St. Louis! Day 1.

Dear Peep, 
I must get this in the record before too much time gets away from me and/or baby girl gets here or it will be lost.... and we can't loose our trip to St. Louis!  We planned it in early August thinking 1. your cousins would not yet be in school and 2. their average temperatures were going to be significantly lower than when we started discussing it at the end of June.  Well, your cousins Jonny (6) Tony (16) and uncle Gary, Grandma P, Bahboo, and Mommy and Daddy drove to St. Louis the first of August and the temperature was kicking our butts the entire time.  We LOVE St. Louis but I can't see returning unless it is in the spring for fall months.  We were all pretty miserable due to the heat but that is not to say we didn't have a great time.  So the itinerary...Day 1....

Arrived in St. Louis and went to the hotel for a few minutes to freshen up and let the little dudes check things out.  You were so excited by all of the snacks we brought you could hardly think about anything else.  Once we all refocused we loaded back up and went straight to the arch.  You loved it.  You and Jonny grabbed hands you were so excited to see each other. You ran and tried to climb the side of it...you got about...uh...two inches up before you decided it didn't have any footholds.  You took the little trolly to the top and I stayed on the ground to have a quite moment with Daddy, and a hot dog and lemonade from a street vendor.  You waved to us from the top.  We couldn't see you but that doesn't matter, we waved to you and you saw us as tiny ant specks in the grass.  

After the arch we were all hungry (that hot dog was the worst!) and we drove around the city looking for a good local restaurant.   We settled on a dark looking place with a board outside touting "pasta!" and decided to see what they had to offer.  Uh! This was an incredible meal!  We all got something different and were so mesmerized by how delectable ours own meals were we just started taking bites off of each others!  Daddy's lasagne had the creamiest yummiest cheese ever.  I would make the 4 hour drive just to get the pasta there.  You ate half of Bahboo's ravioli, tons of bites of my bake ziti and bits and pieces of everyone's plate too.  Even skin and bones Jonny ate most of a giant sized hamburger.  It was a great meal.  I wish I could remember the name of the place but it was only a few blocks away from the City Garden so we headed over there.  The evening air brought a cool breeze and a comfortable temperature to relax in the park and look at the wonderful sculptures and fountains.  You can climb on and jump into just about everything there!  With a three year old and 6 year old (and let's face it a 16 year old) that is exactly the type of place you want to be at.  You and Jonny stripped down to your shorts so you could play and run around the fountain area and you would have stayed here for the rest of the night.  

 I had the bright idea to look around more, I had given you all suckers with silly mouths on them.  Really cute! Until you tried to climb on the bunny sculpture with wet feet, slipped and crunched down on the sucker and bit your lip.  Lots of blood and screaming and a tired Henry was carried to the car to return to the hotel.  

 Your recovery was quick and soon you were running pant-less checking on the snacks in the fridge and jumping on the soft bed.  It was a great first day!  It was wonderful to have the first trip with my mom, dad and brother and Daddy and our kids.  So happy that your cousins are closer now.  You say they are your best buddies.  A wonderful thing.
Love, Mama

The Perfect Evening

Dear Peepso, 
The last two weeks there have been visits to Suckstown and Happyburg in Babyville.  Just after returning from a wonderful three day family trip to St. Louis, Missouri during August 2-5 many things started happening rapidly (posts to come).  We went to an appointment with WW and things were looking like baby girl could come early.  We were all worried and spent a long day at the doctor's for monitoring and a trip to the hospital for monitoring of semi-regular contractions, some effacement, 2cm dilated and a steroid shot that left WW's bum less than happy.  With relief, things stayed put and by the following Thursday there were no further changes.  We had our match meeting that went awesome.  Then, we got word that Steve's grandma Hazel, GG, was getting weaker and the decision was being made to call in hospice.  We spend the week with her and said goodbye on that Friday.   About the same time Daddy's Aunt Kelli, age 44, was loosing her battle with cancer in California.  A super tough two weeks in our family.  Luckily after we returned home from GG's we had a wonderful evening with Aunt Krispie and Aunt Currie.  We got some hot dogs and no dogs and marshmallows, lit a fire in the fire pit and had a great time together around the fire talking about the tests and sadnesses of the previous week. 

