I Have Nothing New to Add

(Warning: Abundant parentheses in the following post. Take extreme caution.)

At one point I had hopes of becoming one of those really awesome bloggers that everyone reads and talks about at bookclubs or in the blogosphere. Since starting this blog in 2008 I have pretty much given up on that specific dream for two reasons:

1. That takes a lot of time and money and, at least for now, I want to spend my time and money elsewhere.

2. I have nothing new to add.

The latter point is the topic of my post today (hence the title). Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying I don't have a unique perspective or a unique way of expressing it (how many people do you know that have adopted two kids and then began IVF cycles...my guess is less than five.) What I am saying is that as far as revolutionary ideas or insights go, I've got a whole lotta nada.

Did you know (according to Wikipedia) that "it is estimated that there are more than 158 million identified blogs, with more than 1 million new posts being produced by the blogosphere each day" (emphasis added). I mean, come on! How is a girl supposed to compete with that?!

Originally this blog was just that -- a blog. An online space to record our adoption journey. If that was the only purpose, shut this puppy down! We've adopted, we've blogged about it. Done. But just as I, my family, my home, and my life have evolved, so has this blog. And so today, I have a new purpose!

I have no such hopes of becoming a rich, famous, sought-after, respected, trendy, stylish, unique, or any other such word type of blogger. I am sure that I will fail miserably at all of those things without dedicating more of my time and/or money to the cause (see point number one above). Maybe those will be my goals someday, but on this Tuesday morning sitting on my squeaky mattress next to a pile of unfolded laundry, that is not nor can it be the case.

And I am okay with that. 

I'm pretty sure I am okay with sponging-in (that's totally a real thing) all of the cute ideas, life-hacks, party plans, lists of to-dos, lists of not-to-dos, and whatever else that inspires me from other blogs and my genius friends who don't blog (tough loss for those of you who don't have my friends). And while I have nothing new to add to the blogosphering world, I do have something new to add to my own world.
 

In my world, I am the only mom of two beautiful children who are straight-up crazy! I am the only wife to the best husband I have ever had or hope to have that is (as of yesterday) an actual professor (adjunct, but professor is in his title so who cares)! In my world, I am super unique and have a lot to add!

And so, I am going to begin thinking of this blog space as an extension of my home instead of an extension of the blogging world. Because amid 158 million I do not stand out at all...but I am absolutely in my own little time and space for a specific reason, and I enjoy unfolding that reason a little bit each and every day.

(Here's the kicker...) And by recording those revelations and experiences and reflecting on them later, I feel as though I come a little closer to the little miracle that God needs me to be. (Of course, that takes a little time.)

(I absolutely did not disappoint on the parentheses promise, did I?)

Music Monday: Happy Sealing Day!

We Were Made for This, Train

One year ago we were here:

We have so much to celebrate today! So much gratitude in our hearts and so much love for each other in everything we do! I love that everyday is a choice, and we all chose each other once and continue making that choice everyday. I couldn't be more grateful that Ray and Melissa chose us...but then again my gratitude seems to increase everyday (weird)! Happy Sealing Day to everyone!

PS Our little growing bundle has her top two 2-year molars in. Need I remind you she's only 19.5 months?? CRAZY!!

Aly TV: Animal Sounds

One of Alexa's favorite books is "Quack Quack!".  It's a book with large pictures of various animals with little patches of "fur" on each one that you can touch and feel.  For several months now she's loved to read it before bed.  There really aren't many words in the book, so we end up going through, asking what each animal says, and making the appropriate animal noise.  Some of them she picked up really quickly, like the cat saying "meow". Some of them are still a little rough.  She has no idea what the pig says most of the time. Still it's been fun to see her figure them out.  And it's even more fun to show her real live animals and then see her make the connection between her book and the real world.

Yesterday Rachel caught Aly after lunch on video and asked her about the animal sounds.  Enjoy!


Animal Sounds from Nick Nelson on Vimeo.

Stupidly Proud Parent Moment

Our baby is 18-Months old and we are so proud of our rambunctious, crazy, sweet, happy, helpful, messy, and loveable little girl!

Last Tuesday we went to the doctor and got her measured and the doctor threw in a little good news for us to salivate over for the foreseeable future.

