Our Letter Boy

Since Carter has already started saying his letters and numbers differently than when he started, I thought I should capture the cute way he says them at 20 months old.  I love that he has no idea he's saying most of them wrong.

Here's a link if it doesn't load:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuDWxOyAcuI
 

Summer Fun

After being mostly at home (with a newborn) last summer, 

it's nice to be able to get out more this year.

As I attempt to live "in the moment" and just enjoy our time with Carter, 
I've made an effort to leave my camera at home lately.  
I have managed to capture a few cell phone pictures, though.

The last week in July, Carter and I joined Michael on a trip to Washington DC 
where he was attending a seminar/training for work.

Our hotel had a pool, so Carter got to go swimming for the first time.

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but he loved it!

We spent a lot of time in the hotel room while Michael was gone.  
Carter was constantly asking, "Where Daddy Go?"  
Actually he just says, "Daddy? ... Go?" 
Always with this gesture:

Lunch in the hotel room - without Daddy. 

Part of Michael's training included a visit to a battlefield near DC.  
He came back to the hotel with a bunch of souvenirs for Carter, 
including this Union Soldier Hat.

 It was a little big, even for Carter's giant head.

 

All in all it was a good first road trip with Carter.
We had a total of less than 15 minutes of crying during the whole trip,
which included about 7 1/2 hours each way in the dreaded carseat.
I call that a major success!

Carter is pretty obsessed with lawnmowers this summer.  
Anytime we pass one on our walks, he nearly falls out of the stroller,
straining to keep watching it long after we've passed.
So of course he wants to "help" Michael mow our lawn 
any chance he gets!

"Inspector Carter" checking out his mower before getting started.

At one point he opted to ditch the mower, thinking he could keep up better without it.

It became an adorable game of "Follow the Leader" all around the backyard!

Here's a video of my boys in action.

I love how Carter mows his own path.
And his wipeout around the 0:35 mark is pretty adorable, too.

This weekend we stopped at my Aunt Bonnie's ice cream shop

and Carter had a blast climbing up and down the "grass bench"

that my Uncle Joe built a few years ago. 

King of the Mountain - he was so proud of himself!

Chatting with Aunt Bonnie atop the summit.

Calling for Daddy to come up and join him.

Where did he go?

Of course no trip to the ice cream shop would be complete

without a baby cone for Carter.

 

The kid definitely inherited a sweet tooth.

I have a weakness for ice cream, as does Michael, 

so it's a good thing Aunt Bonnie's isn't any closer!

Thanks, Bon, for the yummy treats!

Practice

In preparation for his upcoming nautical-themed birthday party, 

Carter has been perfecting his "drunken sailor" routine.

I think he plays a stumbling, falling-down 

drunk as well as any 11-month-old!

 In all seriousness, Carter is getting really close to walking by himself this week.

So proud of our little guy for having the courage to take those first steps on his own!

Fun in the Jumperoo

Look who's feeling better!

Such a silly boy. 

He thinks it's hilarious when I pretend to chomp on his arm

(or his foot, or his tummy, or his cheeks...we play that game a LOT!).

Unfortunately I caught Carter's cold just as he was starting to recover.

I was feeling like garbage, but seeing how happy he was

definitely helped to cheer me up last night.

Thanks, Little Buddy!



7-week smiles

Today is exactly one month since Carter's calculated due date, but he's 7 weeks old.

He's getting more and more fun to interact with and is starting to actually enjoy his toys.

On a somewhat sad note, most of his beautiful blond hair has fallen out, so he's pretty bald on top.

I'm getting used to his new look and I'm curious to see what color it will be when it grows back.

Here's a video I took today at about 6:00 am.  I'm definitely becoming more of a morning person these days. 

No matter how tired I am, its hard not to enjoy this kind of reaction. 

His  enthusiasm is contagious!

No word from China yet on the status of our dossier.

Fingers crossed...

We are DTC...Finally!

Today we received word from our agency that our dossier has completed all necessary steps,

including translation, and is officially on its way to China!  

We hope to be logged in to their system within the next month and then we will wait to be matched with a child.  

There's a chance that they could decide to hold our dossier until Carter's first birthday,

but we are hoping that they will log us in right away.  The general policy is that
the youngest child in the family must be a minimum of 12 months old before another child
can be adopted, but we are told that they sometimes make exceptions.  They have no policy
regarding pregnancy, only babies who are already part of the family. 

We were hoping to have our dossier on its way to China before Carter was born,
but with him coming three weeks early, we weren't able to make it.  

