Daphne meets Santa!

A couple weekends ago we took Daphne to meet Santa. It was so much fun! For years, we have watched parents line up with their kids, waiting to see the jolly man in the red suit. It has always been one of those things (along with a thousand others) that we were looking forward to doing with our child. It was finally OUR TURN! We watched happily as our baby girl was held by Santa.

We really lucked out with this photo.  Why?  Because, it was 6:30pm (dark), it was an outside event, the only lighting was on the tree behind Santa, and (the absolute worst part) it was bring your own camera. That meant we had to rely on our Sony camera - that is 6 years old - and almost on it's way out (if Rachel has any say in the matter). So, we do what we normally do and set the camera to stun - haha, gotcha! No, really, we set it to take rapid / repeated shots. All we have to do is hold the button down and it will fire off shot after shot until we release that magic button. Then all we can do is hope one of the 42 shots that were taken in the 5.2 seconds turns out. 

Words cannot describe how blessed we are with our beautiful baby girl. Our hearts swell with happiness and joy!

Daphne - Eleven Months Old

Happy 11 month birthday, Daphne Jane! How you will be a one-year-old next month, we’ll never know! You have been such a daily joy and delight to us. Our hearts are so full of love for you. The Lord is immeasurably kind to bring you to us, and we are so thankful for your life.

November -- National Adoption Month

For the second straight year, in honor of November being National Adoption Month, Portrait of an Adoption is running a special series called 30 Adoption Portraits in 30 Days.

Enjoy the various guest posts from everyone within the adoption triad (adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents).  Bookmark the website, as there will be a new post every day in November.


30 Adoption Portraits in 30 Days

Daphne - Ten Months Old

Here are this month's updates:
(Someone please pass the tissues, we've hit double digit month birthdays!)

What it’s like to be in ‘The Club’

Ran across this 10 minute video from a blog that Rachel frequently visits and wanted to share. It's a high school senior talking about what it is like to be adopted. Mostly funny, but also powerful in parts. 

We often wonder (in the distant future) what Daphne will say about her adoption. We hope she has a piece of this young man’s humor and positive feelings about it all. 

In 'The Club' Video

Officially Official

Seems that we have a bit of news to share with you all...

Daphne - Nine Months Old

Here are the updates, as we have them:

Weight:
Eight Months:  14lbs, 6ozs.
Nine Months:   15lbs, 4ozs.

Height:

Eight Months: 26 inches, by using the elephant growth chart courtesy of Aunt Amy
Nine Months:  25.5 inches (guess our meaurements via the elephant growth chart were a bit off)

Hair Color:

Eight Months:  Brown; and it is coming in thicker and thicker every day
Nine Months:  Seems like it fluctuates between a light brown and medium brown.

Eye color:

Eight Months:  blue, blue, blue
Nine Months:   blue; depending on the color of her shirt - they look a bit green

Here's what Daphne has been up to lately:

Daphne has been exploring her world to the fullest extent. She is much happier now that she can actually get to the toy (or person) that she wants. Cannot imagine how frustrating it was for her to see what she wanted only a few feet away, yet not be able to get to it. And when she does reach her destination she sure does flash that gorgeous toothless smile.

Ah, yes, we are still waiting on her first tooth to 'pop' through those gums. Now, we've heard it all when it comes to teething babes. For instance:

(1) drooling - drooling means that baby is teething, right? Well, not so fast! Drooling is a normal function of a developing baby, not even related to teething. Her saliva glands are getting larger every month and sometimes she is unable to keep up with the large volume.

(2) gum pain / sleep habits - babies are cranky and don't sleep well because their gums hurt; it helps to rub something on their gums and/or give them Tylenol. Well, actually, there is no evidence to suggest that normal teething causes any pain. It's true that babies do get whiney and cranky during this time. However, most pediatricians attribute this (somewhat) volatile behavior to increased social awareness, separation anxiety and communication frustration.

