2 Week Visit

We had our 2 week follow up visit with the counselor last week. The whole thing took about 15 minutes and involved questions such as:

• Ian's height/weight at birth and now
• Any health issues
• How are we bonding with Ian
• How is the relationship with his birthfamily

Pretty painless really. We have another visit scheduled at the 2 month mark. In the meanwhile our attorney has filed the paperwork. The adoption should be finalized in about 3 months. Yeah!!!

Ashley and her dad are coming up this weekend for their first visit since Ian arrived. We are so excited to see them again! Ian is growing like a weed and I'm sure they will be amazed at how much he's changed in just 3 weeks.

Progress

I'm officially down 18 pounds! The competition is fierce and I'm still in 2nd place. I'm finding time to work out every other day. Truth be told, I could find time to work out everyday but I'm still great at avoiding it. I need to kick it into high gear if I want to win this thing though. I'm losing about 2lbs per week but I'm trailing the leader by 2lbs. So I really need to double my weight loss this week to regain the lead. I gotta tell you, this competition is the best thing for me! I know I would have given up by now if it weren't for this weekly weigh in.

Not to give away any of my best secrets to my competitors but here are a couple of food tricks that I have found recently:

• Instead of pasta, make spaghetti using a spaghetti squash. It's a little crunchier than pasta which I find satisfying. As far as taste goes, it takes on the flavor of the sauce. Delish!
• Instead of potato chips, I made pita chips (a trick from my friend Garren). We had some left over pita wedges so I split them, sprayed them with olive oil Pam and sprinkled on some spices before baking them. I control the oil and the flavor so I know exactly what I'm eating.
• My favorite dessert (aside from chocolate) is apple crisp. I heat up all natural applesauce in the microwave and stir in cinnamon. Delish and healthy!

Any great recipes for me? Any great workout tips? I hear the weather is supposed to be nice so we'll be getting outside for some walks with Ian. I probably burn more calories doing a dvd, but walking with Ian is more fun. And it has the added benefit of calming my fussy little guy! Win-win.

Relay for Life Kick Off

You are all invited to the 2008 Relay for Life of Lake Oswego Kick Off Party. Phew, that's a mouth full! Here are the details:

When: Monday, February 4th (that's tomorrow) from 7-8pm
Where: Lake Oswego High School cafeteria 2501 Country Club Road
Bring your family & friends
Enjoy snacks & prizes
Listen to an inspirational speaker
Find out more about this year's Relay theme
Learn more about Relay for Life

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Relay for Life and have a little fun at the same time. And fun is a big part of what Relay is all about. Curin' cancer and havin' fun. Now that's what I'm talkin about. Actually, that really is what I'm talkin about... The Relay committee asked me to share our story at the kick off tomorrow. It JUST occured to me that I may be the "inspirational speaker" they are listing in the publicity info. Maybe there is another inspirational speaker. Maybe I'm just one of many people giving their story. Sure, I bet that's it. Because being inspirational is a lot of pressure. Does that mean you're supposed to make them laugh...or cry...or dance? Who knows? My goal is simple. I am going to tell the story of my brave little girl's battle and all the people we've met along the way. And hope that our story inspires them to raise a little more money to cure cancer.

I hope you can make it! But if you can't and would like more info on Relay or our team, Walking with Angels, let me know. We'd love to have you join our team. Or even start a new team! You can also get more info on the website: http://events.cancer.org/rfllakeoswegoor

Biggest Loser - Week 4

I was leading the pack for the first 2 weeks and then...Ian arrived. The first week after he was born we were in Bend and I had little time for working out. Then last week I caught a cold. Another week gone without breaking a sweat.

But I realize that these are just excuses. And I am GREAT at finding excuses not to work out. In fact, if that were an Olympic event, I bet I'd be a gold medalist for sure. But they don't give out medals for lazy, jiggly people. Nor do the aforementioned people win weight loss competitions. So, I'm committed to dragging my booty down to the playroom/workout room everyday. Or at least every other day. I'd like to get out and walk with Ian but it's been flippin cold here. No, that's not an excuse. It's been snowing off and on for 3 days. So sue me if I just don't feel like taking my newborn out for a stroll in that weather.

