Similarities?

Our little girl Emma...

... wonder where she gets it from.

6 Months Old!

My little man is 6 months old...when did that happen?! I remember so vividly arriving at the hospital 6 months ago being only 38 weeks pregnant. Abby was a week early so I figured Liam would be early too but never thought he would be 2 weeks early! When the doctor asked if we wanted to have a baby that day Matt and I were both excited and nervous and over-joyed. When little Liam was born we couldn't believe how blessed we were. I remember holding him close to me. When the doctor said he would need to go to the NICU because he was having troubles breathing I was worried but at the same time I felt a peace. I know that he wouldn't be there for long. I never suspected he would be at the hospital for 12 days. It was the longest 12 days I think Matt and I went through. The whole time though I knew Liam would be ok and I knew soon I would be able to bring him home. Well he did come home and since he has been home he has brought a warmth to our home! 

Liam is such a happy little boy! When Abby was his age she was constantly on the move, wiggling from here to there. Liam is just content to sit in your lap and cuddle. His smile is so contagious and just brightens in my day. I love to make him laugh by tickling under his arms or making a goofy face. When I think of Liam I just think of HAPPY, it just sums him up so perfectly! 

At his 6-month appointment Liam measured 27.3" (79%), 17lbs 8oz (51%), and his head measured 17.5" (83%). Right now he has three teeth on bottom (one we just noticed yesterday), he rolls around like crazy (tummy to back and vice-versa), and he LOVES beans and carrots. We love our little man so much and feel so grateful to have him in our family!

A day at Lagoon!

On Friday August 9th we went up to Lagoon for my works annual summer party. We couldn't stay very long because I had my cousin's bridal shower later that night, but the time we did get to spend up there was a blast! 

It was pretty funny because from the parking lot of the park you could see several large roller coaster. They were quite loud and it made Abby really nervous. She kept telling us she didn't want to go on them and I assured her that she was too little to go on them even if she wanted to. She then kept saying, "I'm too little" over and over again, lol. 

So we got this new carrier for Liam for Disneyland and decided to test it out at Lagoon. Matt said it wasn't too bad but not sure how it would be for two whole days at Disneyland. So we may be in the market for a new one, we shall see. Liam was super cute in it though and seemed pretty happy.

One of the first things you see at the Lagoon when you walk in is this splash pad. Abby usually loves anything to do with water but I think she was a little nervous with how high the water came up. She enjoyed the calmer water feature we found next a lot better.

They have quite a few little kids rides at Lagoon which I was very grateful for. The first one Abby went on was this whale ride she seemed to enjoy. It was her first amusement park ride she went on by herself.

My brave girl riding her first amusement park ride at Lagoon. I thought she might freak out or something but she stayed calm. Such a big girl! (8/9/2013)

Next up we went on this Jeep ride. I think Abby liked it besides the noise. They had it pretty loud with car noises which I think made her nervous. 

A family tradition for us when visiting Lagoon is definitely getting a scoop or two of their delicious ice cream. 

Even Liam had to get in on the action!

Next up we visited a couple of their many museum's they have in the park. We visited the train museum where Abby took a pretty good photo of me and Matt and then we visited the doll museum which I think was Abby's favorite.

As we were heading home we ran into one of my coworkers Jorge and had him take this family photo of us. I just wish Abby was smiling! I think she was pretty much beat by the time we headed home because I think she fell asleep within five minutes of being on the road.

We had such a fun time at Lagoon! It will be fun to see how the kids like it when they get a little older. It's been fun with Abby to see how every year we go she is able to do more and have more fun.

5 Months Old!

Today my son is five months old. He is starting to laugh when I tickle him and it just melts my heart. He is most ticklish near his neck and under his arms.Sometime I can just give him this look that I give Abby right before I tickle her and he will just start laughing, it has to be the cutest thing ever. Right now he is a drool machine. I swear he goes through about five burpclothes while we are at church. No chompers yet but I know they must be soon. He is such a good baby and such a good boy. He is pretty mellow unless he is hungry then you better watch out. I just can't explain how thankful I am to have him in our little family. He make everything so much sweeter. Love you Liam!

