E is a little parrot and will copy a lot of what he hears. When Joey says “you are a little parrot”, E says “little parrot”.

Today we practiced saying “Happy Mother’s Day” and E was able to say “Happy Muffer’s Day” so I posted this on Facebook:

My cousin Jon’s comment made me laugh. Little does he know that I try really hard not to be E’s speech therapist.

Here’s a video of him playing with/on the bumbo chair:

Note: Daddy dressed him in the outfit he is wearing.

and a video of course

This is a picture of a notepad full of letters to E. I am so glad I started this and hope to continue for a very long time. I just wish I would have started on nicer paper/pad.

I am now wondering what I should do with these letters – put them in envelopes and label them with the date? Put them in envelopes with some of my favorite pictures? Just keep them in the notepad? Do I need to buy a box to keep them in that I can give E when he is bigger? Anybody have any ideas for me?

Blog Update:

I have not been very motivated to blog (or even take pictures) since Picnik disappeared. It really is sad how much it has affected me. Ask Joey. BUT, Joey has been trying to help me come up with a picture editing solution so I can blog again. Remember this post? Anyway. I like PicMonkey (probably because it is so similar to Picnik) but it doesn’t have the capability of picture collages (yet). And isn’t that why you read my blog anyway? Just kidding.

Hopefully there will be more posts to come! Stay tuned.

E watched this video tonight and was laughing really hard. It was funny. Then it reminded him that it was fun to throw books off the bookshelf so he quickly went to his room to do it again. Oops.

Okay here we go. This is very hard to share and talk about because I have not been able to fully process everything yet and sitting down and writing this is helping me to do so. 5 months ago I started feeling funny, I started feeling movement and I swear I felt a heart beat, so I went to see my doctor and come to find out I was about 4 months pregnant (20-22 weeks) and that the baby was a boy. My life was turned upside down and I realized how serious things were and what I had done.

Very early on I knew that I could not provide for him, so I started looking into adoption with the help of Tamara Anderson and the Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC). I decided to place him up for adoption through a private adoption attorney. I started looking for a family who I wanted to raise my son and soon found a couple I really liked. I met them and got to ask questions and get to know them and I knew right away they were the right couple!

Long story short, my son was born March 31. Two days later I went to court and signed my rights over.

I have no regrets in this last year of my life whatsoever and I wouldn’t change a thing! So many good things have come out of this experience and I have learned so much. I am so happy and excited for my son, he will have so much more than I could ever have dreamed of! His mom and dad are amazing people with an amazing family! I love my son with all my heart and I love his mom and dad very dearly! I will miss all of them very much!

I am so very proud of all that Kathlene has done. She has shown amazing strength and love through all of this.

I have never thought about how adoption affects the birth mother’s family until now. It will be hard not being a part of Kathlene’s son’s life. BUT I am glad that my family got to meet my sister’s baby and hold him and take lots and lots of pictures of him. I am glad we got to meet his adoptive parents and that we will get to hear how he’s doing since it is an open adoption. This baby now has a birth mom, adoptive parents, 6 grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles. He will be very very spoiled.

Thank you Kathlene for letting me share your story on my blog. I love you!

Thursday 3/1: Eli made his first Snowman with Grandma & Opa. Dinner at El Rancho Grande w/ Grandma, Opa & Aunt Kathlene

Friday 3/2: E played in the play place at McDonald’s

Saturday 3/3: Sang Amazing Grace with E filling in some of the words

Sunday 3/4: E gagged himself and threw up after lunch. Gross! Kathlene met a very important family.

Monday 3/5: Went to Little Gym – practiced donkey kicks and hand stands against the wall. Went to Build-A-Bear with Aunt Kathlene and went to lunch. Older couple saw E using my iPhone and commented “He can really do that on his own?”

Tuesday 3/6: E not feeling very well but still happy. Snowed.

Wednesday 3/7: Very windy day.

Thursday 3/8: Called Grandma O “Hama” for the first time. Helped Opa install dishwasher.

