He was worth the wait

FACEBOOK

2009-10-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

As Mark is growing and we're doing lots more activities and such, we've moved to FACEBOOK. Click on the badge (don't forget to mention you are from my blog) and we'll add you as a friend. Thanks to everyone who has been following the blog! You can catch up with everything that Mark's been doing there....

18 months (!) and the croup

2009-07-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few weeks here- time for Mark's 18 month (!) stats. Wow, it's hard to believe he is 18 months. Time sure does fly. It was just a few days shy of 18 months of being contracted out and waiting for him. He's been born and with us officially longer than our wait for him. Actually, we celebrated 3 years from when we contracted out with Lifetime on June 29th. Life sure is different now, and oh so much fun!

Anyway, to get to the good stuff, his appointment and stats: He's 24 lb 10 oz, 32.25 inches tall. His head is 18 7/8 inches. The dr said go ahead and keep him rear facing until 30 lbs, and that she can tell he's a pretty smart kid because he has a great vocabulary and is talking up a storm and interacting well. The challenge- lose the sippy cup completely by 2 years old. He took his 2 shots just fine. The Hib was still deferred due to a shortage (it was at his 1 year appt too). He sometimes doesnt want to drink milk (still on 2% as he has been since the beginning - he's supposed to drink 16 oz a day), and she said as long as he gets it in cheese, yogurt, ice cream, even calcium fortified oj it's ok. We don't go back for another well kid (can't call him a baby anymore!) check up until he is 2! We made that appointment for the Monday after his birthday.

But of course, we were back at the dr office a week and a half later. Mark has the croup again. Apparently there are some kids who get the croup every time they get a virus. Mark is one of those kids. This is his 3rd bout (he had it over Thanksgiving, and again in May). Fortunately we know what to do now (we pretty much ride it out, but he does use a humidifier - we do the shower/steam breathing treatment if it's really bad) and his dr said it gets easier and more mild each time. Eventually he should grow out of it. So while we did have some exciting and busy days this week, we also had some really good, long naps and have been taking it easy. He was at the worst of it Thursday morning, so he's on the upswing and should be fine after this weekend. We don't have much in the way of 4th of July plans except to relax and have fun- so that'll be good for him. Daddy is off Friday, so it's a nice long weekend.

Here are a few pictures taken recently of Mark.

Adventures in Reading

2009-06-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

Mark loves books. We frequently go to Belles & Beaus (our favorite consignment store) and pick up books. And Mamacita and Papacito gave Mark a fantastic bookshelf that currently resides in our living room. He often picks out one for us to read to him, and sometimes "reads" a book himself. He always holds the book up properly, and can point out pictures in some of his favorite books.

Playgroup went to the library today for Toddler Story Time. Well, we attempted to go for toddler story time, but they were full before our group got there. Anyway, we hung out in the toddler section for a while, checking out the books and playing with our group.

We both got library cards. Mark has his very own library card and is allowed to check out any books from the toddler section of the library. He picked out four board books and is quite excited about it.

We also signed up for the Summer Read to Me program. For every fifteen minutes that Mark reads a book with Mommy or Daddy we gets to check off a space on the chart. When we fill it up with five hours of reading/listening we will take it back to the library for a special treat.

We're off with a bang! We're crossing half a mark off the first fifteen minutes. He doesn't have the attention span to sit and listen for fifteen minutes at a time, but we can do a couple books at a time. Right now our goal is to do fifteen minutes every two or three days. We'll see how it goes!

I loved having a library card growing up, spent many hours picking out books. Now, hopefully Mark has begun a similar path.

My Mommy

2009-06-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

I am so in love with this little boy.

Last night we met up with some friends (Kiza and Richard have a son Colin who is just two weeks younger than Mark) for some playtime and then went to see fireworks. The Kemah Boardwalk does fireworks every Friday night at 930. This was the first time for both boys to see fireworks, so we figured we'd see them from the safe distance of the Target parking lot. It was the perfect spot, not too crowded and a great view.

After the fireworks (which the boys loved by the way) we were standing around talking. I was holding Mark in my arms. He looked right at me, said "My Mommy" and put his head on my shoulder. My heart melted. I am so in love with this little boy.

Windy Hill

2009-05-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from earlier this month. The family went to Windy Hill to help my parent's celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. It was a lot of fun. Mark had a fantastic time with Mamacita, Pappacito, all his aunts, uncles and cousins.

Growth Spurt!

