Mason

He's gone...

That's all I have to say about that today:(

Hayden

For those of you who don't know the story of our "baby H", a.k.a. Hayden, he was the first baby placed with us in foster care.

He came to us at 9 months old and we sadly parted ways two days before his first birthday.  

A couple of weeks ago, Hayden turned 4!!!

We are so fortunate that Hayden's mom has allowed us to remain a part of their lives, and every year on his birthday, we get invited to come and celebrate with them.  We are so grateful for that and LOVE getting to see him and see how he is doing.  

No matter how long it has been since we have last seen each other, Hayden always remembers us and greets us with big smiles and hugs.  He is such a blessing to us and we were grateful to get to share his special day with him again this year!

Mmmm...cake!

Ian stayed right by him through the presents=)

Me and little Mason

So cute!!

WE LOVE YOU BABY H!!!!!!!!!

A Bedtime Conversation

Me: "Hey Buddy... Baby is going to start spending a lot more time with his Mom and pretty soon he isn't going to live here with us anymore, okay?"

Ian: (in a quiet voice as he hangs his head and sticks out his bottom lip)

"I'm really gonna miss him...

I'm gonna cry and miss him".

Me:  "It's okay to feel that way honey.  I am going to cry and miss him too".

I jinxed myself by writing about Mason sleeping through the night like a champ!!=(

A very cranky, sick baby = two grumpy, sleep deprived parents.

Ian is now getting sick too, but when he isn't feeling well, he just gets really cuddly.  Mason stops eating well and screeches... A LOT!!!  

Good thing he is still so stinkin' cute!!!

Mason

We'd like you to meet...

Mason!

At the visit with his birth mom this past week, I asked for her permission to post his picture here on my blog.  Since I won't be using his real name and this is only really viewed by our friends and family, she graciously agreed.

Isn't he just adorable?!?!?!

Mason really is a dream baby!  He sleeps at least 10 hours straight through the night, he is very cuddly and really only cries when he is hungry.  He weighs about 13.5 lbs, and every ounce of that is pure delight!  Mike and I just love snuggling with our little "chunkers"!!!

And Ian absolutely adores him!!!  This was the first time that the two of them met.  

Look at that smile...How sweet is that?

These two boys are so sweet together.
Ian is a GREAT big brother!!!

Such a good helper!!

I thought that Ian might be a little jealous having a new baby around, or even a bit indifferent, but that is definitely NOT the case!  He loves little Mason and is so sweet with him. The first words out of his mouth every morning are, "Where is my baby?"  He is always willing to help change a diaper or replace a binkie when it falls out of Mason's mouth.  He is so sweet and it brings me so much joy to see him as a brother!

It is still very early in the case and at this point, it could go either way, but we have a feeling that little Mason will eventually be reunified with his Mom. It makes us very sad, because we are already so in love with this sweet little guy, but we are just taking it one day at a time and loving him to pieces while we can!!

Our first family photo

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture!!

First trip to the zoo.

The first time I held this sweet boy

He loves Mikey!

Life is sure good these days and I LOVE having two little boys!  This precious little guy is so special and I feel very blessed for every single minute we have with him.  His little face and smile has definitely already carved its own special place in my heart=)

Ian's Baby Has A Name!

And the name all three of us have chosen for our new baby is...

MASON

It seems to fit him and we all like it.  Hope you will too.

Now, can you think of a better way to spend an afternoon?=)

Christmas in July

Late Tuesday afternoon, I heard a faint, "Mommy" and went in to get Ian up from his nap.  I softly spoke my usual "Good morning" and "Did you have a good sleep?" as I snuggled him close and held him tight.  

After a few minutes of just loving on him and waiting for the sleep to wear off a little more I said to him, "There is a surprise for you in the kitchen.  Do you want to come see what it is?"

He pulled back and looked intently into my eyes as a smile began to creep onto his angelic little face.  He excitedly asked, "What is it?"  Mirroring his excitement, I said, "Let's go see!!"

I carried him down the hall into the kitchen where my mom was waiting, holding his surprise.  We got a little closer and I swear his eyes sparkled and his smile grew more genuine as he sweetly whispered,
"Is that MY baby?!?!?"

Yes, we are foster parents again!

We got the call on Tuesday afternoon around 12:30 p.m. and we picked up an almost 3 month old baby boy less than two and a half hours later!

It has been a crazy day or two, to say the very least!!  Mike and I went to a Katy Perry concert Monday night (which is another post altogether that I will save for another day) and then we stayed downtown overnight afterward.  

*** Crazy little side note here... Monday afternoon, as I was packing to go that night, I thought that I should wash the car seat cover and the baby bedding.  It had been almost six months since we set up the extra crib and I thought the bedding might be dusty.  Little did I know that our next child was coming into the state's custody that very same day!!!  My Mom thinks it must have been Mother's intuition=) ***

Anyway, we got up Tuesday morning, had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel and then headed over to my parent's house around 10:30 a.m. to pick up Ian.  Mike had taken the whole day off (another amazing coincidence!!!) so we were home and he was mowing the lawn when we got the call.  We were given very little info, but felt that we were ready to help for as long as this precious little one needed us.  