As with everything else involving babies - every one is unique and different. There have been (and will continue to be) toddlers that don't have any sign of their first teeth until they are well past the 13 month mark; as well as 4-6 month olds with anywhere from 1 tooth to several. "They" say that the later baby starts getting teeth, the healthier/stronger they will be. (You know "they" - those experts, professionals, old wives, etc.) Whenever Daphne's teeth do finally make their appearance, they will be welcomed and mourned at the same time - because who doesn't LOVE the toothless grin of a baby!?

Daphne is becoming (well, let's face it - she's always been) quite the social girl. She loves to interact with everyone she sees. Whether she's meeting you for the first time or has seen you many, she's eager to show you her smile. This is particulary true while she's at daycare. The 'babies' take stroller rides around the center (inside & out) and on occasion they visit the toddler rooms. Daphne enjoys visiting them, as much as they enjoy seeing the 'babies' - she tends to ham it up by making silly faces. There's proof in the photo.

Stoller ride to the toddler room!

Here are her 9 month photos - cannot even believe we are already at 9 months and gearing up for her first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, and first Christmas!

Cheesy grin!

Sweet smirk!

Leaning in to see what the camera is all about!

We have a crawler - watch out world!

We can hardly believe that Daphne is already in the category of an unsupported sitter and now a crawler! Granted she isn't doing the 'classic crawl' - which is up on all fours. But, what she is doing is referred to as the 'belly crawl'. And as you can see in the video she is eager to get to her destination by any means necessary! She does get up on all fours and rocks back and forth, but hasn't figured out that she can go anywhere by alternating her arms and legs - which we're sure, that is right around the corner. Although, some babies go right from belly crawling to walking. So, who knows.

Daphne - Eight Months Old

Daphne is 8 months old!  

Here are the updates, as we have them:

Weight:
Seven Months: 13lbs, 4ozs.
Eight Months:  14lbs, 6ozs.

Height:

Seven Months: 25 inches (there was no 'official' measurement from a doctor's appointment, so we left it unchanged)
Eight Months: 26 inches, by using the elephant growth chart courtesy of Aunt Amy. (see image below)

Hair Color:

Seven Months: Looks like it might be growing back in; definitely brown
Eight Months:  Brown; and it is coming in thicker and thicker every day

Eye color:

Seven Months: blue, the pediatrician thinks they are here to stay - since she is past the 6 month mark; but I've heard that eye color can change up to 1 year old.
Eight Months:  blue, blue, blue

Here's what Daphne has been up to lately:

Daphne no longer uses/needs her pacifier. Backstory: apparently there are sizes of pacifiers and apparently the baby should be getting the next size up every three months (or so). Well, leave it to us not to notice that Daphne was using the same size (0-3 month) pacifier that she received in hospital at birth right up to a couple of months ago. (gasp! the horror!)

We eventually did buy the next size pacifiers, but she wanted nothing to do with them - except to gum them to death. She refused to take it going down for a nap, she refused it when we used it to try to soothe her while in her different stages of crankiness. No deal, she just spit it out or outright blocked it with her hands. Not sure if she's just one of those kids that doesn't like (or doesn't need) a pacifier but either way we are happy to accept the fact that we don't have to break her of that pacifier habit down the road. We've heard horror stories about it.  :)

VSD and what it means for Daphne

Here is an update that we have been delaying...on purpose. Mostly because it is not a serious concern of ours or Daphne's cardiologist. Yes, she has a cardiologist -- which we're pretty sure that is the first time you're hearing of this as well.

A day or two after Daphne was born she had a Echocardiogram performed by the doctors at Sutter Memorial (in Sacramento) to confirm the pediatrician's suspicions of a heart murmur. She was discharged with no further concern of that pediatrician or cardiologist. We were told to mention it to her pediatrician in NC. Her pediatrician here has been monitoring her heart at every appointment and has given 'it' a name.  VSD.

What is VSD? 

Daphne - Seven Months Old

Daphne is 7 months old!  Yesterday, to be exact.  We're just a day late in posting this.  It seems like we were writing her 6 month post just 2 minutes ago and now here we are, one month later!  A lot of the reason we write these monthly posts is for us to be able to remember what she's doing developmentally and of course so that we can remember how much of her personality is starting to come out.  And let me tell you, it is definitely starting to come out.  