2009-05-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

I have a lot to update, and will add plenty of pictures soon. It's been a busy month, that is for sure!

Mark is recovering from another bout of croup. But he's on the mend and almost back to his normal self. One positive thing, we got to find out how much he weighs and how tall he is when we took him to the dr.

At 16.5 months Mark is 23 lb 14 oz. And he is 32.75 inches tall. We knew he'd had a growth spurt recently, but wow!

I am in the process of going through his clothes and taking all the 12-18 month stuff out. He's pretty firmly in the 18-24 month clothes now. I thought we'd have a few more months, but that last growth spurt did it for him.

He is such a bundle of joy. His vocabulary is amazing. And he doesn't just walk now- he runs. Everywhere. But he still loves to snuggle when the time is right. He is so much fun and keeps me so busy! I LOVE this age!

Bluebonnets

2009-04-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

Aunt Holly took some pictures of Cowboy Mark in the bluebonnets. He was all decked out in his cowboy boots (thanks Uncle Andy!), Wranglers, cowboy shirt, and of course a cowboy hat!

Strawberry Picking

2009-04-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Our playgroup went strawberry picking this week. Mark was a natural. I didn't even show him what to do- he immediately started picking up the strawberries. He liked holding the bucket too. And of course he had to have a taste ;)

First Haircut

2009-03-27T21:37:00.001-07:00

Mark had his first haircut today. He did pretty well. He wasn't a huge fan of the clippers, and he didn't want to leave in the end! But he was a great big boy and looks so cute!

Before pictures (playing in the waiting area) - you can see how long his hair was getting to be.

During the haircut. The first thing he said when he was put in the car was "down". But after he saw the video and that he could turn the steering wheel of the car, he was happy. He was singing along to the video and music that they have to keep the kids entertained. He also talked to the hairdresser and Mommy quite a bit. Mostly it was happy chatter. He was not a huge fan of the clippers though. Mommy had to hold him while the lady clipped near his ears.

After the haircut. He had a blast in the car. He didn't want to leave and threw a fit about having to go.

Swinging

2009-03-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

On one of our walking routes there is a park. We always stop for a swing and a quick snack. Here are some pictures my friend Jen took of Mark in the swing.

Rodeo time!

2009-03-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

We went to the rodeo with playgroup. Mark is teething, so he was a bit grumpy and wanted to get out of his stroller a lot. But overall he had fun with his playgroup friends. He LOVED the costumed cow, he giggled and laughed with it. Uncle Andy had given Mark his cowboy boots for his birthday. He adjusted to walking in them pretty quickly.

Mark's first trip to the beach

2009-02-27T16:15:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Rainforest Cafe and then the beach with our playgroup. Mark was not a fan of the water (I admit, it was a tad cold) but he loved the sand!

Sick Boy

2009-02-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

Poor Mark. He's caught the bug/crud/whatever is going around. He's on the upswing now, but it's been a rough few days. Poor kid.

He's coughing from the congestion, and sporting the latest "runny nose" look. Fun times. Mark managed to share it with Mommy, but luckily Daddy hasn't gotten sick yet.

Mostly, he hates it because we have been indoors pretty much the whole time since Sat. We had a busy week of playgroup activities scheduled and had to cancel all of them. A few others in playgroup aren't feeling so hot either, so it's best not to "share the germs".

Hopefully tonight will be a good night and he'll be able to get some rest. It's hard hearing your little one whine over the monitor because he woke himself up coughing. He goes right back to sleep, but still.... It makes for a restless, wakeful night for Mommy too. We have the humidifier in his room, and that seems to be working a bit.

We can't wait for our happy little boy to be healthy again!

Swing and Something to Say

2009-02-13T16:14:00.000-08:00

Enjoy this video taken just a little bit ago. It was a beautiful day today.

Mommy's Dream Boat

2009-02-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

Here is Mark last Valentine's day:

And here he is in the EXACT same shirt this year:

The Janie and Jack brand does run a bit big sometimes; and last year the only size we could get him was a 3-6 month. It fits him fairly well this year - at least enough to wear it this week. Such a cutie pie!

When food meets fashion

2009-01-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

Marky and Mommy made a cereal necklace today. Mommy named the colors as she and Mark strung them on the necklace. Then Marky enjoyed eating the necklace. I bet we'll be finding pieces of cereal on the floor for a while- we better do a good vacuum tonight! And it's a great thing Marky loves to brush his teeth.

What Squeaky Shoes!

