Ch ch ch changes!

One thing I've learned from being a Mommy is that no day is the same and no week is the same.  That's a hard pill to swallow sometimes, especially for a Type A routine-freak like myself.  Blake is pretty good at just going with the flow, but I really stress out sometimes.  I'm constantly telling myself to take a chill pill.  He's growing, happy, developing...and I'm stressing!

The week started great on Mother's Day.  It was such a joy to go to church and be able to celebrate motherhood with my mom cohorts.  One of my favorite moments was giving my friend Sommer a hug.  She and her husband really struggled to have kids and she was such a source of encouragement and joy during my struggles.  Her baby boy was born in November, so it was so fun to be able to celebrate the Lord's provision in our lives together!

Jordan got me a pair of earrings and a hat.  How thoughtful!

Our poor guy has been congested all week.  He is now acquainted with (and hates!) the snot-sucker.  He does everything he can to keep me from sticking that thing in his nose and it usually means I quit or accidently shove it in too hard, which just makes him madder.  Oh well.  It hasn't affected his mood, but it has affected his sleep.  He slept a few nights in the swing, which is just not as comfortable.  But for some reason, he does great in the day.  It's such a switch.  I've been enjoying 3-4 hours of sleep at a time at night and now we're down to 2-3.  It's such a change and it's been hard for me to adjust.  I really don't know if it's the congestion or if it's a new phase that we're going to work through.

Either way, I'm kind of hitting that 3 month mark that everyone tells me about.  It's the "my baby's not a newborn but still not sleeping like a bigger baby" stage.  It's a period where he's awake more during the day, which means less opportunity to get things done (and nap) during the day, but still not sleeping through the night (or in Jordan's case not even coming close).  I love the more awake during the day, but by the end of the day, we're both falling apart!  I can't complain, because he's such a good baby.  I just try to remind myself that he will only be 3 months old and 12 pounds, 5 ounces once in his life.  We can never go back!  I rejoice in the smiles and squeals and kicking feet and press on through the exhaustion!

Jordan got to see his Great-Granny and Great-Papa Bill yesterday who haven't seen him in a couple of months.  They got a kick out of him and he got a kick out of Granny's shirt and Papa Bill's silly noises.  He put on a smiling show for them, which I'm sure made the drive from Okmulgee worth it!

Three Month Blowout

Well, he did it.  He finally had a blowout!  This may be too much information, but Jordan had his first diaper blowout since he was one day old.  I won't give all the details, but we'll just say it was shocking and hilarious!  Poor kid!  And then he finished us off by peeing on the carpet.  Gotta love it!

Anyways, Jordan turned three months old on Monday.  It's hard to believe that he's so big.  He's still little for his age, but we got to visit a couple of friends who have brand-new babies and we really got to see how big he is.  He holds his head up, smiles, grabs toys, interacts, etc.  Those other little babies were cute, but made me glad that Jordan is where he is.  I've heard it just keeps getting better & better, too.

The other big news is that Jordan has a new room-mate.  My little sis Abby moved in yesterday.  We're excited to have her.  She's on summer vacation from OBU and since my parents have moved to Africa, Abby is living with us.  We're so grateful that the Lord has given us a home where she can have her own room and space to settle in.  I hope that she feels at home and I know that by the end of summer, she and Jordan will be attached at the hip!

We're excited to have the built-in babysitter.  Free room and board for a summer means the occaissional babysitting for her.  We're taking advantage of her today and going to Red Lobster to celebrate Mother's Day.  I'm really excited because it's been a couple of months since we left him with someone and were alone.  It's time!

I'm also posting pictures of Jordan's room.  There's more to it, but these are the highlights.  The pictures above his crib are ones that my Mom made me when I was a little kid.  And the paintings above the changing table were done by my cousin Karlea.  They are so beautiful and Jordan loves to look at them while he's hanging out there.

More Family Fun Pictures

This week was fairly uneventful.  We just finished cleaning up a bunch of branches from our yard and Blake took them to the dump.  It was the fifth (and hottest) free dump day in the spring.  We've been so busy that we just haven't had time on the weekends.  But it feels good.

I'm kind of ready for the spring weather to come back.  The heat makes Jordan cranky.  He likes to snuggle but hates to be hot, so he may have to choose one or the other.  Poor kiddo!

The pictures for this week are from last weekend.  We cleaned out Blake's mom's attic which is where we found all of her softball trophies and a fun Mexico get-up.

Jordan weighs eleven pounds, ten ounces.  He just keeps growing and growing!  Thankfully it's been at a steadier pace this week which means a little more time for me to be productive.  I finally got his room decorated and we made an art project, but I'll have to take pictures of those and post them next week.

