2nd Colorado Trip & Elena's visit

This is way late since we've already been on our 3rd Colorado trip but I'll post about that later. Owen, Stella and I headed back to Denver at the end of October but before we did that Elena, Stella's birthmom, and Elena's mom, Mary Jo, came for a weekend visit. I'm so glad they got to come down and I was super excited for her to see Stella and see how much she's changed. Of course Owen thought they were there just to play with him.

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch on Saturday and went to church and out to dinner on Sunday.

I can't wait to see them again in January when we finalize the adoption and have Stella baptized. I'm so excited because Elena is making Stella's baptismal dress. Can't wait to see it.

We left for Denver the following Wednesday. Another 12 hr drive but it went pretty good. My mom and brother met us there too so we had a lot of fun. We went to the Aquarium and the Zoo.

Owen feeding the string rays.

Owen thought the flamingos were stinky.

We were there for Halloween too. Owen was a scary little vampire and Stella was a cute little kitten. When we went trick-or-treating I put on cat ears to match my little kitten. It was really cold but Owen lasted for quite a while. Stella just sat in her stroller all bundled up and watched all the kids running around.

The ride home to El Paso was not fun. I think we were all done with this long trip but we had one more to go.

1st (of many) Trip to Denver

The kids and I went to visit Shaun in Denver a week ago and had so much fun. It was so nice for the 4 of us to be together again. Oh, and I LOVE Denver. I might just move there while Shaun finishes his residency. Not really, but it's tempting. We did a lot of exploring and we can't wait to go back. Shaun will be there until the end of November so we have 2 more trips scheduled - over Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I drove with the 2 kids so I was a little nervous about that but it went pretty good. It took us a total of about 12 hrs with stops. We had 2 more stops than planned on the way there but on the way back we only stopped 3 times. Both kids did really well.

We went to Breckenridge and walked around to see all the shops and let Owen play for a little bit. It was a little windy and Stella wasn't too sure about that. It would take her breath away. Can you tell?

We also went to Estes park and the Rocky Mountains to see Bear Lake and drive up to the top. We saw some elk but they were pretty far away. They looked more like a moving spot than elk.

We also went to the Children's Museum. Owen got to use real tools with daddy. He was in heaven.

We also got to see some of our friends. It was so much fun and we can't wait to see them again. That's all for now and here's a pic of Stella at 3 months just because.

HOME Sweet HOME

So we've been home for a couple of weeks now and are still trying to get in a groove. My mom and sis came down with me to help on the flight with the 2 kiddos and they stayed for a about a week which was really nice. Shaun's dad just left from his visit so now it's time to get into a routine. We have our 1st post-placement visit next Tues. The people who did our home study will be doing the post-placement visits. It's just to make sure we're all adjusting okay. Stella's doing good, she's just having some spitting up issues. Fortunately, I never dealt with this with Owen so I'm trying to determine what's normal and what's excessive. She's sleeping great at night - usually 4 to 5 hr stretches sometimes longer so I'm only really getting up once a night (sometimes twice). She is definitely an eater. This is the view I have most of the day. She's so pretty.

It's been a little crazy here with Shaun working three 24 hr + shifts a week so we only really see him every other night except Saturday's he is off (whoohoo) so we'll get a whole day with the entire family. The past 2 Saturdays we've headed to the farmers market in Las Cruces, NM (a town about 30 min north of us). We got this cute little onsie that totally represents the southwest. Isn't it adorable? It doesn't fit her yet but I'm sure it will soon enough.

September, October, and November Shaun will be in Denver, Colorado for work. BOOOOO!!! Owen, Stella, and I will head up there the last week of September and stay 2 weeks. We can't go the whole time because Owen starts pre-k the beginning of Sept. and we have the 2 dogs - too expensive to kennel them the whole time. Shaun will come back in November for our 2nd post-placement visit and then we'll drive back to Colorado together so we can spend Thanksgiving together and then drive back home together at the end of the month.

Here's Owen playing doctor. Daddy has him trained well.

This use to be Owen's favorite toy. It says a little prayer that I still say to Owen at night.

Stella's first real bath at home. Big brother was there to help. She loves her baths. Owen freaked out at first but not Stella.

She had a dr. appt. Aug. 2 and she was up to 9 lbs. 4 oz. so she's a healthy baby girl. I can't wait to find out what she weighs at her 2 month check-up. Unfortunately, she had to get blood drawn because she had a little blood in her stool and her dr. wanted to make sure there was nothing major going on. There wasn't and no blood since. I had to hold her little arm down. It was torture for both of us but she recovered quickly.