She is definitely a laid back, easy going baby, and for that we are TRULY thankful.  We often get comments from neighbors, friends, or people at church, who say they've never even heard her cry.  Honestly, she doesn't cry that often.  Definitely not saying she never cries, because when she's unhappy she definitely lets us know.  If she's not getting your attention, she'll probably let you know.


Here are the updates, as we have them:


Weight: 
Six Months:  12lbs, 15ozs.  (this weight makes her officially on the charts, in the 4th percentile)
Seven Months: 13lbs, 4ozs. 

Height:  

Six Months:  25 inches  (she's in the 16th percentile -- and, wow, over 2 feet tall already!)

Seven Months:  25 inches (there was no 'official' measurement from a doctor's appointment, so we left it unchanged)

Hair Color:

Six Months: Daphne's hair has definitely thinned, but we're hoping that means when it does come in it will be nice and thick.

Seven Months: Looks like it might be growing back in; definitely brown

Eye color:

Six Months:  blue

Seven Months: blue, the pediatrician thinks they are here to stay - since she is past the 6 month mark; but I've heard that eye color can change up to 1 year old.

Here's what Daphne has been up to lately:

Daphne has been rolling over front to back and then back to front for a little while now, but she has started to branch out by trying to crawl (just the beginning stages). It is pretty hilarious to watch, because (1) she doesn't really have the hang of it, (2) once she is up in the air she doesn't really know what to do with her new found skill, and (3) once she's had enough she immediately rolls over on either side and calls it a day - with a huge smile!  Here are some photos that we were able to capture.

Almost got the hang of it!

Now, what do I do?

Enough of that, weeeee!

We've mentioned before about Daphne learning to 'blowing raspberries' but have been unsuccessful in capturing it on video...until now!  Hopefully you don't get a face full of spit watching this video.  LOL!

Save the Adoption Tax Credit

Both Adam and I (Daphne included) would like to take a moment out of your busy day and ask if you would please contact your Congressmen/women and Senators (BOTH Republican and Democrat) to help us reach legislators across the country to protect and extend the adoption tax credit and encourage the right of every child to grow up safe and loved in a family of their own.

Here is the link to locate your Senator:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Here is the link to locate your Representative (Congressman/woman):

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

One way that adoption is affordable to many families is through the adoption tax credit. This tax credit provides a refund to families who provide proof of a finalized adoption on their taxes up to the amount of $12,650. Families can then take this refund and pay off any debts that they took out to pay for their adoption fees and costs. This adoption tax credit is our lifeline. But it’s being threatened.

The adoption tax credit is set to expire on December 31, 2012. As it’s set right now, the credit will be lowered to a maximum of only $6,000 in 2013, and will only be available to a few adoptive families {those who adopted special needs or waiting children}. This means adoption will be even harder to attain for many families who might otherwise consider it.

I simply cannot stress enough just how important this tax credit is to parents who adopt. There are thousands of families who could not even consider adoption without the aid of this tax credit. Adoption costs are sky-rocketing, and there is no end in sight. Even the $12,000 doesn’t cover the entire costs of the most affordable adoption, but it certainly helps. Please consider taking the time to contact your representative. And if you already have - THANK YOU!

Here is the website for Save The Adoption Tax Credit    http://adoptiontaxcredit.org/advocate/

(You can also 'like' them on face book!)

 

Daphne - Six Months Old

Half way to the big 1 year! That’s kind of a big deal.  How time does fly.

It has been the most rewarding half-year of our lives, watching our daughter as she takes those tiny steps towards becoming a big girl. And as she does, she teaches us the importance of slowing down, being patient, and soaking in the fleeting pleasures of life. Having started out dependent on us for just about everything, she is now so interactive and curious about exploring new things on her own. And boy, does she have a sense of humor!

Seeing her personality develop has been nothing short of a miracle. Words can’t describe how this little girl has completed our soul. The best part is that these past 6 months are just the introduction, a sneak peek if you will, of the rest of our Daphne-filled lives. How fortunate we are!

Happy Father's Day (by Adam)

So it is my first father's day, and with that it has come time for me to post on our blog my thoughts, feelings, etc.  So here it goes...