Jordan Jack & Charlie Jack

This has been a fun week because Jordan got to spend time with Blake's brother's son Charlie.  He is two years old and full of energy and Jordan enjoyed watching him run around.  I think Jordan was in shock at the volume and energy level Charlie possesses!  I didn't know just how laid back our kiddo is until I watched him patiently get poked in the eyeball and have his feet tugged on while he was sleeping.  It was really fun to watch them interact and to get some super-cute pictures of the two of them!

Jordan is 11 pounds, 3 ounces this week and is really starting to control his hands.  He can intentionally suck on them and can grab some of his toys and shake them.  He spends more time awake during the day.  He's been on a bit of a growth spurt, so earlier in the week, he was a little fussy, but this weekend, he's been really good at spending time playing without being clingy to me! 

Speaking of clinginess, I never realized how much of introvert I am!  I know it was bad, but when my non-talking 3 month wears me out so much, it's serious. ;)  Nothing sounds more wonderful for me than to spend an hour laying in my bed reading a book.  I'm sure I woulds doze off, but I would fight it just to enjoy the alone time!

We have some fun days coming up this week.  I'm hoping it doesn't get too hot so we can spend some fun time outside!

All About Daddy

Last night, I was reflecting on the fact that my first Mother's Day is coming.  I was actually thinking about where I would want to go eat!  And then I started thinking about last Mother's Day.  That was a really tough day.  We had just begun the adoption process and in my heart I felt like a mother without a child.  We had come through a year where the Lord made it clear that we were not to have biological children, at least at that time, and all I wanted was to bring a sweet baby into my home and be his/her mommy.  It was hard to watch all of the mothers be acknowledged (and rightly so!) and watch all of my friends who were pregnant celebrate their sweet babies.  A woman I greatly look up to (who has adopted 10 children!) posted on a facebook group that she was wishing a happy Mother's Day to all of those who were experiencing "paper pregnancies".  That's how I felt!  I was glad that she acknowledged those feelings I was having because it was hard to feel so alone.  Now coming up on this Mother's Day, I'm excited, but my heart is heavy for so many of my friends.  I have dear friends who have lost babies and dear friends who are trying to have babies and cannot.  I also have friends who are waiting to adopt and experiencing the same thing I did last year.  Be praying for and thinking about all of those mothers who are remembering lives and dreams that have had to place in our Father's hands.  And for goodness sake, call your mom and tell her thank you!  Now that I've had 10 weeks of wiping a bottom and trying to grab sleep where I can, I will definatley be thanking my mother!

That being said, this week was all about Blake.  Sometimes I feel like I've got this thing down and I have to coach Blake through.  And then a week like this one comes, and I'm humbled!  I'm right most of the time, but Blake came through this week.  Our poor kiddo was apparently going through a growth spurt and I was trying to starve him!  I was so focused on working with him on naps in his crib, so I thought all of the fussing and not sleeping was a nap issue, but alas, it was not.  Blake spent one hour with us during the day and diagnosed the issue and everything was all better.  Jordan was just needing to eat sooner!  Whoops!  I guess that's why God designed it for two parents.

I seriously could not do this without Blake.  He is such a good Dad.  He gives me the opportunity to go for runs and to spend time with my girlfriends every so often.  And most importantly, he gives me chances to sleep on the weekends!

This weekend we went down to Gainesville/Lindsay, Texas for a family wedding on Blake's side.  It was fun to introduce Jordan to a whole batch of family members.  If anyone ever accuses Jordan of not being loved, they don't know what they're talking about!  I always enjoy being around family because I love to watch people love on our kid.  It's so rewarding.  The only bad part of the weekend was staying in a hotel.  Usually Jordan is pretty solid at nights, but he decided to be awake and fussy at 2 am.  It's funny how prepared we were...we had a pack-n-play & a swing, and he ended up co-sleeping for the first time ever.  I guess desperation will drive you to that.  We had two beds so he slept with me at night (since I'm a light sleeper and won't elbow him in the head) and with Blake when I got up in the morning.  It was so cute! (And will never happen again...maybe).  We were happy to be home and put him back into his own crib.  We're all alot better off!

Jordan Jack!

Wow...I've really neglected the blog. I have to admit, the first 3 weeks of Jordan's life, we weren't allowed to say anything about him on the internet. But the last 7 (almost) weeks have been so consumed with raising a newborn, that it's hard to take the time to blog. But, I've decided that Saturday is my day. Blake's home with me so I can take the time and sit and update ya'll about our sweet boy!

