I'm a reader!

Submitted by William on Sun, 02/03/2008 - 12:14pm

There's a teacher from my school who is coming over every Wednesday to watch Eliana grow, but since Eliana still sleeps all the time, she likes to play with me. She was watching me play my Guitar Star and asked my mom if I was reading all the names of the songs. Mommy said she wasn't sure. So when I got out the Scrabble game, the teacher told Mommy that she wanted to try something. She put the letters S-A-T together and asked me if I knew what that word said. I started sounding it out "sate" and she said, "He's reading!" Since that day Mommy has had me read more books to her at naptime since she just falls asleep when she reads to me. We take turns. The other day I read "A Big Fat Hen" all by myself and we read "Who Hops" together. At school on Friday, we read a book I'd never seen before called "Sheep in a Jeep." Mommy asked me if I could read the words on the first page and I said, "Beep! Beep!"

We are all very proud at my house! Not only am I reading, I'm also going potty all by myself now. I don't need any help with my pants (as long as there are no snaps) or washing my hands!

3 weeks old

Submitted by Eliana on Mon, 01/28/2008 - 9:09pm

I'm sure growing fast! I'm already three weeks old today! Mommy thinks she saw some real smiles today! My eyes were actually open, but I was a bit drowsy... let's just say that I knew what I was doing. According to our scale at home, I've passed up the 8 pound mark. Grandma Barb noticed a bit of a double chin today. So there's no doubt that I'm eating well.

I continue to meet more people who love me. My Uncle Tom and Auntie Dawn both came to visit. William has shown me off at his school a few times now. And I got to go to play group. Mommy's book club passed me around and had a little party for me. My big brother really liked the "Welcome Eliana" cake and the book I got that says "I love you when you're bad." Mommy loved the snuggly blanket and cute clothes. I'm a pretty lucky baby!

Tonight we went out to dinner - our first time as a family. I slept the whole time. Mommy and Daddy don't think they would have taken William out to dinner when he was my age. But they don't worry that I'll get fussy during dinner because I'm such a content baby.

Consents are final!

Submitted by Adoption on Mon, 01/28/2008 - 8:49pm

Our social worker called at 5:20 to congratulate us! Consents are final! Eliana will not be going anywhere! Now we just have to wait until our three-month visit with the social worker so we can petition the court for finalization. All formalities, really. We celebrated tonight by going out to dinner as a family. Our little angel slept right through it.

Visitors

Submitted by Eliana on Sat, 01/19/2008 - 11:40pm

I've had lots of visitors this week! Some of Mommy's friends have been here to meet me. They are all very nice and good snugglers. My birth mom and dad have both been here to visit, too. It's been fun to see them. And I really do "see" them now because I'm staying awake a lot more these days. Staying awake during the day also helps me to sleep more at night. For the last couple days I've been letting everyone in my house, except for Mommy, sleep all night. She only has to get up a couple times to feed me. Mommy doesn't think that's bad at all since I'm not even two weeks old yet! And if our scale is right, I've already gained a whole pound since leaving the hospital. That may be why Grandma Barb thought I looked older when she saw me yesterday. Or it may have been the grown-up pants and sweater that I was wearing. It was sure cute! I'll have Daddy put up some pictures. Well, I'm off to bed - it is night after all.

More visits, name info

Submitted by Adoption on Sat, 01/19/2008 - 11:28pm

People often ask me if Matt and Dani come visit. I'm happy to say that, yes, they do! They have both stopped over twice since we have been home. Matt calls when he's with someone he wants to have meet his baby girl. Since he's in town it's really easy for him to stop by on a whim. Unfortunately Dani has to coordinate a little more otherwise I'm sure she'd visit more often. She calls frequently to check in. She came up with her mom one afternoon and spent a couple hours chatting and snuggling with Eliana.

I realized that I never wrote the details about how we chose Eliana's name. Eliana (pronounced Eh-lee-AH-na) is a combination of our middle names (birthmom's - Elaine, my husband's - Lee, and mine - Ann) and it means "the Lord answers." It's definitely the perfect name for our perfect little girl! Danielle is after her birth mom.

Ellie is really starting to wake up more in the last few days. It's been a lot of fun to see her eyes alert and checking out the world around her. Of course, it also means that all the visitors can start to get a little overwhelming, but for her mommy it's nice to know that we're bonded. She definitely knows where her dinner comes from! She's also getting the idea that days are for being awake and nights are for sleeping - whew! We are very grateful! And it only took a week and a half! I know there are many moms who are jealous right now - sorry.