2009-01-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

Mark LOVES his squeaky shoes. I often let him choose his outfit and shoes for the day- and most times he wants his squeaky shoes. Enjoy these videos!

How you know a toy is a hit.....

2009-01-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

....... when it can go in a circle without the track - Mark rides it so much! Mark loves his train. It's not uncommon for us to hear it start up because he climbed up on it and decided to go for a ride.

Open House for early preschool

2009-01-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

We're going to an Open House later today. It's for a preschool that we are thinking about enrolling Mark in for the next school year. Wow.

He's a bit young, the toddler class is the one he'll be in. But it'll be good for him. Schools apparently have registration NOW for the fall. So we're going to check it out. He'll be a whole different child when the fall comes around- he grows so much! But from watching my nieces and nephews and seeing how they do and have done in preschool, now is the time to start looking. The fall will be the perfect time for Mark to start. The toddler classes are more of learning through play. I've seen my nieces and nephews flourish when they started "school" at that age, and I know Mark will love it too.

I've done some research on this school, and it looks like it'll be a good one for him. I like that they have enrichment programs and that he'll get to learn a lot. By starting in the toddler class he'll get used to the school and programs. So it'll make the transition to preschool itself easier. Which in turn will make the transition to kindergarten easier.

Right now Mark goes to a drop in day care. It's good for him to socialize, and it's good for Mommy to have a break! I typically take him once a week for 4 or 5 hours. Then I come home and get stuff done. The main difference between the two is that in the school setting they'll focus more on learning. He mostly plays right now (which is a good thing!)

Mark is such an inquisitive little boy, it's great! And we want to continue to encourage him to be like that :)

Adoptive Families magazine page 46

2009-01-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

We received our Feb 2009 edition of Adoptive Families Magazine. And smack dab in the middle of page 46 is someone you might recognize ;)

Yep, Mark is in there! I'll get a copy scanned soon and post it, but it's a picture of him with a big huge smile. It was taken on his Forever Family Day, the afternoon after his adoption was finalized. He was almost 8 months old, and just as cute as can be. It's definately going in his scrapbook!

Mark and his train

2008-12-30T22:23:00.001-08:00

Mark's figured out how to climb up on his train and make it go. He sure does enjoy riding it.

Mark's (gulp) One Year Check Up

2008-12-29T08:34:00.001-08:00

He had a great one. The pedi is happy with the way he's growing and progressing.

He is 21 lbs 6 oz and is 29.25 inches tall. His head is 18 5/8 in. He was a trooper for his shots as usual. The pedi also said she wants him on 2% milk, that whole isn't necessary because he's growing just fine.

We don't go back until his 18 month check up now!

Happy Birthday Mark!

2008-12-25T07:58:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's hard to believe a year ago we were in the hospital with a newborn. We were a few doors down and heard his first cry. We looked at each other and smiled, knowing that our son had just been born. And we spent the whole day just amazed, with our son. And he was such an alert little guy, such a sweet boy. He looked at us the whole time, taking us in, and our hearts melted. Wow, what a year it's been!

Happy Birthday Mark, we love you so much!

First Birthday Photo Shoot

2008-12-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

Aunt Holly (Holly Anderson Photography) took some professional first birthday pictures of Mark last weekend.

Here is a sneak peak:

A year ago today

2008-12-18T21:53:00.001-08:00

We got the call that our lives were going to change forever in a week or less time.

Wow, what a difference a year makes!

This is why he was meant to be a Texan.

2008-12-11T05:58:00.000-08:00

He's so not a fan of snow.

He's only been in snow two other times in his life, Jan 14 and Jan 17. And he didn't like it so much then either ;)

But we couldn't resist. Since it rarely snows here in Houston, we let him stay up late and play in the snow. He liked it when he was being held or was in his little car, he just didn't like having to actually touch the cold stuff.

And while it's melting, there is still a little snow out there this morning. It'll disappear in a few hours though as the sun warms it up.

Family Photo Shoot

2008-12-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Aunt Holly took some pictures for us. More can be found at her website: Holly Anderson Photography, but here are some for your viewing pleasure :)

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Mr Gobble Gobble

2008-12-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Aunt Holly came to visit and took some pictures of Mark at the park. He's wearing his Thanksgiving outfit and some pictures are with his favorite wagon.

Mark says....

2008-11-27T07:58:00.001-08:00

Gobble Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wow, what a difference a year makes. We were thankful last year for our friends and family, and now.... even more blessings. We give thanks not only today, but every day for our full life of family and friends. Thank you for being a part of that!

