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!
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