She's here!

Submitted by Adoption on Tue, 01/08/2008 - 1:46pm

If you haven't noticed the pictures on our homepage, check them out! She's a sweetheart! She's nursing beautifully. Has even gained 2.5 ounces which is unheard of! Matt and Dani have had lots of supportive visitors at the hospital. The hospital staff have been wonderful at handling the adoption. We have a room right next door to Dani and are able to play pass the baby quite easily. She'll probably be getting hungry again soon so we'll probably be getting her back. We snuck a little nap before the nurse came to bug us to find out how often she'd been feeding. Soon we'll be home and on our own. We've got to take advantage of all the extra family while we can!

Waking up

Submitted by William on Sun, 01/06/2008 - 8:51pm

Mommy and Daddy are waking me up to bring me to Grandma's house. I just got to sleep, too! But next time I come home it should be with a baby sister! Exciting!

Got the call!

Submitted by Adoption on Sun, 01/06/2008 - 8:49pm

We just got a call from Dani. It was 9:35pm, her usual time to call, so I didn't think much of it. But she said she was in the hospital and she's staying! She's not really dialated any further, but contractions have been frequent and strong since this morning. Her water has broken. So they're keeping her. She said take your time, but come on down! Off we go!

We finally met the boyfriend

Submitted by Adoption on Sat, 01/05/2008 - 8:03pm

Lots of great milestones today...

We met Dani's boyfriend. He seems nice enough. He was a little reserved and I couldn't think of much to ask him because I felt like I already knew everything about him. Dani talks about him all the time. But it was good to hear from him in person. We ate lunch at Fuddruckers in Maple Grove. William had a great time because they had video games. He played up his four tokens and then was happy as a clam pretending to drive the boat while the grown-ups talked.

Our first meeting almost ended up happening at the hospital! Dani was concerned that her water had broken. They went in at midnight to have tests run. The tests came back negative, so they sent her home at 4am. But she got a bit of good news - she was dialated a centimeter! So progress has been made. From what she described, it's hard for everyone to believe that her water didn't break. We are hoping to get a call soon. If not, maybe the doctor will schedule an induction at her Tuesday appointment since she's now dialated.

Pumping total: 865 oz

No change

Submitted by Adoption on Thu, 01/03/2008 - 4:39pm

At the doctor's appointment, much to Dani's dismay, there was no change. The doctor got her hopes up by saying that if she was at all dialated, they could induce. A very itchy Dani was really hoping for some progress. But it was not very nice of the doctor to say anything before checking her because she wasn't dialated a bit. So we're still waiting. We made plans to get together with Dani and her boyfriend for lunch on Saturday. This extra time gives us a chance to meet the man who will be in the delivery room. That's one good thing. And we just keep crossing things off our to do list. At least we're not sitting around twiddling our thumbs just yet - if that's possible with a three-year-old in the house.

Speaking of which, William decided to give his "nuker" to the baby the other day. It was a very sweet gesture, but I told him that we don't share nukers. We have some new nuks for the baby. I said if he decided he was too big for his nuker then he could just throw it away... and he did! Much to my surprise! Not surprisingly, he was regretting it at bedtime. Thankfully Darren was getting him ready for bed and matter-of-factly told him that we don't take things out of the garbage. I probably would have dug it out of the garbage and sanitized it. But William was absolutely fine with Daddy's answer. He wasn't fine with falling asleep that night, or staying asleep for that matter. He spent a lot of time in my bed or me in his. But then last night he only got up once when I put him down and he stayed in his bed all night! Until 10:30am no less! I think that's a good sign that maybe I won't have two kids in my bed at night once baby comes along :)

In other big brother news, we may have found a name for the baby that will stick with William. Up until now he has insisted that he wants to name the baby "Lung" (ala "Gill" from Finding Nemo). But I recently found what I think is the perfect name that Daddy rhymed with something funny, so now William likes it! Dani likes it, too (minus the silly rhyme) which was another big test. We'll see what happens on her birthday, but we may finally have a winning name! I'll be sure to let you know our final decision ASAP!

Itching

Submitted by Adoption on Tue, 01/01/2008 - 11:44pm

Well, Dani and the McKeever family are itching for this baby to be born. I forgot to mention in my previous blogs, but Dani came down with a PUPPP rash a couple weeks ago and has been itching like crazy! Poor girl! I started getting a rash a few days before William was born and it becamed full-fledged after birth. It was horrible - so I know how she's feeling. And she's still pregnant and has gotten a cold to top it all off. Hopefully there will be some good news at the doctor's appointment tomorrow. She could use it!

A Very Fun Christmas!

Submitted by William on Sat, 12/29/2007 - 11:15pm

Whew! My family just had our last Christmas party. It has been a fun week full of parties. And New Year's is right around the corner!

My favorite present from Christmas is the Guitar Star that Uncle Joe got for me. The only thing I really wanted for Christmas was Guitar Hero and this is close enough for me. It's got a cool guitar that I can use to practice my dance moves. It plugs in to the TV and plays like Guitar Hero. I just hold down one button and strum! I like it best when I hit notes and get fire! When Mommy asks me to do something I say, "When I'm done rockin'!"