The Croup

2008-11-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

Poor kid, it's the croup. With a tad bit of stridor. So the pedi gave him some medicine and hopefully he'll be 100% soon. He is his usual happy self, he's just a tad bit more tired and has that awful sound. He eats normally too. We bought a humidifier too and just set it up in his room.

Since he didn't have a fever he did get his second flu shot today. Now, he's resting and hopefully will feel better soon!

11 months and a month of not so great firsts

2008-11-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

Wow, 11 months already!

In just a few short weeks we'll have a birthday boy, a toddler on our hands! His unofficial stats are 20 lbs and 28.75 inches. All we know is that he's growing tall- his clothes don't fit lengthwise as well anymore and he can reach a lot higher and farther than he was able to before!

As for the month of not so great firsts- we are SO ready for November to be over. It's a nice month- it just brought some not so nice or not so fun stuff for our little guy.

His first stomach bug was at the beginning of the month. It lasted almost ten days, poor little guy - with an upset tummy. He took more baths due to containment breaches the first week of this month.... well, almost as many as he'd had in the six months prior to that!

And now, he's got a cold. Poor little guy is all congested and now coughing. We go in for part two of his flu shot today and will mention it to the doctor. It's not the flu, no fever or anything - just congestion and now some coughing. Hopefully we can get the little guy to feeling better soon.

I guess if it took ten/eleven months to get to these firsts, we're doing pretty good. We just hate to see our little guy suffer.

And Mark loves to share. Mommy and Daddy both got the stomach bug too. And now Mommy has her chronic cough and is on cough meds (we're hoping Daddy doesn't get it). Mommy is not contagious, so we're hoping Mark isn't either! We'll find out soon enough.

Anyway, that's the update for now.

Sneak Peak

2008-11-19T06:12:00.000-08:00

My sister Holly is a photographer (Holly Anderson Photography). She came over on Sunday and took pictures at a picnic that we had with some other families to celebrate National Adoption Month.

She sent me a sneak peak of pictures of Mark. Enjoy!

Window

2008-11-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

One of Mark's favorite things to do is stand by the front window and look out. He tends to do this especially right before Daddy comes home. It's cute, and brings back good memories because Precious used to do the exact same thing sometimes.

Here he is waiting for Daddy to come home from work:

And another that Daddy took one weekend when he was waiting for Mommy:

First birthday save the dates

2008-11-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

So, with a Christmas Day birthday, we obviously won't be able to have a kids/friends birthday party on his actual birthday. So, we decided to hold it on Sunday, Jan 4th. We figure most of our (and his) friends will be back from vacation (if they are on vacation) since school and work will start back up on Jan 5th.

Another problem- invites may get lost in the holiday mail. I know we all get TONS of catalogs, Christmas cards, letters and more during late Nov and all of December. We will be sending out invitations in December, but decided to make save the dates and send them out this week. That way it'll be on people's calendars if for some reason they don't get or miss the invitation.

His birthday party theme is going to be Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids. Mark loves Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, he watches it on tv daily. When he hears the theme song he comes scurrying into the room to watch. It's the one thing that can get him totally mesmerized and guarantee to keep him interested for a short while.

One neat and exciting thing is that it also explains adoption. You see, Miss Spider is adopted (her Mom is Betty Beetle). And not only that, several of her kids are as well (Bounce, Dragon and Shimmer). She also has five other spider kids. Occasionally adoption is a show theme, sometimes it's a minor theme. And sometimes it's not mentioned at all. They treat it as they treat kindness, patience, friends, or any other theme to their shows. It's a unique way to explain adoption to children, one that they can relate to in a positive way.

It's the perfect theme for our little guy. So, I made some save the dates and they are going out in the mail this week and next. Here is what they look like:

first sickies

2008-11-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Well, we are going through Mark's first round of sickies. I guess we're pretty lucky because it took ten months. All three of us have had a stomach bug. Mark is doing pretty well, even though he has no clue what is going on.

Even though he knows he's not feeling well, his sweet little personality keeps coming out. Right now he's playing "la la la" with Daddy. He is also about ready to go to bed.