We are trusting that whatever happens with regards to our log-in date is part of God's plan

and is necessary in order for us to be matched with the exact child He has chosen to become our daughter.

Carter turned 6 weeks old today.  He is growing like crazy and seems to do something new every day. 

Newborns typically gain 4-7 ounces per week and last week ours gained 13!  He must know he's got

a lot of catching up to do after being born so early plus losing weight near the end of the pregnancy.

Here's a quick video I took the other day - I love all the little sounds he makes:

He found his thumb this week which is great because he's not a big fan of pacifiers. 

He also started smiling this week.  Real genuine smiles, not just when he's passing gas!

It melts my heart every time,
even at 4:00 a.m.

Of Course We Are!

The very first thing I thought when I saw the positive pregnancy test was
"This can't be right.  Is this test expired?"

After several more tests, I became convinced that there was no mistake and my next thought was,
"Oh, no.  How is this going to affect our adoption plans?!" 

After years of trying to conceive a baby, it's hard to believe that I felt a little disappointed when it finally happened.  Not that I wasn't grateful for this miracle pregnancy and not that I didn't want this biological child, but I was afraid the timing might interfere with us bringing home our OTHER child.  The one who was already on our minds and in our hearts.  I didn't want anything to stand in our way, not even this precious new life within me.

I was also concerned about how Michael would react when I told him the news.  I know he is completely on board with the adoption, but I also know that having a biological child was much more important to him than it ever was to me.  I've always said I would gladly adopt all of my children and I absolutely meant it.  For some reason I don't have that biological drive to reproduce and pass on my genes.  I think there are things that I can give my children that are far more important than genetics.  Things like love, acceptance, knowledge, faith, morals, traditions and memories.  I often wondered if God had placed those feelings in me as a way to protect my heart because He knew we would be unable to have biological children.  Apparently not.  :)

Over the past year or so as we've been researching and preparing for our adoption, Michael has joined my way of thinking and he agrees that you can absolutely leave your mark on this world and leave a part of yourself in the children you raise, whether or not they share your DNA.  But somewhere in the back of my mind, I always wondered if he really felt as strongly as I do about adoption, or if he was just going along with it because it was the only option it seemed we had.  After all, we had spent years trying to conceive and had no indication that it was ever going to happen.

When Michael found out that a biological child was on the way, would it change the way he felt about our adoption?
All I could do was say a prayer and hope for the best. 

I took the pregnancy tests in the morning, while Michael was in the shower.  I was in complete shock, with absolutely no idea how to tell him, so I climbed back in bed and didn't say anything when he kissed me goodbye and headed out to do the grocery shopping.

While he was gone, I had time to come up with a plan to tell him the news.  I decided to secretly videotape his reaction.  I don't know if I'll ever have another opportunity to tell him I'm pregnant, so I wanted to capture the moment.  I set up a small camera on the kitchen counter and luckily he didn't notice it.

A good friend of ours had been in the hospital for several weeks and I had been taking care of her cats every weekend.  I was aware that there can be dangerous toxins in cat litter and pregnant women should avoid it, so I decided to use that as my way to tell Mike the news, since I needed to take care of the cats that day. 

I would ask him to change the cat litter for me and I was sure he would resist, as it would interfere with his plans.  I expected there to be a bit of an argument and at some point he would ask me why I couldn't just do it myself and I would tell him.  :)

Right after he left for the store, I got online and found a due date calculator.
4th of July.
I couldn't believe it.

I wrote on my stomach
"Baby # 1, expected arrival July 4, 2013"
so that I could lift up my shirt and show Mike when I gave him the news.

Here's how it went:

I have watched this video again and again and I always get emotional when Mike says,

"We're still adopting.  How cool will that be to have TWO?!"

Apparently my fears were completely unfounded. 

It didn't even cross his mind that we wouldn't still have a Chinese daughter.

His reaction was all I could have ever hoped for and I am so glad I was able to capture it so that someday we can show our little girl that when her daddy found out a biological child was on the way, the first thing he thought of was HER. 

She is wanted and chosen and she will be loved and treasured as much as any biological child.

Our Chinese daughter is so much a part of our daily conversations and our plans for the future that it's nearly impossible to picture our family without her. She's already a part of us and we wouldn't have it any other way.

So, as family and friends continue to find out we are having a biological child, the first question we are asked is almost always the same.

"Are you still planning to adopt?"

And I am thrilled to be able to answer the same each time.

"Of course we are!!!"