Big day for Drina!

This morning, Audrina rolled from her back to her belly for the first time!!!! She's been working on it for over a week now, but her little arm kept preventing her from getting that last little bit. Of course, the roll was followed quite quickly by crying as she seriously dislikes being on her tummy! :)

In big sister news, I finally have proof that she does hear me when I'm talking, even if she doesn't actually listen. While playing, I overheard her putting Pooh and Tigger in a time out because they didn't pick up their toys..... Silly girl!

Here's my silly girl after dressing herself the other day. No, I did not let her leave the house with her socks all pulled on top of her pants like that!!




And, here's the little one. I took this Monday night as Nick and I were finishing our 'rearrange the basement' project. Apparently, she was bored from watching us!





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Could she be any more beautiful?

Even when she felt horrible, if you looked at Audrina, she would just smile! When I took this picture, she was on the up-swing, but still not feeling to well. We had gone outside for some fresh air ~ and to burn some energy out of big sister! :)


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Diva or tomboy?

Even by the minute, we never know which side of Essie's personality is going to come out! But, boy is there a lot of personality packed in that 3 year old little girl!! :-)

Over the weekend, Ess picked out a new hat at the store. So, Sunday's church outfit had to be completely planned around the hat!! Here's our little diva:




And, here's the tomboy. Having way too much fun with worms after a day of rain! (Yes, she dressed herself!!)





We could not be more proud of how Essie handled her overnight transition from only child to big sister. While most kids get 9 months to prepare, we had a 5 minute conversation as we rushed out the door to head to the hospital! Even during our 13 month wait, we had no way or preparing her, except to ask if she'd like a brother or sister one day. Situations from the agency were all over the place - from families choosing to place early in a pregnancy to 5 and 3 year old siblings. We wanted to be open to whatever God has in store for our family!

Really, the only issue we had was potty regression. And, that happens when kids do have 9 months to prepare for a baby! As Audrina grows and becomes mobile, I'm sure we will deal with some typical sibling issues - she took my toy, she's touching my blanket. In the meantime, we will enjoy how much Ess loves her little sister!!


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To go or not to go?

So, I've never been the type of mom who freaks out and runs to the doctor about every little ailment or strange sound coming out of my child. Although I'm definitely the type to Google it! :) I firmly believe in natural remedies and homeopathic treatments, so that's the route I attempt first.

I mentioned Drina had a cold a few days ago. My healing regimen for her included Vick's on the bottom of her feet, warm mist humidifier in her room (which actually runs all winter - we keep one in each bedroom), a plug in vapor unit overnight, and Hyland's Sniffles 'n Sneezes remedy (1 tablet dissolved in 1 tsp or water, given by medicine dropper every 4 hours).

I did call the doctor's office in the midst of it to see what I should look for in case I did need to take her in. They said to bring her in if she developed a cough. Of course, she woke up with a cough Friday morning. There is nothing worse than getting to Saturday night over the weekend, having a child who doesn't feel well, and having to fret over the fact that you didn't call the doctor on Friday.... And, being so little, there is the risk of RSV, so I took her in. Her lungs are clear and all is well.

Both the nurse and doctor commented on what a wonderful and beautiful baby Audrina is! Of course, every mom believes their child is the cutest ever, so it's always fun to have other random people gush over her!

Our little princess weighs 15 pounds! The nurse didn't measure her length, but she is a tall baby because she doesn't look chunky. (And, I've already had to put away a lot of her 3 month clothes because they are too short!!)

Throughout this past week, we have received further proof that Drina is just the most perfect baby. Even not feeling well, she's still so smiley! When I come at her with the bottle of saline solution to spray up her nose, she smiles at me. When I'm using the syringe to suck out snot, she smiles at me. When I can't get it so I just stick my own finger in her nose (and what mom hasn't resorted to that one!?!?), she smiles at me. She even smiled at the nurse today while she was taking a rectal temperature! Seriously! I cannot get enough of how laid back and happy our little girl is!!!!!


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Ahh, sisters!

I can't tell you how unbelievably excited I am to have two girls!! I so desperately wanted a sister growing up. I was 8 when my brother was born. This was back in the day before Ultra Sounds could confirm the sex of the baby. My first comment upon hearing I had a brother was, "but I wanted a sister!" Then, I tried to convince my parents to wait 8 more years and try again. They would have none of that!




I had one heck of a time trying to take this picture!! Ess is at an age where all I get are big goofy smiles featuring a large underbite. In the middle of my attempts, Ess just started screaming. I looked down to see that Drina had a wad of her hair tightly wrapped in her little fist. One glance at her face told me that Drina was thoroughly enjoying herself!! And, I believe this was payback for a couple of weeks ago when Ess wanted to help me vacuum. I thought it was really cute of her until I looked over to see her holding the suction hose dangerously close to the baby's foot.

And so it begins.....

Sweet, sweet baby

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We pretty much have the sweetest baby ever. Even the past couple if days, she hasn't felt good (95% sure she has a cold, but slight possibility she is starting the teething process early), if we look at her, she just smiles. Even with her tired, red eyes, she gives the biggest, cutest grins!

The adoption process is going well. We received the results of the state's Putative Father Registry, and it was clear. We expected it to be, but it's still nice to get the confirmation. We have had 3 social worker visits so far with our next one coming in 2 weeks. Sometime in the next month we will meet with our adoption attorney. That's when things will really start rolling. Assuming no hiccups, we will go to court in July to make Audrina ours forever!!

Here's our smiley baby!!!



And, now that I've figured out how easy this is from my phone, I really have no excuse for not doing it more often! :)

Would you like some pictures?

So, we all know how horrible I am at updating this thing! I really do have the best of intentions... but I also have 2 little ones who seem to be conspiring to ensure Mommy gets nothing accomplished during daylight hours! :) Oh, where to begin....

We realize that we are beyond blessed! Another perfectly healthy child....and another beautiful, beautiful little girl. Essie has adjusted so well to a new (surprise) baby in the house. She LOVES her little sister, and she's such a wonderful helper!

Audrina (we've started calling her Drina from time-to-time) is seven weeks old now! She loves to smile! Oh, how she loves to smile! She is such a happy baby!! And, sleeping? Like a champ!!! She goes to bed between 8-9pm and doesn't get up for a bottle until right around 5:00! Then, it's back to bed until around 8:00. Daytime....well, that's another story! I think it's because she loves spending time with mommy so much that she would just rather snuggle all day. :) She is perfectly content to sleep if I'm holding her, but put her down, and she's up within 20 minutes! Most afternoons, she gets a nap in her carseat because that's where she will sleep the best!

No new updates on the adoption process. It's a waiting game now, with no news being good news. We have our next visit with the social worker on Thursday afternoon.

Both girls have well-child visits with the doctor on Friday, so I'll try to post again this weekend!

In the meantime, how about some pictures? These are from Audrina's newborn photo shoot with Sharon Elaine Photography.

Our family...


Sisters


Such a beautiful baby!


Quite the little ham already!! :)