I have a great father.  I could write a whole blog posting on him and how he helped shape my life and made me the man I am today.  He was strict with me when needed, he was understanding about things, he helped me when I needed help.  He and my mother were both teachers, and they new how important education was.  They both made sure we did well in school, that we got the best teachers, that we went on to college.  And I wanted to have a chance to be like that for my child or my children.  To help shape and mold them but also let them grow.  And I always thought that would happen someday.  But….

I guess it would be an understatement to say I was scared as of a few years ago. Scared for many reasons.

First I was scared for both Rachel and myself when we came to the realization that on our own, we were not going to be able to conceive a child.  Try as we might various things, it just wasn't meant to be.  And I know that both of us wanted to have at least one child if not two.  I think both of us would have been okay if it just ended up the two of us growing old together, but deep down I know we both wanted to have a family, and if the traditional way just was not going to pan out, maybe other things needed to be looked into.

Then I was scared about adoption.  It had been mentioned and discussed before, but I never really considered it because I thought we could do things on our own and be fine.  But when that didn't happen, and you have a wonderful wife who certainly deserves to have a child, and raise that child, and support that child, etc. you suddenly contemplate things you might not have before.  And I was scared of how others might view us (or me), or how our child would be viewed, or how the whole process is now versus years and years ago, and how birthmother interaction works, and how open versus semi-open versus closed adoptions work, etc.  Scared of what family and friends would think.  Scared of a very different unknown.  

Explorations with FOOOOD!

When do you feed babies their first foods? And what foods do you introduce first? These certainly are loaded questions these days. There seems to be so much drama and finger-pointing out there about baby’s first food.

Before Daphne’s arrival, we researched how to best navigate this milestone. We decided on trying the "Baby Led" approach to weaning. Introducing solids to your baby using "table foods" rather than purees is what Baby led Weaning is all about.

Now that Daphne has passed the 5 month mark we’re feeling a bit stressed about the whole first food/feeding thing. At her previous well baby visit, her pediatrician suggested that we start with rice cereal. We definitely didn’t feel as if she was ready. She could barely hold her head up at that point.

Rachel turned to a parenting board with parents (mostly moms) of children born around the same time as Daphne. She thought it would be helpful to hear what others were doing. Bad idea! She couldn’t believe the heated arguments and judgmental posts surrounding this topic.

There are those that started feeding their babies around 4 months (the “old” norm) being judged by those waiting until their little ones are (at least!) 6 months. And those who are making their own baby purees being lambasted by those who are doing baby-led weaning. And if you feed your baby rice/oatmeal cereal you basically just need to keep quiet because you’ll surely get a long post from someone about why rice cereal is bad for your baby. Really?!? Talk about feeding into the mommy-wars (pun intended).

In the back of our minds, holding true to our decision to try the baby led approach, we were interested to find out how Daphne might fare if given traditional baby food (purees). So, this past weekend we decided to experiment. But, we had no idea where to begin this quest. With the help of a very knowledgeable mom (of 2 little boys) in the Target baby food aisle, she helped us understand some differences and pointed us in the right direction of where to start. We headed to the check-out with our jar of sweet potatoes, jar of peaches, box of baby oatmeal and some baby spoons. We were so proud of our purchases and excited to see how Daphne would react to something other than milk.  (It also made for some great photos!)

First, we experimented with rotini-shaped pasta; you know her first food was going to be pasta, didn’t you?  :)  Daphne stared at it for a bit while it was in front of her, then picked it up - with a death grip - and proceeded to try to find her mouth. She did manage to ‘taste’ it, by licking the piece of pasta; then she waved her arms around a bit (all while maintaining that death grip). The poor rotini ended up on the floor.  But, when Adam tried another piece and held it to her mouth, she actually leaned in and went for it! Not sure that she liked it, but that’s probably because there was no sauce on it!

What is that?!?!

Maybe this isn't so bad after all

Next, we tried the jar of sweet potatoes (no, not the whole jar; just a tablespoon’s worth). Do have to mention how messy this was - for all 3 of us. Daphne allowed Rachel to put the spoon in her mouth, followed by immediately looking around as if to say “What’s going on here mom, this isn’t my milk!?” She held onto the sweet potatoes for a bit before finally swallowing some and ejecting some back out onto her bib, the high chair tray, her fingers and mommy’s arm.

