Friday is the day

Cole comes home on Friday. This week is just dragging. I can't fall asleep at night because my wheels are spinning so fast and non-stop. Thankfully Jake is waking up at 3am and 4am this week which is resetting my automatic clock in hopes it will train my body to rely on lack of rest.
Jake seems very excited to meet his little brother. When we ask him what his little brother's name is, he says "Homey." He has been using the bassinet as a bed for his teddy. He swaddles his teddy and gently places him in the bassinet then tiptoes away saying, "shhh...baby is sleeping." The imagination is incredible.
So we are meeting at the agency at 10am Friday morning to meet the birth-mom. Then they bring the baby in at 11am. The foster mom that has been caring for him the past three weeks said he is a "perfect little guy." His birthday is August 3 and he was 6lb. 13oz when he was born. He takes a binky (yay!!!) This is all I know.
I think we can get through the next two days. I bought some formula today and a gift for the birthmother. I am really excited to meet her - all I've heard is wonderful things about her. It's becoming all too real now. Especially since my co-workers suprised me with a little party yesterday. That made it very real. I'm sure the cries in the middle of the night will make it pretty real too. Can't wait!!

We are bringing home the baby! (Not the bacon...a BABY!)

Well, it's a done deal. Birthparents signed the paperwork and we are on our way to bringing home our new son. It looks like he will be home with us this Friday! We spent this past weekend cleaning and prepping the house for his arrival. I also went shopping and spent way too much money on him and Jake. There is a lot to consider when bringing home the second. Like, do I have enough gifts to give Jake when the baby is getting gifts? Do I have a gift from the baby to give to Jake? I need a gift for Jake to give to the baby. What else can I have for Jake's new room since the baby is moving into his? 12 shopping bags later...my wheels are spinning to say the least. The good news is we have everything ready for his arrival. Everything except the formula because I don't know what he is eating just yet. Mary is finding out for us.
It was so fun washing all of Jake's baby clothes and folding them again. I forgot how many cute things he had! I am really happy they will get to be worn again.
So this Friday we will meet the newest Hanson family member...hear his cry, see his smile (because he is at the age where he can smile - I can't believe I missed his first smile), hear his voice, smell his blonde hair, and kiss his forehead. I believe an angel was behind his arrival. He was born one week after my Uncle Carl passed away and I found out today that his birth father's first name is Carl. So thank you Uncle!! There have been a few angels working behind the scenes for years helping grow our family. I thank all of them from the bottom of my heart...David, Michele, Olivia, Uncle - THANK YOU. Our family is complete.
Welcome to the family Cole David Hanson!

It's happening...

It's been a little while with no activity on the adoption front but last night may have changed things. Mary called us to tell us there is a baby in waiting right here in CT. It's a boy and he was born a week and a half ago. The situation is almost too good to be true and we can't contain our excitement. The birth mother already terminated her rights and now we are waiting for the birth father to fly in on Friday and terminate his. We are praying very hard this all goes smoothly. It's so strange to think that there is a baby boy spending his day today in foster care but will potentially join our family. Become our son. Become Jake's little brother. It's an amazing feeling. I feel like ther is a butterfly farm living in my stomach. We have so much to prepare in the house...getting the bassinet together, bringing up the swing, washing all the clothes, buying diapers and formula. It's crazy how this is happening this way. But no matter what the end result, this will prepare us for any situation that arises like this. So, if this baby is truly ours, this is what I would like to tell him today:
Hey there little man...we are so excited to meet you and hold you and welcome you to our family. You are so special. We can't wait to watch you grow up along side your big brother Jake. We hope to give you a terrific life and a home filled with laughter. We want you to be as happy as our little Jake is. We are so proud to be your parents. Love you already!! Love, Mommy and Daddy

Jake turns 3!!

Today is Jake's third birthday. I can't believe three years have passed already since we brought him home. And this is the first year he fully understands what his birthday is so it's so much fun for me - I can't even sleep! I am so excited for him to wake up this morning to the party hats, the singing and blowing a candle out on his cupcake. Then the presents!! We asked him where he wanted to go for dinner for his birthday and his answer was Friendly's. It's almost as if he knows it's our special spot now.
And to make things even more special, I mailed out our adoption application and profiles to the agency in Utah. I spoke with them yesterday and they have started a file for us and are looking forward to receiving the final information they need before showing our profiles to birth mothers. It felt so good to mail that box yesterday. Now all we do is sit back and wait. And hopefully our efforts will pay off quickly.