Well, I should go write on Eliana's more public blog. It'll be mostly a repeat of this. I probably won't keep this one going much longer.

First dentist appt

Submitted by William on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 9:53pm

Today I made my first visit to the dentist. I was scared to go. When Mommy said they would give me a new toothbrush, I said, "I like the ones I have." But when I saw they had a lime green toothbrush, I was sold! The dentist is great! They have a cool chair that goes up and down and lays flat like a bed. And a silly, sucking straw that sucks the water out of your mouth. They even had a hand held video game for me to try and play while I waited for my dentist. There was a kid in another room who was crying, but I just wore the cool shades they let me borrow during the exam and was a model patient. My teeth are nice and clean now! The dentist said I could come back in six months so they can take some pictures. Maybe I'll get some more green things to match the flossers, the toothbrush and the pen I got today.

It's Me

Submitted by Eliana on Mon, 01/14/2008 - 6:54pm

I'm growing up fast! I've already got my own blog and I'm only a week old!

Today was a big day. I had my first doctor visit, the first time I've been out of the house since I came home. The doctor at the hospital told my mommy and daddy that they didn't need to worry about going in really soon because I was doing so well. Sure enough - my weight today was 6lbs 15oz. I supposedly shrunk down to 19 3/4, but everyone measures height a little differently. The nurse said that they are mostly concerned about weight anyway and I'm already well over my birthweight. The doctor thought I looked great and I don't need to come back until I'm 2 months!

This weekend we had quite a few visitors. My birth mom and dad came to visit with friends. My adoptive grandparents have all been to visit me. And Uncle Joe and soon-to-be Aunt Kathy stopped by, too. I gave my both of my grandmas some of my sleepy smiles. I'm such a happy baby! Mommy even heard me laugh in my sleep today - just a little "ha" to go along with one of my smiles.

Consents were signed!

Submitted by Adoption on Fri, 01/11/2008 - 8:22pm

We are feeling very honored and thankful that Matt and Dani both went to the agency today to sign consents. They are required to wait 72 hours after the birth of the baby before they can sign. That was yesterday. Today they signed. It really feels good to know that they are ready to make our family final.

After they were at the agency, Dani and her boyfriend came over to visit. It was good to see them. Dani got to see Eliana's room almost finished. The dresser is in, although still empty. The curtains are in there, although not yet hung. It's looking like a real baby's room. Especially compared to what it was like the last time she visited - a complete mess!

William got to show off a picture of his baby sister at ECFE class. He was a proud big brother. Everyone was very excited for us! Then we made an hour long trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things - and chat with several people who wanted to know about the baby.

We're feeling pretty settled. I finally got a chance to look at the to-do list I made right before we got the call. So we're settling into a rhythm.

Better go feed my little angel. She's catching up to me quickly! I only pumped 3.5 oz today!

I'm a big brother!

Submitted by William on Wed, 01/09/2008 - 9:45pm

I got to meet Eliana today! She sure is tiny and cute! After my daddy gets some rest, hopefully he'll put up some pictures of me holding her. It was fun to see all the funny faces she made. I made some back at her. I didn't mind too much that Mommy and Daddy named her Eliana Danielle McKeever. Especially when they said I could still call her Eliana Ba-nah-na Lung if I want. When Mommy and Daddy got to Grandma Lanz's house to get me, I had to sing them my favorite Hannah Montana song that I learned while I was there - I was rockin'! Now I'd better go to bed. I'm having a hard time getting to sleep with all the new excitement in the house.

We're home!

Submitted by Adoption on Wed, 01/09/2008 - 9:32pm

It's been a big day! We are now settling in at home. Busy, busy! There are lots of girlie clothes to wash not to mention everyone else's laundry that's been piling up while we were gone. I think I've found my new passion :)

Going home was emotional for everyone. Bittersweet for us. We had a wonderful hospital stay bonding with Eliana's birth family. Coparenting was pretty nice! Darren and I got naps in and time to ourselves to go eat and shower. Now reality will set in and we'll be on our own.

It's been fun to introduce Ellie to more of her grandparents today. We look forward to having more visitors this weekend.

Update on the weight gain: It was most likely a problem with her initial weighing. That makes so much sense! She weighed 6lbs 8 oz last night. The 3 oz weight loss was much more normal! Her little tummy is still so tiny! But she's nursing great!