How is Alex one year old????

One year ago today I had just returned from OK for my annual work conference and we were celebrating my Dad's birthday a few days late. Really, it was just a normal day for us. I was happy to be home from OK and be with Jay, Buddy and Bella. And I was not looking forward to returning to the office the next day. It's always so crazy returning from a trip, especially a work trip, having my weekend cut short and then returning to the office. Little did I know how crazy it would really get!

The day after "Baby Boy S." was born we got the call about him. Things were a little uncertain at that point but we jumped on to the rollercoaster. Then on 7/15 we were told K wanted to speak with us. So I rushed over to Jay's work and we sat in my car trying to get through to K at the hospital. The line was busy for about an hour! Each minute that went by added to our nervousness. We finally got through and K told us her phone was accidentally off the hook. We spoke to her for about 30 minutes. She asked us lots of questions and told us what she liked about our profile. Then she told us that she wants us to be her baby's parents. I immediately started to cry. We will never forget that moment when K decided to give us the best gift ever! "Baby Boy S." became Alexander Jay Eric - our son!

We called our adoption agency to tell them the news and get the ball rolling to be able to pick up our son. We decided not to call anyone else until we both got home from work. We had lots to finish up at work in order to prepare to be out for awhile. Talk about craziness!

After I left work, I went to Target bc I needed allergy medicine. I got my meds but then I just wandered around the store in a complete daze. I guess I was sorta in shock - it felt like a dream!

When Jay and I got home we began calling our family and closest friends to share our news. We videotaped many of these calls. I love how you can just hear the pure excitement and joy in our voices and someday Alex will hear it too. Then we called K and I had a great conversation with her. We have so much in common and it just felt right. We talked about how "people come into your lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime"...one of my favorite sayings. K's too. And then she sent us our very first pictures of our son via text. I remember feeling so anxious to see what he looked like. And when we received the texts my eyes filled with tears, my heart just about melted - he was OURS! And what a beautiful baby boy he was!

The rest of that night was spent on the phone, sending emails, updating our blog. Before I went to bed I started logging everything that happened that day so I would not forget any part of our story.

That night I slept about 3 hours. I just kept thinking about Alex. The little sleep I did get was filled with dreams of him. The next day Jay and I went into work and shared our news with co-workers. Jay's mom brought a bday cake into her work to celebrate AJ's bday - I thought that was so sweet!

We spoke with K again that day several more times. She is quite the talker! And her mom sent us more pictures of Alex, as well as some other family pictures. Later that day we found out we would be traveling to get Alex in just a couple of days. We spent the next days getting everything organized at home and at work in preparation for bringing Alex home. Again, I did not sleep much at all.

On 7/17 Jay and I drove to Buffalo to go to STAR to sign the papers. That was quite the experience - we like to refer to those few hours as our "labor pain"! But in the end we were so excited to be meeting Alex in less than 1 day!

On 7/18 we got up bright and early and left our house for Long Island. Our video-camera decided not to work so at about 4am we drove to Jay's parents' house to borrow theirs! Thank God they answered their phone that early!

After getting a little "off-track" on our way to Long Island, we checked into the hotel and rushed to the hospital to meet K, her mom and our son. That day is forever stamped onto our hearts.....too many precious moments to write here now.

So today is more than just Alex's 1st bday - it's the beginning of our family story. I can not believe he is one year old already! Didn't K just hand him to me? Wasn't he just a little 5 1/2 lb baby? I loved everything about his 1st year. And I am sad that it is gone. It really went by so fast - too fast. I wish I could just slow time down. But just as I cherish all the days we've had with him up til now, I look forward to the moments we have yet to have with him.

HAPPY BDAY ALEXANDER!!!!! WE LOVE YOU! And I pray that you will always know what you mean to us every day of your life!

I suppose I shouldn't post this LONG post w/o any pics of Alex. I have been deligent about taking his picture on every "week bday" so here is the LAST of the weekly pics. This is Alex yesterday at 52 weeks old (and yes - he is standing a lot and even taking some steps!):