Needless to say, Mike stopped mowing and we said we would be there at 3:00=)

Mike's Mom was already scheduled to come out at 2:00 p.m. to sit while Ian napped so that Mike and I could take in a movie and extend our date a little longer.  Well, when she got to our house, we informed her that our plans had changed a little and we were going to have to skip the movie=)  So she stayed with a sleeping Ian while we went to meet our newest little guy.

I can't say a lot about our new family member or the case, for privacy reasons, but I will say that he is a beautiful baby who looks almost exactly like his new big brother Ian.  Mike teared up when they first brought him out to meet us because of how much they resemble each other.  It brought back some powerful emotions.  My "freak out" came when I put him to bed that night.  Seeing him in Ian's baby clothes took my breath away for a second - he looked like my baby Ian all over again!!

And speaking of bedtime, I think our little one must've had some catching up to do because he slept 11 hours straight that first night!!!  We eventually woke him up because Ian couldn't stand it any longer and wanted to hold him!

Ian is being really sweet with the baby.  He doesn't use his name but refers to him instead as "my baby".  He speaks softly to him and says things like, "It's okay baby" when he fusses, he puts the binkie back in if he spits it out, and I even caught him softly counting to the baby today as I was making a bottle=)  I never thought it was possible, but I think seeing him as such a sweet, nurturing brother has made me love my precious little Ian even more!!!

We are working on a name for this little guy so he won't always have to go by baby, but until then, "Ian's baby" seems to fit pretty well=)

Like I said before, I can't give too much info on the case, but at least for now, it looks like we will have this little sweetie with us for awhile.  It'll surely be a bumpy ride, but we are excited to see what happens next and we are so grateful to have him for as long as we can!

Almost...Pretty In Pink

When I checked my email this afternoon, I saw an email in my inbox from our caseworker Lori.  The subject was "Update".

Instantly, my heart started pounding and I got butterflies in my stomach.

I rarely get emails from Lori.  That is, unless she is responding to an email I have sent to her.  In fact, the last time I had heard from her was about a month ago when I sent her an email asking for an update and was informed at that time that we were "almost" chosen for a baby girl, but that she was placed with a family who had been waiting two months longer than us.

I took a deep breath and with a shaky hand, I opened the email.  

In short, it said that a few days ago, our family had been chosen to take in a newborn baby girl. (YES!!!) However, kin showed up at the last minute so we were no longer needed.  (Oh, man!!!)

I am still trying to sift through the emotions that reading those words brought into my heart, but mostly I am just extremely grateful that this baby girl has family willing and able to care for her. 

I am also thrilled that we are close enough to the top of the waiting list now to be matched with waiting children, and I am so excited that our next placement could be here any day now!!  

But...a girl?!?

Two "almost's" with two baby girls in less than a month.

Whoa!!!

Mike is, admittedly, a little freaked out about the thought of a girl.  We have so many nephews, and of course our own son, so he is comfortable with boys.  He says that he isn't sure he would know what to do with a girl.  I just think he is afraid of how much she will wrap him around her little finger=)  

I am both nervous and excited to think that we could get a baby girl.  Originally, I was sure it would be another boy, but now, who knows?  Two close calls with girls...maybe someone is trying to prepare us for something?!?!  I am just excited to bring another little one into our home and the anticipation is killing me!!!

Girl or boy, I can't wait to meet them=)  Either way, I just pray that the little one that is meant for us will be guided here, just like Ian was.

I can't wait to start this next chapter in our family's story!

Stay tuned...

A Secret

Psst... I have a secret. 

A really exciting, nerve-wracking, and exhilarating secret. 

Want a clue?

Did you guess it?

Yep, we are going to foster again!!!  We are officially on the active list to take foster placements again, and could be getting  

"the call" any day now.

Mike and I have known for quite awhile that we wanted to foster again, but we were just waiting for the "right time". 

(Is there really even such a thing???=) 

Anyway, at first we thought we would do it at the end of last summer.  I knew, with how active Ian is and how much he LOVES to be outside, that it would be too hard for me to take on another little one during a busy summer with a very active 18 month old.  Mike agreed, so we decided to wait.  

Soon, we found ourselves facing the end of the summer and we still didn't feel ready.  Ian was still such a baby to us, plus I knew I wasn't ready to give up the days where it was just me and him.  Also, by this time, we knew my surgery was coming up, AND the holidays, so we decided to wait until after Ian's birthday. Maybe after he turned two we would be ready.

Well, his birthday came and went, and we still didn't feel ready.  We started thinking that maybe we would sign up in the spring.

