It's been too long

I can't believe my last post was in July!  It's been way too long and my hope is that I will have some time to sit down and write some entries this year.  What an eventful year 2013 turned out to be!  I'll give a recap here and then I'll feel like I can move on :)

We really had a great summer.  We didn't do anything major, just hung out around here.  It's a great plus when you live at the beach.  Garrett still went to school two days a week but we enjoyed our time together.  Garrett and I spent our last "free" weekend with a trip to Charleston with my mom and sister. We had a great time.  We saw the sights, shopped, ate good food, and even rode on a trolley-which he didn't like at the time but now wants to ride again!  Ahh, the life of a two year old :)  We hosted a huge 40th birthday party for my brother in law complete with an inflatable waterslide which all of the kids (and adults) loved.  It was a great summer!

Tommy has had some hiccups if you will with his heart health.  He was out of normal rhythm too many times over the first part of the year which led to 3 cardioversions.  We were basically visiting the hospital every other month.  His doctor here suggested that we go back to Duke to meet with a doctor about the possibility of having another ablation surgery; this is the same surgery he had in 2009.  We met with him in August and he felt like Tommy was a candidate for a repeat ablation.  He said sometimes those areas heal back and start causing the irregular rhythms again and then it could be coming from the condition of his heart.  His schedule was pretty booked so the first slot he had open would be sometime in late September/early October.  They finally scheduled him for October.  He had an appointment with his local doctor on September 17th, he was and had been out of rhythm this whole time, and his doctor suggested going ahead and doing another cardioversion so it wouldn't be so with him being out of rhythm.  Wouldn't you know it, later that afternoon Tommy called me and said Duke called, there's an opening this Friday for the ablation.  We quickly got things together, made sure my parents could keep Garrett for us and made our way to Duke on September 18th.  They ran a bunch of tests on Thursday and then he had the ablation surgery on Friday, September 20th.  The surgery lasted 10 hours but the doctor felt confident that they had gotten most of the areas.  He was afraid Tommy may go back into an irregular rhythm overnight because of the irritation in his heart but he didn't.  He stayed in a normal rhythm for about 2 weeks and then went out again.  He had another cardioversion in October and so far, everything  has been good since then.  Hopefully it was from all of the inflammation on his heart that caused that one.  We've been back for check-ups and they are pleased with everything.  We feel he is with a great team of doctors and feel confident in their decisions.  He's being seen by a heart failure/transplant doctor and an adult congenital doctor at Duke.  They did run a test on him in November and his numbers are pretty low; these are the numbers they look at when considering heart transplant.  But like the doctor there said, we don't know how long his numbers  have looked like that because he's never had this test.  We're just praying everything levels out because we don't want to face a transplant anytime soon (hearts only last about 10 years).

Garrett continues to be the light of our lives and keeps us busy and tired :)  He doesn't forget a thing and I love having conversations with him.  It's so funny the things he comes up with.  We took a trip to the mountains in October and he got to experience his first train ride.  We went with family and it was a great time.  We also stopped by the apple orchard on the way home and he loved that as well.

The holidays were also fun for us this year.  We hosted everyone for Thanksgiving and Garrett loved entertaining everyone.  He loved Christmas this year and he's starting to understand everything behind it.  It's such a neat experience to view it from a child's perspective.  He's totally amped up now for his birthday.  We've been hearing about the "birthday party" for weeks now.

We still haven't pursued anything else on the adoption front.  While we would love for Garrett to have a sibling, we want Tommy's health to be ok first.  Plus, I don't want to add any extra pressure on him about it---that's the last thing he needs right now.  I have moments where I really want to have another child but we truly are enjoying our time with Garrett.  I've talked to some of the parents whose kids I've taught over the years that are only children and they've given me some great advice on how to help him be a well rounded child.

We are excited to see how God is going to use us this year!

What we've been up to :)

Ok, so I know the last post I wrote I talked about how slack I had been with the blog. I know it's really been bad :) I'm going to try to write more and write comments :) I've been reading though and keeping up with all of you!

