What you do get when.....

you mix the most beautiful baby in the world with the most amazing photographer around? Check out Sharon's blog for a sneak peak.....

These are a few of my favorite things........

.....the sound of the kitty purring (yes, that is a very fat cat!!)


.....Praying


.....EATING!!!!


.....trying to hold her head up


.....being cuddled by mommy


.....getting kisses from Ginger - mommy doesn't allow kisses on the face, though :-)


.....taking a snooze on the couch with daddy!

We are so blessed....

...to have such a wonderful baby! She has a few fussy moments, but for the most part, she is such a joy! She is so alert when she's awake. She is already starting to hold her head up, and does a great job turning her head to follow sounds!

She's had a very busy week! Essie has met 3 of her 4 great-grandma's and her great grandpa. She finally met Uncle Eric today!

We had our first doctor's appointment Monday. She has already passed her birth weight! :) Yeah, she loves to eat!!

Adjusting to family life

Well, we’ve survived our first 2 days at home. The first night was rough. Essie didn’t want to sleep, so I didn’t get to either! Valentine’s Day was a very busy work day for Nick so he needed his sleep. Last night was much better. Today, we’ve been able to keep her awake quite a bit so she should sleep pretty well tonight. As I write this, she’s taking a little nap.

Essie has enjoyed meeting her family. She loves all her Grandma’s and Grandpa’s. Of course, they are all smitten with her! Tomorrow, her Great Grandma Hoover and Great Aunt Carol from Indiana will be coming to meet her! Some of her family members have been sick, so they aren’t able to come meet her for a few more days – we’ve been emailing lots of pictures :-)

Here are a few more pictures of our perfect baby girl…..

Our Little Valentine……

What’s in a name?

A lot actually. We decided to wait until we were sure our birthmother would proceed with the adoption before posting the name we chose. We have been discussing baby names since before we knew we wanted to begin our family. It had to be something meaningful; something biblical. We also wanted to honor the birthmother in naming our daughter. Her name is Esther Rose. We’ll call her Essie.

Esther is a beautiful story in the Bible; one of my favorite. I fell in love with the name even more after watching “One Night With The King.” It is also the name of Nick’s aunt in Pennsylvania. He spent many days and nights with his Aunt Essie as a child and always thought she had the coolest name ever. Nick called Aunt Essie earlier today - we hadn't told her before....this is why we waited so long; we didn't want any other family members to share the news before we could call :)

We asked T to decide the middle name for the baby. She loves the name Rose. Although she has never said why she loves the name, I suspect is has to do with her grandmother. As we’ve gotten to know T and her family more over the past 3 days, we learned that she was born in Texas. Her grandmother has always called her “my yellow rose of Texas.”

- - - Check back tomorrow for pictures!!!!!! We're expecting to arrive home in the early afternoon. I'll do my best to at least post one pretty quickly after arriving at the house!

My first all-nighter since college….

I didn’t like it then either. ;-) Baby didn’t want to sleep last night after sleeping most of yesterday. Until 4AM, I slept about 30 minutes. After that, I think I got between 3 and 4 hours. Now I understand what our friends meant when they told us to get plenty of sleep before she was born. Too bad we didn’t listen to them! I tried to be nice and let Nick rest. I’m not sure how much he actually slept, but at least he wasn’t up walking and rocking half the night.

So, what did I learn from my first night as a mommy?
1. Even when I’m totally sleep deprived, I think my baby is the most beautiful one there ever was!
2. Some diaper changes really do take 2 people!
3. I should trust my instincts when it comes to feeding times.
4. An entire bottle coming back up makes a big mess.
5. Whoever invented the pacifier deserves a nice spot in heaven!!!

I'm not sure what things Nick would write if he were to make a list......
1. He is probably not as sound a sleeper as he thought
2. He does have the ability to wake up and funcion immediately when I yell "oh crap, Nick help!" - see item #2 on my list...ha ha!
3. Those beds in the labor & delivery room are not really as comfortable as they look.
4. Baby doesn't like to be hungry anymore than her mommy does :-)

We’ve tried to keep her awake a lot more today so she’ll sleep better for us tonight. :)

Nick has to leave for a while tomorrow to run errands for work. Please pray for his safety and my ability to handle things alone while he is gone. Oh yes, and please pray for some sleep!