Hey, what is this? Spoon?  

Making a mess sure was fun!

Finally, we tried baby oatmeal. The result was similar to the sweet potatoes, only the ejected oatmeal happened at a slower pace. Maybe she liked the oatmeal better?

Not this spoon thingy again.

Daphne had a great time!

Daphne - Five Months Old

Here are the current stats:

Feeding: Daphne's eating habits are right on track.  She definitely lets us know when she's hungry and when she's had enough!

Weight: 
Four Months:  Official Weigh-in of 10lbs, 14ozs!  Yay, she's officially doubled her weight and right where the pediatrician said she should be.

Five Months:  11lbs, 10ozs...courtesy of our non-emergency doctor visit this past week.

Length:  
Four Months: 22 5/8 inches long

Five Months: We don’t have another pediatrician appointment until 6 months, but we can tell she’s growing just fine.

Diaper Size:

Size 2 it is...as of the time/date of this blog post.  She does love her cloth diapers - as do mommy and daddy!  She's one lucky baby never to have had a diaper rash  ::knock on wood::  We were fortunate enough to be given some gently used cloth diapers (no, it's not as gross you think it would be) that started us out on our cloth diaper journey.  We aren't able to cloth diaper full time, because of daycare. We have, however, taken a pledge to change 3 cloth diapers a day. Now, we know that some days it may only be one; but others (like on the weekends) it could be more. That is over 1000 disposable diapers that we are saving from the landfills...and that makes us feel good!

Speaking of diapers, since some of you have asked about the cloth diapers....a little info:

Here is probably what you had envisioned; HUGE pins,
along with having to 'dunk' poo in the toilet and/or pay for a diaper service.

These are the cloth diapers we have chosen to use. They are super easy and super cute!
They do not require dunking or a diaper service. 

Clothing Size:

Daphne is wearing all different sizes - we found this all by trial and error.

Carters Brand - she is wearing 3 months; but only if it is actual Carters Brand. If it is 'Just One You' by Carters she is in 3 months. If it is 'Child 'O Mine' it is 3-6 months.

Gerber Brand - she is wearing 6-9 months

Oh, let the headaches regarding clothes shopping begin now!  

Hair Color:

Four Months: fluctuates between dark brown and a shade lighter

Five Months:  it has definitely thinned out on the sides, but it is still brown; there is actually enough hair on the top for a barrette to stay clipped in. But only if Daphne will allow it; she's just now starting to wear some headbands and not be 100% annoyed with them.

Eye color:

Four Months:  blue, still holding on
Five Months: yep, still blue


Daphne had her first fever AND her first cough/cold. Which made for very tired parents.  :)  Being our first time dealing with this we had no idea what to expect. Her pediatrician's office states not to call them unless the fever is 102.5 and she's had it for 24 hours. So, when her temps started to creep up from 101.2, then 101.7, then 102...we waited, monitored, delivered the correct amount of liquid Tylenol at its appropriate intervals and hoped that her temps wouldn't go past the 102.5 mark. Well, her temps reached 102.5; so, after only a couple of hours (because, let's face it - there was really no way we were going to wait the full 24 hours; do any first time parents wait the FULL 24 hours!?) we decided to call the after-hours care line for the pediatrician's office so that we could make doubly sure that she was OK. And, she was just fine.  As for her cough/cold...basically we were told that there is nothing to do for babies when they have a cold.  They just need to ride it out. Which means we've gone through a ton of tissues and used that bulb syringe thingy way too much in the last 2 weeks.


Daphne likes to laugh a lot – she’ll giggle and laugh if she thinks you’re going to kiss her on the cheek or her neck. She laughs if you sneeze (or cough). She smiles all the time, too...even at random folks.


Daphne loves music and singing.  Unfortunately, I (Rachel) am not the best singer, but I like music a lot. Oh, and if I don't know (or remember) the words, yes...I make up my own. I sing to Daphne, and she doesn’t seem to mind that I’m not very good at it.  I've found out that she likes when mommy sings:

   1. Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake - because when I sing it we aren't baking a cake...we are making a Pizza Pie!  

