Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Have totally neglected this blog!
Oh how our lives have changed since I posted to this blog nearly a year ago. Brodie is two and a half and the most wonderful little guy. He was placed with us full time as foster child 11/30/09 and we have enjoyed every single minute since then. He adjusted very fast to my entire family & they are as much in love with him as Gary and I are. August 20th we signed the Adoption Placement Agreement meaning that he is no longer a foster child but our adoptive child. At this point we can legally start calling him Brodie, which we have been doing for the past year anyway. The next step in the process is to meet with our adoption attorney and sign the Petition for Adoption that has to be filed with the court system. I'm patiently waiting for a packet of paperwork to arrive from the attorney. Once the attorney files it there is a mandatory 30 day waiting period before a court date can be set for the adoption hearing.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Lovin our little guy!
We are having so much fun with Brodie! Here are a few pictures from this weekend, boxes are so much fun!
We have him on Monday's-Wednesday's 5-8 pm and Thursday's at 5pm until Sunday's at 8pm. This schedule is a little crazy because by the time we pick him up from daycare, cook supper and bath time it's time to load up and take him back to Cindy's (foster Mom), it really doesn't give us much play time. It's so much easier when we have him for overnight visits, the routine just flows and so much less bouncing here and there. The schedule is made out until the end of November. We met with our Foster Care Worker on Thursday and she was not aware that we were having visits seven days per week. She asked if we are ready for a full time placement and my answer was YES!!
This is the most awesome time of my life! There is nothing better than a smiling face and open arms when he wakes up from his nap. Oh yeah and the only thing that tops that are all of the hugs and kisses he freely gives out.
We are so blessed to be part of his life.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
First Visit/Respite Care
This is such an exciting weekend for me. I am providing respite care for the little guy that we are going to adopt! Unfortunately Gary is out of town for his monthly military obligation so they still have not yet met.
Yesterday at noon I picked him up from his foster mom's day care center. Before this time I had only met him once on July 31st for a couple of hours while he was still having visits with his bio-mom. When it was time for us to leave he started crying as she put him in my car, actually foster mom got a little misty eyed too. I talked to him and tried to comfort him on the way home and by the time we got to our house he was just softly whimpering. Then as soon as he seen our dogs he just lit up and there hasn't been any crying since. After he checked out our house and got aquaninted with the dogs we went our our first field trip to Wal-Mart to stock up on toddler snacks, buys some toys and find the right kind of sippy cups. (I really had no idea they make forty-thousand different kids of sippy cups) Gary and I had been to Wal-Mart the night before to buy this stuff but without knowing his developmental level we were totally lost and left the store empty handed.
When we got back home from Wal-Mart it was nap time and I had no idea how this was going to go. Although we have been going through the process of becoming foster to adopt parents for months I have refused to convert our spare bedroom into a child's room until we had a license in hand. I guess this way of thinking may have come from all of the disappointments involved in fertility treatments. Anyway, since we received our license last week we have not had time to do anything with the bedroom so we only have a queen size bed. I rocked him for maybe five minutes and he fell asleep and I put him in the big bed with pillows protecting the edge and he slept for three hours. He was the happiest little boy when he woke up considering that he was in a strange bed (he normally sleeps in a crib), strange house with a strange woman.
Later that evening we went to a local pumpkin patch with Shelly a long time friend, her husband Bill and their daughter Reese. It extremely windy (even for Kansas) and chilly so we didn't stay long but we got some really nice pumpkins and had fun. After that we went to meet my family, (mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, nephew & niece) at a restaurant for dinner. I hadn't expected to do so much on the first day for fear that I would totally overload him but in my life nothing ever goes according to plans. He was pretty apprehensive about all of the new people and really clung to me at first. My family is very understanding of his situation and that everyone/everything is new and different for him so they let him lead the way.
When we got home it was bath time and found out he loves taking a bath. He never even flinched when I poured the water on his head to rinse out the shampoo. As I had him bundled up in the towel he kept opening his mouth wide showing me his teeth. I finally figured it out that he is used to having his teeth brushed before pajama time. So all bundled up in his towel I sat on the edge of the tub and he leaned back with his mouth wide open and let me thoroughly brush his teeth.
After getting ready for bed and playing for about 10 minutes he crawled up in the rocking chair with me and fell asleep with me holding him. He slept the entire night from 8:45 p.m. until 8:15 the next morning. I don't know how many times I got up to look in on him but I know he got WAY more rest than I did.