I really do admire those who have had babies that haven't slept through the night, those who get up every night for one or more feedings. And it makes me appreciate it all the more how amazing Mark is. He usually is a self soother in that if he's in bed he'll put himself back to sleep if he wakes (and there are some nights I have heard him and watched him on the monitor- he's back asleep before I can even get out of bed to go check on him). Last night the poor little guy woke up a little after one. And it took me until almost three thirty to get him back to sleep. Fortunately he then proceeded to sleep for a long time after that.

We're keeping him hydrated, giving him lots of hugs and snuggles. And hopefully these sickies will go away soon.

Trip to the zoo

2008-10-29T12:27:00.001-07:00

Last week Mark and I went to the zoo with some of our playgroup friends. They all had a wonderful time. Mark fell asleep and had a nap halfway through, but really enjoyed the time he was awake. He didn't want to pet any of the animals in the petting zoo, but rather wanted to stay in the stroller. He did love the aquarium though!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

We took Mark to a pumpkin patch this weekend. Here is some video- enjoy! He loves his squeaky shoes too.

Fun times at Monkey N Around

2008-10-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Mark and I went to Monkey N Around with my friend Carrie and her daughter (and Mark's friend) Macie (she's three weeks older than Mark). We're so happy to see he is enjoying the train/car table- he's getting one for his birthday! Here are some pictures and some video. Enjoy!

hat

2008-10-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

Just a quick drop in with a hat picture. Mark is growing into this hat- it should hopefully fit by the time it's cold enough to wear it.

Mommy and Mark are going through his closet, as it's finally starting to feel a bit like Fall. Plus, Mark has grown so much, some of his clothes don't fit anymore!

I hope to have some Puppy pictures soon. His cousin Kathleen had a birthday party on Saturday and Mark got to dress up in his puppy costume. He was so cute!

Growing so fast

2008-10-12T14:16:00.001-07:00

He's growing so fast! Here he is in the high chair he eats in the most. He just got up from a nap and was about to eat lunch. He looks so grown up today!

Bottle strike

2008-10-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

So, Mark has decided at 9 months old that he's too "big" for a bottle. We've been using Born Free bottles and loved them. He's been holding them by himself for quite a while (we took the sippy cup handles and put them on the bottles so he could hold them himself). About a month, month and a half ago he dropped to two bottles - one when he wakes up in the morning and one before bed.

Now, it's sippy cups only. He figured out how to take the bottle and squirt it around - so he'd "play" with it instead of drink it. But give him his formula in a sippy cup and he's happy. He also loves watered down juice and the yougurt/juice blend in his sippy cup too. And of course water!

So, we're using the playtex first sipster (he prefers handles) because our pediatrician at his 6 month appointment said he needed to not use soft spouts (they are kind of soft, but harder than most soft spouts). It's hard to find sippy cups with hard spouts and handles. We did find a few at Walgreens, but he prefers the first sipsters a bit better.

If anyone can recommend a hard spout sippy with handles, we'd be glad to know about it! Our little guy is growing so big, and independent.

Teeth

2008-10-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

It is all but impossible to catch Mark showing his teeth. He LOVES to show them, but when you whip out the camera he clamps his mouth shut. We've shown his bottom teeth before, but never been able to catch his top ones. He has four on top and two on the bottom. We took these pictures today right as he was waking up from his nap in the swing. So you can see them a tiny bit ;)

He's teething again, and is having a hard time. Poor kid. We lost his teething necklace (another is on order) - and man, we can tell. He wore it every day when he was getting those top 4 teeth in a row - and he did pretty well. Now, it's a bit different. The Hylands teething tablets seem to be working pretty well though. And when it really gets bad he gets baby orajel teething swabs. Mostly we notice at night, when he can't sleep as well as he usually does. He wakes up a bit fussy, then puts himself back to sleep. He's more restless at night.

It looks like he's about to get some more teeth on top, and possibly on bottom. But we'll see! He is growing so big, it's hard to believe it's been 9 months. Enjoy the pictures and ignore the blurriness and/or red eye ;)

Catching up after the storm

2008-09-29T05:48:00.001-07:00

We're finally starting to calm down around here. Whew, it's been a busy recovery after the storm!

While we were still evacuated we found out that Mike has mono. He's slowly getting better - but it just takes time. He's weak, but has good days and bad days. Fortunately none of the rest of us got it!

We were able to come home on the evening of Wed the 17th. Mark and I brought Uncle Jimmy back with us, and Mike went and brought Precious back home. Fortunately we had only lost fence parts, and the house was basically ok.