It seems like for a good part of February and well into March, our house battled the "sick bug." Poor Garrett had everything from a lovely stomach bug to tonsillitis. Of course this also all seemed to reach it's peak when I was on winter break--so much for fun time with mommy! He just wanted to be held and cuddled, which is fine by me since I don't get many of those days now.

He is getting into everything and his little personality is coming out more and more! It's so cute to watch him copy some of the things we do now. He has a lot to say but most of the time we have no idea what he is trying to tell us--it must be important though because often times it is accompanied with hands in the air :) We think he is the sweetest little boy ever!

He now has a little swing set in the backyard as well as a water table. That boy loves the water. Somehow I think we are going to be in trouble this summer when it comes to beach time. He loves to dip his face under in the bathtub and he's already learned how to blow bubbles in there. We've signed him up for swim classes starting in May so I can't wait to see what he'll do.

Happy Easter!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know I've been a terrible blogger and reader lately! It feels like the days just fly by and chasing after a one year old has kept me pretty busy :) Weekends have been filled with birthdays and lots of family time! Life is great. Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas 2011

To say that we have had one of the best Christmas times ever would be a complete understatement. I just can't put into words how sweet this time has been. Of course Garrett had no clue as to what was going on but we were so excited to share this special time with him. We are completely amazed at all of the blessings God has given us this year. It's funny that at this time last year we had no idea that we were about to receive a phone call that would change our lives forever.

We have had so much fun spending time with family and with our sweet boy. As he walked into the living room on Sunday morning, he spotted a basketball goal that we got for him.....his response...."ooooohhhhhh" too cute! He has been in love with the Christmas tree and the lights and I think he was a little worried when we took them down today. I think our parents and siblings had just as much fun as we have for Garrett's first Christmas. We truly feel blessed to have this sweet gift! Pictures are coming soon :)

Our great state

Time sure does seem to be flying by these days and I know I've not been the greatest at commenting or writing posts for that matter! Tommy and I were talking last night about how the weekends really seem to fly by now! He said it's because we're busy in a different way now. But I wouldn't change it for anything.

It seems like so many things have happened since the last update so here's my attempt to remember them all plus give you all the insight on trying to obtain a birth certificate from the great state of NC.

All about Garrett :) He now has 5 teeth! They seem like they are popping up everywhere (3 on the bottom and 2 on the top). He's really been a champ through this whole teething process. He is crawling everywhere and getting into everything he can touch :) He's also pulling himself up on things and just this past week he started letting go. He can stand for a few seconds and then falls, which he thinks is funny. Two weeks ago he received his first black eye courtesy of the entertainment center. He hit it just right and had a little bruise on his cheek which then turned into a black eye. Last week we got called out of church because he had fallen and they wanted us to see the little scratch on his arm (I'm really thankful they do this and let us know what is going on in there). Come to find out, he was "chasing" a little girl in the room and he slipped on his jeans that are too long :) Tommy told him once we got in the car that girls will you get you into trouble every time, ha ha!

He loves to talk. He is always making noises and babbling. He says dada all of the time now and we've heard a couple of mama's from him lately. That will melt your heart every time you hear it.

