First Smiles! Seven Weeks Old- Baby Jed

6:51 am I just fed and changed Jed and had him all snuggled up in my arms. Looking down at him I said "Are you my little buddy?" And he broke into a big smile!!! We had a whole little conversation for a few minutes, me talking and him smiling back. Even though he has given me little smiles before I'm counting today as his first official day of smiling because they were so big and he was so responsive that it is undeniable. I hope he has a lot more of them coming. I asked him if that was his present to me for getting up to feed him and sitting here in the dark I'm so happy I was the one to get up so I didn't miss our special little moment. He also went 6.5 hrs before waking up to eat last night. He sucked down 3oz in 7 minutes which has to be a record for him and he was still fussy so I gave him another 2oz which he sucked down in another 4 min. 5oz total- that is a new record! And then he went another 4.5 before eating again, what a good little boy :)

Today is also his first day going to church! I didn't plan on waiting until he was nearly 7 weeks old but surgery put me back a bit and it was easier to keep him home with me, so it was exciting to finally get to go. Everything went great, he slept most of the time but he still got lots of attention. Only hang up was somehow I forgot to make sure he had diapers in the diaper bag but luckily we survived!

Since he was all dressed up I went ahead and took his 7 week old pictures a day early- mind as well commemorate his first day of church with his teddy!

Trunk or Treat 2013

I started shopping for Halloween costumes for the boys before Jed was even born, I was even working on it when we were in the hospital after he was born. Not because I didn't know what I wanted, just because I was trying to find the cutest ones at the best price. Two shark costumes arrived a few weeks later. Two shark treat bags with their names on it arrived this week. I had to show Ollie what to do with it so all week long we have been "practicing." It only took him one time knocking on my bedroom door and me prompting him to say "trick or treat!" and putting a candy in his bag for him to catch on. I did teach him to say "Thank You!" too, and he probably got to practice more times than he should have because he is the cutest little thing!

After work tonight we all got the boys all dressed up. I consider this our trial run before the big night next week so I didn't worry as much about Matt or my costumes- not that there is much to ours, he is a surfer and I am a lifeguard. We'll get our family pictures at Marcee and Lance's house but I did get a few tonight.

I honestly have only ever gone to trunk or treat one time, it was when Nathanael was a baby 12 years ago so this was somewhat of a new experience for us and I have to admit that it was pretty fun. Ollie seemed to have the time of his life! When we got there we jumped in line for some chili but he refused to hang out with us, there was a DJ there and Ollie was all over the dance floor- a bit of dancing and a bit of socializing with every person he saw. Jed hasn't been to church yet so there were quite a few people running over to meet him for the first time and his cute little self did not disappoint. He did sleep the entire time but that was somewhat of a blessing since Ollie was all over the place and we were having a hard time keeping track of him. One of his favorite things to do was pick up the decorations and run around with them, I caught him running away with two little jack-o-lanterns that were all lit up and were just his size, luckily they were plastic! 

When it was time to trunk-or-treat Ollie was more interested in the bubble blower than getting candy, but Natalie picked him and helped him get in the spirit. Just one stop and he was sold!

Matt stayed at the trunk with Jed to pass out treats and I got to run around with Ollie. He was the cutest little shark and I was so proud of him for keeping his hat on and saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" and taking time to say "goodbye" and wave. Who knew it would be so fun?

Molly finding Ollie inside that big shark!

I was so proud of Ollie, when people would miss a kids bag and the candy would fall on the ground between them he would reach down and pick it up and then put it in their bag for them. How did he get so sweet?

I couldn't believe some of the fancy trunks out there, there were black lights and cages and all sorts of things, but this one had to be my favorite! Sister Butcher was the Mona Lisa, only her head moved. We are going to have to step it up next year, what can I say I'm a trunk or treat rookie!

Kaden wanted to get a picture with Ollie and when we told Ollie to turn around for a picture with him he promptly sat down next to him, his way of getting ready for the shot I guess!

  

Ollie and Brycen

I really was amazed that he kept his hat on the whole time because the first time he put his costume on a month ago he had the hat off in two seconds and I had to bribe him to keep it on for one minute so I could snap a picture. After we made the rounds Ollie and I hung out at the trunk while Matt went and helped tear down and clean up. Shockingly Ollie didn't even ask to eat a piece of candy when he was busy collecting it, and even when we hung out in the trunk he was more interested in drinking water and taking his candy out and playing with it than he was in eating it. I was pretty happy about that.

My friend in the car next to us was laughing when I pulled out the camera and started taking pictures of him in the front, Ollie of course gave me a "cheese" and she commented on how well trained he is- I guess he has had a few thousand or tens of thousands of pictures of him taken in his short life!

Ollie was so tired when we got home that he was rubbing his eyes and making the funniest tired faces we have ever seen. Matt and I could not stop laughing at him, it didn't take long before he was out! Little Jed was still asleep by the time we got home, and when we uncovered him we found a treat Ollie had left for him (only it was just the wrapper! He's taking advantage of little brothers Halloween candy already, can't wait to see the "deals" he makes with him next year haha!)

