Big weekend

Miles had a big weekend in the development department!

He started pulling up on the side of his crib so for safety reasons we dropped his mattress down lower in the crib.

Became a caterpillar
(you can see his little 'tude shine through when dad takes the glasses away)

Trying to pull up on the couch
(Missy has now been banned from the couch during Miles' awake hours)

Developing that pincer grasp

Finally!!!

We are finally an eternal family! I know I'm very late in posting this, but the day after we finalized Miles' adoption and were sealed together as a family, we left town and spent Dave's spring break in Kansas. As far as my family is concerned, my mom was the only one who had met Miles so I sort of forced the issue and decided we would spend Dave's week off in Kansas so more family and friends could meet him. We had a great time, but I'll talk about that in a different post.

So, in the morning on Thursday, April 1st we finalized Miles' adoption. When we showed up 15 minutes early as instructed by our attorney, we started to wonder if something wasn't up because our attorney was not there. Our caseworker showed up not too much after us, which was a relief. Time kept passing and no attorney was there. Our attorney finally showed up and before he even had a chance to catch his breath our caseworker sprung it on him that their license had expired the day before, but that they had applied and been approved for a new license, but had not yet received that information from the state. He sort of made it sound like that was going to be a big deal and that she should get on the phone and see if the State of Utah couldn't send something to the Judge to show that all of that had been done. We also realized that the Judge didn't have the reports from our first and second home visits, which we all thought she had received months ago. Our caseworker hadn't brought her computer with her and was trying to get a hold of her husband who was at their house to have him get in our file and fax that to the court. We all sort of were in panic mode at that point and I honestly didn't think we were going to be able to finalize that morning. Our hearing was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and it was already like 10:30 and the Judge had a full schedule. Somehow all of that worked out and we were able to proceed with our hearing.

Waiting...

Our supporters waiting...

We had a lady Judge who was GREAT! She thought Miles was adorable and thought based on what she had read in our file and what she had seen that we had done a good job of loving Miles and taking great care of him. The hearing was a very emotional experience for us. Dave and I both got teary eyed when the Judge was talking about whether or not Miles' birth mom knew that she had terminated her rights, etc. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that was for his birth mom and I got emotional just thinking about all of that. We also then got to be in the spotlight for a few minutes and answer a few basic questions and also that horrible awful open-ended question I mentioned in a previous post. I was emotional, but made it through. Dave on the other hand, could barely talk and had a hard time expressing his feelings. He is SUCH a GREAT dad! Miles and I are both very lucky to have him in our lives.

After the hearing we took pictures with the Judge and our caseworker and then headed to get our copy of the Decree of Adoption which made it all final. YAY!!!!

Our Judge, Judge Claudia Laycock

Our caseworker, Lisa Ecker

We then had a small luncheon at our house while we tried to get Miles to take a nap since he had essentially missed his morning nap and wasn't going to get an afternoon nap either since our sealing was scheduled for that afternoon. He, of course, didn't sleep. There was too much going on in the house!

After that we headed to the Provo LDS Temple to be sealed together as a family. What an amazing experience! We got to meet with our Sealer (Garth Morgan) before the actual ceremony which turned out to be a huge blessing. He basically went over what he was going to say to us and our friends and family which was nice because Miles was pretty grumpy during the ceremony and it was hard to focus on what was going on. During the actual sealing, Miles got quiet and was calm. It is amazing what the Spirit can do to us, even babies! Afterward we went outside and took pictures together as an eternal family!!!

It's done! Yay!

Our eternal family

Friends and family

Our fantastic neighbors, Wes & Michelle

Dave's mom

My mom

My friend, Shandra

7 months

Today Miles turned 7 months old! I'm far behind on this blog, but instead of waiting to do his 7 month post until I get caught up, I decided to go ahead and post his 7 month picture instead. The other posts will be forthcoming in the next week or so...there is a lot to talk about!

Miles isn't doing anything new exactly, but he is doing everything he could do last month better.

He has a bottom tooth that is getting closer and closer to coming in, but I've sort of thought that for a while so we'll see.

He is developing such a cute personality and is so social. He loves smiling at people and loves it even more when they talk to him. We recently got back from a trip to Kansas and absolutely everyone who met him fell in love instantly, even strangers! He just has a face that draws people in and then a personality to match. He is definitely a cutie!