Liam's 3-Month Photos!

My amazingly talented friend took these beautiful photos of Liam to mark 3-months. I love them!

New Videos!

Abby playing with Grandpa in his swimming pool. She LOVES water and LOVES her grandpa! (7/14/2013)

Abby "growling" at Liam before she gives him a big cuddle. She did this all on her own which I thought was so cute! (7/10/2013)

Abby singing "Old McDonald". (7/7/2013)

Abby singing "I am a Child of God". Just ignore the macaroni and cheese on her chin, lol. (7/7/2013)

Liam has the cutest laugh but I can never get it on camera. I finally got it here at about the 30 second mark. (6/28/2013)

Two New Nieces!

As most of you know, Tim has several siblings who cannot, for whatever reason, conceive.  We have a total of six nieces and nephews who are adopted.  Adoption has proven to be an incredibly costly and political endeavor for most.  Jody and Erik, who adopted five from China and Vietnam, had to wait for long undetermined lengths of time before selected and then they had to bring a large amount of "gifts" (read: bribes) with them for the orphanages and judges in order for their new children to be released to them.  Todd and Amy have an open adoption, meaning that the birth mom and her family visit Oliver regularly and are a big part of their life.  They even celebrate "Birth Mom Day" the day before Mothers Day with the birth mom.  It works for them, but they made that choice in order to increase their odds of getting picked.  Because of Todds stroke five years ago, they have been disqualified from adopting by any conventional means.  They have become foster parents with the distant hope that they might be able to make one of these children permanent members of their family.  They have come very close to getting two daughters once, but the birth father stepped in last minute and made his claim.  Whether this is for the better or worse, we will never know.  Many years ago, Jenny and Carl learned that they too, could not bear children.  They signed up and paid all their dues for the LDS adoption services. They went to all the advisers and did all they were instructed to do to sell themselves as the best potential parents.  That's how it works.  If a birth mom picks you out of all the rest of the online profiles, you might be lucky enough to welcome a new baby into your home, if birth mom doesn't change her mind.

Well, Jenny and Carl tried this for several years and got fed up, so they too decided that fostering children would be better than having no children in their home at all.  Two years ago, on July 25th, they were given guardianship over Tilly (14 months) and Molly (25 months).  These past two years have been full of visits with the birth mom and court appearances.  Birth mom was determined unfit to have her children back after a long long process.  The birth mom has had a total of five children.  The older three were removed from her care and adopted by another family long ago.  Once the birth mom was seen as unfit, the parents of the first three decided that they wanted to adopt these other two girls as well.  Interestingly enough, they were initially offered to foster the girls before Jenny and Carl were, but they did not want to because they did not want any more children.  So, once Jenny and Carl petitioned for adoption, there is a thirty day waiting period to see if there is anyone else who wants to adopt them (like grandparents, fathers, aunts or uncles,...parents of the siblings).  During this time the parents of the siblings petitioned for the adoption of the girls as well.  The past year has been full of court dates trying to determine who would be better parents for these girls; the parents of the siblings (keep the blood related siblings together) or Jenny and Carl who have been raising them.  It is a tough call.  Can you imagine raising two children, knowing at anytime they could be taken from you forever?  For two whole years with that knowledge hanging over you??

We just learned that on August 7th these two girls will be legally adopted by Jenny and Carl.  On August 9th they will be sealed as a family for time and all eternity!  I am so happy for these four.  They have been through so much.   Though these past two years have been fraught with trials, they have experienced boundless blessings and are finally adding those "missing pieces of their family puzzle" (as they say :).

(I don't have a picture to show you, because these two girls were foster children, Jenny and Carl were not allowed to share any.)