Despite my laziness, I have managed to lose 15 lbs in the first 4 weeks. Yeah! And I was leading for the first 2 weeks! Yeah again. But now I've dropped to 2nd place with the 3rd place contestant breathing down my neck. Boo. There are no prizes for 2nd place. Well...other than a longer, healthier life maybe...but I'm talking CASH prizes!!! And don't forget the bragging rights. That's a pretty sweet little perk right there. Look out Biggest Loser competitors, I'm not out of this game yet!

He's Here!

Ashley's birthing coach and friend called us around 9pm on the 16th and said that Ashley was feeling some contractions. They were going to wait for her clothes to dry and then make their way to the hospital. We jumped in the car and started driving. At 10:30pm she called to say they were at the hospital and Ashley was dialated to 8cm!!! At 12:30am when we were just 18 miles from the hospital, Ashley called to congratulate us on our new baby boy. We missed the birth! But we had a healthy beautiful baby boy. He was born at 11:52pm on the 16th. Lillian's birthday was the 16th of October so we were so pleased to hear that they share a birthdate. He was 8lbs 13oz and 21 inches long with blue eyes and short blondish brown hair. We arrived around 1:10am to greet our son.

After much debate, our little boy is named Ian. Zachary was a name that Ashley had selected. Ian was chosen for several reasons among which are: it means "God is gracious" and we praise God's grace in this adoption and I-A-N are the last 3 letters in Lillian's name. He is Lillian's little brother even by name.

After 3 days in the hospital, Ashley signed the necessary paperwork and we celebrated our new family with a special entrustment ceremony. Then we all headed to a home we rented in the area to spend some more time getting to know each other and doting on our little boy. We also hosted a birthday party for Ian with Ashley's friends and family in attendance. It was a wonderful week with love just pouring over Ian.

And now, we're home! It feels so good. Our little champ slept the entire way home even skipping a meal in the process. (Of course he demanded that meal as soon as the car stopped.) Thank you all for your prayers. We can't wait for all of you to meet him!

The Nursery

In 1 frenetic week I managed to convert the nursery from pink to blue. Thankfully the walls were green so we didn't have to repaint. Just about everything else was girly from the mirror to the bedding to the lamp. After many shopping trips, each item was replaced by boyish blue.

Lillian had moved out of the crib into a twin bed so we have both in the room right now. The biggest challenge was finding bedding for both beds that I liked and that coordinated...or at least didn't clash. I prefer not to use a theme and finding twin bedding that is not covered in cars or animals proved to be quite a task. Not to mention squeezing all that furniture into one room. But I have a feeling that twin bed is gonna come in handy on some particularly rough nights.



It still needs a couple more final touches and the curtains need ironing desperately but for the most part it's done. Now all we need is the little boy who is gonna use it.

Mediation II

It was another busy weekend. We left Thursday afternoon and took the long way in order to pick up traction tires in The Dalles. (Apparently my new car has special tires that are not readily available.) Friday we met Ashley, her aunt Becky and her friend/birthing coach Julie at the doctor's office. We were quite a crowd so Jeff eagerly volunteered to sit this one out in the waiting room. I met the midwife and heard this little boy's strong heartbeat. Everything is looking great. After the doctor's appointment, Ashley and her aunt meet with the counselor alone for a bit while we wondered the local mall. Then we gathered for the second and final mediation session. One by one we checked off all the components of the session from the birthplan to the name to the open adoption contract.

One thing they warn you about when you are adopting for the second time is not to expect the experience to be the same. Although we have tried to isolate this adoption and enjoy it as an independent journey, it is difficult not to compare. The hospital experience will be very different which I had a hard time accepting. But I have realized that it is only a few days of a lifetime so I can tough it out.

We really believe in the value of open adoption. We feel that it is best for the child to have lots of contact with his birthparents. Fortunately Ashley wants lots of contact which we're very excited about. The challenge will be maintaining that level of contact throughout our every changing, busy lives. We are writing the contract with the hope and commitment to making it happen.

We're continuing to build this relationship so that we have a foundation to build off of once this baby is born. Ashley and Julie are driving up to Portland this weekend to visit and see our house. That means Jeff is finishing all the final touches of the remodel and I am quickly converting the pink nursery to blue. I know the nursery doesn't need to be done this week but I want to get it ready for 3 reasons. 1) I want Ashley to see the room this little guy will sleep in so she can picture it when they're apart. 2) I want this baby to have a special space when he gets home that was created just for him. 3) I don't want to worry about decorating after he is born, I just want to enjoy him! I'll post pics once it's done.

I can't believe this baby could be here in the next few weeks. I am so ready to snuggle with him!!!