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

Still here

I'm still here but life is crazy busy these days especially with trying to get back into the school routine! I must say my classes are awesome this year so it's helped with going back to work. We've had a great long weekend this weekend though and I'm sad to see it come to an end!

I know I've said this a million times over again but we really do have the sweetest boy ever! And I know we're biased but everyone tells us the same thing. He hardly ever cries; even when he wakes up, he just plays and makes noises in his crib. He is a BIG flirt too :) it's pretty funny watching him interact with the "ladies"! He is all over the place now with his crawling. Of course he wants to go everywhere we don't want him to be (for example, Bailey's dog bowls) but it's really funny watching him explore everything.

He's eating all sorts of foods now and I'm so glad that I took the time to make his food. He's used to it and he seems to love any kind of fruit and vegetables. We thought his top teeth were trying to break through and sure enough, the one on the right side broke through the gum yesterday. We've started brushing his teeth and he loves that too :)

We are so, so thankful that God has given us this opportunity to be his parents! He was well worth the wait! Pictures are coming soon!

We survived!

Whew! We started getting rain around 8 on Friday morning. The winds didn't pick up until the afternoon and the strongest ones started at 2 am. The rain didn't end until 8 last night. We never lost power, thank goodness, but did lose cable, internet and our home phone. Those were restored by last night. We lost one small pine tree and had some branches/yard debris. I'm glad we were prepared though because you just never know with storms like these. We all were very fortunate that she weakened before she hit the coast. My parents had two transformers near them that actually blew up and exploded; they had to call the fire department during the storm to get the fire out. Around town there are some trees down, a car dealership lost their roof, and some billboards were damaged but other than that all is ok. We ended up with 8 inches of rain and we really needed it. I think that's why the flooding wasn't as bad because the ground around here has been so dry.

We had to go yesterday, once the winds died down some, and check on the beach house. They only let you back on the beach if you have a "sticker" issued by the beach to get back on (only for residents). We had to wait in line and they told us to go straight to the house because the island was still closed. The back and side gutters were ripped off the house and a few shingles were missing but there was no water damage! The tide was unbelievably low; I've never seen it like this before. The wind was raging still down there; almost to the point that it would take your breath away (don't worry Garrett wasn't with us). I had to walk over to the beach side and see what it looked like over there. Everything is very flat. Dunes are still up but the "hills" from the pumped in sand are no more. There were huge, whole conch shells all over the beach (that's rare to find here) and tons of shells. I even managed to find 3 starfish-one was purple and the other 2 were purple and tan. Really cool; I've only found brown ones around here before.

I will say my one huge disappointment with this whole storm was the media coverage. It stunk! Granted I know it's rare for the NE to get storms like this but on Friday when we're in the brunt of it, there's nothing to be found. Everyone was talking about evacuations in NY and the Jersey Shore. I really feel sorry for our Outer Banks neighbors who were completely left out of all talks about what was going on. I know people all over were complaining around here and I hope these big media outlets hear about it!

Thanks for all of your prayers!

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

Crawling!

I can't believe it but on Friday Garrett started crawling! How did he grow up this fast? It's hard to believe that he is already 7 months old. He looks so cute though crawling around and exploring all of this new territory. He is definitely active and I'm not sure if we're ready for that :) At first he would only go a few steps and then would stop and sit up but last night he came from the living room into the kitchen to see what I was doing. He's also trying really hard to pull himself up; I think he really wants to get on those feet!

I also have now caught up with everyone's blogs; last week my blog list wasn't updating so I thought everyone was being quiet :) It looks like it's working again now!

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

A new year

Well it's already that time of year again, a new school year is getting ready to begin (whether I'm ready or not) :) While I do love my job, I hate to have to leave home. I feel like summer has just started! My Grandma is biting at the bit to be able to come over and keep our little doodlebug while I'm at school. I'm so glad that she's still able to do that for us.

This year is different. As I was watching him play in the tub tonight, I realized this is my first school year going in as a mother. I could feel the tears in my eyes because I remember all too well going to school 3 years ago, pregnant, but not knowing if my babies were going to make it. I remember walking into school that year and thinking how things were going to change. God had other plans. But now, I am a mom and I couldn't be happier. He brings so much joy to our lives. That heartache and sting of infertility is still there but now my prayers have come to life in this sweet baby boy. I am so, so thankful that he is in our family and for his birthmother who chose life.

Party plans are up and running for Saturday too! At first I wasn't sure how many would be coming but we have been overwhelmed with family and friends that are going to make it! I'm so excited that they are going to come celebrate our "official" family!