I love these women.  You do too.  Glad they live so close.  We are fortunate for that.
Love, Mama

3 to 4

Dear Peep, 
Back in the winter Mommy mentioned that we were starting the adoption process for number 2...then Daddy got very sick for the first time ever and we put it on hold.  In late May we picked things back up and completed our paper work, our profile and website... Our home study was scheduled on June 26. On June 23 (3 days prior) we attended the agency's (Independent Adoption Center) annual picnic.  I wrote about that here...  I mention in that post how we made some "interesting connections"...WELLLLLL...  At the picnic a friend we met at our first weekend intensive meeting during your adoption process encouraged us to talk with her friend and son's birth mom, a woman who was at the time 7 months pregnant and likely looking to make an adoption plan. Mommy started texting with her in the days following.  We seemed to click and have a similar mindset about adoption and the contact we were all hoping for.  She chose us for the family to parent her baby!  We are in shock and elated that this situation has happened for us all!  It is such a fast development for us!  We love this woman already and were relieved to have an instant rapport and ability to talk easily and freely.  We went to her first doctors appointment and found out together the exciting news that it is a GIRL!  

A VERY active girl that kicks and rolls like crazy, wakin' WW up and making her have to talk to baby girl and ask her to cool out from time to time!  W has beautiful long hair, big brown friendly eyes and an easy going attitude.  She is a very caring mom and thoughtful friend and if all goes as we laid out today in our official match meeting (also Daddy's 38th birthday) she will make you a big brother!  I'd also like to add how much the IAC's process has further evolved to really listen to and set up everyone's needs in the situation while staying sensitive to the hard choices and the possibilities for any and everything to change.  I really appreciate the time and energy spent during the match meeting process.  She is due Sept 21st and baby girl is already around 4.12lbs!  WW has done a great job taking care of her and helping her grow and develop.  WW is such a skinny mini short stuff to start with I look more pregnant than her little frame does. 

She is really starting to pop out though and we all feel baby may come sooner so we are getting things ready.  We have told you. You think you're excited but without it in front of you it seems too distant to get too worked up about yet.  You are trying to wrap your mind around the birth mom of your sibling not being JoJo so when you say WW's name you add a JoJo at the end.  We all know by now there is only one JoJo in this world and we are so lucky to have her as our JoJo but WW, while very different from JoJo is uniquely awesome in her own right and you will get to know and love her well too.  When we talk about baby girl you worry she might take your blankets but was reassured when we went to get fabric for her own.  Other times you offer up that you could share your blankets with her if she needs it.  You love yelling out in stores, "MOMMY! This would be perfect for the baby sister! She'd like this one!"  You also declared that her name will be Jennifer, you know, Marty's girlfriend's name in Back to the Future.  That will not be her name but you will be an amazing big brother!  We are elated that open adoption has proven to be so amazing again for our family and we will likely get to add a baby girl to our home and hearts, as well as WW.  Our world is about to change sweet peep peep.  There it is! Possibly baby girl and WW's first blog post of many!
Love, Mama

Goofy bird

Dear Bust, 
There has been a lot happening lately and I've neglected to keep up on your life on the blog.  I think it has been a couple of weeks.  Oh! and my camera broke and had to be sent off so that put a crimp in my lifestyle for a month or more.  We went on a trip to St. Louis and have some big changes coming.  So what have you been doing in the mean time?  You've been playing super hero a lot.  Spending time with cousin Tony and Jonny.  We even took Jonny to the Wonder Lab, he loved it to.  We met JoJo, Tommy and Uriah at the park for a fun afternoon, by the end of it Daddy had all three boys and a girl nobody knew hanging off of his chair taking rides around the park.   

You've been taking showers as if I am a car wash and you are the car, scooting around in a circle around my legs while I spray soap on, give you a pressure wash and you call out for the buffer pads (two washcloths I swish back and forth over your back) and finally a spot free rinse.  You've been making a lot of comparisons and contrasts lately.  Yesterday you touched the asphalt in the sun and comment how freakin' hot is is and then touched in the shaded area and made me touch to show me how cool things are in the shade.  You've been caring for your stuffed things a lot, having me teach you how to swaddle.  You will dragged them all into the kitchen to get them to bed or pile them all on top of me or daddy.  

We've gone out to Heather's new house a couple of times and gotten muddy fossil and animal hunting in their super awesome creek.   You are still into Marty McFly and Back to the Future.  You make us listen and dance to The Power of Love regularly and really had a big day when we found an orange vest at the garage sales for three bucks.  

You've also been testing us a lot.  Mostly you're really sweet and well behaved but you like to pull out your rebel a couple of times a day.  You've picked up a few bad phrases from your Back to the Future obsession, one example would be 'Butt Head!'.  Mommy is REALLY over being called butt head, so today you called me lemon head instead.  A small improvement.  We may need to get your hearing tested again because I feel like I am saying the same thing a lot... like just now, "Please pick up Mr. Potatoe head."  I repeated it 4 times before you sprang to action.  
You giggle a lot now, race a lot and love to listen to chapter books begging for just one more chapter before bed time.  Tonight we are going to find out who stole the skeleton in "School Skeleton."  You cry, "But Mommy! I just NEEEEEEEEED to know."  Tonight little buddy.
We love you peep peep and still, could you please pick up Mr. Potato head?
Love, Mama

Hoosier Buddy? "Cousin Jonny is my best buddy!"

