Thursday, July 28, 2011

6 months

I know I have been completely slack at updating the blog but to be honest I have been enjoying some lazy summer days with my sweet boy! I have to go back to work in 2 weeks; I can't believe that summer has gone by so fast. I told Tommy that I couldn't believe it has gone by so fast and I feel like I really haven't done anything. He told me I've been busy, I just haven't realized it :) It's a different kind of busy but I love every minute of it!

I can't believe that we have a 6 month old! In just a few short months, we'll be planning a birthday party! We have decided to have an adoption finalization party for him though :) We debated about whether or not to do it but then thought it would just be a fun way to celebrate and have everyone join us at the beach house for a fun dinner. I'm really looking forward to it.

Garrett went to the doctor today and it went well. He's doing great and didn't weigh as much as I thought he would. I thought he was going to be over 20 lbs :) So here are some 6 month stats :)
Height: 27.3 inches
Weight: 19 lbs 14 oz
He's been sitting up on his own since mid June and that's the same time he cut his two bottom teeth. The doctor doesn't think it's going to be too much longer before the top ones try to come through. He continues to make all sorts of noises and his newest "noise" is a blowing sound; it's pretty funny.

We continue to be in awe of everything he is doing and learning and we feel so blessed to be able to come along for the ride!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Finalization

I thought I'd tell you about what is to come in these upcoming days regarding the finalization of our adoption. I thought I *knew* what was going to happen but I didn't :)

In NC you don't have to go before a judge to have everything signed. Actually it's not even an option. They sign the paperwork and send you a copy. A few people have asked if it was a certificate or something....nope :) Just a very formal 2 page paper that states that biological parental rights have been terminated and we are the official forever family to this sweet boy. It's stamped with the seal and the judge signs it. That's it; it's funny because that's all that came in the mail--not even a paper that says "here's what you should do next."

We are very eager to get the birth certificate for one reason.....Tommy wants to buy Garrett a lifetime hunting and fishing license. Here, if you buy one before they turn 1 it costs around 200 and they are set for life. If you wait, it's upwards of 800. I know not the typical reason for wanting a birth certificate.

So, what happens now. Well I was told I could *possibly* get his social security number with just the adoption decree (it says his birthdate etc). So the next day I go be bopping down to the social security office to try to get his number. No can do! The lady who helped me was really nice but she told me that she'd have to have the birth certificate to verify the birth (the adoption decree that had that on there with a judge's signature wasn't good enough--only in NC) :)

I called the office of vital statistics in Raleigh to find out more information. After holding for what seemed like hours, I finally talked to a lady who told me what would happen. (funny thing is, this past weekend we got a letter from our adoption agency telling us the same thing)..... The courts send the adoption decree to the main office in Raleigh where it has to get processed along with all of our other paperwork. They check to make sure everything is correct and then once that happens they supposedly send us a letter saying everything is filed and we can then contact the vital stats office to get the birth certificate. They have told us that this can take 2-3 months :) The lady at vital stats told me that they have a backlog of birth certificates and that it could take a couple of months to get it, unless we come up there. So that's the plan :)

Hopefully this will help some of my NC friends who will have to go through these same ropes :)

Friday, July 15, 2011

St Simons Island/Florida trip

We had a great trip! We drove over 1200 miles and Garrett did great. We left at 6am on Thursday morning because we knew he would fall asleep as soon as we put him in the car. We drove until it was time for him to eat and that seemed to work out great. We drove to St Simons Island in GA and it was beautiful. We've been thru there a few times before but have never stayed. We went to the pier village and had a great dinner on the water. We even saw some guys catch a huge hammerhead shark from the pier. I have to admit that since we have a little one now, I love smocked clothing! I've always loved it but now have a reason to buy it :) I found a store down there that sells it and they also have a warehouse where many things have been marked down. Needless to say it was dangerous for Tommy to let me go in there by myself :) Garrett now has an outfit for his first birthday!!

He didn't fuss one time on the way down there and we had him all over the place once we got there. On Friday we drove the rest of the way to Florida. It was so great getting to see our friends and their sweet babies! It was also pretty entertaining watching them interact with one another. We also drove down to Daytona to see our friends parents, had lunch on the water, and did some shopping :)

We also had our first encounter with an angry man at a restaurant! Our kids were great, didn't make a peep and this restaurant was noisy! He was drunk and tried telling us that our kids ruined his meal; we weren't even sitting near him and that we needed to "take control" over our kids--in hindsight, I should have asked how he proposed to do that to 6 month olds :) Needless to say Tommy was not a happy camper and let the guy know what he thought. We always have some sort of adventure to tell about. And granted I know I'm a bit biased about NC but here people will smile at you and even speak to you (even if you don't know them); there are a lot of unhappy people down in the sunshine state!

The 3 amigos :)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The best piece of mail ever!

We arrived home around 6 tonight :) We had a great trip and I'll have lots more to share later. But I had to write about a great piece of mail that arrived while we were in FL. Without further ado...... THE ADOPTION DECREE!!!!!! Woohoo! To say we are excited is an understatement. Garrett is officially our's and we couldn't be any happier. Now to file for a social security card and call to expedite the birth certificate!

I also need some party ideas! We've always said we wanted to have a big party when everything went through the courts to celebrate him joining our family. Let me know what you can think of!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Catching up!


One would think I'd have more time to keep the blog updated but I end up spending so much time with my little Doodlebug that the days are flying by! I can't believe how much he is growing. He's sitting all alone now and is making all kinds of noises. His two bottom teeth are clearly visible now :) The best is when he wakes up from a nap and looks over at you and just smiles. Melts my heart every time!

We had a great 4th of July weekend. It was very low key and we mainly just hung out around home. It's so crowded where we live on the 4th because everyone comes flocking to the beach so we tend to stay away :) We did go to a friend's house and swam in the pool. Garrett loved it.

Tomorrow we head out for our big Florida trip and our first time meeting the twins! We are so excited to bring all of these special babies together. We're leaving bright and early in the morning and heading to St Simon's Island in GA; then Friday we'll drive the rest of the way to see our friends.

There will be lots of pictures when we return! Hope everyone has a great week!