Jay's 1st Father's Day

Today is such a special day. It's a day that Jay will always remember. It's his 1st Father's Day...

And I am so proud of the Daddy that he is. Life has brought us a little twist in the road with Jay losing his job. But that has meant that he has more time to spend with Alex. This time is so special. Not a lot of dads could adjust so well to being at home with thier child. Not all dads would enjoy it as much as Jay does. Not all dads would do such a great job. But Jay is not just any dad. He is Alex's dad and he is a great Daddy! We are so lucky to have him in our lives and I am so proud that he is my husband and our son's Daddy. I always knew he'd be a good father, but I never knew how good he would be and how much more I would love him.

Because I have to go away today for a week-long work training in OK (thats' a WHOLE 'nother topic!!!) I wanted to make the most out of the time we have to spend together as a family before I leave (Did I mention that I hate that I have to leave at all?!). So we started off the day with a family walk - me, Jay, AJ and Buddy. Then we came back home for coffee. Jay is not a breakfast person, so after AJ's morning nap we are gonna go to IHOP and get brunch. Then it'll be off to Coldstone Creamery to check out their new flavor of icecream - Jello Chocolate Pudding! Jay always talks about when Jello made chocolate pudding pops when we were younger and how much he loved them and how he wishes they would make them again. Earlier this week I got word of Coldstone having this new flavor available on a limited basis. So we are psyched about trying it out.

Then after icecream, my boys will take me to the airport (UUGGGHHH! I HATE that I have to be away from AJ for so long! I am gonna miss him - and Jay of course, so so so much!)

But back to Father's Day....

We got Jay a bunch of grilling supplies, some golf balls and a beer bucket. The present I was most excited about is below. I took AJ to a little local beach area and we had a photo shoot. I am so happy with how it turned out. The frame is doubled sides (well, sorta - I made it that way at least!).

Front of frame:

Back of frame:

HAPPY 1st FATHER'S DAY JAY! WE LOVE YOU!

11 months old

Today AJ is 11months old. Last weekend when I was thinking about this month bday I realized that this is the last month bday before he turns ONE YEAR OLD! That made me kinda sad, kinda excited and kinda amazed.

Sad because I have loved every month of this 1st year and yet I know we can never get them back. Sad because I already feel like my lil baby boy is getting so big so fast and he is no longer that itty bitty baby we drove home from Long Island almost a year ago. And God how I instantly loved that lil baby.

Excited because despite the saddness mentioned above, it is so cool to see him get bigger, stronger, smarter. As cute as he was at 5 1/2lbs, he is even cuter today. And as much as I loved him from the moment I saw his first picture, I love him even more today.

Amazed because it is sorta unbelievable that one year ago we didn't even know about him. We had no idea that our baby was growing in another woman's tummy and in 1 month he would be born. It truely is amazing how quickly our life changed from one year ago.

Post Finalization Pics

The day after we finalized Alex's adoption we went to a fabulous photography studio to enter him into a photo contest and get some really good individual and family post-finalization shots. He did not win the contest, but we all had so much fun during the shoot. We really felt like we got the star treatment. And Alex was quite the ham!

The studio was nice enough to email us some of the pics to post here so all our friends and family can see.

Just look at those cute baby fingers and toes!


Here's our angel baby shot.


Silly, random cowboy pic.


Jay didn't like any of the ones of him and Alex but we both liked this one of me and Alex. Look at how he is touching my hand. He melts my heart!


And finally...our favorite family shot. We will treasure this photo forever since to us it will always symbolize us officially becoming a forever family!

Oh Happy Day!

I looked up the word "finalization" online in order to find a proper definition. Here's what I found:

1. to put into final form; complete all the details of.

2. to complete an agreement; conclude negotiations

Hmm. So finalization means to make something "final". Interesting. I thought you're not suppose to use the actual word in the definition. OK so what is the definition of final then?

1. something that comes at or forms the end

2. that which forms an end or termination

3. pertaining to or expressing the end or purpose

OK, so when you think of something that is final, you think of something that has come to an end, is terminated, concluded or completed. Those words DO NOT describe today at all.


Today we finalized AJ's adoption. Yes, by doing that any worry about losing him has ended. The process of adopting him is completed. And any birthparents' rights are forever terminated. But we do not see AJ's finalization day as an end. It is so much more a beginning. It's a day to celebrate.

Here are the Judges present today.


Today AJ has officially become our son - in every way possible. We can get his birth certificate, SSN and passport. We can claim him for the adoption credit. We do not have to worry about anyone changing their minds and trying to take him away from us. He is ours.

But didn't we already know that? We were sure that he was our son since we first saw his picture. Some switch came on, like our hearts recognized him as ours. K even told us that he was always intended for us. So today just re-confirmed what we have always known - he is our son. We are his parents. This is our family.

The Judges said this was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, family present for a finalization they've seen. We hardly all fit into the courtroom.


So yes, today is a HAPPY DAY for us! It's a day to celebrate. And we did. And we both breathed a sigh of relief. And then we kissed our son and welcomed him home - again.

Forever and Ever - AMEN!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow......

you're only a day away!!!!

Recognize those lyrics anyone? It's from "Annie". I loved that growing up and today I am singing "Tomorrow" because tomorrow is a BIG day for our family. Stay tuned....

First there's today. And today ain't so bad either ;-)

Alex turned 10 months old today. He is getting so big and doing lots more stuff, including FINALLY cutting a tooth. Although the timing on that couldn't be worse cuz now he's all congested, his nose is red, his eyes are runny and he's obviously uncomfy. But he's a trooper.

He still hasn't really crawled, but we are not concerned. He gets around one way or another. And he's pulling himself up and LOVES to stand. He may just skip the whole crawling business and walk soon!

Here's a pic of Alex being silly today trying to chew on the string on his pants. Silly boy!