Finalization

 Today was a great day for Gracie and I.  Today was the day we finalized her adoption in the U.S.  I have to say that while I have been looking forward to the day, I was surprised at how weepy I was when the day started.  I had ironed Grace's dress last night and had everything ready to go.  This morning I was getting her ready and I put on a special necklace that I talked about here.  I was telling her again how special it was since so many amazing women in our family wore it at one time or another.  And as I was telling her I broke into tears.  Gracie kept patting me on the arm and saying Mumma, Mumma.  I started laughing and told her that it was happy tears. 

We had a small group with us at the court house.  My brother-in-law and my niece Meghan and nephew Jake (my sister was devastated that she had a work commitment she couldn't re-schedule), my favorite Aunt Wendy(my favorite Uncle Hank was unexpectedly called away on business), and my dad.  My step-mom has been in the hospital since Saturday and while she was on the mend, she couldn't talk the doctors into letting her out in time, but boy, did she try.  The judge was absolutely wonderful and he really made everyone feel so welcome and included. He talked to me for a few minutes, and then had me sign the paperwork.  Before he signed the decree he asked my niece and nephew to sign it with him because they are great cousins to Gracie and he knows they will help her to be a great person.  They were so proud!  Then we took pictures and the whole thing was over in 20 minutes.  After we left his chambers, I looked at my Aunt Wendy and the tears just fell.  It was nice to share that moment with my aunt since she had also been through the adoption process almost 30 years ago with her children.  We share a lot of bonds but this one is special.  I really feel so lucky to have her in my life. I was surprised by what relief I felt.  It wasn't like I thought the judge wouldn't approve our case, I guess it was just the culmination of a  three year journey to make Grace my daughter. There are no more hoops to jump through.  There are no more visits, no more back ground checks, no more excruciating wait for when I would hear something about a referral.  We can now go on with the business of being a family. 

After the court hearing Aunt Wendy left to get on with her day and the rest of us headed in to see mt step-mom.  She was so disappointed to miss the finalization and really wanted to be there so we did the next best thing.  We brought Grace in and showed her the pictures.  All the kids were thrilled to see Grandma Judi and the best news is that she should be released tomorrow, in time for Thanksgiving. 

After visiting Grandma Judi my dad took us to a nice lunch.  Grace was a little worn out by then so we had a couple time outs at the restaurant but all in all it was a great meal.  At one point, she took my hand, pulled me close to her, rested her head on my arm, snuggled in and said My Mumma and then gave me that million dollar smile of hers.  it made my very full heart burst.  Yes, we have tantrums and screaming and issues just like any family, but it's all worth it to get to this day.  I am blessed,  I am privileged to be the mother to this remarkable girl who makes everything I do in my life worthwhile.  I could not ask for more. 

On this day, I feel especially grateful to her family in Ethiopia who made such a heart wrenching, self-less decision to allow her needs to take precedence over their own.  They are with me every day of my life but more so today.  I hope that when they receive the updates I send that they see that they made the right choice and that I love her as much as they do. 

So here are a few pictures of our day. 

Gracie eating her first tootsie pop.  A gift from the judge.  She was in Heaven!

Mommy signing the papers

Mommy, Gracie and the Judge



Graice and Baseball Honey at lunch



Pictures

Sorry the pictures are small but the place we had them done only lets you save the thumbnail version and not the larger version.  But hopefully this gives you a small idea of how adorable her pictures came out.  She was a trooper and aside from wanting to run all around, she did a great job.  I'm very pleased with how they came out. 

We did make it to see Santa and as I predicted she howled when it was time to sit on his lap.  She was fine looking at him before we got in line.  She was fine in line. But when I started to walk towards him she clung to me for dear life and when I tried to put her on his lap she cried to the heavens.  We did end up getting a picture but it was of me sitting next to Santa with her on my lap.  She isn't crying in the picture so that was good. I wasn't expecting to have a family picture taken but all things considered, it came out OK.  Sorry, I don't have a scanner so I can't post it.  Can I just say that the pictures cost a small fortune.  I got 1 5x7 and four wallets and it was $27.99.  Highway robbery! But I have to say we have the best looking Santa I have ever seen.  Glad to know that they send the real one to Massachusetts.

Guess What We Got?

Last year my sister Kate and I left on the Friday after Thanksgiving to go to Ethiopia to meet Grace.  This year, our journey is coming full circle because I recently received our court date to finalize Grace's adoption in the US.  We go to court on November 23rd, the week of Thanksgiving.  I am already Grace's mother and no piece of paper will change that but it does solidify her as a US citizen and it allows me to change her name and she will receive a US birth certificate.  What it does is put the icing on the already fabulous cake.  It will be good to have all the paperwork finished and finalized.  We have a small group of family coming with us and since our meeting with the judge is first thing in the morning it will allow us to go off and do something fun, though I haven't yet decided what that fun will be.  If Grace has a say it would be eating a hot dog and staring at a big fish tank. 

