Oh Baby!

Well... some of you know by now... they are inducing Barbara in the morning at 7:30. Her doctor had called and the baby had lost weight from the 32 week sono to the 35 week sono (the one we had last week). So he will be 4 weeks early and will go straight to the NICU- we are more than ok with everything, just so much so fast! I will continue to update here as things occur- I will be there with her through labor and delivery so I may not even be home for a couple of days much less on line. Please keep them both in your prayers! We're gonna be parents!!! TOMORROW!!!

Ultrasound

I went with Barbara to her ultrasound appointment this afternoon- it was so cool! I have a couple of printouts- one of his face (I have a hard time seeing that) and the other is a shot of his foot- it was so cute, he was wiggling his toes! I will have to get Matt to scan them into the computer so I can post it. She also had a non-stress test- they hook Barbara up to the fetal monitors like they use in labor and they watch his heart rate while she just lays there and what his heart does when he becomes active- everything was normal today; they do want her to have a non stress test twice a week though. The only thing that has been mentioned is that he is "small" So is Barbara though- there are no real concerns. He is currently 4 pounds 5 ounces according to the ultrasound- that can be off as much as ten ounces though. His femur is 6 and a half centimeters long- someone do the math for me to figure out about how long that makes him please. I could see all the organs- his heart (cool), liver, kidneys, stomach; his spine was quite obvious too. He is already head down- just waiting! Thanks Barbara for the great afternoon!

Beach Bums Game

We have started the tradition of taking Samuel to the Beach Bums baseball game at the beginning of each season- the Beach Bums are only in their 2nd year here but have become a really big part of Traverse City. We took Samuel to opening game last year and to the first Friday game this year. It was a bit cool this night- thats ok- we snuggled in our Beach Bums blanket! We both wear our Beach Bums t-shirts to the game and of course he has a baseball and little bat too. He has a lot of fun cheering on the players and loves the mascots, Suntan and Sunburn (which is his favorite) I never had a chance to get a picture of him with them though- just in front of the poster. Of course we also have to have popcorn and hotdogs- and I taught him the baseball song (Take me out to the ballgame) and he likes to sing it on the way to the game. He is such a wonderful little boy- we love him to death!

(PS- if you click on the pictures, they will open to full size on your computer)

Samuel and Amanda Banana snuggling in our Bums blanket

I haven't figured out how to rotate yet- sorry! Just tilt your head to the right!
Grandma and Grandpa went this year as well

Uncle Matt and Samuel
Sunburn and Suntan cheering the team onto the field

Sunburn... Samuel missed it! He and Uncle Matt had wandered over to the playground just before that
Suntan

My Beautiful Drive Home

I absolutely love where we live- I think it is one of the most beautiful places there is. And since I drive 30 miles each way to work, I have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty quite frequently- over a few days I took several pictures on the way home- I work mids so these were all taken after 7 am.

Carpets of Trillium through the woods..

Beautiful cherry blossoms!

Baby cherry trees


Older trees
Rolling hills of orchards
(notice the trees in the foreground have already lost their blossoms while the ones in the back are in mid bloom)
Wild Flox (LOVE these!)
See the bumblebee?!
Farm life
Black Star Farms
(local equestrian, cheese and winery)
Another cherry orchard- with the bay in the background

Cows!
The windmill
Silver Lake- where we live

Home....

Home...

Home...

Home...

Home.

More about Barbara

I wanted to tell a little about Barbara. She turned 22 in May and lives locally; she works in customer sales at JC Penny and goes to college part time with an interest in psychology or criminal justice. She grew up in a close knit family who spent a lot of time together and have strong Christian values. She enjoys singing, art, drama/acting, photography & writing. She really enjoys reading and enjoys being outside. She likes horses and horse sports; she likes cats (good thing!) She refers to TV as "brainwashing" and "neuron shrinking" I love that!

She is smart, laid back, very confident, level headed, and out going- these are the things that I picked up on right off the bat and really appreciate about her. She takes life one day at a time and grows through experiences in life. She is also very caring- this is obvious to us simply because she is going through adoption. We like her a lot and look forward to getting to know her more.

The "stats"
She is 5'5" with a small frame, pretty brown hair and blue eyes, fair skin- she comes from predominatly Irish family.... there is some German and a little Italian in there as well.

The birthfather's name is David. He doesn't want anything to do with the pregnancy so we don't know a lot about him. He lives in Petoskey and was discharged from the Navy. He is about 6' and husky with darker skin, dark hair and brown eyes. That's it.

We will be getting together with her for dinner soon. We will keep everyone up to speed!

We are gonna be parents!

We got our call from Catholic Human Services on the 19th. Barbara (the birthmom) chose our portfolio and we met a couple of weeks prior. She liked us a lot and came to see where we live. Tom called us on the 19th a little after 9pm to tell us Barbara had chosen us- we are so excited! We met with her again on the 28th to go over other details. She is due between July 28- August 1st; it is a little boy. I get to be in the delivery room! How cool is that? I get to watch our son be born! We will continue to get to know her more over the next couple of months (Catholic Human Services steps out of the middle at this point unless we need them). We have LOTS to do! We have done a little shopping and started working on the nursery. I will post soon to tell all about Barbara. Keep us all in your prayers!

His name will be Caelan.