Home again

This adoption process has been oh so crazy, but amazing.

This is us the day we left the hospital. Frantically trying to get lazy bum Marcus to eat (Addison had already sucked down her bottle) so we could get on the road before it was too late. Because of the hurricane there were no hotels anywhere in Nacogdoches and Houston. I want to give a shout out to the people that rescued us.
#1--This is Marsha with Marcus and Addison. She is the Relief Society president of the LDS church in Nacogdoches. When I called her the night before we flew to Texas all panicked because I could not find a hotel, she invited us to stay with her. She took care of us the 3 days that we were in Nacogdoches. #2--The babies are Elizabeth, Addison, Marcus and Ansley. Elizabeth and Ansley were adopted 7 weeks ago. I was the caseworker for their parents, Heather and Chandler. I stayed at their house for almost a week while I waited to get clearance to come home. We had a blast hanging out with four babies. I actually think we never had all four crying at the same time. #3--A blast from the past. My great friend Amy Jo. I haven't seen her in a few years, she picked us up the night before we flew out, and then went to the airport to get Eileen and then let us spend the night at her house and then got up at 4am to take us to the airport! She is awesome!

Finally, we got home and I was able to hug Katie again, and introduce her to her brother and sister.

Katie meeting Marcus

My sweet babies


The girls

Katie loves Marcus and Addison. She wants to hold them all the time! She does sometimes forget that they are real, and that she can't just jump up and push them off her lap like she does her baby dolls. She is trying to pass on her love for a pacifier to them by forcing one in their mouths at all times, even when they are asleep.

Katie reading Marcus and Addison their first book--"Good Night Moon."

Grammy

ANNOUNCING...

The arrival of Marcus Alexander and Addison Yvette. They are finally here!

Addison is on the left and Marcus is on the right

They were born September 16th in Nacogdoches, TX, weighing 5lbs 6oz (Addison) and 5lbs 4oz (Marcus) and 17 3/4ins and 16 3/4ins respectively, according to hospital records. (We did remeasure them when they left the hospital because they didn't seem that short and Addy was 18 1/2ins and Marcus was 18ins so either they had a major growth spurt in two days or the hospital was a WAY off!)

Addison

We spent their first 48 hours at the hospital with their amazing birthmother Courtney. Her and the birthfather signed and Addison and Marcus became ours on Thurs the 18th. Mark headed home to be with Katie and I am hanging out in Houston waiting for permission to go home. Of course because of Hurricane Ike there were no hotels in either Nacogdoches or Houston so we are staying with friends.

Marcus with birthmom Courtney

Waiting

We are in now back in the swing of things and just waiting for the call so we can go pick up the new additions to our family. We have the room all ready and the gear all out. Katie is having a blast using everything for her baby dolls, she even has her babies dressed in some of the premie clothes we have (I'll have to give them to her after we use them).

Funny Katie moment. We were at the park watching a neighbor's soccer game and Mark was explaining to Katie that there was a line she wasn't allowed to cross so or she would end up in the middle of the game. She growled and said "no, its a tiger." The next day after our run Katie and I went to the same park to swing. She pointed out the line to me and said "there is a lion in the grass that I can't cross, not a tiger." Then she kept talking about the lion for the rest of the time we were there. It was so funny all I could do was laugh. She still thinks there is a lion in the grass.

The good life...Brasil!

After 9 days in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil we are having a hard time readjusting to responsibility.

Day 1

The first day we first to "Sugar Loaf" Mountain where we rode 2 mostly glass cable cars up to the top. It was actually really scary (I'm turning into a wuss in my old age), but the views from the top were amazing.

Yes, those cable wires in the background belong to the car we rode up

After that we drove/hiked stairs up another mountain to see the huge Cristo statue that overlooks the city of Rio de Janiero.

Day 2

We took a cruise from Angra dos Reis, they say this is the most beautiful water ever. Their claim to fame is that a cigarette commercial was filmed here.

The boat stopped a couple times for swimming in the ocean but it was cloudy and to cold to get in. Because of this it turned into more of a booze cruise, with a lot of dancing and drinking. There was a three-man band with us that played some great traditional music. (When they weren't playing the radio played music in English that never quite made it in the states.) Small world moment: I met a guy from Spain that lived in Freeport, ME as an exchange student in 1996!

Day 3--Happy 4th Anniversary

It is so crazy to think it has been 4 whole years. It has been great; I think we are actually still in love!

This day we took another cruise to tour some tropical islands. The boat stopped to swim and we got in and swam to the beach. There are so many beautiful places that can only be accessed by boat here.
After swimming they took us to a little restaurant on a tiny island where there was a buffet for us. Then we were able to explore the island. They have these cool walk-ways that lead all around the island.



