Cribs are for Babies

We were hoping that Ike could move to a big boy bed at some point in the near future, but we didn't think the transition would be so easy and quick.  I put the guestroom matteress on the floor and bought him a ball quilt (he still has a thing for balls).  We would put him in there at night when he would wake up in the crib and during naptime.  Now he wants nothing to do with the crib and will only sleep in the bed.  This is good news for us becuase the new baby can have the crib right away, but Ike is turning into a big boy so so fast.

T-Ball Christmas

Aunt Danielle, Uncle Clint and Krissy gave Ike a TBall set for Christmas that he clearly loved, and we all loved watching him play with it.

Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas with the Vigil family!  Ike is a weeee bit out numbered when it comes to boys vs girls, but he loves every minute of all the attention he gets from the big girl cousins.

 Look at all those pretty girls!

Ike helping Nana rearrange the village.

One of Ike's favorite things these days is falling on pillows, and Krissy is always up for playing with Ike.  These two are so precious together!

December

What has Ike been up to this December....

He unrolled a whole roll of toilet paper into a nice pile.

Ike really wants to share a binky with Dante....

and he just doesn't understand why Dante doesn't appreciate the generous offer.

He loves playing with his cousin Krissy.

Fascinated by the tree...

This is my best effort to get a picture of all three boys by the tree. Three boys looking at the camera...a lot of work and luck.  Three boys smiling and looking at the camera....IMPOSSIBLE!

Sporting Dino jammies

CUTE!

Awww so sweet.  Sometimes Sam reads the words in the book and sometimes he just makes up his own story as he goes.  Ben and Ike don't care- they just love being read to.

up....down....UP

The ups and downs of our journey to have a second child continue.  I am happy to say this time I have "up" news.  Last week we received a call from the adoption agency about a potential match.  They asked us if we would like to have our book shown and after a lot of discussion and prayer we said yes.  I emailed Sandi (our adoptive parent counselor) in the morning and she called me that evening telling me the birth mother had picked us.

This is what we know..... Shamel (birth mother) is 20 years old and has a 18 month old son (Hayden). She has decided to give this baby up for adoption because the birth father is not interested in parenting and she does not have the means to support another child.  Yesterday Shamel had an ultrasound and mom and baby are both doing well.  Baby had his or her legs crossed so the gender will remain a mystery until the birth.  The due date is February 10th so induction will probably be the 3rd of February.

Denny and I are cautiously excited.  We pray that all goes well and we will be welcoming baby #2 in February.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Where are...

I felt like it was time for a video of this cute little guy!

It is a no go....

The adoption agency still has not heard from Hope and we have not heard from her either.  I did really want to find out what was going on though so I created a fake facebook page (with fake info and name) and requested the birth father as a friend.  Sadly, for us, it was very obvious by his facebook page that he and Hope are both planning on parenting this baby boy.  We were not surprised by this but it is nice to know that it is now time to just move forward.

We are sad that Hope felt like she couldn't just tell us what was going on and let us know she had changed her mind.  However, we are forever grateful for her and her blessing us with our amazing baby boy, Ike!

There is still more to come for us in our adoption story, and I will keep everyone up to date when I feel like it is the right time to share.

Adoption 2011/2012

I just wanted to give everyone an update on our upcoming adoption.  Unfortunately there are many emotional ups and downs with adoption, but we know every time we look at our beautiful baby boy, Ike, that it all works out in the end.

A couple weeks ago the adoption agency sent Hope some money to get on the bus (she is afraid of flying) and head to Utah.  She had been asking to get to Utah since the end of August, but the agency didn't have anywhere for her to stay until recently.  Well, they sent her the money and on Saturday the 12th she said that she was on the bus and on her way.  She never showed up.  She is no longer returning my emails or phone calls and texts from the agency.  Her due date is December 25th so we will just be waiting around until then to see what happens.  If we do not hear from her again by the end of December we plan to move forward and be matched with another birthmom. 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

San Francisco/ Berkeley Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Berkeley, CA to spend the Holiday with Uncle Derek and Aunt Meg.  We arrived Monday night and returned home on Saturday.  We rented a house so that we could all be comfortable and stay together.  I can't believe how quickly the trip flew by.  We had a wonderful holiday with our family!

The whole crew sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner.

Out for a walk in the park.

Checking out the petting zoo.

Keeping a safe distance from the birds.

Touching starfish at the aquarium.

Denny and I went to check out Alcatraz with Clint, Danielle and Krissy.  We all really enjoyed the tour.

Ike loves swinging while we walk.

Ike entertaining everyone

Showing Aunt Meg how to put the ball in the cup.

Eating mommy's sucker.

Dino Museum

The days are cooling off as winter is quickly approaching, so we are skipping the parks and staying indoors.  In one week Ike went to the Dinosaur Museum 3 times.  Playing at the water table and in the crushed almond shells are his favorites.  The animated dinosaurs scare him a bit, but as long as someone is close by he is pretty content.

Getting those shells out of his curly, curly hair is not an easy task.

Ike is pretty stable on his feet now, but standing on the earthquake simulator while standing is a bit tricky for a new walker.

This is just cute....and awesome.  It is nice to have another reader around to keep Ike (the book junkie) happy.  (This is on my couch and not at the museum, but it is a Dino book so it totally fits this blog post!)

Trick or Treat

Ike's first trick or treating experience was short, but fun for all of us.  We went to about 5 houses with Nanna, Papa, Aunt Danielle and Krissy.  Ike figured it out pretty quickly... 1. Toddle up to the door 2. Wait for Krissy to say trick or treat 3. Look cute 4. Grab a piece of candy and walk off.  Of course the candy immediately went straight to his mouth, like everything does, wrapper and all!  Here he is chewing on a wrapped piece of licorice.  When he got to the next house his hands were full so he threw a chewed on piece of candy in the bowl to get a new piece.  So Cute! and Gross!

Ike and Krissy Pre Trick or Treating.

Go Get Your Book

Denny and I have been reading to Ike since day one and now it is one of his favorite things to do. He will go to his room get a book and have us read it several times, then go back to his room to get another one and he will do this alllll day. I will shut his door so that he can't get to them and we can do something else for awhile, but today he figured out how to open his door. And I figured out that he will go get the book I asked him to get if I ask for one of his favorites.

And these are his favorites!

Grammie and Grandpa Visit

Ike and I had a wonderful week with Grammie and Grandpa (Denny had to work in Houston).  The days just flew by, but we enjoyed every minute you guys were here.  Love you BOTH!!

 Grammie and Grandpa read lots of books to Ike.

 They danced

 Played on the floor

 Read some more books

Went on wagon rides

Played ball (Ikes favorite thing to do)

Played outside

And here it looks like Ike is telling the pumpkin what is up!

And we were all very well fed, thanks to Grandpa.

Boys and a Wagon

Everyone is have a blast, right?!  Well, sometimes things can be fun for awhile, but eventually everyone may not agree on which way to go....

Pumpkin Patch