Saturday, June 25, 2011

Craft Supply Hoarder Update

You may remember my post about being a craft supply hoarder. Since I wrote that post last March, I have been working on changing our back porch into a craft room. Even though most days I could only work on it 5-10 minutes at a time before the baby would need me, I did get it done little by little.

As I said, organization is very difficult for me.

I was actually very proud of myself for what I did.

It took me forever to put the shelves together and organize things into baskets. (Yes you read that right- I organized things into little baskets!!!)

I was going to take pictures to post on here. I just had a few things to finish.

Then it happened.

The night before our court investigator came (the very last step to finalizing our adoption!) I was trying to get Jayden to sleep and Adam was doing some last minute cleaning, which included putting something on the craft shelves. I was upstairs in the nursery so I didn't hear the loud crashing sound.

Adam came up and gave me the bad news.

All of our shelving that was holding my scrapbooking supplies had come apart and there were craft supplies EVERYWHERE.

Open stamp pads, spilled beads, all kinds of paper, stickers, markers, glue, scissors, photographs...

It was bad.

I had a complete breakdown and then we came up with a plan. My mom came over with large totes and we threw it all in them...then hid the totes in our cars! Our cars were filled- front, back, and trunk.

Our inspector came the next day and everything went very well.

So, now I am left with bins full of scrapbooking stuff. Exactly where I was at months ago. How depressing is that?

One thing I know for sure is that after all that craziness, I deserve real shelves this time, right? Not flimsy wire cubes that come apart!

I can't believe I am starting over again.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

9 Months

NINE MONTHS

 Laughing.

I used to be able to put him on this little car to get some pictures, but now he knows how to stand up and swing his leg off of it to get up!



After taking Jayden's 9 month photos, we found the missing onesie stickers!!

I ended up doing his pictures all over again because I like the old stickers so much better than the replacement ones.




Hello out there!

I'm outta here.


 Jayden loves books. I am constantly putting books back on the shelves throughout the day. He loves playing with them, moving them around, biting them, and looking through them.





For Jayden's 9 month "birthday" we gave him the gift of freedom. We expanded his roaming area. Big strong gates went up blocking him from going into the kitchen or hallway and then everything in between was baby proofed, which was no easy task.

Our living room has become a big play room. Completely safe and filled with toys. He loves it.

The most annoying toy ever.
I hear it in my sleep.

The batteries died on his raceway so now he uses it as a chair or something to stand on in order to look out the window. Daddy will have to put new batteries in soon.


Eating is going very well. He is great with finger foods. He only has two teeth but does so well with everything he tries. He is a big fan of mexican food. Out of all the kinds of fruits and vegetables he has had, the only one he hasn't liked is watermelon! I thought maybe it was a fluke, but everytime I give him watermelon, he makes a face and spits the pieces back out.


There have been so many big milestones this past month. Everyday he is becoming more and more like a toddler and less like my little baby.

He has started saying "Mama." At first I thought he was just saying it, but then I began to realize he really knows what it means. Like for example, he will say it if he's upset I am leaving the room. Or if he's not getting his way with daddy he will sometimes say it. Or if I have something he wants and he's coming towards me to get it.

For a while he was shaking his head "no" at us, which was adorable. He hasn't done it in a while though.

He has started walking unassisted a little bit! Just a few steps here and there, but it's very exciting. The other night I put him down and assumed he would squat down and crawl away. Instead, he stood there for a second and then walked away! We can never catch it on video though. He's always been good at that. We'll video for 5 minutes, stop the camera, and then that's when he'll do it.

He went to his first wedding! He did very well.

Jayden and Grandpa at the wedding.

Unfortunately he also went to his first funeral. I discovered how loud a baby is in a quiet church. He wasn't crying or anything, but just normal sounds are loud, especialy with the church echo. We sat towards the back so we could make a quick exit if needed. He did very well, but I spent the whole time stressing out about it.

He loves water! Whether it's his little baby pool in the backyard, the spray park I took him to, or Grandma and Grandpa's big pool, he loves it!

He got his first haircut!

He graduated from his infant car seat. He seems to be enjoying it. I miss being able to just pick the car seat up and carry him inside wherever we are going if he's sleeping, but he seems so much happier in it so it is a good change. (I still sit in the back with him whenever Adam is driving, hehe.)

Just two nights ago he said "kitty" when one of my parents' cats walked past him. It was extra special because my parents and my Aunt and Uncle got to hear it. I've always said kitty would be one of his first words because we say it so often with him at home. He loves the cats.

He signs the words "finished," "more," and "milk." Although, his sign for milk is just opening his hand and holding it up high. His favorite is "finished." If we just say the word, he signs it. We use it most when he's done eating in his high chair, but he also sometimes uses it when he wants to get out of his car seat or wants to be done with a diaper change. He has also used it if he's just frustrated with a situation. Like if we are on the opposite side of one of the gates from him.