We finally got her furniture and are still working on the decorating. I got this quilt off of etsy.com and just love the colors. I bought some paper lanterns to hang above her crib and changing table so I can't wait to get those and hang them.

I bought these pictures before we were even matched. I love the colors in them.

One of the few shots with her eyes open and looking at me. Don't you just love it.

Well, that's it for now. I'll keep posting when I can.

Baby Stella has arrived

Stella Grace is here. She was born 7/7 at 8:47p. She's 7 lbs 3 oz and 20 1/4 in long. Elena did really well even though the delivery was long and rough on her. Elena and her family have been great during this whole process and I can't express enough how much we love and are greatful for her. We are so excited. We just brought her home (well, St. Louis home) today and it's so surreal.

Owen was very curious about her little nubby

Daddy seeing her for the first time

Elena (the birthmom)

The Meeting

So we met with Elena and her parents Tuesday night, along with 2 people from Love Basket. It definitely helps when they are there to get the conversation started. It such an odd situation. What do you talk about? What's appropriate to say? What should I order?, etc. It went really good though. Elena is so sweet and her parents are really nice. Elena gave us a framed ultrasound picture of the baby which was awesome and a really good sign. It's a really good shot of her face. She's all squished in Elena's tummy. We got a picture of the 3 of us (Shaun, Elena, and I) and we also got a picture with her parents.

Elena invited me to her dr's apt. she had Wednesday. She so sweet to think about those things. Everything went good except we're not totally sure on the due date. Originally it was July 4 but they got that from an ultrasound she had at 32 weeks which I know isn't the most accurate but the dr. she saw said there could be a difference of 2 to 3 weeks. Crazy. So I sent Shaun back home and Owen and I will stay her in St. Louis, especially since she wants me in the delivery room. I'm definitely not missing that.

This is so different from last time. Everything is going great. The only hiccup is the birthfather. No one can seem to locate him so he can sign the consent form. So it may take us longer to come home with our baby girl but we are trying to work that out. Hopefully Love Basket can reach him and the whole court process will be uneventful.

Other than that we're just hanging out with family and trying to stay on some sort of schedule. Oh, and I get to see one of my best friends who's in town this week from Colorado. She just had a baby boy, Landon, in December so I can't wait to meet him. Keep us in your prayers and we'll keep up updated.

Round 2

So we've been MATCHED again and we're so excited. Details, details, details - It's a GIRL (woohoo) and the birthmom (Elena) is due July 4th - yes, it's that quick again and her doctor thinks she will go early, of course. She is in St. Louis, 16 yrs old, and both her parents support the adoption. The birthfather (BF) is 19 or 20 yrs old and is not really in the picture. They were seeing each other behind her parents back so the BF and her parents do not have a good relationship. He has told Elena he is supportive of the adoption and will sign the papers. It sounds like his family is pretty supportive as well. In fact, his grandma knowsa couple who want to adopt and gave Elena their profile but she still decided we were the best fit. We are flying (yes, flying and not driving) out Monday, June 28th and plan on meeting them Tuesday night. I can't wait. I'm not sure of the exact reasons she chose our profile but I do know that her older brother wants to be an Army physician so there is definitely a connection there. We'll keep everyone updated. Keep us all in your prayers.

Here's a pic of Owen at his birthday party with his best friend Alana (or should I say girlfriend) who just moved to Portland, OR. We're sad but happy for them to move onto the next phase of their lives - fellowship. I'm so jealous they're done with residency.

Aren't the little pirates cute?

Our little singer

So Owen learned a song from school and decided to put on a little show for us. This is a HUGE deal because when we normally ask him what he did at school he says "I don't know" or "I don't feel like talking right now". Here's his song:

Adoption Update - Our first match

For those of you who don't know, we were match with birth parents April 9 and we found out she was due around April 20. Of course when I got the call Shaun was out of town. He left that morning and wouldn't be back until Sunday the 11th. So we get the call and of course I start crying - I had a lot more emotions than I thought I would have. Shirley from Love Basket gave me all the details including their phone numbers so we could call them since we weren't sure we'd be able to meet them before the birth. I couldn't wait to tell Shaun but knew he was in conferences so I sent him a text. He called when he had like 2 min. to talk to I just said "We've been chosen!" I finally got to talk to him later and we decided we would drive to St. Louis (were the birthparents live and our home town) on Monday so we could meet them before Shaun had to leave for another conference in D.C. on Wednesday.