On the birth certificate front--We finally received our letter from social services saying that the adoption had been indexed and we could now apply for his birth certificate. Now I must say that our state is definitely lacking in this department. If you talk to 6 different people, you'll get 6 different answers. I fortunately talked with a lady who seemed to know what was going on during the summer and she told me that once we got the letter, to call back and make an appointment. You see supposedly our state is on a "critical backlog" (their words not mine) of creating certificates (birth, death, marriage etc). If you fill out the application and mail it in, it could take up to a year to get it back (are you serious)!! You can pay to expedite it but that will still take a few months. However, you can drive to Raleigh, and pick one up same day. It makes absolutely no sense to me but that's how things go here. It has taken us 3 months to get the letter saying we can now apply for the birth certificate since we received the adoption decree. As soon as I saw the letter on Tuesday, I started calling. One lady told me I couldn't get it yet (ugh) then she connected me with the "adoption department" and I left a message. I then called back because I knew she didn't know what she was talking about. I talked to another lady who said she would connect me with the lady in charge of adoptions. I left her a message and she called me back within 10 minutes. She took down the information (at this point it was 5:00) and told me the office was closed now but she would have someone call me back the next day to schedule an appointment. They told us if you drive up to pick it up on the same day you should call and make an appointment. I ended up having to call them back on Thursday and the lady said, I'm pretty booked the next few weeks but I have Monday or Tuesday. No problem, we'll take Monday! So tomorrow we had to the state capital to pick up that treasured piece of paper. The humorous part in all of this, the cost. Here's the breakdown- $15 (expedite fee); $15 (adoption fee--really?); and $24 (birth certificate); extra copies $15....... Gotta love NC :)

So hopefully things will go as planned tomorrow and we can come home and then apply for a social security number. Whew!

My sweet boy

Can you believe 2 posts in a row? :) I wanted to share some recent pictures of my sweet boy! Also wanted to let you all know I'm going to do a post this week about making baby food, what I've used and what I did. Trust me when I say it's super easy and really doesn't take much time at all! Not to mention, it's super cheap!

Playing at the beach house
Feeling Daddy's catch
Loves the beach and the sand
What? I'm not supposed to eat the sand??
The purple starfish I found after Hurricane Irene

Oh Irene!

We are now under a Hurricane warning and waiting still to see what Hurricane Irene is going to do. Can't believe we may be facing a huge storm like this. In one way you get really used to them but in another you just never know what may come. It's much different this time especially since we now have Garrett to care for.

For now, we have all of the supplies we will need and we even went out tonight and bought a generator. I'm hoping we won't need to use any of it but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. All of our outside furniture and anything else that may blow away is now stored in the garage :)

Please pray for our community as we face this storm! My verse on my calendar today: "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible!" Mark 10:27

Party and photos!

The party went great this past weekend! We had about 55 family and friends join us to celebrate the finalization on Garrett's adoption. I'm so glad that we had so many to come and support us and love on him! I'll have to write more in an update later on but wanted to share some pictures. I know it's been a while :) Oh, and we almost have a crawler! I can't believe it! I think we are going to be in trouble :)

A boy and his dog :) I'm so glad they get along so well! I don't think Bailey knows what she's in for!

How can you not just love this face! Our little chief!

At the party with his Aunt D

The cake looked like his invitation

Family picture at the party

The tree we had everyone sign and stamp their thumbprint
Oops, a little late on this one :)

What? I'm not supposed to be messing with the camera bag

Life matters!

I'm posting this with permission from my cousins. If you remember back to March, they lost their sweet baby boy. In NC they don't issue birth nor death certificates for stillborn births. Please read this story, pass it along to others, and sign the petition in hopes that our legislators will see the importance of life! Here's their story:

Stillbirth is still birth ! Please join with me to help get our legislation changed!

I went through 40weeks and 2 days of pregnancy with my beautiful little Zion . However, he was born sleeping March 29th 2011.I went through labor just as if he were breathing that day. I delivered a baby, a life that mattered, but yet that is not what our... legislation says. I was not entitled to a birth or death certificate according to NC state laws. What??? I just gave birth to a 7lb 9oz 20 in. long baby with his daddy's chin and long fingers and his sister's pouty lips. He was perfect and definitely a life , a human being. He was a part of me. How can God's creation not matter. I had to give birth to him , give him a proper memorial service ,I got a whopping hospital bill and dr bills , but for what ??The hospital was not required to give me a birth certificate or death certificate that would acknowledge what we just went through. It's been over 4 months and nothing but a box full of trinkets from the hospital, a locket of his precious black hair and a few pictures for when our memories fade. Please help us as we try to change the legislation of this state. Zion's life did matter to so many of us. Please be one to help change the laws so NC moms that have to give birth to their sleeping babies can have some acknowledgment that their baby's life matters.Thanks for our family and friends we love you and thank you so much for your support throughout the darkest time of our life. Please go to the link and sign the petition!!! http://www.thepetitionsite.com​/3/certificate-of-birth-result​ing-in-stillbirth-in-north-car​olina/

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!