Jordan was born on February 7th and we got to meet him at the hospital immediately after he was born. I was the first person to hold him! We had no idea at the time just how precious he is! Every day he just amazes us with his sweet personality & his sense of humor!

I'm posting a picture of him when he was two days old and a picture of him this week so you can see how much he's grown. He was 5 pounds when he was born and on Monday (2 months old appointment) he was 10 pounds! He eats and grows and that's about it!

And as a two month old, he's already survived his first tornado! He's a true blue Oklahoman now. He and Blake were in the car and a tornado came out of nowhere right through Norman. Blake was quick on his feet and ran into a CVS to take shelter. Thankfully, the tornado skipped over that part of town. It really is a miracle that no one in Norman was killed because it happened so fast that there were so many out and about. The Lord took care of my boys and I was so thankful after an awful 30 minutes to hear from Blake that they were safe!

I will try to update this more often because Jordan grows so fast. It seems like every day he does something new and exciting. The best thing from this week is that he is finally in his crib and we're starting to learn his schedule. Nap times are becoming more and more predictable which is good for planning!

The big event this week is that Jordan will get to meet his cousin Charlie! It should be fun to watch them together.

Riding the Roller Coaster

Well, a fair warning to anyone considering adoption...it's quite a wild ride...and it's not over for us yet! It all began with the decision to adopt. Then we had to decide who to adopt through. Then, came the paper-work and home study. And FINALLY, we came to the "end"...the waiting.

The first week of waiting was so hard. We had just returned from the Middle East and the thought that we could receive "the phone call" was so overwhelming to me. I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I felt like I couldn't start any routines because we might get a baby. Every time the phone rang, I jumped, thinking it could be "the phone call".

After a week or so, I got a little more settled. After talking to a friend who has adopted, I discovered that I wasn't going crazy. The waiting seemed easier and I began to get excited about our trip to Virginia over Thanksgiving. Then I got "the phone call". It was a different agency asking if we would be willing to adopt an African American little girl. She was due right after our trip from Virginia and of course we said yes! We were so excited, but a little hesitant because we had not been officially picked by the birth mother. The following day, we heard that there was another couple in the picture, so our chances were then 50/50. We had to wait five days until the birthmother's meeting with the agency.

Those five days were unbelieveably hard. It's amazing how in minutes, I would go from so excited to so nervous to so upset. The hardest part of it all was that if we got this baby, my parents were going to come home for Christmas. I had already made my peace with the fact that they were leaving before Christmas, but the thoughts of how wonderful it would be invaded my mind...Christmas with my family & a brand new baby, registering with my mom, baby showers, meeting them at the airport with a little baby girl...it was so hard to remember that this was not reality yet.

Well, the day of the meeting came and the birthmother had to reschedule. The agonizing wait continued. We went to Virginia, which turned out to be a nice distraction. We didn't talk about it too much. The one blessing was that when we said goodbye to my parents, it was a "see you later"...hoping that later was a few weeks away.

Unfortunately, just a couple of days later, we heard that the birthmother decided to parent. I won't say I was crushed. My heart was so sad, though. What seemed like a perfect answer to our prayers turned out to be a disappointment. I'm still not 100% sure why we had to go through that, but I know God had his purposes. It was a difficult couple of days as I grieved the loss of a baby girl who was never mine. It's hard to describe the feeling, but I definately felt sad. I had to come to terms (again!) with my parents leaving and the fact that I would not have a baby at Christmas.

When Blake's dad passed away, I was able to see how it was a blessing that we didn't have a newborn. I would not have been able to be as present as I was during that time if we had a brand new baby.

Funny enough, on Christmas day, about 6:30 in the evening, I received a phone call from my cousin in Arkansas. She informed me that there was a little boy born on Christmas Eve in Little Rock who was a premie and needed a family. Of course I said we would love it, and she said she would give our information to the social worker. Thirty minutes later she called back and said they had found a family. We didn't have time to get our hopes up on that one! It was kind of funny because Blake's sister had gone somewhere, and when she came back we told her that we had gotten a baby and then lost him while she was gone (tongue in cheek!).

I am grateful for the many women I know who have adopted or struggled with infertility. They all say that all of the waiting is so worth it when you hold that baby. I am so excited to experience that for myself. God is good and He reigns on His throne. The difficulties of this waiting season are just that...a season. It will end. I am learning to patiently wait on His timing for our family. It is hard, but such a joyful time, because I know we can trust our Father to provide everything we need.

On a less serious note...after thinking we were going to get a girl, we got so set on that idea. When we heard about the little boy, it blew our minds! We can't imagine having a boy since we got so set on having a little girl! We also have our names picked out, but I'll save that for when we introduce Future Baby to you all...whenever God chooses for that to happen!