In a rut

I know I just posted about how all this motherhood stuff is finally clicking. And it still is for the most part. Lily's a champion sleeper, she has no eating issues now that the reflux has been figured out, and she is SO good natured. The little tiny problem I'm having right now is boredom. I know that's awful, but it's true. I feel like I'm running out of things to do with her. We can play in the jumperoo or with toys on the floor, but then what? We're using just one car to try to be more eco-friendly, so when my husband is working, we're kinda stuck here. Any ideas for things to do with a 6 1/2 month old? Great toys to invest in? Silly games to play? I'm not sure how much longer I can listen to the songs on the jumperoo...they're invading my dreams at night. :)

Finalization / the situation in Guatemala

I really can't wait. I know I've said it a million times, but I didn't think it would mean this much to me. It's just a "formality." But, I've been reading up on the situation with Guatemalan adoptions. Have you heard about this? I've read blogs about parents who have been in Guatemala since being matched with their baby. One couple has been there for five months WITH their child and now there is the alarming possibility that they might not be able to adopt him. And where would he go? Right back to the orphanage. Why in the world would this happen? Who in their right mind would say this is the best thing? According to this site the Guatemalan government feels there are too many unethical adoption practices linked to international adoption. I won't waste anyone's time and argue that it's not true, because we all know adoption can be ridiculously corrupt. So fine - go ahead and reform laws and work on the system. But do it starting now. Don't say that couples already matched and in love with their baby have to go home or start the process again. They're already parents to that child in their heart. It's not like buying a new car - like they can just get back on the list and start over and be fine. We're talking about families here. Families already made.

The good news is that apparently both sides (US and Guat.) are caving a bit and saying that adoptions already in the process can proceed, but how long with that last? It makes me NUTS!
So, back to my original reason for this post - hearing about families already so bonded and in love with their babies makes me want our finalization done NOW. It's a formality, but it's one I want to be over and done with.

Also, if you have more news on the situation in Guatemala, please comment. I'd love to learn more!

Sitting up!

Just LOOK at this girl! She's sitting up all by herself. (yes, that's a squishy exercise mat under her - we're not taking any chances.) It was really overnight - she just decided she wanted to do it and now she can sit there for an hour and just play with her toys and babble to them and us and well...just to herself. It's the greatest! AND it's really freed me up SO much to do other things. I can sit her in her high chair with a toy and she'll just play and hang out while I clean or cook or whatever. I LOVE IT! It's funny how hard this mom thing can be at times and then there are other times where it really just clicks!! I'm in one of those click times right now and life is good :)

Time Flies

Happy six months, my beautiful girl. I can't believe it's been half a year since I first saw this beautiful face. Thank you for the best six months of my life so far. Nothing is better than being your mommy.

I love you!

Final Post Placement Vist - OVER! :)

We had such a wonderful weekend. The weather was gorgeous, we had friends and family around us, and most importantly, we finished Lily's post placement! Our meeting Friday couldn't have been better. Lily put on her best show:) She rolled over and sat up and squealed and giggled at our social worker. She said that Lily may be the happiest baby she's ever seen. It made me feel so good and almost validated as a mom in a way to hear someone who is supposed to be ensuring that we're doing well tell us that we're raising a happy girl! :)

Also, I've taken up a new mania. I have given in to the craze that is scrap booking. Oh my gosh, it's like crack. I don't know that first hand, I'm just making a comparison from what I've HEARD about crack and it's addictive qualities :) Anyway, I literally spent every single free minute this weekend scrap booking Lily's lifebook. It brought to the surface all the incredible joy of first seeing her. It made me stop in my tracks and pray so hard for Autumn and her family. It's been very therapeutic and has reminded me so much how blessed I am! Also, it's darn fun. :) Lily sits in her high chair and plays with toys while I scrapbook. It's so much fun to see her growing into a little girl. I feel like she's my little pal now while I do things.

AND, I can't believe I almost forgot, we had to move her up into a "big girl" car seat!! No more snug ride! Yes, I got a little teary:) I can't believe she's six months old tomorrow! So cliche, but where does the time go? Happy Monday, all! :)

It's the small things, really

Two posts in one day. I'm on fire. :) I have to be a total nerd right this second and say how excited I am that the fall tv season is starting. Does that make me lame? Perhaps. Do I care? NO!!! Dancing with the Stars is on THREE nights this week. And all the new shows that looks so great are starting up soon. It really is the little things in life, you know? :) SO....what new shows are you looking forward to this fall? Go ahead, don't be shy. If I admit to watching three nights in a row of Dancing with the Stars, you can feel comfortable to tell me what you're watching. :)

Also, this is the sight I got tonight when I put my girl to bed. She talked to her "friends" in her crib for awhile and turned herself totally sideways. I just had to go in and take a picture. The "experts" would come down on me for going back in once I put her down. What do they know? :) They can kiss it, because if I hadn't, I would've missed the most beautiful thing I've seen all day! :)

100th post AND some great news!

