hold her bottle for almost the whole feeding now!

We did more painting in little A's room.  We thought we were done, but when we took the tape off of the wall it took some paint with it, so now we have some touching up to do.  Hopefully we'll get it done this week so we can get the chair rail up.  I finally got to help a little putting some tape up.  Allan and I had a really fun time working and talking together.  It was much needed.

Yesterday she fell asleep in her bouncer resting her hands on her tummy.  She's such a sweetie pie.

For Mother's Day Allan gave me a whisk for my  Kitchen Aid Handmixer.  I've been wanting one for a while!  I'm excited to use it, and he's excited to eat the food, lol!

Happy Birthmother's Day

Happy Birthmother's Day to all you birthmothers out there.  (Sorry it's a day late...)  I hope you know how loved, honored, and appreciated you are.

The Waiting Room

A week before my Poe passed away I had a really interesting dream.

I had died and was suddenly in a place where there were a lot of people standing in several different lines.  The people at the head of each line would tell you where you were to go, Heaven or Hell.

It came to my turn and the man simply told me to go through a certain door.  I started to ask where I was going but he was already talking with the person behind me.  So I walked toward the door, and as I walked I watched as people each went through their own assigned doors.  All the while I remember thinking, "where am I going, and where do their doors lead to?"

I finally arrived at my door as another person entered ahead of me.  I remember feeling relieved that I wouldn't have to go alone, but the person was going so quickly I soon lost sight of him.  Through the door was a long hallway that I traveled through.  It was lit only dimly, just enough to walk through safely.  After I was down the hallway a bit another person entered through the door, but we were spaced at such a distance from each other that we couldn't speak to each other.

Eventually there was another door at the end of this long hallway.  I went through and entered a beautiful white room.  It was so white that it seemed to glow.  It was set up similar to a family room with cozy white couches and chairs, and pictures of families on the white walls.  Everything was white.  There was an older couple in the room, dressed in white, who were gathering the people together and explaining that as soon as we were all there we would move on.

The person who was behind me in the hallway slipped through the door and the older couple told us all where we would be going.  We would be going to Heaven.  And they described a little of what to expect there.

Soon the doors on the other end of the room opened.  They emitted a bright, white light.  Much brighter and whiter than the room we were in and nothing like I had seen before.  Everyone went through.  But I stayed.  I just couldn't go.  I quietly sat down on a couch that faced the door I'd come through.  After a moment the older woman came up to me and told me that I could go to Heaven now, it was time.  I said, "Please let me stay.  I would like to wait here until my husband comes so we can go together."

She responded that I could wait as long as it took.  She told me that the room I was in was called the waiting room and the pictures on the walls were of families who had waited for each other in the room.

And so, I waited.  Many people came through the door and each time some one entered I always hoped it was Allan, but I was always disappointed.  Two groups gathered in the waiting room and went on to Heaven as I waited, but I couldn't go on without him.  It really wouldn't be Heaven if he wasn't there with me.  We have always shared everything and I needed to share this with him too.

Finally, when I was alone in the waiting room (besides the older couple, they were always there), the door opened and Allan stepped through.  I was so, so happy to see him.  We ran to each other, greeting with hugs and kisses like we always do.  I explained to Allan how I couldn't go on without him and that I'd been waiting there for quite a while.  After a few moments the older couple came to us and told us it was time to go. 

We stepped through the doors to Heaven hand in hand and explored the place together, meeting family and friends who had gone on before us.

I woke up shortly after.

At my Poe's funeral, a week later, my Aunt T said something about how she hoped Poe was waiting for her and they could go on together.  I think he is, Aunt T.  I think he is.

A Mover and a Shaker

Little A is getting so big!  She went through another growth spurt this week.  I woke a couple days ago to get her up for the day, and suddenly she looked like she was an inch or two longer and definitely weighed more, lol!  My arms are getting a good workout.

Outfit from Allan and I

Last week after I got A ready for the day she started fussing a little, and I knew she was ready to take a nap.  I wanted to put my contacts in so I could see better to read to her (we usually read while she settles down for a nap).  I put her in her crib propped up on a pillow so she could wiggle around for a minute while I got my contacts in.  When I went to get her I found her sound asleep!  What a good baby!

