what's up...

I think this will be the last post before our move...and I don't know when I will get back on the Internet again (hopefully sooner than later.) This week has just dragged on, and will probably continue to drag until we get to Oregon. So our plan was to have three drivers (Hubs, his dad, and me). And we were going to drive both our cars and the truck to Oregon. I have been sweating bullets worried about driving the entire trip and also having a baby who needs alot of attention on a road trip. I seriously was dreading it! So Monday I talked Hubs into seeing about getting a car dolly to tow one of the cars with. So when we called to confirm our reservations for the moving truck he asked about a car dolly...we thought it was going to cost a couple more hundred dollars (which we don't have). And we found out it would only cost $100 more, I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I was about that. So anyway, Hubs's dad flies in tomorrow afternoon and the EQ will come and help load our truck up tomorrow evening. Then we plan on getting up early and driving as far as we can in one day, we are hoping to make it to at least half way (which is Kennewick, WA), and stay in a hotel for the night. We then hope to get to Eugene late afternoon so that we can go and sign paperwork to get keys to our duplex. Both Hubs and I are burnt out on the packing. We feel like we have gotten alot done, but I feel like we still have a ton to do, on top of trying to get the place clean by tomorrow night. We will both be glad when this week is over!

Ok seriously, isnt he just the cutest?!

So here are a few pictures of what Mac has been up to...

He can hold his own bottle!

Having fun helping us pack.

This is his new favorite thing to do, grab his feet! He never grabs one at a time with both hands, he has to grab both his feet at the same time. So cute!

Dare Devil!

Zonked after a rough day of screaming the entire day!

Playing with his new toy.

Always sticking his tounge out!

Also, I have a nice mark on my shoulder where he bit me really hard. OUCH!

perfect for today...

"Everywhere in nature we are taught
the lessons of patience and waiting.
We want things a long time before we get them,
and the fact that we wanted them a long time
makes them all the more precious when they come."

~Joseph F. Smith

It's FINAL!!

This afternoon we went down to the courthouse and finalized Mac's adoption, YEAH!!!

I am totally kicking myself right now because we didn't get any pictures. That is because it was so casual and quick I didn't even think about it until we were almost home.

We first met with our Lawyer who just went over what was going to happen. Then we headed over to the courthouse and waited for the Judge to get back from lunch. As we were waiting the secretary came over and asked if she could hold Mac and then just a minute later an older lady walked up and was just saying how cute Mac was and then the secretary gave back Mac. Then she asked us to come into the Judges Chambers. So we walk in there and the Judge was the older lady that was talking to Mac when the secretary was holding him. We sat down around the desk in her chambers, it was just us, the Judge, our Lawyer and the secretary (our caseworker couldn't come). We were swarn in, our Lawyer asked us a couple of questions and then the Judge signed the paperwork. And it was all over before I really had time to think about what just happened (it was seriously maybe 5 minutes). Then we went down to the court clerk's office and got some paperwork certified and we filled out the paperwork for Mac birth certificate. And then we left. It was all a whirlwind!

I cant even tell you how excited we are that Mac is OURS! Being his parents has been more than we could have hoped or asked for! The entire experience of him becoming part of our family is so amazing and special to us.

WE LOVE YOU MAC!!!

Thank You C!

I found it very interesting that I wrote THIS post exactly one year ago TODAY!

for my record...

Mac rolled over 3 times in a row (as if he was trying to get somewhere). From back to tummy to back to tummy. Then he decided to go back the other way and rolled to his back. I don't think it will be long before he IS actually rolling to try to get to something. Holy Cow he is growing up way too fast!

What we have been up to...

~ We have been spending almost every evening trying to get things packed. Thankfully Mac usually goes to bed between 6:30 and 7, so we are able to do this.

~Hubs's last day of work is Friday. We are excited to get him 24/7 for a little more than a week.

~We met Hubs for lunch at work last week. I love being able to do that. I hope we can still do that some with his new job, well at least when it isn't busy season.

~Mac broke the last of the 4 teeth he has been working on, last week. I think he may now be working on some more top teeth.

~Today Mac has constantly been grinding his teeth together, and driving me nuts! Every time he does it I stick my fingers in his mouth to get him to stop.

~Mac had his 6 month check-up and got his shots Friday, and was a little on the crabby side for just Saturday.

~I took family pictures for a family in our Ward. They turned out ok. I am not the best with group pictures, I am more confident on individual shots. And the ones of just each kid turned out awesome. I am still trying to get them edited so I can get them to the family before we move.

~We went to our friends house for a BBQ Saturday night, yumm!

~C came for a fun visit with us on Sunday. I took so many precious pictures of her and Mac and I so wish I could share them on here. I will be hanging some of them in Mac's room after we move. This was our last visit with her before we move. We have been lucky enough to live close enough to her that we have seen her at least once a month since Mac was born. (C took the picture above, along with a whole bunch more.)