Today we are going to have Grace's Christmas pictures taken.  When we had her pictures taken in March I made the appointment for early in the morning as I thought that was most convenient.  Being a rookie mom, I totally forgot that would mean that she would miss her morning nap.  While we got some cute pictures, it was a bit of a battle and I thought man, I won't do that again.  This time I scheduled the pictures for a little afternoon time which gives her time for a nap and gives me time to bathe her and get her ready.  Let's hope that she wakes up in a happy mood!  After we have the pictures taken we're going to try to see Santa.  I know.  You're probably thinking what is wrong with this woman, it's not even Thanksgiving and generally, I would be in agreement.  However, her pictures are being taken at the mall and she will be wearing one of the dresses I wanted her to see Santa in so I thought we would try to kill two birds with one stone.  We'll see how that works out.  Last week we were at the mall and we passed by where Santa was and she was oohing and Ahhhing over the setup.  I don't actually have high hopes of her sitting with him this year but we'll give it a try and see how it goes.

Happy Halloween!

What a great weekend we had.  Visits with friends in NH yesterday, lunch with family today and Grace's first trick or treating tonight.  No time for a real post but here a few pictures of the weekend.

Fun Weekends, Apple Picking and Tantrums

We had a great weekend.  I was lucky enough to have Monday off which means we had three full days together.  On Saturday we spent the day apple picking with Auntie Kate, Uncle Dennis, Meghan and Jake.  We have gone to this place for the last three years and I have been dreaming of the day that I would get to bring my baby there.  It was actually more fun than I imagined.  Gracie wasn't crazy abut the actual picking but she LOVED biting into the apples and she loved being pushed in the wagon with her cousins.  She had so much fun running through the pumpkin patch and they had a children's performer so she could get down and get dancing.  It was pretty much a perfect day.

On Sunday we had a family party and Grace got to meet some family she hadn't met yet.  I could tell you that they loved her to pieces but that would be such an understatement.  She definitely took more time to warm up than usual and I am beginning to see the shyer side of her when she's with people she's not used to.  But after about 30 minutes she was running around and playing and charming the pants off of everyone. 

On Monday we went to the hair stylist to get more Moroccan oil and I was thrilled when the hairdresser told me I was doing a great job and her hair looks so much healthier.  I was very pleased! That Moroccan oil is awesome.

On Monday night Grace had her first full blown, stiff body, throw your self on the floor tantrum.  It was a doozy and believe me, my girl has a TEMPER.  It all started because she has a horribly unreasonable mother who thinks she should help pick up the toys she distributed all over the living room.  I tried to get her geared up by pretending like it was a fun thing we were going to do and then we sang the Barney clean up song.  She thought it was fun to sing the song, and fun that I was picking up toys but she wanted no part of it.  I then tried to give her choices like hey, do you want to pick up the pink phone or the blue block?  I got a little cocky when I saw her pick up the pink phone.  I was silently patting myself on the back.  Until.....I realized she picked it up to play with it.  So after repeated attempts of trying to talk her into putting it into the toy basket, she threw the phone at me which got her a time out.  After she calmed down I explained again what we were doing and walked her over to the next toy and then the crocodile tears started.  Then she buried her head in my legs and wouldn't let go.  Then she threw herself on the floor.  Good times my friends.  Good times. Did I mention she has a very dramatic flair?  So in order to get her to clean up I had to walk her to the first couple of toys, take her hands and put them around the toy and then walk her over to the toy basket. I remained calm and patient but made it clear I wasn't giving in.  It took about 6 toys before she realized I wasn't going to let this go and she picked up the last 3 by herself.  It took us about 30 minutes to pick up 9 toys and we had 3 time outs for throwing toys at mommy but we got through it.  I was proud of myself for not giving in and proud of her for doing what I asked(eventually).  And tonight when we picked up it went much quicker with no tantrums and no throwing.  It amazes me every day how much she understands and how she's trying to make sense of what I want her to do and why. This will not be our last battle but I'm glad we got past it.

We're enjoying our fall and are looking forward to the next couple of weekends with family and friends.  This time last year was my baby shower.  The day before my shower I spent the day in Salem, mass with two of my close friends, Andrea and Robin, who flew in for the shower.  When we were in Salem they spotted a T-shirt that said  My Little Pumpkin and they told me I had to buy it because Grace was going to be adorable in it.  Well, I bought it and she finally fit into it this week and  I have to say, boy were they right.  But you can judge for yourself.