          (Emphasis and some over-exaggerated pronounciation on the P's. 

   2. Frere Jacques (Are you sleeping, Brother John).

   3.  And just about anything else that is playing on the radio - especially the Classic Rock station! 

We know you cannot hear what was happening when we snapped this photo;she was cooing and preparing her voice for some screeching.

Ah, yes, she found her hand/finger and it naturallyfound its way into her mouth; as does pretty much everything!

Daphne has started scooting whenever we try to sit her up on the couch.Which is why she looks like she is half laying down, half sitting up.

Pre-Memorial Day Weekend Chatter

Many Americans mistakenly believe that Veterans Day is the day America sets aside to honor American military personnel who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained from combat.

That's not quite true.  Memorial Day is the day set aside to honor America's fallen heroes.

Not long ago, a video circulated around the web that sat heavily with me (Rachel).

It was shot at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and showed the guard breaking his regular ritualized sentry to yell a warning to the crowd after a few spectators started laughing...yes, laughing!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Video

This tribute has been conducted 24/7 since 1937, in any kind of weather, without fail, reflecting the appropriate honor due those who make the ultimate sacrifice.  A soldier seeking the honor of serving as a sentinel at the Tomb must possess exemplary qualities, to include American citizenship, a spotless record, and impeccable military bearing.  Basically, these sentinels set the military standard.  I had the distinct pleasure of attending a military leadership training course (for 4 weeks) with a soldier from the Old Guard Unit...cannot say enough good things about him.

While on duty the sentinel crosses a 63-foot rubber surfaced walkway in exactly 21 steps. He then faces the Tomb for 21 seconds, turns again, and pauses an additional 21 seconds before retracing his steps. The 21 is symbolic of the highest salute according to dignitaries in military and state ceremonies.

As a gesture against intrusion on their post, the sentinel always bears his weapon away from the Tomb.  Only under exceptional circumstances may the guard speak or alter his silent, measured tour of duty. He will issue a warning if anyone attempts to enter the restricted area around the Tomb, but first will halt and bring his rifle to port arms.  “It is requested that everyone maintains a level of silence, and respect!”

I find it surprising that such a lack of respect could have ever taken place.  As a veteran, it honestly brings me to tears.


On this Memorial Day, there is a motto that sums it up -- All gave some, some gave all. 
Meaning all of our military personnel gave some piece(s) of themselves while serving our country...but some gave it all - their life, the ultimate sacrifice.  That is what we honor, the service and sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.

Happy Mother's Day! (by Rachel)

NOW I KNOW

I remember my mom telling me I wouldn't fully understand a mother's love until I had children. Now I get it. As I approach my first Mother's Day, I realize I don't need flowers or extravagant gifts, I have the best gift in my arms every day.

SO BLESSED

I had to survive a whole bunch of Mother’s Days when I wasn’t. I came to dread it after a while. Sitting in church, saying a Mother's Day prayer over all the mothers in attendance - I would always think about how great it would be if next year would be my year to celebrate Mother's Day. 

This year when the priest asks all of the mothers to stand up, I will get to...but I will also remember the moms who are still waiting; some for their miracle, some for a phone call, some for the proper paperwork. And this year I will remember the ones who don’t know if they should stand, simply because their children are no longer with them or never got to be. The ones who have lost. They are mothers too.

GROWING CLOSER

I am eternally grateful to our daughter's birth mother, but wish we had never needed her. We are reminded of the gains and the losses in each of our lives. That makes ours a loaded relationship, a complex connection. I'd like her to be interested in Daphne's life and happy with her own; involved, but not possessed or possessive.  I need Daphne's birth mother to help me paint a complete picture of who she is and where she came from. There are questions only she can answer, commonalities only she can offer.  I can't custom order a birth mother any more than I can a baby, but if I could, the relationship would be like a favorite aunt.

Every time we send pictures to Daphne's birth mother, we have a choice: How much information do we update her with? Every glorious detail or just the monthly milestones?  What type of photographs should we send? Should they be close-ups or full-body shots? Perfectly crisp or acceptably fuzzy? Gleefully happy or just contented? Irresistibly adorable or just sweet? Family photos or just Daphne herself?

