Spoiled, but Not Rotten

When Mia was born, were absolutely SHOWERED with love and support from countless sources.  The same thing has happened with June's arrival, if not to a greater degree, and despite the fact that she is our second girl!  

June's Party #1

Hosted by Nicole Gamble & Lisa Withers

Mia helped herself to the decor.

Sweet Lisa & June:

June's Party #2

Hosted by Sarah D'Hulst (also the girls' pediatrician) & lots of contributors

This sweet girl is one of my Primary kids and daughter of the hostess.  I had promised that she could hold June at the party, and she patiently awaited her baby time Sunday after tempting Sunday.

Friends Annie & Janelle admiring June's new crocheted hat & mary janes:

The fun cake that was especially appreciated by the kids in attendance:

June's Party #3

Hosted by Carrie Reese, Trudy Reese, & Lexi Reese

Here are my lovely Reese girls:

Mia has been pretty helpful when we are getting June primped for her events...

 ...and figured that her efforts warranted all the strawberry sneaking at the parties!

Mia's Top 10

1

A good thing about adoption is how often a girl can admit out-loud 

"I have the prettiest babes" 

without seeming personally vain.

2

After being inspired by Mary Poppin's skill with the measuring tape, Mia finds it intriguing to develop the skill herself.  Our dog or some grown-up's rear-end is usually her victim, and then subsequently declared to measure "One, Two, Ten, Seven, Four," but this time she is checking the work that Mom & Dad did after installing our new coat rack. 

 3

Mia is manning the lump of dirt that she has named "Mia's Mountain."  No one else is allowed to loiter there without her permission.  To ensure adherence, she assigned each of us (including June) our own mountains around the yard. 

4

Reading to a very convinced June while sustaining a Janet Jackson-esque clothing defect:

 5

Mia decided that the color pattern Mom had asked her to make at the bottom of this tower was over-rated and went for quantity instead of quality. 

This photo was taken just seconds before a most gratifying (to Mia) and destructive (to Mom) karate chop.

 6

This is NOT a flattering photo, but it is important for the sake of documentation.  Some of our really valuable time with Dad is spent doing awkward core work-outs while he eats popcorn on the sofa.  We can hardly warrant a flabby middle with a personal trainer as patriarch.  At least Mia comes up with some good cheaters' positions when he isn't looking.

 7

Mia's first birthday party attended:

You even get a sampling of Eastern Washington's fabulously diverse population!

8

Grating soap for laundry detergent.  She tried out lots of methods to land on what she deemed the most efficient (and messiest) technique.

 9

Painting-  Rather than create a nice-looking piece of art, 

her goal is usually to saturate one area so much that the paper rips.   

10

On one of our shopping trips (I feel like we are part of a whole caravan each time we go to the store), 

Mia invented a more leisurely way to get around.  

June's Top Ten: Week 3

1

2

3

Mia is June's self-appointed comforter:

4

5

Sweet cousin Sydney is particularly interested in our real-life dolly.

6

7

Dad soaks up all the June time he can get...and it usually looks like this:

8

9

As tired as I've been, I love the new look my bed has during the 5am hour:

10

Our musical repertoire is limited to whichever movie was last on the docket...
and as lovely as my out-of-tune voice is, please try to tune it out.

Mia's Top Ten

1

Fearlessly (as always) gettin' her climb on:

2

Concrete floors and high ceilings make for lovely acoustics...

but not so enjoyable when a toddler is still developing her fine motor skills!

3

Finally, Mia has a real dolly to rock in her chair!

4

Since she could walk, Mia has had a cleaning fetish.  

I try to encourage it--especially when it keeps her occupied for any length of time.  

The vacuum is often running, but my floor isn't necessarily any cleaner.

5

I never tire of recording this sweet cousin-ship!

6

Baby June arrived at home bearing a peace-keeping gift for her attention-laden big sis.

Here is Mia giving it a trial run!