Ten Months Home

Today Grace turned 18 months old.  This also marks our tenth month as a family of two.  I was looking back at a post I made on October 4th of last year when I was waiting for news on when I could travel to get Grace.  The wait was definitely weighing on me and I just couldn't wait to get to my girl.  I re-read that post and I remember what it was like longing to see her in person and hold her and play with her and kiss her sweet little cheeks.  And here I sit a year later and she's home.  She's snugly tucked in her crib with her baby doll and her glow worm.  It was so hard to wait but she was worth every agonizing second of it.  I never knew real happiness until I knew Grace.  She makes the mundane fun.  She makes me see everything in such a different light.  She makes me want to be the very best me I can.  Being her mother is the greatest joy I will ever have.

During the two years I waited, I didn't buy very much besides books and baby towels since I wasn't sure who I was waiting for.  One of the only purchases I made was a Cookie Monster towel.  I saw it on another mom's blog and I just thought, man, I need to have that for the punkin.  I tried to imagine how cute that baby would be but I have to tell you, I never imagined she would be this cute.

She has fit into our family so easily, as if she has always been with us.  She is adored by everyone who knows her. She brings so much happiness to my life and I cherish every second of it.  I'm such a lucky mom.

Well, long time no post I guess.  I hadn't intended to wait so long between posts but I wanted to post some updated hair pictures and it takes so long to load pictures onto my computer that I just procrastinated.  But alas, I got off my busy, but somewhat lazy behind and took an hour off of my life to load the pictures.  Sadly, I'm not joking, as my computer is old and slow.  I swear it has windows 1812 on it. 

So here are some pictures of  Grace's hair since I took her to an African-American salon a few weeks ago.  



This is here hair after we visited the hair stylist.  Her pony tails are much smoother than I was ever able to make them.



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This was taken after her first shampoo with the new products.  Her hair is much, much softer and fluffier than before and far easier to manage.

Another view of her fluffy hair



My first attempt at styling by myself.  I did pony tails and then braided the ponytails.  This was quite an accomplishment for me as I have no hair styling skills what so ever.

Little Braids.  I know my sister Amy would never  believe I did this without proof.

My first attempt went so well that I decided to get fancy.  Clearly, this didn't work out as well.  Have you ever tried to get a wiggly 17 month old to sit still while you tried to create a straight part?  If you have, then God Bless you because it's no easy feat.

My top ponytails were OK but the bottom two are wacky. 

 All in all, I am very happy with her hair.  I still need a lot more time to experiment but I am thrilled with the Moroccan oil.  Our hair routine is much shorter these days but the results are so much better.  Once I comb it the curls just come back to life.  I could not be happier. 

Life in general at our house is good.  We met with Grace's nutritionist two weeks ago and we had a great appointment.  She gained 1 1/4 pounds in four weeks which is the most she has gained in one month in the almost 10 months she has been home.  She is now 17 pounds, 2 oz.  The GI doctor put her on an appetite stimulant about a month ago to see if that would help her put on weight.  It seems like it's helping.  She is getting to the point where she is recognizing she is hungry and she is telling me (she knows the sign for eat).  She doesn't eat huge quantities but she is eating more and more often.  She is still on pediasure but she is drinking more than she was and that's really helping to to put on the extra calories.  She's still petite but I feel really positive that we're moving in a positive direction.

She is starting to talk up a storm.  Her favorite new words are Goo Gurl (Good Girl), Un-Koooool (Uncle), Yep (Yes), and Un-dan (understand).  She can point to all of the parts of her face except for the eyes.  I have no idea why but she always points to her nose when you say eyes.  If you ask her what a dogie says she pants and for a kitty she says mow, which really sounds adorable.  She also can make monkey, duck and cow sounds.  I know, she's a genius, don't be jealous. 

She is very affectionate and loves to snuggle into her mommy.  She loves to sing and laugh and read books. Her current favorite is called snuggle puppy by Sandra Boynton.  We read it about 37 times a day and no, I'm not exaggerating.  She can't get enough of it.  She now sits down with books and reads them to herself.  OK, well not really reading, but babbling and turning the pages as if she is.  It's so cute.  She loves to dance.  There is a music channel through our cable company that plays toddler tunes.  She loves that channel and she loves to dance to it.  When she wants to dance she will stand in front of the t.v. and will bounce up and down until I turn it on.  She is just so much fun.  She has developed this annoying toddler scream that she releases for no apparent reason.  I don't love that but we're working on it. 

Here are some recent pictures of her:



She loves to suck on her three fingers. 

I bought her a new hat for the winter and she wanted to wear it today.  However, she wouldn't wait for me to take off the tags or the mittens so she walked around the house like this. 

Guess she was worn out by her new hat and just had to stop and take a rest.