Today we had Christmas with Grandpa Ron and Grandma Barb. I got a cool croquet set that doesn't even hurt if you hit somebody in the head. And a book of classic games like Candy Land from my cousin. There was a bunch of other cool stuff, too, but those two were my favorites!

Mom says I should mention the John Deere tractor that I got from Grandma Lanz. It got a little overshadowed by the Guitar Star that I opened at the same party. But I love John Deere! Daddy built me new bunk beds and I sleep on the top bunk in John Deere sheets. I even have a poster of a tractor on my wall up there. It all started from a video that Mommy checked out for me at the library a long time ago, and since then it's been "all about John Deere."

My Mommy and Daddy have been very busy getting ready for our baby sister. They say she could come any day! Mommy and Grandma painted the baby's room and Daddy turned my old bed into a crib for the baby. They say she could come anytime! I like babies. Today I was playing with Brayan who is four months old now. I was holding up a toy for him to grab. He is really cute! I know I'll be a good big brother!

I hope you had a merry Christmas! Hopefully next time I write it will be to introduce my baby sister!

My apologies

Submitted by Adoption on Sat, 12/29/2007 - 10:36pm

I would like to apologize to all those who check this blog regularly hoping for a bit of news about our progress. We have been so busy lately! We are almost done celebrating Christmas now (next year we'll have even more family to celebrate with - Yikes!). And we are almost ready for baby. Here's a list of our accomplishments this past week:

* The bunk beds are built and William has been sleeping well in the top bunk! He loves his John Deere sheets and comforter!

* The baby's room is painted. My mom helped me do this nice rag effect on the top half of the wall to soften the golden yellow and I painted a cute pink and white border. It's looking girly!

* I hung pictures and put up the Uppercase Living expression. It says "Wishes Do Come True" and the pictures are from a fairy tale book I had as a child.

* The crib is set up in the baby's room. It will be a nice quiet place to nap.

* We picked up the cradle that Darren, William and lots of other babies in Darren's family have slept in. The baby will sleep in our bedroom for the first couple months.

* My mom started working on the curtains for the baby's room, since I haven't gotten to it and still have so much reorganizing to do around here. Thanks, Mom!

So we're getting there. Like I've said before, we're ready whenever she comes. But every day we get more prepared to sit back and gaze at her while she sleeps rather than taking that opportunity to get stuff done around the house.

In between all of this, I've been taking breaks to pump. I average about 20 oz a day and have over 700 oz stored in the freezer now. I am getting really tired of pumping and am looking forward to nursing!

Dani is getting really tired of being pregnant! At her last appointment there was still no change. She just needs to start dialating and this baby can be born. She's been talking a lot about the future and the difficulties of making ends meet right now. She looks forward to healing after the delivery, getting a job and going back to school. She wants to be a good role model for her daughter. I'm proud of her!

The Night Out

Submitted by Adoption on Sat, 12/22/2007 - 9:04pm

We had dinner last night at Granite City in Maple Grove. It seems strange to say that because in my mind Granite City equals St. Cloud. But you could hardly tell the difference; it's almost the exact same place and the same food, too. Dani had never been there, so we thought it would be an appropriate place to meet. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet Dani's boyfriend. But Dani's parents came along, so we got to meet Dani's dad! He was very nice and seemed to be supportive of the adoption. I made the mistake of sitting between him and Darren. They started talking finances and I got stuck in the middle. Overall, it was a nice time. We are glad to know the baby's birth grandparents who will hopefully be a part of her life for a long time. Boyfriends can come and go, although it would be nice to meet this one since he's probably going to be in the delivery room when our daughter is born. I didn't really want to meet him across Dani's laboring belly, but it looks like I may have no other choice.

Mommy is 33!

Submitted by William on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 10:47pm

Yesterday on Mommy's birthday cake she had three candles and three more candles. Three - just like me! We had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Lanz's, sang happy birthday, and she got some nice presents.

Today was actually her real birthday. So tonight Daddy and I took her out for dinner at Mexican Villiage. That was the second time we had restaurant food today!

Dani and her mom came to our house and had Bo's subs for lunch after our meeting at the agency. I went along to the meeting and told them what I want to name the baby - Lung! (Like Gill from Finding Nemo.) Otherwise I was very quiet during the meeting. I played Michael's Leap Pad for a little while and there were a few toys in the room. Then I had some snack and rested on the comfy chair. (I'm getting over a bad cold, so I still get tired easily. Mommy is glad my appetite is coming back. I keep on getting taller but I'm not gaining any weight. Who'd guess anymore that I was such a chunky baby?)

After lunch we had some Christmas cookies. Dani and her mom had left and I decided I was hungry for some dessert, so I climbed up to the table and picked out a piece of fudge. I tasted one bite and was going to put the rest back for later, but Mommy and Daddy said that after you bite it you can't put it back so I ate the rest. Then Mommy said she had to put me down for a nap and I said, "No, you already chewed on me!"

I've been really into jokes lately. I know all the jokes in my Critter Giggles book by heart. Next time you see me, ask me to tell you a joke! I know lots of funny ones!