7

Sunday morning pancake routine with Dad:

8

Savoring her chocolate dipped marshmallow from a fancy-schmancy brunch we had with June's birth family:

9

Directing Dad's wood-chopping chores:

10

Trying oh-so-hard to fulfill mom's "soft & gentle, soft & gentle" mantra:

June Saves the Day, too!

Our beautiful girl is here!

Welcome

Julianne Pearl

February 8th 2012

6 lbs 15 oz

21 inches

We've been calling her "June" or "Baby June" (for Mia's sake).

Su, our ever-gracious birth-mom, sacrificed her privacy to let us be a part of every second of June's incredible birth (I even got to "cut the cord." I'm surprised I was allowed to hold the scissors...I was such a mess!). Su is such a trooper and quite the natural birther. Like Asia (Mia's birth-mom), she has been so courageous and is trying hard to be strong though this heart-wrenching process. We also get to have birth-father, Anthony, involved in this adoption.  He is, likewise, our hero.

Our precious first moments with our new daughter.

                                                              June meeting grandmas...                                                                   

and grandpa...

    And the part I had been waiting for all day, 

June's intro to her proud big sis:

Home at last!

Next step? Finalization.  

Prayers please for all parties involved.  

This is joyous, but difficult and highly emotive stuff.

Of Birthmoms, TteokGuk, and Metric Measurement

For the last year, amid major career changes, return to academia, theoretical homelessness/construction, and the trying throes of toddlerhood, we have been privileged (ahem) to have lead after lead of potential baby #2.  Mia's adoption had been so smooth... She almost literally fell into our laps!  We were certain that round two would surely be a gloriously similar experience. I thought that in the baby-getting arena (biologically) I had maxed out my difficulty quota and our gathered babies wouldmake their way to us easily.  I haven't said out loud that I am grateful for the heartbreaks we've had while trying to grow our family and I don't think I ever will.  I have sincerely loved these girls with whom I get to anticipate life--and I've loved the babies.  So, since we are dealing with real people and some of the strongest of human emotions, each of these losses will always hurt. But I am grateful that I have seen what I can do regardless of hard stuff...not just once, but over and over again.

Now you have my disclaimer for being shy of documenting any hopeful (but potentially tragic) events.  Having no record of the experience makes for a much less difficult recovery.  Alas, I made the realization as I was driving our sweet birthmother, Su, home from today’s prenatal check that nearly all of our inner (and outer!) social circles are very aware of Su’s growing belly size, her purpose here, and our little family’s BIG hopes, because they see her every Sunday.  So there is no reason to keep it quiet, right? And although our entire social circle does not (I hope!) solely consist of ward or family members, here’s the scoop for the rest of it. Su made her way to us from Korea in November and is staying here with our dear friends until baby (girl) arrives and she has time to recuperate.  She met birthfather, Anthony, during a summer internship in Michigan (he is African- American btw, so we are thinking this baby has got it made when it comes to beautiful genes!)

We get to be an ultramulti-cultural group now which will add so much more spice to our whole family’s lives.  To our delight, Su has been giving us a crash-course in Korean culture while she’s here!  Just last weekend was Chinese New Year (which Koreans also celebrate), and while Su’s mom was making it on the other side of the world, Su and her friend, Jihye, Americanized the same thing for us here.  

Jihye & Su whipping up someTteokGuk (Ricecake Soup)

So, as far as centimeters go (she's been at 4 for a week), circumstances are right for this baby to make an appearance any day now. I am down to 8 boxes of non-essentials yet to unpack in our new house. All the good stuff (i.e. really small outfits) is clean and folded in a new dresser.  Despite the fact that Mia previously wore most of the clothing and used most of the toys, pulling them out of storage with the anticipation of the little warm body to be their inheritor is far better than Christmas!

Baby's 3-D Ultrasound: Can you believe how much detail is in this photo?!
She is posing contemplatively...