Alexa is still really small weighing in at 20 LBS 13 OZ, but maintaining her 8th-ish percentile, so that's okay she's small. She did, however, gain 3 inches in height putting her in the 65th percentile for height coming in at 32.25 inches.

The stupidly proud parent stuff we're talking about though comes in the language development part. When I told Dr. J (awesome, right?) that Alexa knows how to say about 15 words, can sign 20-ish, and understands at least 50 he was blown away! He said that's way above where he would expect an 18-month old to be!

And just to add to that already impressive list, she said "clock" this morning for the first time. Impressive, right?

AND...because we didn't give her a lick of our brainy genes at all, we can be so proud without being prideful in the slightest! Yay for adopting genius babies!!

Love Grows!

When Alexa woke up from her nap yesterday just a couple hours into the whole ordeal, she was just crying and crying and I decided to go in and see if I couldn't soothe her back to sleep.

I just held her and rocked with her.

I did this for 1 hour and 20 minutes. That wasn't expected, but very welcomed.

While I was holding and reading Peter Pan to her I got to thinking: "it's not fair that I will not get to do this with our other kids." The more kids we add to our family the more my time has to be divided between each of them. I desperately want my babies with me, but it's just not fair that they won't get as much of me as I want to give or feel like I they deserve to have.

And so I held Alexa a bit tighter.

I may have shed a little tear, mourning for the pending craziness of my future life where I won't be able to take up my child for 80 minutes and just hold him/her. By ourselves. Without interruption.  Just one more gesture that I could make to help them know how much I love them.

I was saddened by that thought and then this idea scurried across my mind for just a moment: "I'm pretty sure I can be happy as a mom of just one beautiful baby girl, and then she can have all my attention, and all my love."

But just at that moment, this musing entered my mind: "Love Grows."

Time may not be able to be justly divided between everything and everyone I love, but that thought gave me hope. The pounding in my chest as I feel my heart pump out love for my daughter and husband will only get more powerful with every new addition to our family. The joy I feel each day as my daughter embraces me with a tight neck-hug or a slobbery open-mouth cheek-kiss will only widen and deepen with every child that comes into our home.

My mourning turned into songs of rejoicing once I realized that even though nearly everything in this world we experience is finite in expanse and scope, love is the one exception. It grows and grows and grows until your heart feels like it may not be able to contain all the love that is growing up inside it and is then poured out from overflowing cups of love and joy as little drops of tears from one's eye.

There is no need to fear the impossible list of future responsibilities and tasks that will surely unjustly steal away those precious moments I wish I could have with each of my children when I know that God has given us such an incredible gift. He gave us the capability to experience and share love with one another. And then, as if that wasn't enough, we get to grow right along with love and are able to watch love grow and develop into a starry night of infinite beauty and possibilities filled with relationships of our families and dear friends. 

I so gratefully praise the Lord that love grows!

Aly TV: Classic Literature

Aly's favorite book these days is the Dr. Suess classic The Foot Book.  She's loves to turn the pages and is even learning the "story".  You just might be able to tell what her favorite part is if you watch carefully.

Standing for Something

So, Alexa has stood up twice...we think. See the thing is we have each seen her standing, but we have no idea how she got there! That sneaky girl stood up without us getting to see her, TWICE! Anyway, the second time Nick had the presence of mind to snap a picture, for evidence.

As you can see, she's a Mac girl.

The Mommy Blues

Good morning (afternoon to some) to you all! I just wanted to share something with you:

{dun nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh}

I got the blues. I got the low down...

my baby is crawling all over-eating by herself-getting two top teeth-and doesn't need her mommy anymore blues.

I've been kinda feelin' that way recently. I know it sounds a little crazy seeing as how she's only 8 months old, (and crying in her crib) but it's true. My little helpless baby is growing up too fast and before I need it won't need me to spoon feed her, change her diaper, or even get her dressed.

Did I mention she's getting hair? My little bald beauty baby is no more. So sad.

She maybe growing up, and it maybe a little sad, but it's also super cute! I've got bunches of adorable pictures in store for you, but this one of her eating birthday cake will have to do for today.

Enjoy her 8 month adorable-ness while you still can!