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 :)

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!

Officially Summer!

Today was my last official teacher workday! I am so excited that I will be able to spend the next 2 months with my sweet boy! Speaking of my sweet boy, on Friday, he rolled over from his back to his stomach! He has this look on his face like he wants to get moving so I don't think it will be too long before he tries to crawl. Solids are going well; I'm making his food and so far so good. It's super easy to do and much cheaper and better for them! At least you'll know what's in their food :)

We have a busy summer planned and I'm so ready for a break. We are going to the beach house on Friday and will be there for a week and a half. In the beginning of July, we'll be heading down to visit our friends in Florida and to meet their sweet twins! We'll probably visit some family in NC and then we are thinking about taking a trip back to Ocracoke. I was hoping we would get the finalization papers for the adoption before school starts back. So far we haven't heard anything back from that. Our social worker said if we didn't hear something in a couple of months, then we should call the main office and have them check on things or tell us who we can call within the courts.

Yay for summer!!

Memorial Day 2011-4 month update

Ok so I know I am a bit behind! That's what happens when the school year comes to a close. Plus I have to move classrooms so it's been a busy week! Tuesday is my last workday and I am so looking forward to spending the whole summer with my little Doodlebug!

Last Friday, Garrett had his 4 month check-up, complete with round 2 of shots. He did a lot better this time with the shots. He did run a little fever afterwards but other than that everything went well. The doctor was really impressed with how well he is doing and she gave us the go ahead to start introducing solids. He loves them! This boy loves to eat! I'm making his baby food so that has been fun and interesting all at the same time. He now weighs 18.4 pounds!!!! I can't believe how big he's gotten. He's also 25.8 inches long. He's also starting to teethe. I hope that first one pops out soon; he's had a couple of cranky days :)

On Saturday we did some shopping and he really loves to look all around. On Sunday we decided to go to church with my mom so everyone there could meet him. After church, my sister and her husband took us out on the boat. Garrett loved it! He's going to be a natural "water boy" which is great, especially since we spend so much time at the beach. The only part he didn't care for was wearing the life jacket. On a side note, it amazed me with how many people were out there with babies, with no life jackets on while they were in the boat. That's complete craziness!

Here are some pictures of our weekend!

What are you guys doing to me!?!

Let me see if I can figure out how to drive this thing!
Loves the water!
Aunt Dana trying to give him seaweed
Enjoying his new raft--look how clear the water is! That's a rarity around here!
Nap time!
Having fun with Daddy
Here we go again :)

First "official" beach trip

We had a fun and relaxing weekend. We decided to take Garrett for his first ferry ride to see how he liked it. Well, he slept the whole time :) We then had lunch at a great little restaurant on the water.

Ferry ride

On Sunday, after church, we decided to try out the beach. He's been down to the beach house but hasn't actually had his "beach gear" on and he hadn't gotten the chance to feel the sand or the water. He seemed to really like it. When we held him, he would lean over and look down at the water as the waves came up. He was worn out and fell asleep as I was holding him. It's those little moments that I love!

Garrett with Mimi

Trying out some strawberries :)

Family love

Ok, finally, as promised...PICTURES!! I just have to say once again how extremely blessed we are to have this sweet, sweet boy in our lives! We love him more and more each day!

The first pictures are from a photo shoot we had done near Easter.

I love these little cheeks!

His face looks like, what are they doing to me!?!

My sister on her special day with her favorite nephew! (granted he's the only one but still)!

