Official one year old post!

Gaines is now officially 1 and a complete toddler.  I fussed at Ashley for calling him that, but I can't deny that I no longer have a baby!  He is walking all over the place.  He is so proud of himself for doing it.  He loves to go around the room kissing all his toys and his mama and daddy.  The cats even get in on a smooch or two.  You can imagine how much they love that.  He loves to be outside.  Now that he can walk, he explores all over the back yard.  He is talking more and trying to imitate things that we say.  He has 8 teeth - 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top.  He is completely off the bottle :( and, boy, that was hard on his MAMA!  At his 1 year appointment he weighed 23 pounds 4 ounces and was 29 1/2 inches long.  He had to get 4 shots, and he was FURIOUS!

Christmas, birthday party...wow

Well, Gaines is not technically one yet, but close enough.  He had his first birthday party on December 23, and it was great!  It took him a while to warm up to the excitement, but he really loved the cake!

I cannot believe that a year has passed by!  I never thought I'd say it, but I miss our time in Michigan with that sweet little baby!  I love all that he is doing now, but it's going too quickly!  He is talking some, just mama, dada, and things we don't understand.  He is walking more, just a few steps here and there, but he seems so ready to just take off.  When he "cruises" he barely holds on now.  He loves his toys, doors, outside, eating, and cords.  He is fascinated with the ipad and iphone.  He swipes to turn the pages just like he knows what he's doing!  He loves watching Sesame Street and Bubble Guppies.  He dances any time music comes on!  He LOVES the bathtub.  He sticks is head right in blows bubbles.  He loves his cousins and tries to hang right in there with them.  He loves all his "people" and lights up when any of them come in.  He has figured out how to throw a "fit", and it's pretty funny.  He sticks that bottom lip out and throws himself on the floor.  It doesn't last long, though.  He loves music and snuggling in our bed early in the morning! He is just a delight!  I honestly don't know what we did to deserve such a blessing, but I sure am glad!  

Look at those scrawny little legs!  Think he was just a couple of days old here!

The year has gone by so quickly!  It seems like just yesterday we were headed to Michigan, scared out of our minds, to meet him!  With all we were feeling, we never could have imagined just how much this little boy was going to change our lives! We thank God every day for this little man!  He is the love of our lives!

Santa came!

11 months

Gaines turned 11 months old on the 30th! He now has his top 2 front teeth. He has 2 more on top trying to come in. He weighs a whopping 22 pounds and 11 ounces. Unfortunately, he got RSV for his 11 month birthday. He had to take breathing treatments, but is much better now. He was so pitiful.



He is still trying to walk. He has taken 4-5 steps here and there but hasn't "taken off" yet. He loves to look at books, play with my phone, and change the channel. He loves being outside and crawling in the leaves. He is doing much better staying in his bed all night. I miss him!

I cannot believe we are on the countdown to his 1st birthday! Wow! This time last year, we were in Michigan meeting F for the first time. What a difference a year makes!
























He enjoyed his first Christmas parade. But, he HATED all the loud sirens.









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One Year

One year ago today, I got a phone call from Love Basket that changed our lives forever!  I'll never forget it- I was cleaning out a kitchen cabinet when the house phone rang.  I figured it was a courtesy call and almost didn't even check the caller ID.  When I saw that it was Love Basket, my heart skipped a beat.  Sweet Jo told me that our profile had been chosen by a birth mom, but it was a special situation, as she had recently moved to Michigan.  I did not miss a beat in telling her that was NO problem!  She went on to tell me that the baby was a boy and due in about a month!  Wow!  I tried to keep from jumping up and down and screaming as tears rolled down my face.  I was afraid to get too excited.  I immediately began running through all that could go wrong.  It makes me so mad at myself that I immediately went to the negative.  I guess that is just a result of all the disappointments we have been through.  I then started making phone calls!  I first called Stan- no answer.  Then, I called Ashley- no answer.  On to mama's cell - no answer!  I was LOSING my mind!  I then called Mama's house phone and got Daddy.  He got to be the first to know.  The rest of the night was spent crying, laughing, talking to friends, hugging, screaming, shopping online (!), more crying, planning, planning, planning.  Neither of us could really believe we were actually going to be parents.

The next day, Love Basket sent us all the info and told us that the birth mother really wanted to meet us as soon as possible.  Thanks to Candace's buddy miles, we flew to Michigan a couple of weeks later and met the lady that will forever be an angel to us.  She was quiet, funny, sweet, precious, scared, beautiful, lovely, and smart.  We fell in love with her instantly.  I have tears in my eyes just thinking of her.  What a gift she gave us.  We will always love her, and we will always let Gaines know what a wonderful person she is.  I miss her every day!

The next month and a half were a whirlwind of excitement, nerves, joy, fear, and planning!!!  I still cannot believe that it has been a year since we found out about our sweet boy.  I wonder how in the world we would be able to keep on living without him, and we didn't even know him a year ago.  He is the brightest spot in every day.  His sweet personality and easy laugh make my heart sing.  I feel that Stan and I are the two most blessed parents in the world to have him in our lives.  I find myself pinching myself almost daily to see if I'm dreaming.  I truly thank God for Gaines's birth mother and the selfless act that she performed.  She knew that she could not raise him the way he needed to be raised.  She told me the day he was born that she was sad, but that she would never have to worry about Gaines, because she loved us, and she knew that we would love him so much every single day.  She just can't imagine how right she is.  We try not to take a single moment for granted - even the sleepless nights and dirty diapers.  It's all something I have longed for for years.  God knew what He was doing all along, and when we finally decided to listen to Him, we were granted the most precious gift ever!

National Adoption Day

Today is national adoption day! I don't know what I would do without my sweet boy!






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