Uncle Jimmy was excellent at keeping Mark entertained- they sure did hit it off! While they were busy I hurriedly put together the guest room. Uncle Jimmy stayed with us until this past Friday the 26th, when he was able to go home. His grandson came and picked him up to take him home to Galveston. Thank goodness the worst damage his house had was a screen door that needs replacing. We miss our houseguest though! Mark crawls over to the chair he sat in and keeps looking for him.

On a very sad note, we had to put our cat Precious down. She was 15.5 years old, and such a wonderful cat. She loved all of us, and was especially good with Mark (see the previous post about them). She had started to lose weight (last month she was 8 lbs, she'd been 9 in 2006). And we knew it was time to take her to the vet. Unfortunately, before we could do that the hurricane struck and we had to evacuate. We took her with us, and she had a safe place to be (at my sister's house, there were other cats there too, but she had her own space). Unfortunately that sped up what was ailing her. We were hoping she'd pick up when we got home Wed night. Thursday she seemed a tad better, but not really. I called Fri am (19th) and the vet was able to work us in that afternoon. When he weighed her, she was 4.5 lbs. He said she was in very bad shape, and that we could give her meds, but that it would be delaying the inevitable. Now, one reason we chose and use this vet is because he does what he can to save animals, doesn't like to put them down. So when he said that was probably the best option for Precious, we knew what we had to do. Fortunately she never really did suffer or hurt too bad. She lived a long and peaceful life, and we miss her dearly. Mike met Mark and I at the vet, and we got to spend a nice hour as a family for one last time. Mark doesn't totally understand, but more than once I've caught him crawling toward Precious's area looking for and calling out for his "gaht" and "geeehteeeee". It breaks my heart, but we all know that we did the right thing.

We had both sets of grandparents come visit us for a couple hours. Mike's parents came that weekend (Sat the 20th). They JUST got their electicity back this past Sat night (the 27th). We invited them down for a visit and to do laundry! They had a great time with Mark and watching college football with us. While they all stayed entertained I cleaned up the office/computer room. I had a lot to do, but it looks a lot better. Mark enjoyed visiting with his Grammy and Grandpa.

My parents came down on Monday the 22nd, which happened to be my 38th birthday. They brought a BBQ dinner and a cake! It was fun, and a nice celebration (not to mention yummy). We have a tradition where we make a lamb cake for family birthday parties. Mom made a lamb cake for me (which I appreciated a ton, I'd been planning on making my birthday cake so it was so sweet that she did it). Mark had a blast with Mamacita and Pappasito.

Mark turned 9 months on Thursday. His unofficial stats (his 9 month appointment isn't until a few days before his 10 month birthday!) are 18.8 lbs and 28 inches. He didn't gain a ton of weight this past month, but spent more time growing taller. There is a marked difference in how tall he is this month vs last month. He's outgrown many of his six month clothes. Right now the 9 month and 9 to 12 month clothes fit him best. He's so cute with the 4 top and 2 bottom teeth sticking out prominantly. And he's drooling and teething pretty hard- I have a feeling (and can see) a few more are going to be popping out soon. He's cruising while holding on to tables, chairs, sofas, anything he can. And a couple times he's even stood on his own (before realizing what he's doing and dropping to the ground).

Saturday (the 27th) we went to cousin Ryan's birthday party. It was a construction theme, and Mark had a fantastic time. He loved being with all the big kids and did his best to get right in there with them.

Anyway, that's what's been going on around here! We're ready to get back to a semi normal life. Slowly but surely it's happening.

We are still here

2008-09-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

We're still here, and thank goodness for generators. We were very fortunate enough to be in a place that has them. The main room's a/c isnt working that well, but both bedrooms are, so my great uncle is doing fine, as are Mike, Mark and I.

A cold front came through last night (little guy did not sleep well at all). So we have one of the balcony doors open and it's making it quite nice here in the main living room. Cable went out, but we still have internet.

It looks like for our nighborhood it's mostly fences down and some roof damage. We're allowed to return back starting Monday, but they say expect no power for about two weeks. Mike may go down there tomorrow to check it out.

My great uncle's house appears to be ok, there is a ton of water in his street but he is high enough on a hill that the house itself is ok. We're not 100% sure, but that is the report we are getting from his friends. His lady friend has 4 feet of water in her condo, so it's not so lucky for her.

Mark has been enjoying his cousins. He is called "Baby Mark" when they are all around. He has had fun watching them, sometimes trying to catch up with them.

Overall, we are very thankful and lucky to be where we are right now. We're glad Mark is doing ok with his first hurricane!