Happy Trunk-Or-Treating!!

Favorite Moments

My favorite moments are the little ones, the ones that may seem insignificant, but fill my heart to overflowing with gratitude and make me smile even when no-one else is there to see me smiling. Tonight was such a moment. After dinner we all laid down in our bed to watch a movie Mom just bought and had left for us to watch- Ephriams Rescue (great story btw!) The movie actually has three different story lines going on of mothers and their sons, and I think at one of those heart tugging moments in the movie I looked over to see Matt and the boys all asleep. I don't know why it was so cute to me to find them all sprawled out all over each other and to hear all three of them with their deep breathing but it was. I slipped my arm out from under Jed and had to go grab the camera so I could forever remember this little thing that made me smile!

 

Five Weeks Old- Baby Jed

Jed continues to get stronger, he's holding his head up much better and there are times when I'm trying to burp him while sitting him on my knee that he makes it difficult for me because he arches his back and straightens out his whole body like a stiff board and he's so strong that I can't get him to just sit on my leg! He's quite the little farter too, Matt and I get a good laugh out of how long and big they are haha!

Ollie continues to adore him, but is also anxious to play with him which can make it difficult at times because I have to keep a close eye on the two of them, and I feel like I spend a lot of time trying to keep them a part but we do our best to teach Ollie to be soft and he still showers him with kisses. He just can't wait till they can wrestle, for now I let him lay on his tummy with close supervision. I love to hear Ollie squeal out "Baby Jed!" Here he is sneaking into his photo shoot...

Love his scrawny little legs!

Jed started "fighting back" today, Ollie thought it was the funniest thing when he reached up and grabbed his mouth!

LDS Family Services has a support group every week for birth mothers and girls that are expecting, and tonight Sarah invited us to join her at group to help share Jed's adoption story. What an amazing opportunity and privilege it was for us to be there. I laughed at Matt because for a little while he was the only man in the room (Sarah's father eventually joined us so he wasn't all alone!) I loved having the opportunity to hear the experiences birth mothers have right from their own mouths. As an adoptive mom I can't help but wonder at times what my birth mothers are feeling and both of them are pretty open and share a lot with me, but it was still a great opportunity to hear what other birth mothers think and feel at different stages in the process. There is a code that nothing that is shared in that room leaves that room, but as each and every one of them spoke I couldn't help but want to wrap my arms around them. They are all so strong and each has so much love for their children, they deserve every bit of admiration and support we can give them. Sarah was the last one in group to share and she got to tell Jed's adoption story from her perspective and then I got to share some of the experiences we had as well (I will take time at some point to write it all out, right now our story is in bits and pieces in my journal and in our emails and texts as it all occurred). It probably would have been a good thing if I had actually thought ahead of time what I wanted to say because not only was a tad bit emotional, I had a thousand things I wanted to say and in the end I'm not quite sure what exactly it was that I did say! Matt and both of Sarah's parents also had an opportunity to share some thoughts and experiences as well. I remember portions of what they said, overwhelmingly we all feel the benefits of having an open relationship and already they simply feel like an extension of our family. I get a little embarrassed sometimes when they say such nice things about us, but it truly is amazing to feel so supported and loved by them. I loved how Sarah's father also took time to pay tribute to all the girls in the room that have done this amazing but hard thing for their children. He shared his testimony of the temple and the blessings that are there and spoke of the ever increasing challenges these babies will face in the years ahead and the blessing that will be theirs to have both a righteous mother and father to help them through (that was one of those blushing moments). I was grateful that he took the time to acknowledge their love and sacrifice and to add his testimony as another confirmation of the decisions they have made for their little ones. I didn't really do any of that justice but for those of us that were there, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The Spirit really is strong in those meetings, just another witness to me to the fact that Heavenly Father loves these girls and is just concerned about their welfare as He is these perfect little babies they brought to earth. I wish everyone had to opportunity to experience group!

It was so fun to get to see Sarah's parents again. I loved watching them soak up every little moment with Jed- how can one tiny little guy impact so many lives and bring so much joy? What a little miracle he is!

I love how tiny he looks when Matt is holding him, and how handsome my boys look all matchy in navy :)

Since we really didn't have a change to talk or catch up at group we decided to move the party over to a restaurant so we could hang out and grab some dinner and dessert of course! I can't help but smile when I look at this picture of Jennifer and Jed, her face tells it all- she is absolutely beaming! She just adores him!

Poor Sarah was so tired, but we got a few smiles out of her :)

Admittedly I was a bit tired too. I'm still in recovery from surgery and while I feel a ton better, it was my first night out since the surgery and the hardest part was putting on real clothes! My stomach was all sore and feeling confined but it really was good to get out of bed and get out of the house and I wouldn't have missed the opportunity to be there. Another great night!