Happy 6th Birthday Ian!, the final chapter

We concluded the birthday marathon weekend this afternoon. It was so nice to have our families here to celebrate with us. Nannie and Papa, Mimi and Bumpa, Auntie Agnes, Uncle Shawne, Auntie Shelle, Uncle Mike, Uncle Steve and Auntie Amy were all in attendance, thanks so much everyone for all the wonderful gifts. Ian is so excited, he just can't figure out what to play with first! I was so tired this morning, I just couldn't get myself going. I had plans of making a pasta salad, a tossed salad and my home made hamburger buns and of course, with another birthday party, comes another cake. I just couldn't muster the energy for it and was getting stressed out so Greg said he'd take care of the food today. This is what you get when you send your husband and your six year old to the store with a vague list:

*6 ears of corn for 13 people
*16 hamburger buns for 13 people (okay, not bad, but when are only serving hamburgers and chips, people may want more than 1 hamburger!)
*8 hot dogs for 13 people
*8 hot dog buns for 13 people (at least there were enough buns/dog!)
*1/8 sheet cake with "Happy Birthday Flame Needle" written on it. I was assured this was a good alternative to Ian's first choice of "Happy Birthday Rubber Butt" I guess when you put it that way. I would have loved to see the cake decorators face after that request.

I will admit though after making fun of Greg's shopping skills that we did indeed have enough food for all (mind you I didn't even cook the corn. I just couldn't bring myself to put out 6 ears of corn for 13 people, c'mon that's not even half an ear each!). I love you Greg, but remember that list you said you didn't need? Yeah, I'd like to imagine what you would have brought home without a list. Next time I'll obviously have to be much more specific, lesson learned.

Anyways, after presents, cake and a rousing verse of "Happy Birthday Dear Flame Needle", it was indeed a very good close to Ian's birthday celebrations. Thanks again to all our wonderful family members for the great gifts and your company today. We love you all!

For those of you that are wondering, Flame Needle is a super hero name
Ian concocted a while ago. It is the successor to Door Slam.
Please don't ask, I have no answers for you.

Happy 6th Birthday Ian, part II

Okay, part two! We had Ian's birthday celebration with his friends today and it was so much fun. A special shout out to Nannie without whom I would have no pictures of today, thanks for being our photographer Nannie (and for running around for things!) so I could deal with the birthday stuff! Anyways, Ian had a tie dye party, and everyone got to make a t-shirt. We even had a tie dye t-shirt cake! Ian had so much fun and got so many wonderful gifts from his friends, thank you so much everyone!

Happy 6th Birthday Ian!

Today my Ianie Beenie turned 6 years old. He was so excited, "I'm six, I'm six, mummy I'm six, daddy did you know I'm six?", it was super cute. He brought a special snack to school to share with his friends, a mix he likes to make of popcorn, teddy grahams, and goldfish and was so excited to tell his teacher his birthday had finally arrived (apparently he's been giving her a countdown). When he got off the school bus, Greg met him with their traditional silly string birthday greeting where I provided Ian with a can of not so traditional silly string birthday greeting defense. He just loves that stuff!

We then met Mimi and Auntie Agnes at Ian's choice for lunch, Applebees. Ian's friend Ollie joined us. Mimi brought him a little magic kit that was very exciting and has prompted Ian to now want to be a magician for Halloween (mind you, he believes he will master all the tricks and insisted that he would not just dress like a magician, but will be a real one!). We got through lunch and it came time for dessert and the singing (the reason we chose Applebees, by the way). Our waiter delivered Ian's ice cream and announced that they are just too busy to pull the staff together to sing. Well, Ian's Mimi looked at that man and informed him that her grandson was looking forward to that part and it was the deciding factor in choosing Applebees for his birthday lunch. She let him know that "we will wait" until they are able to gather a group to sing to her grandson. Well wouldn't you know it, before Ian could have two more bites of ice cream the sound of clapping and singing came marching into the dining room and Ian got his birthday song. We love Mimi!

We let Ian open his gifts from us between lunch and dinner. He was very excited about his new scooter and Power Rangers helmet. We wrapped up the day with dinner at Ian's favoritest restaurant in the world, McDonalds with Nannie and Papa in attendance. They also brought Ian a gift, a Red Ranger transformer thingy, yeah I don't get boy toys...We came back to the house to have some cake before putting Ian to bed. All in all it was a really nice day and I think Ian really enjoyed it. In fact at one point he proclaimed "This is the best birthday ever!"

Next up, Ian's party with his friends tomorrow afternoon (still so much to do!) featuring tie-dye t-shirts. Then Sunday we'll have our families over for a BBQ. Man, nothing like dragging out a birthday huh?! Do you think I can get Ian to wear the ridiculous Fraize family birthday hat for the next party? Greg had to tackle him for this picture!