Today we have played, went to Wal-Mart (again) and played with Reese and after nap time we are going to my parents house to help make scarecrows to decorate for fall/Halloween.
He is such an even tempered little boy and is absolutely adorable and I'm already dreading him going home tomorrow night. I don't know what the future has in store for us regarding visitations and transitioning him into our home but I will keep everyone updated.
Yesterday at noon I picked him up from his foster mom's day care center. Before this time I had only met him once on July 31st for a couple of hours while he was still having visits with his bio-mom. When it was time for us to leave he started crying as she put him in my car, actually foster mom got a little misty eyed too. I talked to him and tried to comfort him on the way home and by the time we got to our house he was just softly whimpering. Then as soon as he seen our dogs he just lit up and there hasn't been any crying since. After he checked out our house and got aquaninted with the dogs we went our our first field trip to Wal-Mart to stock up on toddler snacks, buys some toys and find the right kind of sippy cups. (I really had no idea they make forty-thousand different kids of sippy cups) Gary and I had been to Wal-Mart the night before to buy this stuff but without knowing his developmental level we were totally lost and left the store empty handed.
When we got back home from Wal-Mart it was nap time and I had no idea how this was going to go. Although we have been going through the process of becoming foster to adopt parents for months I have refused to convert our spare bedroom into a child's room until we had a license in hand. I guess this way of thinking may have come from all of the disappointments involved in fertility treatments. Anyway, since we received our license last week we have not had time to do anything with the bedroom so we only have a queen size bed. I rocked him for maybe five minutes and he fell asleep and I put him in the big bed with pillows protecting the edge and he slept for three hours. He was the happiest little boy when he woke up considering that he was in a strange bed (he normally sleeps in a crib), strange house with a strange woman.
Later that evening we went to a local pumpkin patch with Shelly a long time friend, her husband Bill and their daughter Reese. It extremely windy (even for Kansas) and chilly so we didn't stay long but we got some really nice pumpkins and had fun. After that we went to meet my family, (mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, nephew & niece) at a restaurant for dinner. I hadn't expected to do so much on the first day for fear that I would totally overload him but in my life nothing ever goes according to plans. He was pretty apprehensive about all of the new people and really clung to me at first. My family is very understanding of his situation and that everyone/everything is new and different for him so they let him lead the way.
When we got home it was bath time and found out he loves taking a bath. He never even flinched when I poured the water on his head to rinse out the shampoo. As I had him bundled up in the towel he kept opening his mouth wide showing me his teeth. I finally figured it out that he is used to having his teeth brushed before pajama time. So all bundled up in his towel I sat on the edge of the tub and he leaned back with his mouth wide open and let me thoroughly brush his teeth.
After getting ready for bed and playing for about 10 minutes he crawled up in the rocking chair with me and fell asleep with me holding him. He slept the entire night from 8:45 p.m. until 8:15 the next morning. I don't know how many times I got up to look in on him but I know he got WAY more rest than I did.
Today we have played, went to Wal-Mart (again) and played with Reese and after nap time we are going to my parents house to help make scarecrows to decorate for fall/Halloween.
He is such an even tempered little boy and is absolutely adorable and I'm already dreading him going home tomorrow night. I don't know what the future has in store for us regarding visitations and transitioning him into our home but I will keep everyone updated.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
I'm addicted to a podcast
http://fosterpodcast.com/
I found a pod cast on i-tunes when I searched for foster parents. Since then I have been addicted and committed to listening to all 60 pod casts. Wendy and Tim have documented their journey from becoming foster parents through the entire process of adopting two little girls. They have been through a lot of rough times but each pod cast is very motivational and they put it in black and white that the process is not easy or painless but the end result is worth every minute of heartache.
I found a pod cast on i-tunes when I searched for foster parents. Since then I have been addicted and committed to listening to all 60 pod casts. Wendy and Tim have documented their journey from becoming foster parents through the entire process of adopting two little girls. They have been through a lot of rough times but each pod cast is very motivational and they put it in black and white that the process is not easy or painless but the end result is worth every minute of heartache.
Preparing my car for a child
Oh my what a process it is to find a car seat that is safe and fits in my car. I drive a 2008 Ford Escape so I never though anything about it. I bought a Evenflo - Triumph Advance Convertible Car Seat and it was huge there would have no way for it to work in my car. So back to Wal-Mart I go in search for another car seat.
I decided on a Safety 1st - Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat and it fits in my car wonderfully, easy to install and easy to use.
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