~Mac went to his first minor league baseball game last night. Our friend Nick works for the Helena Brewers baseball team and got us tickets and we went with our friend Heather (his wife). It was the season opener. It was pretty fun. Mac seemed to enjoy all the people that were around. That kept him distracted long enough for us to make it through 5 innings before we had to go home and put him to bed. I am pretty sure the Brewers lost, it was 0-3 when we left.

~Mac has finally found his feet and tries to grab them, but his feet are some times a little to wiggly for him to get a good grip on them. He was trying to put one in his mouth today.

~I think I have been in denial about this the last couple of weeks, but I think Mac has finally outgrown his LONG morning naps. Dang it!

GREAT NEWS!

We met with our Lawyer today to sign the paperwork to petition for Mac's adoption finalization so the Lawyer could take it to the courts today.

Well...

We just got an email from our Lawyer, and he was able to get us a court date before we move!
We thought we were going to have to drive back next month and take care of it, but we had been praying that we could do it before we left. I know some of you have been praying for us too, Thank you!!

I am so EXCITED!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

I just wanted to wish all the Father's in my life and my son's life a Happy Father's Day!

I love watching Hubs be a Daddy! He is so wonderful with Mac!

Mac is so lucky to have Hubs as his Daddy!

HAPPY FIRST FATHER'S DAY!

My Dad is truly the best dad ever! I am the luckiest!

Hubs so looks up to his Dad, and I love seeing how much they are alike!

also, we love you...

*Grandpa C
*Grandpa R
*My three brothers, R, R and C
*All my brothers-in-law, J, Z, S(someday), M and S

Happy HALF Birthday!!

I seriously can't believe that my baby is 6 months old, HOLY COW!

The last 6 months has gone by really fast somehow! I am trying really hard to enjoy his little milestones NOW and not get too excited for the next. Mac is such a joy and he really is just a perfect baby. I just can't get over how blessed we are!

6 Month Check-up stats:

He is in the 50th percentile in all (perfect!)

Weight: 17.4 lbs

Height: 26.5 in.

(He has only gained 2 lbs and 1/2 in since 4 month check-up)

Milestones:

 

*Still sleeps through the night

(except on weekends when it is Daddy's turn to get up with him.)

*He has 4 teeth (took about 2 weeks to get all four.)

*He is so interactive with us and others

*He smiles and coos every time you smile at him.

*He is laughing more and more (especially at Daddy)

*He is rolling over both ways.

*He LOVES sweet potatoes, carrots and sweet peas (baby food).

*Gags on fruit except bananas.

*He will eat a whole container of baby food and still want more (stage 1).

*He loves to stand.

*He grabs at everything in site (including Mommy's hair).

*His eczema is getting SO much better.

*When he drops a toy, he will roll to his side, find it and grab it.

*He can hold his own bottle.

*He loves to look out the window.

*He still needs to be swaddled to go to sleep (we are going to try to break this habit after our move.)

*When he is mad, he screams in a really high pitched scream.

*He loves to play with anything dangling, (he will hit it with his hand over and over)

*He loves when I sign the alphabet to him.

*He know what the sign for milk means.

*His favorite song is Popcorn Popping.

*He is healthy and strong.

We love Mac more than you could imagine!

We can't wait until he is OURS legally and FOREVER!

5 Month pics!

Even though Mac will be 6 months old on Saturday, I wanted to share the 5 month pictures I took of him. I had forgotten to post them because I didn't think that they turned out that well. He was such a grumpy-gus that day as you can tell.

I probably won't be posting many more pictures because Hubs packed my USB cord for my camera, unless I am able to find it. Also, after we move I probably won't be blogging as much, because we are going to try to go without the Internet for awhile, so that we can save some money. The only time I will be able to post will be when I am at my parents house, which will most likely be often enough since they will only be living about 45 minutes away.

Enjoy my grumpy-gus!

DETAILS...

So I guess you all want some details on our move!

I haven't been able to post anything yet, because Hubs had not given his written notice at work and only his boss knew about him leaving. And some of his co-workers look at our blog, so it had to wait.

So we are moving back home to Oregon!

Hubs accepted a job offer with a CPA firm in Eugene. We will actually be living in Springfield, (I think in the 2nd Ward). We will be renting a duplex for a couple of years until we can save more money to buy a house, (or let the market bottom out).

We will be leaving Helena on June 26th.

We are really excited to be back by our family and for Mac to grow up around family, which is really important to us.

And a few people have asked how C feels about us moving away... and she is actually so excited for us. Growing up around family is one of the things she has really wanted for Mac. C will be moving away soon also to go to school, so it is good timing.

We are excited, and our families are excited!

Although when I think about moving from here, I get sad. We have really loved living here, and we have met so many wonderful people. And we just love our Ward. We are hoping to stay in contact with a few of our closer friends.