So we talked to them Sunday - I was so nervous, what do I say, will she like me - all these things were going through my head. We talked for about 5 min because we were both so nervous and knew we would see each other on Tuesday. Shaun had a really good talk with Rodney, the birthfather. He was way more confident than I was.

So we hit the road Monday morning, something we said we would never do again. Oh, and the kicker, we know have 2 good size dogs that were traveling with us. JoJo, our pup we got in January, who is about 40 lbs. and Cody, who we inherited back from Shaun's mom and stepdad, who is over 100 lbs (we're working on a diet plan). So most of our stuff had to go on the roof. It was cramped but we all did good. I think Owen only said "I can't do this anymore" a hand full of times. He's now moved up to "Are we there yet?" which started 20 min after we left the house.

We drive through the night, stopping for about 2 hrs to try and get some sleep - yeah right. I can't sleep in the car for anything. First Owen pees on me b/c he is in front on my lap, then after the clean up we finally get settled again and the pups think it's time to wake up and eat breakfast (it's like 2am). We get them settled down and fall asleep and then comes the garbage truck and of course we're right by the dumpster. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep and Shaun might have gotten an hour or so. We forge on.

We get in to STL about 8:30/9am, unload, take Owen to daycare (Shaun's aunt owns), sleep for about an hour (Shaun got to sleep a couple of hours), get a hair cut, then get ready to go meet the birthparents for dinner with Jo and Shirley from Love Basket. I was so nervous I think I was have panic attacks but dinner went great. We all talked about everything and felt we had a great connection. Brittany, birthmom, told us some of her family, including her mom, was wishy-washy about the situation, which we knew ahead of time. But she told us she felt adoption was the best for the baby.

So here's where everything starts to go down hill. Brittany missed a couple of meetings w/ Love Basket and they can't get a hold of her. Shaun talked to Rodney Saturday night, after he gets in town from D.C. - he tells Shaun Brittany is having a hard time especially with not having support from her family. I talk to Brittany on Sunday and she feels she is being torn in all directions (between her family and Rodney). I let her know she has to be at peace with her decision and to focus on what she thinks is right for her and the baby. There is a lot more but this is the gist of it.

Monday we get the dreaded call (actually Shaun did) that she has decided to parent. She said she really liked us and didn't have any reservations about us but she just wasn't at peace with the decision. Which we were ok with because we know God will bring us the right child at the right time. We decided to stay in STL for the rest of the week to relax and visit family. Then we took off again for El Paso on Friday. This time we decided to stop over night which help a lot. And we also got Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" on audio book (17 1/2 hrs worth) so we listened to that the whole way. So were back home and back on the market. I told Shaun we'd either get matched again next week or in 6 months.

It was a very crazy and emotional trip but totally worth it. I think it would have been much worse to meet them at the hospital for the first time, meet the baby (a boy by the way), and then have her decide to parent. So there you have it - our first major adoption experience. Shaun jokes he feels we deserve twins now. I don't know about that.

The random pics -
- Owen on the way to STL. He still loves his boppy.
- Owens favorite ride at Americas Incredible Pizza (virtual roller coaster)
- Dinner at a hibachi restaurant (Owen's first time)
- Go carts with daddy

Owen and the Dentist

Owen had his first dentist appt. today. I know, I know, he's 3 1/2 and he just had his first appt. I'm not going to lie - I was scared. Plus Shaun didn't set up dental for us until last summer and we were gone most of last year so it's not entirely my fault. Anyway, he did awesome. Going to the dentist now is not the same as when I was a kid. There's a play area on one side of the waiting room and a movie area on the other side. They have a toy machine (just little toys like bouncy balls) in the room you get your teeth cleaned so when the kids are done they get 2 tokens for the machine. He also got a new toothbrush and his own toothpaste, a gold medal, a balloon, and ice cream. What dentist gives ice cream out? The most awesome dentist in the world - that's who. Owen had to get x-rays and they said he did great. They do it the same way as adults and I don't know about you but when they stick those plastic things in my mouth I want to throw up every time. Not Owen. It didn't seem to phase him at all. He also got his teeth cleaned but not with any sharp, pointy objects. Just the good ol' fashion way with toothpaste and a toothbrush. And while you get your teeth cleaned you get to watch a movie. Cars was the choice of the day. I'm happy to say no cavities were found. Here's a pic taken with my phone:

Tubing, toilet training, and travel (sort of)

Just a little update about what's been going on lately. On Monday we decided to drive up to Ruidoso, NM - it's about 2 hrs north of us. It's so beautiful there. Shaun actually went skiing there last week - yes, his first time and nothing got broken. So we took Jojo (we finally decided on a name) to a dog park they have there which was awesome. It's a big area fenced in so he was able to run free with the other dogs. We let him do that for about an hour then we went tubing at the Winter Park they have. We had so much fun, although Owen was a little upset that he couldn't go alone and he couldn't go on the hills higher up. But he still had fun.

