Baby Feet

Oh how I love baby feet! Squishy little baby feet. You can imagine how excited I was to get a picture of Baby Bob's squishy little baby feet from a traveling mom the other day! It was actually a picture of her squishy legs and squishy feet. It kind of looked like this... except squishier.

(These are Micah's legs from one of the three pics we got while he was waiting for us in Ethiopia. I love this picture!)

So, if you're wondering how the baby I referred to as "teeny-tiny" is now squishy, well, so am I! My guess is that she's getting excellent care at the House of Hope. I think the report that she gained 5 lbs in just over a month is actually true! Apparently she is about 12 lbs right now. I can't imagine how much she'll weigh when we finally get there. Yay for baby fat!!

Speaking of getting her home... court on Monday. *deep breaths*

Parent Pep Talk

Today I had to give myself a Parent Pep-Talk. I was in the middle of a meeting for an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for Micah and I felt tears coming.... should I back up and explain? I think so.

(I wasn't sure if I was going to blog about this because it's personal to Micah, but I think it could help other parents, so here goes...)

Micah is developmentally delayed. Okay, typing it - the tears are threatening. But, it's OKAY. (<--Parent Pep-Talk.) He is delayed in speech/language and fine motor skills. We've suspected these things for a while and we are so lucky that we signed up for the Parents as Teachers program back when he first came home because our Parent Educator helped us get where we needed to be. We knew that most 3 year-olds have a pretty large vocabulary, and Micah does not. He communicates really well, but not verbally. His receptive language ability is well within the average and there is no question about his intelligence level, but he has a difficult time getting what is in his head out through speech/language.

So, he was screened when he turned 3 and today was the meeting for his IEP. Back to the Parent Pep-Talk. It's just simply not easy to hear that your child is not developing typically. Especially when you KNOW how smart he is. And of course I wanted to fall into the, "What could I have done differently" trap, but I have done pretty well avoiding that so far. Today when the tears were threatening, I had to remind myself how smart and inquisitive our child is. How he has worked around his speech issues to find a way to communicate with us. And that it is time for him to get the help he needs. And that this isn't our fault.

The good news is that he will now be in an integrated preschool classroom four days per week. Seven of the children will have an IEP and seven will not. He will get 90 minutes of speech therapy per week and 30 minutes of OT for his fine motor development as well. I could not be happier about this. And, I feel REALLY good that we took the initiative to have him screened. We followed our Momstinct/Dadstinct and we were right. And that is a GOOD thing. (Still in pep-talk mode here.)

Micah is about to go through a big adjustment. Okay, I'm about to go through one too. Instead of lazy mornings at home, or Micah & Mom Fun Days on Wednesdays, Micah is going to be at preschool four mornings per week - getting the services he needs. It's good, but my mama-heart hurts just a little bit at the thought.

A recent Micah & Mom Fun Day, which we also like to call "Adventures."

"All Aboard!"
(He has no trouble saying this - and even got to say it on the train speaker last time we went to the zoo. Big moment for Mic.)

Another big moment - when the train engineer let him sit ON the engine. Happy boy.

Giving Back

If I could pick one person as the cheerleader for our adoption... wait, not just our adoption, but SO many people's adoption, I would pick Erica Shubin. Erica BELIEVES in the miracle that is adoption and she has given her time, her support, her encouragement, and her faith to many of us as we struggle with the financial side of adding a family member through adoption. It's no easy feat, but having Erica on your side makes things easier. She'll be there if your plane tickets have to be changed at the last minute, or if your fundraising has to be kicked into high gear (like ours did), and she'll also just be there if you need to talk, or want ideas. Her heart is HUGE and she's a giver.

My point? Let's give back! Erica's family has decided to add another member through adoption - from Ethiopia! They started their fundraising this week with a FaceBook-A-Thon and have a goal of raising enough money to get their adoption process started. If you can, please donate just $5 to this amazing family. If you can't donate - help spread the word!

I truly believe that when you put good out into the world, it comes back to you. Let's make that happen for the Shubin family!!

You can donate here: http://thisshubinclan.blogspot.com/2010/04/facebook-thon.html

Thank you!!

So... About Those Changes....

Okay, if you're part of the adoption community, you've heard by now. But if not - Ethiopia has mandated, effective immediately, that all parents must make TWO trips to Ethiopia during the adoption process. Yeah. Two. There are good reasons for this. Really. BUT...

I'm worried. I'm worried about meeting our baby girl and then leaving her. I'm worried about paying for two trips. I'm worried about not having enough funds for orphanage donations because we have to somehow pay for two trips. I'm worried about leaving my baby girl.