By the way, the awesome shirt Ian is wearing is courtesy of Mimi. He was so excited to wear it to school and asked that it be washed immediately so he can wear it tomorrow as well. It's times like that I know he's excited to be a big brother!

Happy Birthday my buddy, we love you so so much!

4.3 down

I neglected to post the weight loss progress last week, but I have lost 4.3 pounds in the last two weeks. Last week I was "the biggest loser" at my mum's work, that was a nice boost. Also, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. You ever get a call from your doctor's office saying you have an appointment that you don't remember making? Well that's just what happened to me with this appointment. I assumed it was a check up for asthma...wrong! It was a full physical. It was actually a good visit, I appear fit as a fiddle, and as of my last appointment, I'm down 11 pounds :) She had also noted at that last appointment that we were pursuing an adoption so she asked about that and was very interested in seeing the pictures of Ana and hearing about the process. All in all it was a good visit, and just what I needed to keep on track. Stay tuned for next weeks update! Oh, by the way, two weeks from now I'll be holding my daughter, isn't that a nice thought?

Guatemala, here we come!

It's official, we're leaving on a jet plane to go visit our Ana! We have booked our flights and we are leaving Thursday October 4 and staying until Tuesday the 9th. Words cannot describe the way we feel, we're going to meet our daughter two weeks from tomorrow! We also happen to be traveling the same time as another family I have met online, so that's just sugar on the top! We had been debating for some time whether or not we were going to bring Ian for the visit trip. For a few weeks, we had decided that we would. I thought it would be good for him to see her and know that she is real as he has mentioned a few times to me that she isn't part of our family because she doesn't live with us yet. When we really started to think about it, we began to think it may not be the best idea after all. He'll be really bored unless we spend the entire time at the pool, and it just may not be the best first impression I want him to have of time with his sister. I also think it would not be the best for Ana. We only have 5 days to spend with her, and we don't want her to feel frustration or anxiety from us because we are dealing with a bored 6 year old. It comes down to what will be best for both our children, and having him stay with family and friends seems to make the most sense. I can't wait for him to meet her, but I also want some time to really get to know Ana. I'm pretty sure Ian's idea of a good time is not spending 4 hours counting baby toes, but it may be just what I need.

We have a match!

We had an unexpected surprise in the mailbox today, our DNA results! We have a 99.96% match! What does this mean you ask? Well, it means we are able to now start planning our trip to visit Ana! I am just walking on air tonight, I really didn't think we would receive this information for another month or so. So this was a wonderful end to the day! I have to say though, it was a bittersweet experience opening up that envelope. Along with the DNA report we received a picture of Ana with her birth mother. I knew it would be there, and I'm happy it is, I'm sure it will be a treasured piece of information for Ana to have as she grows. It's difficult to explain the emotions I felt as I laid eyes on this beautiful woman. Along with the joy that I felt knowing that we were one step closer to bringing Ana home, there was sorrow and immeasurable gratitude for this woman whom I've never met. She understandably looks very sad, I cannot begin to imagine what she must have been feeling as this picture was taken. Having a child already, I know the depth of the love I feel for him. To have that love for Ana, and not be able to provide for her...it must be devastating. The Guatemalan women who relinquish their children do so largely because they simply do not have the means to provide for them. It is so entirely selfless and I wish I could reach out to her and let her know just how grateful I am to her for allowing us to raise her daughter. I would want to tell her that we will love her with every ounce of ourselves and will always help her remember what her roots are. That she will know how her mother loved her so much that she would sacrifice watching her grow to know that she will be given opportunities she would not otherwise have. We have had many people say to us how lucky Ana is, but I really don't feel that way. We are the lucky ones.

Whine and you shall receive?

Well, I'm a little embarrassed by my whining about not having an update yet. I don't believe I mentioned that Greg has been away on business since last Thursday, he just arrived home at 3:30 today. I am now an even bigger believer in the "things happen when they're supposed to" philosophy because obviously we weren't meant to get an update until Greg was home and we could view the pictures together! I opened up my e-mail as soon as we got home and lo and behold there they were, photos of our Ana and a brief message from our coordinator:

"I hope you are well. I met with Ana yesterday and she seems to be doing wonderfully. Her caretakers say she coos often, she smiles, she turns to sound, and she sleeps and eats well. Usually she takes a 5oz bottle every three hours. These pictures were taken yesterday. Enjoy..."

I can't explain what a joy and relief it was to open this e-mail. I've been following other peoples journeys for so long, to see it playing out for yourself is very surreal. The first set of pictures were wonderful, but to get this next set and to see her thriving is just so amazing. I was kind of hoping we'd get a smile this time, but maybe she's saving them for next time! Anyways, without further ado, here's our latest pictures of Ana, she's 10 weeks old, isn't she sweet?