I'm happy to announce that our 3 1/2 year old is finally . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . pooping on the potty. I haven't been this excited in I don't know how long. It's weird the things you get excited about once you have kids. This was a long and hard battle for Shaun and I. It's been 4 days now and no problems. Whoohoo!!!! Now, we just need to start working on making it through the night dry and we're done with the diapers - at least until the next one comes.

And here are some pictures of Owens trip to San Antonio yesterday, at least that's where he told us he was going. This is his new obsession. How much stuff can I stuff into one place. I think he's just reminiscing about all of our trips last year where the car was stuffed to the brim and we had the roof storage bag. Yes, that is a picnic table on top. We also have a broom, a trampoline cover, a water sprinkler, and who knows what else. I have no idea how he got in there (or out).

And just a little adoption update - we have almost everything in except our training form. We've watched the video and are almost done with the books we have to read. Our home study should be completed this week. Next is our phone interview with Love Basket and then I think we will be on to our profiles. It's crazy how fast this has gone.

Our new addition

No, not a baby yet - well, not of the human form. We got a puppy, which I totally said we were NOT going to do when we first started talking about dogs. Last Sunday, we went to the Animal Rescue League of El Paso (ARL) and fell in love with Baldwin. A male dog, 5-6 months old, about 25-30 lbs, boxer mix. We think he is mixed with an english pointer. He's so adorable. We first saw him through petfinder.com and read a little about him. ARL saved him on his last day of death row at the pound. Doesn't that just break your heart. So far he has been wonderful. He hasn't had any accidents - not even close calls. He loves his crate - we've tried to make it his sanctuary. We've told Owen "No Kids Allowed" in or around the crate (maybe I should put a sign), "Dogs Only". It's so weird he doesn't inhale his food like a certain lab that I know and he doesn't seem to like the treats we've gotten him. Does he know he's a dog? He's adjusted really well to us. He likes to nibble on things but I know that goes with the puppy phase. Unfortunately, he is off right now getting his manhood cut off but it's for the best. I hope he still loves us tomorrow. We are still debating about the name too. Baldwin is cute but it doesn't really have a nickname (Baldy - no, Winy - no). Owen loves JoJo. Not sure why but that's what he wants to call the puppy. I was trying to think of something relating to El Paso since that's where he is from but came up with nothing (I'm so not creative with names). Then I thought about Rex (as in T-Rex) because Owen loves dinosaurs and I thought Rex was a cute name. Owen liked it for about 20 min and then went back to JoJo. So that name may stick. We'll see. Any suggestions?

Home Study: Check

Well, we just had our home study yesterday which only took about an hour. We weren't really nervous, which was great, but we weren't quite sure what to expect. Heather, who did our home study, was awesome. She was very comfortable to talk to and helped us with questions. She did a quick sweep of the house to make sure everything was ok but we mainly talked. Owen was, of course, trying to show off by showing her the big rocket he built with his legos. He such a little flirt. Next up, fill out the rest of Love Baskets second application, watch the training video they sent us and Shaun has to get fingerprinted (I was fingerprinted when I helped out at Owen's school last year) as part of the background check. We're getting closer to building our profile and I can't wait. We'll keep you updated. Here's some pictures just because:

Owen the other night after his bath

Christmas 2009

So, back home to St. Louis it was for Christmas - and we chose to drive. . . again. . . that would be the 2nd time of the year. Yes, we're crazy but thought it would be a little cheaper than paying for 3 of us to fly. We will ALWAYS choose flying over driving 1400+ miles (that's about 20 hrs with stops). Owen had a couple meltdowns but I had my stock of $1 matchbox cars to distract him. Anyway, we had lots of fun and we were totally exhausted. We celebrated Christmas with the usuals -

Christmas Ever with my mom side of the family

Christmas with my dad side and Shaun's side

The day after Christmas (and a wedding - Owen was the entertainment) at my step moms

We got a little snow in before celebrating with Shaun's dad and grandma. It was so great that she got to come up.

We also celebrated Shaun's 29th birthday and my 30th (yes the BIG 3-0) which I have finally excepted. They had a surprise party for me which was awesome. My dad took pics (thanks dad) for me so I'll post them when I get them.

Glad to be home. Here's to a great year.