On the Saturday before Mother's Day, it is a day that has been designated as Birth Mother's Day.  I'm guessing that unless adoption has blessed your life somehow you probably would have never known that -- me either.  So, on this Birth Mother's Day we honor all the wonderful birth moms who created the most beautiful children in the world. We celebrate their love for these amazing children, along with their sacrifice and selfless act in finding them a forever family.  It is because of Daphne's birth mother that we have received the most precious gift in the world and realized our dreams of having a family. Thank you doesn’t even seem to cover it.   

In her short four months, Daphne has served as a ray of sunshine in our lives...we are so glad she's here and I will forever be happy that I am now part of Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day to you!

--Love, Rachel

Daphne - Four Months Old

Sorry the blog is about a week behind....but we were waiting to post until after her doctor's appointment today.

Here's the run-down:

Feeding: Daphne's eating roughly 5oz about every 3 hours during the day and sleeping longer through the night...(hoping not to jinx it) but she's always been able to sleep great through the night and sometimes will give us any where between a 7-9 hour stretch!

Weight: 

Three Months:  We have no doctor visit to get an accurate weight, but she's for sure over 9 pounds! (by our guess)
Four Months:  Official Weigh-in of 10lbs, 14ozs!  Yay, she's officially doubled her weight and right where the pediatrician said she should be.

Length:  

Three Months: same as the weight category; we know she is longer/taller because some of her pants don't reach as far down her legs as they used to! Not saying they are 'high waters' or anything, just shorter.
Four Months: 22 5/8 inches long

Diaper Size:

Size 1 diapers; we have started introducing cloth diapers.  Finally, she weighs enough to start incorporating our stash of FuzziBunz diapers into the rotation.  They are so soft, how could they not be better than disposable dipes!

Hair Color:

Three Months: maybe a shade lighter, but when the sun hits just right..there is a hint of auburn.
Four Months: fluctuates between dark brown and a shade lighter

Eye color:

Three Months: still blue

Four Months:  blue, still holding on

If any of you have ever wondered (because I know some of you have) what a baby pterodactyl sounds like, I have the answer for you!  It is Daphne; she has 'found' her voice and loves to shriek, squeal and generally make this (what can only be defined as) prehistoric sound as loud as she possibly can.  And we can't get enough of it either. 

She has also started to take interest in rolling over, but only slightly.  When we lay her in her crib often times she will roll over onto her side, but she can't figure out how to get her elbow out of the way so she can end up on her tummy entirely.  And, just to prove she can be a show-off, while at the doctor's office today when she was placed on her tummy to show her head/neck control she decided to flip right over to her back!  First time she's done that!

We think Daphne might be in the early phases of teething because she likes to chew on everything, but her most favorite thing to chew on is her own fingers.  She is constantly a slobbery, wet (and cold) mess.  She sucks and chews on her fingers basically from the second she wakes up, to the second she falls asleep.  She isn't picky about which fingers get in her mouth, in fact, sometimes she will stack her hands on top of each other and chew on all ten of them at once, gagging herself the whole time.  We try to stop her, but she don't seem to listen. LOL!

We've had our third (and final) post-placement visit with our Social Worker - Amy.  Now, onto the court and finalization!  Not sure of the time frame - it all depends on how fast we can get on the court's docket and if they are back-logged or anything.

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To Daphne:
We love being your parents.  We tell you we love you, and kiss you, and snuggle you about a trillion times a day.  We feel like we'll blink and all of the sudden you'll be 12 and too cool to hang out (let alone snuggle) with your parents, so we're doing our best to soak it in now. 

Every single day we look at you and can't imagine how we ever lived without you.  EVERYONE loves you!  Even strangers love to talk to you which makes you smile back at them!  You make us so completely and utterly happy! 

--Love Mommy & Daddy 
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Daphne - Three Months Old

Let's look at what has happened since last month...

Feeding: Daphne's eating about every 3 hours during the day and sleeping longer during the night...YAY!

Weight: 

Two Months: 7lbs 15oz; just a hair shy of our goal of 8lbs!