Friday 3/9: E spent the day with Grandma Day and called her “Hama” for the first time. Dinner club at my house.

Saturday 3/10: Had Easter pictures taken with little bunnies. Went through boxes of 2T clothes in E’s closet. Feel extremely blessed.

Sunday 3/11: Time change. Slept in and missed church. Trip to Costco. Older gentleman commented that we enjoy E too much. Met a very important family.

Monday 3/12: E went to Little Gym with Dad

Tuesday 3/13: E hung out with Opa and Daddy while I worked late. Kathlene was admitted to hospital to be checked.

Wednesday 3/14: Dinner with friends at Blue Lemon. Delicious!

Thursday 3/15: E cried when Grandma O drove away. He was screaming “Hama! Hama! Hama!”

Friday 3/16: Went to Airborne with Grandma Day, Grandfather, Aunt Merissa and Uncle Steve and all his cousins. Dinner at Chiles after.

Saturday 3/17: Corned beef and cabbage dinner at Grandma O’s. Cousins gave E small presents.

Sunday 3/18: Grandma O, Opa and Aunt Kathlene came for dinner

Monday 3/19: E went to Little Gym with Mom. Walked around in the snow in the morning and it was gone by the afternoon. Garage door stopped working.

Tuesday 3/20: E spent the day with Grandma O and Opa. I worked late.

Wednesday 3/21: Played a game on the stairs where Joey runs up and down the stairs and E laughs. E has a runny nose.

Thursday 3/22: Forgot to put makeup on in the morning. Stopped at Walgreens and spent $17 for eye shadow and mascara. Crazy!

Friday 3/23: E still has a runny nose. Went to Physical Therapy and was very impressed. Took Kathlene for blood work. Got oil changed in car. Dinner at Applebees to celebrate Joey passing a test – E did really well in the restaurant. Dropped off car for repairs (brakes, rotors, coolant service and spark plugs).

Saturday 3/24: Got a migraine. Got to hold my friends sleeping baby for 2 hours while they went to lunch. Garage door fixed (thanks Opa!)

Sunday 3/25: Stayed home from church since E is not feeling well. Picked up my car and the key wouldn’t turn to start the car. Eventually got it working. E and I had a fun/silly bedtime routine

Monday 3/26: E got a haircut. He was so upset he was crying and shaking. After dinner E had fun playing outside in the wind pushing a car.

Tuesday 3/27: E cried when Joey played with a transformer toy and changed it into a robot. Christene and I enjoyed dessert at Kneaders.

Wednesday 3/28: Played with bubbles on the deck in the rain. E can say “bubbles” clearly but sometimes calls them “bub bubs”

Thursday 3/29: Opa was teaching E to say car brands – he can say “Honda” “Hyundai” “Ford” and “Jeep” now. Dinner at Red Robin with Aunt Kathlene, Opa & Grandma.

Friday 3/30: Playdate with Hannah and Rachel. E found a pretty earing so we put it on him. Kathlene admitted to hospital. Played on the deck with Opa.

Saturday 3/31: We got to meet a newborn baby. E was not very interested.

Too funny!

They were the perfect gifts – cars!

Thank you L, A, A, & M!

And of course, we had to get the obligatory everyone-sit-still-and-smile picture

Too cute!

First we went jumping at Airborne

Then we had dinner at Chili’s

After dinner they played with their balloons in the parking lot. Don’t worry, I tied E’s balloon to his pants so he wouldn’t loose it.

It was fun to watch them have so much fun with the balloons.

To be a kid again *sigh*

Here are some pictures of him “helping” install Opa’s new dishwasher

I couldn’t be more happy how it turned out. Thanks Joey!

Now I just have to wait a couple more weeks before it’s ready to be used in recipes.

He was a little squirmy but still filled in the words.

Great Granny would be proud (and so are we)

I keep a wet paper towel or wash cloth close by in case he colors on something besides the window but he usually does pretty well staying on the window. Yesterday he really had fun coloring all over the window. Joey drew some pictures and E was able to name them all except the bunny rabbit. Joey and I think he’s pretty smart.