Well...this is exciting:) I can't believe this is my 100th post. All of you with 500 posts, hush! Let me have my moment:)

Now that that's over...the great news. We have a finalization date!! It is set for October 24th. I know it's a technicality and all that, but it feels so important and exciting to me. It will be such a beautiful moment to finally have her "real" name on a legal document. I just can't wait.

Our final post placement visit is Friday, and I can't wait to show our social worker all the new things our girl can do. She is so good with her hands now and has just discovered that toes (her own) are a great toy. It's really incredible how much they learn literally over night.

Woman suing RE for twins from IVF

Have you SEEN this? I love more than anything to watch Morning Joe on MSNBC when I wake up. This morning, I read this on the ticker:

CANBERRA, Australia - An Australian woman who gave birth to twins instead of a single baby after receiving in-vitro fertilization has sued her doctor for the cost of bringing up the second child.
The woman, who cannot be identified because of a court order, is seeking more than 400,000 Australian dollars (US $332,000) to cover the expense of raising one child until age 21.
Testifying in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday, the 40-year-old mother said she told her doctor, Robert Armellin, that she only wanted one child. But an embryologist under the doctor's supervision implanted two embryos in her uterus, resulting in the birth of non-identical twin girls.
The woman told the court that she and her partner were devastated when they learned she was carrying twins, and had even considered putting one of the babies up for adoption.
She said that while she enjoyed some aspects of her pregnancy, such as decorating the girls' nursery, other parts were distressing, including purchasing a stroller, or pram.
"It was like the last frontier of acceptance to spend hundreds of dollars on a pram," she said.
The couple, whose combined income exceeds A$100,000 (US $82,875), are seeking A$398,000 (US $329,000) to cover the costs of raising one of the girls, including private school fees. They also want around A$15,000 (US $12,427) to compensate them for time off work and medical expenses.


Okay, I can understand being upset if you said specifically to implant just one, but as someone who once prayed and hoped so hard for a baby, I can't IMAGINE suing the doctor because I had twins. And going in for IVF and then wanting to place one for adoption? Why does this make me SO furious? I don't know, but it does. Seriously, I'm so angry about it. It seems so ridiculous to me. I'll adopt your "extra" baby, lady.

Solid Foods - finally SUCCESS:)

I have a hidden bad mommy secret. I didn't want to start Lily on solid foods at all, and I have been very lazy about trying to get her to eat them. We tried a few times with no luck at all - she just had zero interest in it. She turned her nose right up at it. BUT, today it was just like something clicked. I made a tablespoon of rice cereal (a bit thicker than the previous times, which I'm sure helped), and she ate the entire thing. I really think like so many things in life, she just had to be ready for it. It was the greatest, and I had so much fun with it. Here are a few of the obligatory food pics; now that I look at them closely, she looks a bit frightened. :)

Book Review: On Borrowed Wings

I am loving doing these book reviews! The Mother Talk book I have just finished is "On Borrowed Wings" by Chandra Prasad. This is a book I would've chosen for myself off the shelves at any bookstore. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the premise of a young woman in the 1930's taking on the persona of her deceased brother to enroll at then "males only" Yale is one that would've surely sparked my interest. I love novels with strong female protagonists - they are hard to find. Adele is a bright, sharp, yet sensitive dreamer. She has grown up in a world where marrying someone who works at the local mine is what is expected of her. I loved watching her sense of adventure and longing for more in her life unfold. Prasad has written a lovely coming of age novel.

I will say that the idea of a woman disguising herself as a man (Shakespeare's Rosalind in "As You Like It, Viola in "Twelfth Night") is not a new one, and it is one with which I struggle to suspend my disbelief. The only pause I gave the novel was accepting the idea that any woman could truly impersonate a man so well as to be able to live, sleep, eat, learn, etc. with them and not be discovered. There were also a few scenes that just didn't play well with me. Adele seems to step out of herself a time or two and engages in some things that were strange and uncomfortable to read.

All in all, I did enjoy the novel. The character of Adele is well-written, and as previously mentioned, I always like reading something with a strong female protagonist.