God Bless!!


P.S. I may not be able to post again until we come home. While the hospital is wireless, our room is located in a corner of the building and we have a difficult time finding a connection.

The most beautiful baby in the world....

Yeah, I know all parents say that. But ours really is the most beautiful baby in the world!!! She arrived at 7:04 AM, weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces and is 19 3/4 inches long. She has dark fuzzy hair on her perfectly round head.

Nick and I have our own room and are keeping her with us as much as possible. The birthmother has seen her and held her; she knows she can call us and we'll bring the baby to her whenever she would like.

We were able to join the baby in the nursery before she was cleaned up this morning - boy can she scream!!!!! She could be heard in the waiting area! Once she had her bath, though, she quieted down and has been happy since. She really is a sweet, sweet baby. Daddy is feeding her now; he’s a natural.

We are so blessed! Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us this week, and for T. Please pray also for T's grandmother. She is the sweetest lady; we have grown to love hear as much as we love T. She was struggling this morning, but she knows God has brought all of us together and is very supportive of T and her decision.

God is great!!!

Much love,
Nick & Andrea

This won't be happening anymore...

Yeah, the cats think the Boppy is here for their napping enjoyment. Not to worry - I asked the vet if we should worry about the cats when we bring baby home. She said there is nothing to be concerned about. About a year ago, I kept a friends baby for a couple days. The cats wouldn't even come in the room when he was here! They just sat in the doorway and stared, as if to say "what is that thing and why is it in my house?!?!?"

Comments....

A few people have mentioned failed attempts at leaving comments for us. Sorry about that! I changed some settings so it should no longer be an issue!!

Counting down and getting anxious!

We're less than 48 hours away from meeting our daughter. Wow. Nick made a comment the other night about how strange it feels for him. Girls play house from a young age; we're seem to be born with a desire to be a mother - except you Jess, right?...ha ha!! Men are wired a little differently. :D He's very excited about it, though. He has even arranged two whole days off work to spend in the hospital - he hasn't taken off 2 days in a row in more than a year!!!!

So, we're getting a little anxious about the hospital. Mostly just wondering how much we should be around; we certainly don't want to make T uncomfortable, but want to begin bonding with the baby as quickly as possible. If there is space available, Nick and I may be able to get our own room there and be able to spend the night. Of course, T has to be okay with us staying, too.

We're planning to take the computer with us; hopefully we'll be able to get a wireless connection to post updates while we are there. Sorry, no pictures until our birthmother signs papers on Thursday.

One final quick addition to our list of prayer requests - please pray that Nick and I don't catch the nasty cold / flu that has been going around. It seems everyone around us has it and we really need to stay healthy to be at the hospital. Thank you!

God bless you all!!

Please pray for our birthmother

T is finally feeling better. Poor girl has been sick for the last two months with an awful head cold that moved into her chest. The doctor felt safe giving her some antibiotics this week, which has helped.

Please continue to pray for her health through this next week. We're asking for prayers also regarding the adoption in general. We feel so good about the family we will create through this experience; but there is a hint of reservation. Of course, our happiness and excitement at bringing home a baby may mean a great deal of sadness for T and her family.

We completely trust in God for the outcome and know He will provide comfort wherever it is needed.

8 days and counting.....

We can't believe there are only 8 days left until the scheduled delivery. We are so excited, and so ready!!!

Here are some pictures of the nursery. As you can see from the closet, there is pretty much nothing this baby is lacking and she isn't even here yet!!!




We love the Winnie the Pooh watercolors hanging on the wall! Our friend Sharon painted them when her oldest son was a baby (12 years ago). She was so sweet to give them to us. Sharon is also the official photographer for all of our children! She is amazing! You can find her website in 'great links.'