So a quick message to our Jakie...Happy birthday little bear. I hope this day is so special for you and you enjoy every second of it. You are the brightest spot in your daddy's and my life. There isn't a day that passes that I don't try to make you happy. Seeing you smile and laugh is a constant reminder to me of how precious your life is and how lucky we are to have you. Being your parents has made our whole outlook on life a more positive one. We love you so much and can't wait to celebrate every birthday with you after this one. xoxo

Mary's back from vaca and we're ready to go!

Mary was in Florida for a month and she is finally back. She called to tell us that our police clearances came back and she was able to write our home study report this week. I just read the home study report to Sean and we feel very positive. Everything is favorable for us to move forward with the adoption. This weekend, we will be gathering all our paperwork for Utah and sending that in on Monday with the copies of our profiles. It's pretty crazy to think how quickly things could move now since we were in such a lull for the past two months just waiting on Mary and federal/state clearances.

Sean, Jake and myself just returned from a relaxing and fun trip to Florida. This picture of Jake is from the morning Pajama Easter Egg Hunt. Jake was very intrigued by Aunt Erin's baby bump in Florida. He liked to feel it and kiss it. I think the conversations are going to start very soon on "where babies grow." I better go back and review everything I learned in our home study meetings on how to handle all of this.

We had a great time in Florida and what better news to come home to...Utah here we come!!

Dylan McKay

We've been keeping busy with doctor's appointments for our physicals and we ordered six sets of our profile (scrapbook with all our pictures and a letter to a birthmother.) Today was a busy adoption day. Sean (aka Dylan - you'll find out later) went in this morning to get his blood drawn for all the tests. Today was a fasting day for him and unfortunately he woke up starving. So the phlebotomist starting pulling out all the vials for the tests that need to run. As she pulled out the fifth vial, Sean's vision started to close in on him and sweat started to our from his neck, head, back and knees. He asked for a cold cloth and glass of water and before you knew it, he was head down in his lap and feeling pretty lightheaded. After cooling down and relaxing a bit, he was ready for breakfast and onto the next stop.
This afternoon, we met at home for lunch and got our fingerprint cards. We filled them out and took them to the police station. That trip alone made this adoption seem even more real. It feels like yesterday that we were there doing the same thing for Jake's adoption. Luckily we were the first ones there. There was a line of people behind us and although we were the first ones to arrive, we still had to wait almost an hour to get in for fingerprints. They called us into the room and the police officer reviewed all the paperwork. I was the first to get fingerprinted. As my fingers were rolling in the ink, a female voice came from behind the door and asked Sean, "Did you work at Hotel Viking?" I immediately laughed because it's been nearly 15 years since Sean has worked there. Did he wait on her table 15 years ago and she remembered? Did she have a lousy experience that she never forgot? What a random thing to remember about Sean since he only worked there one short summer.
Sean engaged in the conversation and it turns out the woman behind the desk is a cousin to dear friends of ours, Scott and Anna.
The friendly woman continued telling stories of her memories of Sean and explained that her daughters always thought he looked like Dylan McKay. Who is Dylan McKay you ask? Well, he dated Brenda and Kelly and drove a hot little Porsche through Beverly Hills. It must be the sideburns.
So needless to say we had some comedy relief while we rolled my fingerprints. I was trying really hard not to smudge my fingerprints as my whole body shook with laughter. I feel like we accomplished a lot today. Tomorrow I will send in the fingerprints to the FBI and the state for them to run the criminal clearances. It should take about 3-4 weeks before we get cleared.
Tomorrow I am off to get my blood work done. Let's hope I have an easier time than Dylan, I mean Sean, did.
xoxo

Mary gives 2 thumbs up

We finished our profile and sent Mary the screen shots of everything including the letter to the birthmother. I think I mentioned we did it through Shutterfly this time around and it saved me time (much needed time) compared to the way I did it the last round. When we were adopting Jake, I handmade the profile and applied decorative artwork and cut unique papers out etc. It was really labor intensive. I knew there was no way time would allow me to go that route this time so thank God for Shutterfly and their advanced photo books. Amazing. I am pretty proud of how it came out. So we finally got the thumbs up from Mary saying she "wouldn't change a thing" and she would pick us right away. When she says things like that to me I get chills up my spine. It's like I get bitten by the adoption bug and i start getting all my paperwork out and say to myself, "what can I cross off this long list next?"

Tomorrow Sean and I go in for our physicals. Da da dum...can't wait to get on that scale! Let's hope for good bloodwork results and great EKG's! Next stop, Fingerprints!!