The worst week by far

I don't think I've ever felt so bad in my whole life! Thank the Lord today I'm feeling much better! To make matters worse, Tommy fell victim too. I have no idea where we picked this up from but it was definitely some sort of virus. It's hard to take care of a little one when both of you are feeling down! I'm glad at least one of us is on the mend. Little Doddle hasn't gotten it and I pray he doesn't. My mom says we may have gotten something from him.

So, pictures and Easter pictures are coming; I haven't forgotten about it!

The neglected blog :)

Time is just slipping by! We have had so much going on that I haven't had a chance to sit down and write anything lately. Plus, to top off a great Easter weekend, Tommy and I have both come down with either food poisoning or a stomach bug. Yesterday was awful. I'm praying our little Doodlebug doesn't catch this!

He is doing so well. He continues to amaze me with the things he's doing. He is such a sweet baby and I know I am on the biased side but he really is one of the sweetest babies I've ever been around. We had a great Easter. We went to church, had family over for lunch, and rested :) My mom was off yesterday so she kept Garrett. She brought him by my school and the kids were really excited to see him. He's so much bigger now than when they first saw him. I do have lots of pictures to share but they'll have to wait until we get them all uploaded :)

The weekend before last, at church, a lady comes up to me (she knows us pretty well and knows the story of how we have gotten to this place) and asks how everything is going. I tell her about how great things are and then she asks, so is he getting aggravating yet? What?! I know I probably looked at her like she was crazy because I really couldn't believe she had asked this. I of course told her no that he truly is a great baby (anyways I don't see how a baby can be aggravating). She was like oh just wait. At that point I couldn't take it anymore and I told her that we are probably different than her; that we had to wait for him for a long time. We couldn't wait for the day to have a crying baby in our house, dirty diapers and all. That while we know parenthood can be difficult, we try to soak in every last minute of it. Of course she had no response to that.

I just don't get it. People say some of the craziest things sometimes. I know everything is not always rosey (hello, I'm a middle school teacher) but I also know that you have to take things in stride. It just really bugged me. Tommy said I did great in telling her that. I think he was pretty shocked that she said it too.

Rough week

It's been one of those weeks where I want to leave from work, get home as quickly as I can, and love on my little doodle. There are so many times in life when we take things for granted and I don't want to fall into that. I want to soak up every minute with him and love on him!

This week a lot of old emotions have surfaced. Most know that Tommy and I lost twins at 8 weeks and it's been on my mind a lot this week. Why? We found out on Monday night that my cousin and his wife, who were expecting their second child, learned that the baby had died. She was a few days past due, full term. I can't even imagine what they are going through. I know how hard it was on us and we were no where near being full term. My aunt said from what the doctors could tell, there was nothing wrong with the baby. She said she thought that was best because if there had been, God couldn't get all of the glory. Their faith has been amazing to witness. She said they knew that God knew what He was doing and He knew they could handle this, wow! Their little girl is 2 and I know it must be difficult explaining all of this to her. Keep their family in your prayers.

I think a lot of times we get so busy in the day to day things that we forget how truly blessed we are. I'm so thankful for everything I have in my life!

Getting in the groove

Well I think we're beginning to get into a groove with me going back to work. Things have gone really well this week so far. My Grandma loves keeping Garrett and he's been super good for her. He's started to laugh more and it's so funny. I think he just noticed the animals on his bouncey seat and he just cracked up laughing at them the other day. I would love to know what he's thinking! He's been sleeping through the night too, which is a huge blessing with me coming back to work.

The kids at school were happy I was back but told me they wished the sub could grade their papers :) They all made me letters and drew their own impressions of a baby on them. They wrote the letter part in Spanish and they are pretty funny. It was nice to come in to those on Monday. I also allowed them to ask me any question they wanted on Monday about Garrett or about the adoption. I had heard many of them had questions and I wanted to use this opportunity to teach them about the process. Some of them thought that essentially there was a "line up" of babies and we just went and chose Garrett. So it was nice being able to share that with them.

The baby dedication last Sunday was great. I'll post some pictures this weekend. Obviously with coming back to work there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging or uploading pictures :)