Evacuation

2008-09-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

Mark is getting to participate in his first hurricane evacuation. We're not mandatory yet, but we are voluntary. Mark and Mommy actually left on Wed because we went to go pick up great uncle (that's great-great-uncle to Mark!) Jimmy who lives in Galveston. This was the first time that Mark met Uncle Jimmy (he's 92) and the two of them are so cute together! Mark just gave him the biggest smile when he met him, and the returning smile was just as big. They are having a great time together.

We went to stay near the rest of the cousins, and two of them are over playing right now. I'm sure the others will be later too. We're in a very nice suite, so there is tons of room for everyone if the electricity goes out! We are supposed to have a back up generator here, so hopefully we'll be all ok!

I am sure we'll be taking lots of pictures and adding them. For now, I'm off to get him up - he's a bit off schedule because of teething plus being in a different environment. This is the first time he's been away from home without Mommy AND Daddy since we left Indiana. He seems to sleep better when both Mommy and Daddy are around. Daddy is probably going to join us tonight -so hopefully he'll sleep better.

And I'm eager to see how many more teeth popped up.

teeth, teeth, and more teeth

2008-09-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Our poor little guy has been miserable off and on for the past week and a half. He has his good and bad moments, and what extremes. When he's happy he's his usual sunny self, but when the teeth hurt- poor baby! It hurts Mommy to hear him crying in pain when nothing works.

He's had his bottom two teeth for a while now (he usually hides them in pictures, but you can see here), and cutting the top ones for a bit of time. Well, two top teeth broke through yesterday (one of the front ones, one is missing, and then the one next to the gap). He's got 4 more that are going to pop ANY second now. (the second top front one, the one on the other side of the top one that is out, and the one on either side of his two bottom ones).

Teething tablets (and now a teething necklace) are helping, but we've had to do the q-tip orajel a few times too. Frozen mango, frozen washcloths, and lots of snuggle time with Mommy.

Oh, and he learned how to click his teeth. To me it sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. But to him- it's funny! A new and unusual sound and feeling.

Our baby is getting to be so big!

Playgroup

2008-09-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

We are in a fantastic playgroup. It started on www.meetup.com. After we'd been home about a month and were settling in I was looking for a playgroup for kids his age in the area. I found several, but most were geared toward older or more mobile kids. So, I started an Itty Bitty playgroup.

We have 24 mommies and little ones in our playgroup now, and have so much fun! Yesterday we went to a special playdate, it was a Fisher Price party. One of the girls in our group, Sarah, was picked by www.HouseParty.com to host it. The kids got to test out four new Fisher Price toys, and they had a blast. I don't think you need a referral to sign up for House Party, but if anyone wants an invite let me know and I'll send you one.

The four toys we got introduced to were the Laugh & Learn Fun With Friends Musical Table, Laugh & Learn Smart Bounce and Spin Pony, Go Baby Go, Crawl and Cruise Musical Jungle, and the Amazing Animals Spinnin Around Musical Zoo.

Mark had a great time playing with all of the toys. And he loved playing with his friends from playgroup. What a great way for Fisher Price to introduce the toys (and the lucky hosts got to keep all the toys.) They even provided a goodie bag and Mark got a Brilliant Basics Poppity Pop Dump Truck.

Here are some pictures of Mark with his playgroup recently:

First Concert

2008-09-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

Mark went to his first major concert last night at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

It was going to be a Mommies/Girls Night out, but Mr. Mark tagged along with one of the extra tickets we had. He LOVES spending time with Anita too, and we all had a great time.

One thing we learned- he likes the Counting Crows better than Maroon 5.

When we first got there we got earplugs for Mark and put them in his ears. We then went to eat at the VIP club. We figured we'd let him get used to the ear plugs during dinner. We sat outside on the patio and listened to the first act, Agustana, while eating dinner.

We went and found our seats while the Counting Crows were on. Mark had a blast, bouncing around, smiling and clapping. He loved the music and the lights, and especially people watching.

At the end of the break between Counting Crows and Maroon 5 Mark and I took off in search of a changing station. Fun. They just don't have a lot of them around there, but we found one.

Then, we went back to our seats for the Maroon 5 portion. Mark liked the lights and people watching during that part of the concert. We could tell it was getting too loud, so we went back to the VIP club (air conditioning section this time) and watched the rest of the concert on the big screen tvs in there.