So far all of the baby food that he has tried he likes. He doesn't seem to be all that picky. He just likes food!

Dad did the photo shoot today while I was at the dentist's and some of the outtakes are hilarious! He is definitely more mobile and is getting harder to photograph in his chair. LOL!

He wants to be able to do more than his body is capable doing. He is trying his hardest to pull up on things, but his legs are still just a little too wobbly. He really likes to have someone sitting close by to help him accomplish what he isn't quite able to do which means working while he is awake is getting harder and harder for me.

I can't express how thankful I am for this little guy! I'm so relieved and soooooo glad that he is officially ours now and that we are an eternal family. April 1st was an awesome day!

Thoughts

As I sit here on the eve of Miles' adoption being final, my mind is full of thoughts and my heart is full of love! We've been told by our attorney that tomorrow we will be asked a series of 16 questions so that the Judge can get to know us better. One of those questions is one of those hard open-ended questions that I just dread answering because I have a VERY hard time putting in to words how I feel. So, I thought it might be nice to "force" myself to put a few of my thoughts on the blog so I'm a little more prepared for tomorrow morning. AND...it gives those of you who can't be there tomorrow an opportunity to know the gist of how I answered this question.

The question is: "Could you please share with the court your feelings regarding this adoption?" I know, yucky right? LOL!

The obvious answer is that Miles has been a huge blessing to our lives and to our family. Our journey through infertility was long and full of sadness, but without that we would never have Miles in our family. Every step we took to try to naturally conceive our own child got us mentally and emotionally prepared for the idea of our family growing through adoption. I never in a million years thought we wouldn't naturally conceive our own child so I really had never thought about adoption, but now that we've been through the adoption experience, I'm so thankful Heavenly Father chose this path for us.

Some people think that adopting is the "easy" way to start/grow a family, but we are witnesses to the fact that adoption isn't easy. Along the way I kept a journal of how many babies we heard about before Miles and although at this moment I can't remember the exact number, I do remember that it was some crazy number like 16. So, every time we got a call from our caseworker about a possible baby we went on an emotional roller coaster. And, if you've read Miles' adoption story then you know that our trip to North Carolina wasn't the easy trip in the world either, but we had faith and put our trust in the Lord and were able to bring home the sweetest baby boy EVER!

Miles has taught me so much about myself that I never knew before. He has taught me that it is possible to fall in love instantly and how to be a selfless person and put his needs and wants ahead of my own. Having an infant around isn't always the easiest thing, but those huge unconditional smiles and those wet slobbery kisses that he gives make all of those hard times much easier and well worth it. I am so excited for the future and to see the man that he becomes!!!

Miles is a very lucky dude! He not only has the love and support of us and our extended family, but he also has the love of his birth family...a love that is so strong that they selflessly placed him for adoption, a decision that did not come easy.

So, how do I feel about this adoption? Well, I know without a doubt that Miles is ours and that he was supposed to join our family. He has filled a void we had in our hearts and has brought us more joy than we could ever imagine. I love him so much and want only the best for him!!!

More shots

Miles had his 6 month doctor's appointment today. I always enjoy going just to see what his stats are. He keeps growing and growing and growing. He also got more shots, which he doesn't enjoy, but he does such a great job and doesn't cry too much. The doctor was running behind so we spent about an hour there and we were both definitely ready to leave by the end!!!

His stats:

Weight - 20.44 lbs, 88th percentile
Length - 28.75 inches, 97th percentile (do I hear future basketball player???)
Head circumference - 17.25 inches, 47th percentile

Meeting Lily

We traveled up to Tremonton this weekend to meet the newest member of the family, Lily Jo. What a cutie pie!!! She also seems soooooo small compared to our tub-a-lub Miles although Lily is about the same size Miles was at the same age. She is so cute and has the cutest little cry. When she would cry Miles would just stare at her. I don't think he knew what to think of her. It's fun to think someday they will be best buds (or at least I hope). Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Miles playing in Lily's swing (he loved playing with the buttons!)

Lily sunbathing

Best buds (obviously Lily was thrilled to be having her picture taken with Miles)

Uncle Dave & Lily

Two proud papas!