Mommy Mind Missing

Okay, I think I am losing my mind...
Today I started singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in a Bob Dylan voice.
If you happen to see my brain, please return it.
Mel

Sisters

Best Friends

Lola moving in for a kiss (okay a lick).

Lily expressing her great pleasure at receiving said kiss.




Ditto.

Lola proudly smiling after smooching Lily. Lily expressing her need for personal space.

Lola going in for round two.

What a belly Lily!

Aren't we something?

Side profile of belly. Wow.

Happy Girl!!!

Please get this picture over with.

Pretty baby!

Lily's Gene Simmons imitation.

Lola is one happy sweet girl!

Dinner time.

Another round of kisses from Lola to Lily.

I love you, let me lick your ear.

Four Months Old Tomorrow!

Our sweetie pies turn 4 months old tomorrow! Hard to believe and I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun. Both girls continue to grow and express their personalities more every day. Lola has recently over the past few weeks become a very easy going baby. She easily plays by herself, smiles quickly and squeals in delight frequently. Lola loves her mobile and we have taken to calling the little mobile creatures her friends, as she greets them with a squeal and a smile every morning. Lily has now changed into a bit more demanding of a baby. She smiles, but in a smirk sort of way. It is really funny. She is not the greatest at self-soothing and loves, loves, loves to be held. That is how Lola used to be and since Lily spent a lot of time snoozing in her third month, we are hoping she is on her way to being more easy going. She loves to spend time talking with Daddy and pacing the floors with Mommy.

Yesterday, at their 4 month check up we were in for a good surprise. Lily now weighs 15 lbs. and 3 oz. and is 23 1/2 inches long. Lola weighs 12 lbs. and 11 oz. and is 24 inches long. Everyone was very excited to see their great weight gain. We got the go-ahead from our pediatrician to discontinue the preemie formula and move into regular formula! HOORAH! Preemie formula is much more expensive, so it is great to be able to cut costs. Also great that the estimate originally was we would be on this preemie high calorie formula until they were 6 months old, so getting to switch early is just super as they are doing so well. Our pediatrician thought everything was going well developmentally too! The girls got three shots and will get their first RSV shot on Friday, so that was no fun. Lola cried for a few minutes and then moved on. Lily cried FOREVER and Lola just stared at her like "Move on, Lily, it's over!".

The pictures with the hats on show the outfits they wore on their outing yesterday to the Dr. They really didn't mind the hats too much, although the pictures would not indicate that. We tried to get a non crying picture, but alas, it just wasn't our fate that day :)
No new news re: Gracie and we really don't expect updates until something happens. I speak some Spanish and Don is trying to learn via CDs and post-its around the house. He can now say he is from Los Angeles and or Chicago in Spanish. It is absolutely hysterical, especially since Don is an Okie born and bred. Seriously, he is learning at amazing speed.

Lastly, today is our 9 year wedding anniversary. I am so very lucky to have married my best friend, who has always helped me be a better version of myself and loved me unconditionally. I love you Don. It has been a crazy trip so far and if the events of the last few months are predictive, I would say the remaining leg of our journey together is shaping up to be quite a ride!

Love, Mel

(please ignore random pic in middle of girls on boppies, many months ago, can't figure out how to delete)

Funny Babies

Some of these just crack me up, so I had to share them. They are becoming more animated everyday it seems. Lily has decided that she prefers sleeping on Mom, which makes it tough to do anything else. We have decided since Lily has such a strong affinity for her bottle, that she is just wanting to make sure she isn't bumped from the feeding rotation. As you can tell from the chub cheeks, she doesn't miss any meals. Hard to believe she was once so very tiny.

Lola has really started to coo and talk to things. She LOVES watching football on T.V. She will strain her neck and roll to the side in order to keep it in her line of vision. She cracked us up yesterday with all of her cooing at the "football men" as we are calling them. I promise we are not using the T.V. as a babysitter, but it is soo funny to watch her talk to the T.V.

Lola has rolled from her tummy to her back. Both Lily and Lola have just almost rolled from back to tummy, but I think it may still be awhile until that milestone is completely achieved.

It is amazing watching them grow.

Love, Mel

Thoughts

I am having a really hard time trusting that we will actually be bringing Gracie home. Even though seeing the PGN approval should be a hoorah moment, it is terribly difficult to trust it still. I keep thinking: just wait something will happen. I am sure that is a normal reaction after the emotional roller coaster that has been our adoption journey. I do not want to ride it any longer. It is scary to let my guard down and actually believe that our dream is coming true. We made a promise to that little angel on our visit trip in August of 2006 that we would be coming back to get her. It took so long to get to a point where I felt I had left no stone unturned to keep that promise. There were so many long nights that I laid awake trying to think of another approach or person who could help us get her. There were so many nights I couldn't sleep wondering if Gracie had a full belly or was being told she had worth and was loved. Every child deserves a family and this child has been our child since March of 2006. At times, it has felt as if she were kidnapped. We knew she was still living, but very little details. Still, hope is a powerful gift from God. We never let our hope for Gracie go. I continue to hope that this is the real deal, that I will finally kiss those sweet cheeks again and say "I kept my promise".
Love, Mel

Gracie All Grown Up

Thought a more recent picture of Gracie (Spring 2008) would be nice in addition to her referral photo from previous post.
Love, Mel

And Gracie makes three!

We received a call late Tuesday evening saying we had PGN approval of Gracie's adoption in Guatemala. We have been told to be ready to travel in a couple of months to pick her up. And yes, we have seen a scanned copy of the PGN approval. We are stunned, overwhelmed, overjoyed...

Above is Gracie Sofia's referral picture at 3 months old, received in March of 2006. We have been in process since that time. She will be three in December.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS!!!

Love, Mel