The last few weeks have been really fun.  A learned how to shake her rattle!  She loves to sit in her Bumbo and shake her rattle or have me shake it for her.

She still loves to play on her play gym, but only if Allan or I are there with her shaking the rattle or singing to the music we have playing.

She loves to mimic and will watch Allan and I closely and mimic our faces.  I was reading the news the other day and made a disgusted face, and when I looked up to check on little A she was staring at me intently with the same disgusted look on her face!  She loves to laugh and will always exchange laughter with us.  It's fun to see how many different ways we can laugh and hear her responses to them.

Outfit from my good friend and neighbor

One day I got bored of our normal routine and put on some music and started dancing for little A.  She LOVED it!  She laughed and laughed at all my silly moves.  We do that often now, and she's started to dance with me, moving her arms and legs to the music.

Outfit from some good friends in AZ

A couple weeks ago we had a visit from two of the children in my Primary class.  They came with their Grandma to give little A a gift and to pick up their bubble wrap because they weren't able to come on Sunday.  We had a really fun visit and A adored them.  She smiled and giggled for them while they made faces and growled at her.  The boys played Connect Four while their Grandma and I visited.  It made for a fun and refreshing afternoon.

Outfit from her birth mom

Last week we had Stake Conference.  At the end of the conference the little boy sitting behind us tapped me on the shoulder and said: "I like that baby you have."  I said thank you and smiled at him.  Then he went on to say "I also like your ear rings.  And I like your eyes.  I also like your hair.  I also like your teeth...."  He had a couple more things to say he liked that I can't remember and then his dad interrupted him.  I responded to everything with a thank you and he must have felt encouraged because he seemed like he could have kept going for a while, lol!  The boy certainly has a gift for flattery!

Little A has always loved to rub my hair on her face.  This last week she decided she wanted to taste it.  I'd actually been able to do my hair that day and it was still a little damp from the gel and spritz.  She grabbed a handful, licked it, and got a mouthful of the gel and spritz!  She wasn't very impressed.  She gave me this look of horror and disgust and hasn't put my hair near her face since!

Allan did some more work on A's nursery.  We're almost done.  We just have to finish painting the stripes and then hang a chair rail.  After that we can decorate!

Little A wants to sit up ALL THE TIME.  She's getting some really strong tummy muscles.  When we lay her down she immediately curls up and gets her head and shoulders off the floor.  She'll stay that way struggling to sit up until we help her.  She loves to sit and just look around.  When she's tired she wants to sit up and will struggle and struggle against sleep until we sit her up, after which she falls asleep within a minute, lol!  The other day Allan was trying to get her to sleep and was holding her in a reclining position.  She kept trying and trying to sit up and was yelling at him.  He finally sat her up and put her pacifier in her mouth and she went right to sleep, almost instantly!  Today at church he sat her in her car seat for a while and she kept struggling to sit up, so he put his foot on the edge of the car seat to hold it more steeply so she was sitting more upright.

Outfit from a good friend who I served a mission with

A also loves to play with her clothes.  If she is wearing a skirt/dress or tutu she'll play with it all day and gets the biggest kick out of it!

She is still such a good sleeper and sleeps between 7 and 10 hours a night.  Her normal night is 9 hours but every now and then she sleeps less.

The Sleep Sheep

Our sister-in-law C and her family gave little a "The Sleep Sheep" for her baby shower.  We LOVE it!  It plays a heartbeat, rain, whales, and the ocean.  It's also super cute, and soft and cuddly! 

 The whales and ocean are sort of deep sounding so she doesn't really like those but she loves the heartbeat and the rain. 

After we brought A home I started using it during her naps.  I found that if I turned that on then the noises I made working around the house didn't startle her and she'd sleep longer.  I've only used it at night once.  She's always been a good night sleeper.

It's made a great difference in helping her to sleep. Thanks C and family!  We love you!

3 Month Pictures

Little A is 3 months old!  

 

The outfit is from some good friends here in AZ and the bow is from the sweet girl who follows our blog.