Day 4
We spent this day in Buzios, which is a gorgeous little town with lots of beaches. I guess this place became famous after Brigitte Bardot (a French actress) stayed there. We took another boat (right, I know, a lot of boats) out and toured some of the surrounding beaches. This boat ride was unique because the water was extremely chopping and we had some waves to surf and got wet without getting in.

Day 5

Today we went to the beach in Rio de Janeiro for the first time. It is crazy how fast it gets crowded.

That evening we went to a Samba show. It was so cool, it included about 10 different kinds of traditional Brasilian dances.

Some of the traditional Carnival outfits


Days 6-9

We spent the remainder of our vacation at the Sheraton Resort in Rio de Janeiro; laying out on the beach getting tan, reading, playing in the water, shopping at the Hippie Market and eating yummy Brazilian food (ask Mark how much red meat he ate). It was amazing!

Our resort's beach

View from our room

The miracle of not trying

As I write this I hope I am not jinxing myself...Katie is officially potty trained. She is currently wearing little blue fishy "big girl underwear." I had actually given up. It was my goal this summer and became even more important as we prepared for 2 more babies, but my half-hearted efforts didn't seem to be working and I couldn't find the time to work on it AND THEN one day she was doing it. I am amazed!

We took our first real trip out to Target on Thursday. We got there and I asked her if she needed to use the potty. "No!" was the answer. Every few mins I would ask the same question and get the same answer, except that it got louder every time. Finally, I was getting worried and tried to take her to the bathroom. Katie's response was the beginning of a tantrum so I gave up. A couple mins later we were in the shoe aisle (yes, she has to try on about 10 pairs of shoes before I can get her out of there), trying on Dora croc type shoes and she says, "I need to go potty." As I run to grab her I realize I am too late because there is already a puddle gathering in the bottom of one of the shoes. What do I do!?! I clean it up, wipe the shoe up with wipes and walk away. Is that bad? I did buy more underwear to change her into.

Visit to the casa loca

I took Katie up for her first real visit to my parent's house last week. They got back from Guatemala about a month ago. She has been there before but this was the first time since she has developed her independent personality, so this time she was able to become fully immersed in the craziness. It took her about 5 mins of staring at all the kids, mess and dogs (actually they only have two dogs this time but a whole mess of goats) before she jumped down and joined in. During our few days there she got pretty adventurous; she was found a couple of time stuck in the mountain of black plastic bags full of orphanage donations. She also spent quite a bit of time on the trampoline and even rode her bike off the deck once. But her biggest accomplishment of the whole trip is that she knows all of her aunts and uncles names.

One day we went to Tweetsie Railroad with Grandpa and Grandma and their whole gang ,and Sarah, Adam and Tali. Tweetsie is the greatest theme park for little kids; where I made many happy childhood memories. They have a couple of trains and tons of rides. Katie was in heaven because she got to ride a big black train with a real whistle. I let her drive our bumper car which was fun until Emmie and Bethany banged into the back of us and Katie got whiplash. She did prove that she is a little dare devil by riding on the Tilt-a-Whirl with me in the rain and laughing the whole time, we even rode it a second time.

Plugging her ears on Grandma's lap during the train whistle

Riding horses with Talia

Riding the boat with Gabby

Daredevil Katie on the airplane with Gabby

My little monster...

Well, Katie turned TWO yesterday. I really can't believe it. I don't really feel older because of it, it's just weird to think of her being in our lives for two whole years--not that I remember what it was like before she was here. After the crazy big bash from last year we decided on a little party this time. Grammy and Grandpa came out from UT and Sarah and Adam and best-cousin Talia came; and we ate out on our 10th floor patio. It was lots of fun.



Katie is the craziest child I know. We love her because; 1) She is such a little mommy. She loves her Baby and Emma (dolls) and takes good care of them. She got a doll bed from Grandma, so now they can go to bed when she does. She lays their bottles in there with them, hopefully their teeth don't rot out. 2) She also has more energy then me and Mark put together (is that saying much?). When we go for walks she likes to run "like Mama", and wags her little bottom as she does. 3) Every night we have been reading from a children's Book of Mormon or Bible. Now Katie reads it to us. She reads the whole book and points out one thing on each page; "baby Jesus", "liahona", "thunder" (when Christ died). And lastly, 4) we love her because she is more stubborn and independent then me. She can do anything by herself, including crazy twisty ladders at the park, or swimming in the pool (after a few times of going under she lets me help there).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE VIRGINIA!