Now for the packing, which is seeming almost impossible to get done with a teething baby. We have however thrown out so much stuff and took a ton to Goodwill. We also had our friends watch Mac on Saturday for a few hours and we were able to pack up our office and craft stuff. That was so helpful!

Sorry to keep everybody in suspense for so long, that was not my intention!

New things Mac...

Well first, the not so new...he cut his other bottom tooth. And the other top one is taking it's time and just sitting there right under the skin, ouch!

We had a rough day yesterday with this whole teething thing. We even left church halfway through Sunday School. When we got home Mac was so tired and probably in alot of pain that he literally screamed for at least an hour and a half, even while we were holding him. Nothing could sooth him. We finally got him to sleep in his crib after several attempts. A few hours later, we went through the same thing, but maybe a little less dramatic.

Now for the new...Mac has learned how to arch his back and throw is head back. Not so fun for me. But it is really cute at the same time. It really doesn't help when he is already throwing a fit, like stated in the above paragraph.

And, for the last couple of weeks he has decided that screaming at the top of his lungs was way more fun than babbling. But now he is back to babbling, thank goodness for our ears. And yesterday he started making some new sounds, like..."ga da da ga da da". So that is one for Daddy, although it was just sound making, not him saying the word!

SO EXCITED!!

Well, I called today and made our sealing appointment at the Portland Temple to have Mac sealed to us.

I can't even tell you how excited I am about that!

I was really excited when I called and was making the appointment and realized I was talking to someone I know from our old Ward in Tigard, Sister Thompson. She is so the sweetest lady, and she works in the Temple I think almost everyday, which is so amazing. She was so excited for us!

So the date has been set for August 16th at 1pm.

Also, on the 17th our Lawyer will take our paperwork to the Judge and hopefully get a court date before we move the week after that.
If you all wouldn't mind keeping us in your prayers that we may get a court date before June 26th.

teething...

This is how he has been about half the day.

Poor guy!

But this is the outcome...can you see his teeth?

(The one on the left isn't actually through yet, but so close.)

just cute...

He is always doing this with his tongue.

I think he is trying to get used to what ever that is that is pokey in his mouth (teeth).

He is always crossing his feet, I love it!

Just a too cute kid, love his smile!

Very serious!

Congrats!

I just wanted to say congratulations to my cute, sweet niece, B, who just graduated from Riverton High School this week!

I love this girl!

She also got 4th place in the Miss Riverton pageant last month!

I wish I had some cute recent pictures of her, but you can go here and see some pictures she posted of the pageant.

so thankful for birthmothers...

Yesterday afternoon, Mac and I headed to the WalMart to do our dreaded grocery shopping. As we were heading down each aisle, we kept on meeting up with the same people. There was this one lady, probably in her 60's who kept on commenting on how cute Mac is, and how precious babies are. And she would say something to us every time we saw her. After this happening a few times, we stopped and chatted for a few minutes.

She told me how much she loved babies and how so precious they are, and she was tickling Mac's feet. She asked me if I was from around here, and I said that I lived here. She continued by telling me that her and some of her friends were just at the library getting signatures to help stop abortion. I told her that was so wonderful. She told me how she knew that babies were human beings from the moment they are conceived and that abortion is so awful. (She wasn't being political, she was just telling me how she felt.) I told her that I felt the same way about it and told her that we had adopted Mac. She just lit up when I told her that.

She said that when she was 17 years old she placed her baby girl for adoption. She said that she knew she just couldn't take care of a baby. She told me she never regretted it. She started getting emotional. She said that she told herself that before she died that she would find her daughter. Her baby was born in South Carolina and she found her 37 years later living in the exact same state that she lives in (Montana). She met her and her adoptive parents. And she has a wonderful relationship with all of them now. I asked her if her daughter had a good life, and she said that she did and that her parents were so wonderful to her and that she turned out to be a wonderful woman.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She asked me about adopting Mac and I told her about the relationship we have with his birthmother and she just got all excited about it. She then asked me if she could hug me and she is crying. So we hugged and she told me that she was so glad that she met me.

I went home with such gratitude for our sweet C and her amazingly difficult sacrifice for our amazing son. I am so grateful that Hubs and I have gotten the opportunity to experience the miracle of adoption. We are so blessed to be able to become parents in this manner, I wouldn't change it for anything!

Mac update...

Well, Mac has popped another tooth, the top, front, left tooth. The other top one is not too far behind, as well as the other bottom one. Since he has gotten the top and bottom ones in on the same side, he has decided to start grinding them together.

He also got to taste his very first baby food, organic sweet potatoes! He really liked them! Yay for Mac!

Sticky Sam!

Classic!

(sorry for the flash photography, yikes!)

G going bananas!!

What is it with boys and their tractors!

I wasn't there for this, but oh so cute!