Then, all of a sudden, it kind of hit me.  I found myself thinking about it A LOT, and wondering if this was the time.  I would be doing every day things and would start thinking about what it would be like to be doing those things with two kids, instead of one.  I would be shopping and would be drawn to the baby section of the store and I would wonder if I would need to shop from this section soon.  One day I had a random thought about our family's birth dates, the years in which we were born, more specifically.  Mike's ends in a 5, mine ends in a 7, and Ian's ends in a 9.  Would our next child's birth date follow the pattern and end in 11?  

I wondered if we were ready. 

Then one day, during the midst of all these wonderings, we received a letter in the mail from our RFC, Lori. (She is the person from the Utah Foster Care Foundation who is assigned to us and other families in our area, who gets to know us personally so she can help make the best match between us and our foster children).  The letter contained a routine form and a note saying that she would need to come out soon and have us sign it in front of her.  I talked to Mike and asked him if he thought we should just tell her we were ready when she came over to have us sign the form.  We remembered that with our first little guy, Hayden, we had to wait a couple of months for the call, so we knew that even if we agreed to be put back on the list now, it could still be spring before we were selected anyway.

Long story short, she came, we signed, and we are actively on
the waiting list once again!!

I am SO excited about this!  There is nothing in my world quite like that phone call informing me that there is a child who needs us.  

I cannot wait for that phone call!!!  

And apparently, I am not the only one who is excited!!

I thought Ian might still be a little too young to understand what is going on, and once again, he has shown me just how little I really know!!  We started talking to him a few weeks ago about bringing home a baby.  At first he said he didn't want one, but that quickly changed.  

 Ian is now getting a baby brother...have you heard?  No?  Well, if you come over, he will tell you all about it.  He will probably even show you the crib where his baby brother will sleep.  He calls it "baby bed" or "baby night night".  

No, we have not specifically asked for a boy, but Ian seems to think that's what we will get.  And based on the fact that a lot of the foster families in our area, who are asking for babies, are also waiting for girls, he is probably right.  However, without any prompting from us, he decided all on his own that he wanted a baby brother.  (At least we would be prepared, since we don't have any pink clothes=)  I guess we will find out soon enough if Ian will get his wish.

 So, there you have it.  
The secret is out.  
Soon, we will be adding to our little family.  

New adventures, here we come!!

Camouflage Christmas

If you are in need of a good, healthy dose of Christmas spirit, all you need to do is help over 75 of Utah's Air National Guard's men and women to deliver Christmas gifts to hundreds of children in foster care. 

Yep, that'll do it!!!

 Beginning back in November, "Giving Trees" were placed in various stores and businesses all throughout the Salt Lake Valley.  On these trees were ornaments, upon which were written the Christmas wishes of Utah's children currently in foster care.  Many thoughtful and generous people donated gifts or money to help fulfill these simple wishes.  The amazing people at the Utah Foster Care Foundation then wrapped every item and marked it to go to the deserving children.  Today was delivery day, and we got to be a part of it.

We were so honored to be among these amazing men and women, who are already giving so much of themselves for our country, and yet who were willing to give even a little bit more today to help some wonderful children.  We were so grateful to witness this and to be a part of it and we hope we can continue to be a part of this for a long time to come!

(We were interviewed by two local news stations (4 and 5) so if you're bored tonight, check us out.)

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

A Special Birthday Party

I have tried to blog a lot this month about adoption, since November is National Adoption month, and adoption is something that I am, obviously, in support of. 

And not to worry, I will get back onto that track again soon.  But today I am going to veer off course a little bit to tell you about who I saw yesterday.

That's right...our baby "H", a.k.a. Hayden - who, incidentally, isn't much of a baby anymore=)

For those of you who don't know, Hayden was our first foster placement and lived with us from the time he was 9 months old until two days before his first birthday.  

And yesterday, we got to celebrate his 3rd birthday with him!!

I was SO extremely excited when I opened our mailbox a couple of weeks ago to find a letter from Hayden, but I was even more excited when I saw that it was an invitation to see him and spend time with him!  So off we went to the kids paradise, Chuck E. Cheese's, for Hayden's birthday party.

When I asked Hayden to smile for the camera, this is what I got=)

He is such a serious little boy!

Mike and Ian had a great time though!

Look Mom, I'm driving!

Wait a second...how did you get in here?!?!?

Hey Hayden, want a ride?

WHOA!!!

Ian and Chuck E.

Hayden was much more interested in the food than the games!

He did crack a little smile when we sang to him...

...although he wasn't too sure though about that candle!=)

Looking into the big blue eyes of that sweet little boy, reinforces my feelings that Mike and I made the right choice by becoming foster parents.  Even if it was in a small way, I know that we made a difference in Hayden's life.  I am so relieved and grateful that he remembers us, and that we can still see the love he has for us.   Hayden was the first of many miracles that we have experienced as foster parents, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts.  

Happy Birthday Baby H!!