Dear Buddy, 
Daddy and I have had an almost 20 year tradition that you've now taken part in.  Every time we drive to or from Columbus at the Nashville halfway point there is a store called Hoosier Buddy.  As we turn the corner Mommy says to Daddy, "Who's (Hoosier Buddy) your buddy?" Daddy responds, "Who's your buddy?"  Now you've joined right in and sometimes you'll say, "You're my buddy," or "Cousin Jonny is my buddy."  You were so happy summer came and Jonny was up with his dad, Uncle Gary.  When you first met up again you ran around the corner of the garage, ran to him reached up and rubbed his head and gave him a big. tight. hug!  You two were HAPPY!  We roasted some hot dogs on the fire pit and you all devoured a container of fruit together.  You race, play with bugs, swim, fight, take baths, swing, sleep, read books, and make up games together.  

It is a beautiful thing.  I'm glad you have such a special buddy.
Love, Mama

Cousins! Watch Out for this Brood of Boys

Dear Henry, 
This year's 4th didn't get us massive fireworks thumping our chests and filling up our eyes but it did get us a good day with family.  We meet Uncle Gary and Jonny and Grandma P's and Bahboo's and later in the day Mommy's cousin Kyra and her three boys JD, Kolsen and Nash joined us.  You and Jonny were beyond excited grabbing hands together in the hallway, jumping up and down screaming, "They're here! They're here!"  You guys swam, played hide and seek, swung on the rope swing and chased each other until you were completely worn out.  When it came time to leave nobody wanted to part.  It made me so happy to see you all playing.  When Mommy was a girl her cousins were her favorite playmates and we got together often.  Your generation is a whole brood with ours numbering 8 and yours numbering 12 with two more on the way.  

JD, Kolsen, Jonny, Nash, Henry

Jonny, Gary, Kolsen, Nash, Bahboo

Henry and Nash enjoying Cheeto puffs

Nash, JD, Henry, Kolsen and Jonny

Kolsen, Henry, Jonny and Nash as Hot Dog Zombies

Kyra & Nash, Grandma P and Jonny, Bahboo & Henry and Kolsen watching fireworks.

The next day you were toast for over 2 hours in the hallway.

A few days later we went to the Bartholomew County Fair Grounds to check out John David's equestrian skills.  While we were there he won 3rd and 1st place!  You couldn't have had a better time walking around with Kolsen and Nash to see the animals and to sit on the big antique tractors.  They were so gentle with you and always kept a careful eye on you.  

JD and Blueberry

Henry and Nash looking at the pigs.

Henry, Kolsen and Nash farmers

I love that.
Can't wait for the next two to make their arrival!  Someday your cousins will come in handy!
Love, Mama

The Independent Adoption Center Picnic 2012

Henry with his balloon DeLorean

Dear Henny, 
Each year the IAC, the agency which aided in you joining our family and building our relationship with JoJo holds a picnic for families, birth and adoptive, to join in one place to get to know each other or to have annual visits.  Of course we see JoJo much more than that and she has yet to make it to a picnic.  This year JMOM, JoJo's mom, and G, JoJo's dad, were going to come but the heat and an impromptu project on G's part had them missing it.  It was nice visiting with some friends and getting to know some new people.  You and cousin Jonny played with the other kids happily and especially enjoyed the balloon guy.  You, of course, asked the balloon guy to make you a DeLorean (the car in back to the future) and he honestly did a pretty good job considering it was a DeLorean out of balloons.

Henry showing James his balloon Delorean

Jonny and James

As you did the year before last you bonded quickly with a couple waiting from Northern Indiana, Shane and James, as did Jonny.  You talked with them about their land and garden and schooled them on Back to the Future.  Jonny happily spun on the merry go round for over an hour on and off with no ill consequences, I would have been unable to move for a week without falling over.  

Dad, Kerk spinning the kids on the merry go round

Andrew spinning with Jonny, Nicholas and I don't know the boy in the middle's name.

Henry driving with some twins

We made a couple of connections that day that could prove to be interesting in the future.  More on that later.  Toward the end our friends Nissy, Jim and Aryia came.  She is such a cute one that Aryia! Julie and Andrew were there too.  

Aryia Rose

Andrew was born 1 year after you were on March 9th too!  He has the best smile!  It was nice to see everyone and you were excited for the new water bottles.  I am hoping that next year some of your birth family will be able to make it so we can show them off.  On the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and had some hot eats cool treats and then the two of you boys passed out in the back seat, complete with drool.
(I have a photo but it is somehow corrupted and won't load. boo)
Love, Mama