Three Months:  We have no doctor visit to get an accurate weight, but she's for sure over 9 pounds! (by our guess)

Length:  

Two Months: 20.25 inches

Three Months: same as the weight category; we know she is longer/taller because some of her pants don't reach as far down her legs as they used to! Not saying they are 'high waters' or anything, just shorter.

Diaper Size:

Size 1 diapers

Clothes Size:

All Newborn sizes have been outgrown...now 0-3 months fit perfect.

Hair Color:

Two Months: dark it is - except for the spots where it looks to have thinned out...but definitely not fallen out.

Three Months: maybe a shade lighter, but when the sun hits just right..there is a hint of auburn.

Eye color:

Two Months: blue, definitely blue

Three Months: still blue

Probably the biggest thing that has happened since last month is that Daphne started daycare. She seems to be liking it and doing well.  In fact, they tell us how happy she always is.  It probably helps that she is the youngest and smallest in her class, so she receives all the extra available attention and available arms to hold her as she's not crawling like the other babies in her room.  It’s a “learning center” so they have already started working with her on things like her strength and hand-eye coordination.  She tries to grab toys and laughs quite a bit, and she has great head and neck control.

While at home, Daphne has been “talking” and laughing up a storm quite often. The laughing is sometimes so loud that you can’t hear anything over it and it makes us laugh too!  And, when I use the word laughing...it is more like the cutest little (albeit loud) squeaking noise you've ever heard accompanied by the widest toothless smile you've ever seen.  :)  Talk about melting our hearts!

Daphne continues to love gazing at the ceiling fan, or just about anything that might be on the ceiling.  She loves to feel the breeze on her face when we go outside for a mini-walk or to check the mail or to just visit with the neighbors.  It is yet another thing that brings that cutest smile out!

It is crazy that we don't 'technically' have a newborn, but an infant.  She is growing so fast!  Each day brings something new and each little phase is more fun than the last.  It is still (sometimes) hard to believe that Daphne is here and that she is ours!  *pinch us please*  She is such a joy and a blessing to have in our lives.  She loves her family and we all love her.  She fits in...in a way that only God could have designed.

Daphne - Two Months Old

So much has happened this past month. Let's take a look...

Feeding: You're eating about every 3-4 hours during the day and sleeping longer during the night.You've even given us some 6 hours stretches of sleep!

Weight: 

One Month:  6lbs 6oz; last doctor visit
Two Months: 7lbs 15oz; just a hair shy of our goal of 8lbs!

Length:  

One Month: 17.3 inches

Two Months: 20.25 inches

Diaper Size:

Literally, 3 days ago went up from Newborn to Size 1 diapers

Clothes Size:

Outgrowing some of the newborn sizes; some brands of 0-3 months fit perfect!

Hair Color:

One Month: still pretty dark and it looks like it might stay 

Two Months: dark it is - except for the spots where it looks to have thinned out...but definitely not fallen out.

Eye color:

One Month: think they are here to stay, those baby blues! but not sure yet what version of blue they will be...

Two Months: blue, definitely blue

You are smiling more and more...even if it is just gas...we like to think it's because you are such a happy, laid-back baby! The cooing is just too stinking cute for words. You recognize mom and dad's voices for sure and look for us when we are talking to you. You still love gazing at the ceiling fan in the living room and we have affectionately named it Mr. Fan (or Fanny, for short!).

We've enjoyed having Rachel's mother and grandmother in town since our return from California - actually they arrived in North Carolina around Christmas-time to escape the bitter cold weather and temps of Maine and have been here ever since. Unfortunately, it is time for them to head back to Maine...we have all enjoyed our time with you!

Daphne has had a lot of visitors since returning from California, including her first visit with Grandma & Grandpa LaManna. Grandma out shopped us all, especially Daphne...who slept the entire time.  LOL! We enjoyed all of the cooking...and of course, the eating!

Thanks so much to our family for everything -- especially your time with us, it is invaluable and appreciated more than you know!

Daphne in her Little Peanut outfit

Daphne is all smiles in her hooded polka dot jacket

All stretched out - 2 months TODAY!