Happiness is...Fall Leaves

 

We had a fun time playing in the fall leaves today, and reminded me how grown up my little baby girl is getting. She turned 8 months old on Tuesday! How crazy is that?! Happy fall to you all!

Guest Blogging Today!

I'm a guest blogger today over at the Colorado Families Supporting Adoption blog. I'm talking about unpacking your bags and living life for today while hoping for the blessings of tomorrow. Come check it out and poke around at the other cool events and posts they have up!

I will also be singing at the fireside they are holding on November 7, 2011, so if you have any suggestions for great adoption-esque songs, let's have 'em! 

As a parting gift, here is a picture of Alexa stuck under our bed. 

This whole mobility thing isn't always what it's cracked up to be!

 Happy Tuesday to you!

Teeth Buddies

On September 5th Alexa got her first tooth, and today we discovered its first buddy! Piglet was even cooperative enough to let us get a picture of her little buddies! We're such stupidly proud parents, but you have to admit, our girl is simply adorable! Happy Sunday to you all!

Between a Buffet and a Living Place

On occasion our little mobile Piglet begins to roll, and as we all know, it's hard to stop once you get rolling. This truth becomes hazardous when there are things, like buffets and couches, in your way. So sometimes she gets stuck between a buffet and a living place.

I try to get her to just roll the other way, but sometimes there is just no reasoning with an infant in distress.

"Until they have a baby to laugh at, lovers are always laughing at each other." -C.S. Lewis

She pretty much keeps us in stiches most of the time!

P.S. On Monday, in addition to her beginning to scoot on the floor instead of just roll, we also discovered another first: her first tooth!! What a big day for our little growing girl!

Music Monday

Happy by Never Shout Never

By the by, our little roller is starting to get interested in the idea of moving forward rather than just side to side. My Mommy Pride will definitely be spilling onto the blog once she does, so you'll know when it happens! Happy Labor Day!

10 Million Strong...and Growing

So we've reached it. Aly is 6 months old (as of about 12 days ago; it's been busy), and she just had her 6 month check-up, complete with measurements and immunizations, on Monday. The results: she hasn't changed, just got bigger.

Height: 25.75 in. (50th percentile, just like at 4 months)
Weight: 13 LBS. 10.5 OZ. (10th percentile, just like at 4 months)
 Developmental: on track (she doesn't want to intimidate the other babies with her genius just yet)

One thing our doctor said about her development was that her waking up at night was overdue and it is time to teach her to sleep through the night. Color me naive, but I was hoping she would just figure that out on her own.

 She was doing well with sleeping at night up until about a month ago (she'd only wake up about once a night), and then we went on vacation and then came home and started using the baby monitor so I could hear her over the AC unit we installed. I look back and realize I just should have listened to Nick and believe that if she really needed us, we would hear her. Blast!

So last night was night one of letting Aly cry and not go in with her or feed her. We hope this training doesn't take too long because, frankly, that was the worst night sleep ever! I laid awake listening to her and then when I was almost asleep I would feel guilty that my baby was crying and I wasn't doing anything for her. I know the end result will be wonderful, but I think our stubborn little girl is going to give us a bumpy ride!

PS Remember that Flinstone's Vitamin Commercial? Ya know what would work--a piano bench! If those kids were really smart they'd ask mom for one of those!

Adventures in Oatmeal

We've mentioned before that Alexa is eating oatmeal these days.  As she's getting older she is getting more and more insistent on feeding herself - or at least trying.  Here are some highlights from her recent attempts to get that yummy oatmeal into her mouth.

 

Sometimes oatmeal requires intense concentration....

Sometimes you taste the bitterness of defeat....

Sometimes you experience the thrill of victory...

But whatever happens it's always an adventure.

Aly's First Experience with Food

Our little Piglet has been sucking down formula like a champ since literally minutes after she was born, but in our last visit to the doctor, our new pediatrician Dr. J (yes that's actually what he's called by his office staff and nurses) recommended that we start trying to feed Aly baby oatmeal.  The main purpose is to get her used to the idea of eating from something other than a bottle, but the oatmeal should also help her mess her pants a little more often.  As parents we're thrilled for more poppy diapers, but we decided to go for it.  Today Rachel fed Aly her first spoonfuls of food and this is how it went.



Okay, so she's not exactly a natural when it comes to eating, but at least she keeps it interesting.