So yeah. I'm worried. I know things will work out. They always do. But it's not going to be easy. Not this time. My heart is heavy tonight as I think about this stuff.

Baby Girl!!!!

Today was the day! We received our referral for a sweet baby girl! She is almost 7 months old and is quite a cutie! Big, beautiful eyes - just like her brother!

Here's the quick run-down. Ashley called Kevin first and they tried to conference me in, but I happened to be at the market with Micah and his BFF (buying "soft" foods bc I am having my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow - ick). So, the two toddlers in tow were pretending to be on a train and singing loudly throughout the store... and, I didn't hear my phone. An hour later I got in the car, checked my phone and saw missed calls from CHI. And from Kevin. I called Kevin (hyperventilating) and he was trying to play it cool. I'm pretty sure I yelled, "JUST TELL ME IF ASHLEY CALLED YOU!" at one point in the conversation. He wanted Ashley to be able to tell me, so he was trying to act like he didn't know yet. (I think.)

Anyway, Ashley got us both on the phone (after I had hung up with K and screamed BABY!!! to the two toddlers - who looked at me like I was insane) and told us she had our referral! We learned that baby girl is 7 months old (almost) but VERY tiny. Tiny tiny. We also saw those big beautiful eyes and her sweet face and fell in love. She's a cutie!

Tonight we had some friends and family stop by to see her picture (Micah showed her off - very cute) and toast to our new addition. It was wonderful.

And.... whoah! Whirlwind! Overwhelmed with emotion. In love! All of it. It's so amazing.

For those of you not in the adoption world - it will now be at least 3-4 months before travel. We're waiting for a court date and hope (HOPE) to travel in June or July.

Please keep our tiny baby in your prayers as she waits for us to arrive!

Dance Party!

Micah turned 3 last weekend and we celebrated with a dance party. It was pretty awesome, really. Lately Micah has developed an extreme fondness (read: LOVE) of DJ Lance Rock and Jack Black on Yo Gabba Gabba. He talked me into buying him his own DJ Lance Rock outfit for his party, and we recently acquired a mini-bike (you know, like Jack Black rides in episode New Friends?). Anyway, we had so much fun at his party - DJ Lance Rock actually showed up and we did some dancey-dances. Kevin made Micah a Yo Gabba Gabba boombox cake - which was amazing! And lots of Micah's buds came over to help us celebrate. Good times!

Doing the crocodile chomp with DJ Lance Rock

Kevin's Masterpiece

I love the eyes

This is his "shy, surprised face," which is too cute for words.

The next day - Mic still wanted to wear his costume, and we dressed Hammie up like Brobee. Or a flower. Whatever. She was obviously way into it.

Happy Birthday Micah!
We have so much fun with you in our lives.
We love your spirit and your energy,
your silliness and your cuddlebugs.
We love everything about you!
Love,
Mom & Dad

Waiting Waiting Waiting

Yeah, we're waiting for the call around here. We're getting antsy. And angsty. We just passed 13 months of waiting last week. I'd love it if we didn't make it to 14, but odds are that we will. But, you never know.

Anyway, in the downtime of our waiting, Micah and I have been talking a lot about baby girl. Here's how it went down tonight during lotion/jammie time:

Mom: So, what do you think we should name your baby sister?
Mic: BOB.
Mom: Really? Bob is kind of a boy's name. I mean Bobbie is a girl's name, so we could call her Bobbie - would that work?
Mic: NO. BOB.
Mom: Hmm... What about (insert girl's name)?
Mic: Unh! NO. BOB.
(Repeat last two lines seven times)
Mom: Okay then. But I wouldn't get too attached to Bob. It probably will not be Bob.
Mic: Yes, Mom, yes.

Later... in baby sister's room...

Mom: So, soon your baby sister will be asleep in here and we'll have to be quiet. Do you think you can do that?
Mic: *thinks with his finger on his mouth* Yes.
Mom: And, she's going to want to play with you and you can show her cool stuff. Won't that be fun?
Mic: YES MOM!
Mom: And you can share your toys with her...
Mic: *silence*
Mom: Do you think you'll share your toys with her?
Mic: No. No. *shaking head*

Yeah, so we have a lot to learn about baby sisters and sharing. :) But, Micah is extremely excited about baby sister. He calls her "baaabeee" and refers to her room (which is NOT finished - or even started) as "baabeee's." He has also informed me that he is getting on a plane with us to go for baby. Uh... *gulp* How do I explain to this child that he is not going?

So, that's what we're up to around here. Waiting. Jumping when the phone rings. Buying girl shoes. That sort of thing.

And as always, pictures...




Oh - and a big shout out of Congratulations to the Bottomlys on their referral!! Yay!