He gives baby kisses, which just involve him touching our skin with his mouth wide open. I love them.

We had a great Father's Day.

Jayden and Daddy being silly on Father's Day.

We have our 9 month well visit later this week. I am looking forward to seeing where he is with those percentiles now. He's had a big growth spurt and was over 17 lbs when I last weighed him.

Jayden is a happy, healthy 9 month old boy and we can't get enough of him. I think our love for him grows every month.

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6/25/11 Update:
I tried watermelon for a 3rd time and this time he LOVED it. Chewed it right down to the rind! haha. I think he just needed to get used to the texture.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

First Haircut!

Jayden got his first haircut!

He was pretty much born needing a haircut so this was long overdue. I was able to put it off because it was humid out, which makes his hair curly. Once the humidity was gone, I saw how long it was and I knew it was time.

We took him to place called Haircuts for Peanuts. They specialize in babies and children.


Before!








After!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Party Planning

You guys, I have a confession.

I am really excited about planning Jayden's first birthday party.

I know it's early.

But, I can't help myself!!

I may or may not already be working on his party invitations.

So....I thought I would ask all of you...

What is the coolest thing you've ever seen at a birthday party? It doesn't have to be something grand (let's face it, I don't have the money for grand.) Just something you thought was a nice touch.

The kind of thing that made you think- Oooh, I want to use that someday.

Or do you have a great party planning website?
(I have taken a little look at pinterest and will probably be fully sucked into it soon.)

I do have an idea for how I want to use his monthy pictures. (Or at least I know that I do want to use them.)

But other than that, I don't know. I can't even decide on a theme!

I don't want to go overboard, but I do want it to be something special. I already know we're having at at my parents' house. I looked into what it would cost to do it at the zoo...yikes...maybe when he's older. But, I am excited about having it at my parents' house and this way we can do all the cooking.

I am considering making his cake. I always imagined I would, but these days it's hard to fit in the time to cook even a simple meal. I have not done any real cake decorating in over 9 months. I was thinking of maybe trying to do cake pops for the first time to go along with the cake.

So, as you can see, I need help. Any ideas you have would be great!! I know so many of my twitter and bloggy friends are way more creative than me!

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Update: I officially have first birthday party fever. I have been having so much fun following all of your links and getting ideas! Thank you so much!!! Keep your ideas coming!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Best Birthday Present Ever

Thank you for all the birthday wishes!

It was a great day. I brought Jayden out to the baby pool for the first time and he loved it!

Honestly, Jayden loving the water was the best present I ever could have received. We had so much fun!

Seeing the water for the first time.


Thinking about going over.

Heading over.






In the water!




Thursday, June 9, 2011

Breaking Up With The Birthday Blues

Infertility and birthdays do not mix well.

If you are facing infertility, your birthday just reminds you of your declining fertility. And that another year has gone by and you are still not a mother. I have had some dark birthdays over the years.

Of course any chance at fertility was wiped away with one surgery for me.

And now I am a mother!

So, I guess it's time to officially break up with the birthday blues.

Birthdays still make me feel a little uneasy.

But, when I came on the computer this morning, I found so much love on Facebook and Twitter.

Adam hung up a cute Happy Birthday sign for me in the living room.

I get to look at this face all day:


And I get cookie cake tonight!

So, yes, I am breaking up with the birthday blues.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Graduation From The Infant Car Seat

Our pedicatrician warned us at our last appointment to keep an eye on Jay's height. She said he would probably hit the height limit for his car seat before the weight limit.

He had a big growth spurt recently so we decided it was time to start shopping for a new car seat.


COMING HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL
9/13/10


JAY'S LAST DAY IN HIS INFANT CAR SEAT
6/1/11

(Yes, I am teary about him growing out of his infant car seat.)


BIG BOY IN HIS NEW CAR SEAT

(Note- The angle I was holding my phone when I took this picture was a little weird, but he is still rear facing and will be for a long time!)

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Holding My Breath

I haven't posted in a while.

I think maybe it's because we are so close to finalizing our adoption that I am just holding my breath.

The steps to finalization have felt endless.

We got fingerprinted. Again. I swear we get fingerprinted more often than most criminals. This time it was done electronically for the court.

(Weird side note: The person doing mine said she can tell I work with my hands because my fingerprints are worn. So weird.)

We had both state and federal background checks done again.

We filled out more paperwork. And then some more. Oh, yeah, and then some more.

Multiple calls, faxes, and e-mails to our agency and our lawyer.

FINALLY, our case has been submitted to court.

Everything is all done....except for one last step. In our county the judge sends his own inspector out to your house.

We've had a social worker here eight times so far. Five times before Jay was born and then another three times after he was here.

Now we have an inspector coming. Our very last step before finalization.

All we need is for him to come ask us questions and look around. Pretty much the same stuff our social worker did multiple times.

THEN WE ARE DONE!

It makes me teary just thinking about going in front of a judge and finally being declared forever a family.