The Cars decals are from Grandma O. E had fun labeling Lightening McQueen’s body parts as he colored ALL over them (i.e.,”eyes”, “mouth”, “teeth”, “nose”). I really hope I do not find E’s pretty artwork on my walls one day. I don’t mind it on my windows.

Here are some before, during and after pictures

Thank you Dad for all your help!

After I took a couple of pictures, Joey and I managed to get his shoes and jacket off and carry him upstairs without waking him up. However, the minute Joey put him in his crib he woke up.

After he woke up, we ate lunch and then was ready for his real nap. Thank goodness.

There is an area for kids 8 years old and under and it was perfect. It wasn’t too busy so I didn’t have to worry about E getting trampled. When E and Joey were playing in the foam pit, I watched the other kids wait until there was room for them to jump. I was very impressed with how well the kids watched out for everyone.

Here’s a video of E when we first got there

Definitely looking forward to going back!

Some thoughts about our evening

• We got to meet the wine maker and learn about the wines we would be drinking. They were delicious. I enjoyed the white wines the most.
• The wait staff would top off our glasses before they served the next wine. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much wine in one sitting. It was a good thing dinner was 3 hours long.
• The portions seemed so small. Five bites and they were gone but by the end of the night I was full.
• By the third course my water glass seemed like it weighed 5 lbs!
• I think I visited the restroom 5 times
• I really wanted some bread to eat to help absorb all the wine I was drinking
• The food was seriously amazing. Especially the fourth course. The beef tenderloin melted in your mouth. Seriously.
• I was sad there was not a dessert course (even though I was full)
• We had enjoyable conversation and I tried not to talk about the food the whole night
• Joey and I may or may not have spent some time on our phones between courses
• I think we might have been the youngest people there
• I’m not sure I will go to a wine pairing again unless I can say no to some of the wine (and not have to pay for it)
• In case you were wondering, Joey was able to drive us home safely.
• I will definitely be returning to Franck’s in the near future

Thanks Joey for such a wonderful surprise!

He makes me laugh. I love how he was shaking his head when saying “Dad” near the end of the video.

I love how to hear his laugh and see his smiles.

Joey was able to get a video of his fun too

First we went to Sears to pick out a new microwave and E had fun running around the store. He found a Lightening McQueen bed and thought that was pretty cool.

We pickup our new microwave on Wednesday and then my Dad will install it for us. I am praying that everything will go smoothly. Last month he installed a new microwave at his house and ended up falling through the ceiling. He banged up his knee but is fine now.

After shopping, we went to one of our favorite burger places for lunch, AB’s. Before we sat down, we walked by the candy machine to get a highchair and he shouted “dee” for the candy. After lunch, I got a quarter out and asked E if he wanted some candy. As we walked over to the machine, I started modeling “CAN” “DEE” and got E to say both syllables but separated out. He’s trying and I love it.

Speech side note: A couple of weeks ago, Joey and I made a list of all the words E says (it was around 60 words) and Joey noticed (not me) that E does not say any two-syllable words. For example: he says “chow” for “Ka-chow”, “choo” for “choo choo”, “dee” for “candy”, etc. As a speech therapist this worries me a little bit so I have been focusing on two-syllables words with E.

After E’s afternoon nap, we went to the cemetery to see Great Granny’s grave with my family. E had fun running around on the grass. We came back to our place for dinner and dessert and Grandma and Opa gave him a valentine’s present – A Cars mailbox with Cars valentines, Cars chocolate, Cars stickers and Cars temporary tattoos. He did not enjoy the process of getting a tattoo as you can see from the pictures

After dinner everybody played with play dough and E had fun destroying what Grandma made.

What a fun day!

He really does like to read books but I think he likes to say the word “no” even more.

Where did my baby go?

I decided to make enough to give people as gifts so it ended up being a little more expensive than I was expecting. I am hoping the end product is worth it.