When they were starting to wrap up we went ahead and left. Mark slept the whole way home. He took a bottle, played with Daddy for about half an hour, and then went to bed for the night.

He woke up happy this morning- I think he had a great time.

It's too bad my camera didn't have a phone- it would have been cute to show him at his first concert. But his ticket is going in the baby book (oh, and he didn't need a ticket, we just had an extra one so we let him give it to the ticket taker, etc).

Picture time!

2008-09-01T22:54:00.001-07:00

My sister Holly took some pictures for us today. Here are just a few, we just had to share ;)

Stats

2008-08-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, for his unofficial measurements, Mark is 18.6 lbs (that's 18 lb 10 oz) and 27.5 inches. It's a bit hard to tell how tall he is, as he's quite the wiggly worm!

He has two teeth that are fully out, and he's working on several more. We're pretty sure his top two are going to come in any moment now- he's been teething pretty badly these past few days (especially today).

Mark is into EVERYTHING. It's so cute to watch his mind working as he decides what to investigate next. He loves to explore.

8 months

2008-08-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

8 months ago our lives changed forever.

Wow, time sure has flown by- and what a wonderful adventure it's been! Mark is doing so much now- and has become quite the "big boy" for such a little guy. There is not an eight month pedi appointment, so we'll measure him by ourselves today. He can sit on the scale himself now, so we get an accurate reading. I figure he's probably about 18.5 lbs, but we'll find out for sure later today. He is just such a joy, and I pinch myself every day that he's here, our little boy, forever and ever.

Gaht

2008-08-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

One thing Mark has started doing recently is to say "gaht" and "geeehteeeee" when he sees Precious, our cat. When he spies her he says that, gives out a great big giggle and takes off crawling after her. Often repeating the word, we know that he is trying to say cat and kitty. We call Precious both cat and kitty, so I can see why he calls her both.

Sometimes, if she's nearby he'll pet her. We are working hard with him to actually PET her, but that doesn't always work. If he's able to get ahold of her tail, in to his mouth it goes. Or, he'll take a nose dive toward her and try to put fur in his mouth. You see, our child LOVES to put ANYTHING and EVERYTHING in his mouth. He is very much a texture and taste child.

Anyway, Precious is very tolerant of him. I think that her time spent with nieces and nephews and neighbor kids from their births on up has helped expose her to children. So much that when one came to live with us for good she has adapted pretty well. She will actually attempt to go near him, and go to him for petting sometimes too.

Even as I write this, I'm on the couch, Precious is curled up between Mike and I, and Mark is in Mike's lap. It's not unusual to have our family of four together on the couch or napping on the bed.

One thing Mike did when he flew home while Mark and I were still in Indiana was to bring the cap he wore in the hospital home. I don't know if that made a difference or not, but Precious did get used to the smell of Mark. She was really good with him from the very beginning.

From the time we brought Mark home, the two of them have done well together. Precious is very protective of him. Precious was known to stand by Mark's cradle while he was sleeping, or jump on the couch and fall asleep next to him when he was napping in Mommy or Daddy's arms.

Precious is very tolerant for a 15 year old cat. She recognizes that he's a baby, and not a threat. So she'll let him pet her, come near her. And even let him chase her. When Precious sees him crawling after her she sometimes waits a few seconds to let him catch up. Than she wanders to another part of the house or away from where she is so that he can catch her.

Overall, they make a good pair. Sometimes they "work together". It's funny. One time Mark distracted us and Precious jumped on the coffee table to stick her nose in a bowl. Another, they were both in the playroom and worked together to push on the side to open the door so they could get out. It's funny to watch, and who knows what they will do next!

Forever Family Day

2008-08-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

It's official!

As of 9 AM this morning Mark's adoption was finalized. And today, August 22, 2008 is our FOREVER FAMILY day.

We are SO excited, happy, relieved, words can't even say it all... it's been a long journey (and a big THANK YOU to all those of you who have followed along and supported us), but it was oh so worth the wait.

Mike's parents, my mom, one of my sisters, her two kids and my BIL were there to celebrate with us at court (my dad was there via phone, as he's on his way to Alaska right now to fly fish).

My other sister came with her daughter after she dropped her son off at school and we all (except Mike's parents, who went on to Galveston) went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Mike's parents will stop by on their way back home.

Here are some pictures :)

Coming soon

2008-06-12T21:14:00.001-07:00

This blog is coming soon!

For now, follow our adventures at: http://mikeandlizadopt.blogspot.com