Miami Beach

Since we thought Talmage would be discharged the following Monday, we decided we couldn't leave Miami without the whole family really enjoying the beach so that's where we headed on Saturday. When I took the kids by myself, Dallin couldn't play in the water like he wanted. Zane and I did the two morning feeds with Talmage and then we left for an afternoon of fun!

I didn't want to deal with sand in Lili's hair, so I used Gavin's swim cap on her. How cute does she look? Zane made a comment about poor Lili when I put it on her, but she got so much attention at the beach! I doubt I will get away with it when she is older. She was super tired and didn't like the chilly wind, so she and I walked along the edge of the water to keep her happy. Lots of people came up to talk to her (too bad she was grumpy) and some even asked where we got the swim cap.

There really weren't any waves to jump, but Dallin had fun non the less playing with Zane.

Gavin got in the water a little bit, but honestly, he is obsessed with sand.

Yep. Obsessed! Meet the Sand Monster.

And in case you wanted to be a sand monster with snot running down your face, the below is how you do it. I can't tell you how many times a day I ask Gavin why he did something. Why was probably one of his first words. He can never give me an answer. I really want to know what is going through his mind.

We had a great time and I'm glad we got away together!

A Letter to Talmage

 Dear Talmage,
You are 25 days old today. It has been 14 days since I last held you and my arms and heart were aching for you. The doctors gave us enough positive news on your development that we took it as an excuse to bring the whole family to meet you. Honestly, we knew that once you met your siblings, you would fight the rest of the way to get home to us. It worked for Lili.

It felt so good to hold you again and feed you (you are such a good eater now taking all your feeds from a bottle!). I can't wait until you can come home with us permanently. Your nurse today was Angel, and I think he is an Angel. He takes such good care of you and makes sure I have everything including information that I need. He probably thinks I cry a lot since he was your nurse on the day I had to leave you and then today when I got to hold you again. Just know your mom cries a lot.

Angel worked his magic and got you moved to a private room within the NICU that has a window so that your siblings could see you since they aren't allowed to be with you yet. Lili kept raising her hands above her head to show that she is so big now that she is a big sister. I doubt anyone else thinks all 15 pounds of her is so big, but she will be a great sister to you. Gavin and Dallin blew you kisses, wrestled on the ground, then blew you more kisses. They were very interested in your body parts and wanted to make sure you had all 10 fingers and toes. They had to check out the monitors on your tummy and on your foot. I'm so glad that all your IV's and oxygen are gone.

Angel made more magic happen when he got permission for Dallin to come in and meet you. Dallin wasn't allowed to hold you yet much to his dismay, but he could come in and get a better look at you. Being the baby hog that he is, he loved being with you! He told you a story about a snake, sang "I Am a Child of God," and after seeing a picture of a knight in the hospital, told you that you will be a knight and shining armor and protect Lili. Dallin is a great big brother and of course really struggled with the rule to not touch you. He can't wait to cuddle with you!

Dad and I took turns hanging with you while the other was with the kids in the family center at the hospital. This center is awesome. They had a pizza party today, a toy donation where your siblings came back to our apartment with new legos to build and books to read...perfect for a family far away from home, toys especially for Lili, and movies. This family center makes it so much easier to spend time with you and it was especially nice today after spending two days in the car driving to be with you!

We are staying in apartments near the hospital that families stay in when they have a kid in the hospital. I'm so glad we could get in these apartments. It is nice to be so close to you so we can come and go easier. We will be here until you are discharge which may be a little while longer since you are struggling with coming off of your medicine. You can't leave the hospital until you are off this medicine. I know it is tough but you have a lot of people praying for you and you are one tough boy!

Love,
A Very Happy but Anxious Mommy

Dallin's pictures of Talmage

Alligators!

 When Zane and I visited Miami to meet Talmage, we spent the whole time in the hospital except for two outings in the afternoon to get a break. After our outings, we would head back to the hospital and stay late. One afternoon we had lunch on Ocean Drive in South Beach and another we checked out Gator Park. We wanted to see if this was an outing that we could take our boys to when we came back with them. We also knew when we came back, only one of us would go with the boys while the other stayed behind with Lili (and if Talmage was out of the hospital, then with him.) We had a great time and were so excited to show it to Dallin and Gavin who are obsessed with alligators!

 

 There were three different places to check out the alligators in cages.

We saw an alligator show which included seeing alligators and a scorpion up close and then the presenter showed us how to capture an alligator.

The presenter liked to put animals right up to any girl that was a little skirmish. He picked me out right away! He wanted to make sure I got a good picture!

As long as he didn't touch anything in the alligators mouth, the presenter was fine. As soon as he touched something, the alligator snapped. Good thing the presenter had great reflexes!

The presenter came up from behind and got on the alligators back. He then grabbed the mouth and pulled it up tucking it under his chin so that his hands are free to tie up the mouth.

We also went on an airboat ride to see alligators and other wild life in the wild.

Can you see him?

I'm Back...With a Pretty Big Announcement

 Oh blog, how I have neglected you. There are so many fun times and important moments to document and yet so little time to do it. I thought I would come back to the blogging world with a pretty big announcement.

Shocked? So were we! And in case you were wondering, Lili will be 16 1/2 months. 

This is an unusual situation for us. In the past when our kids turn 12-18 months old we start thinking about getting our paperwork together to try for another baby knowing the process takes awhile. All our kids our 2 1/2 years apart. When Lili turned one, we were not thinking about paperwork. We knew another baby was meant for our family...eventually. Eventually came sooner than we planned. We were approached by a friend about her family member that wanted to place her baby for adoption. We have worked very hard to find our birthmoms in the past, so to have a situation just fall in our laps was shocking. We put together the world's fastest home study and are praying our FBI clearance comes back in time for us to head out to another state to pick up our baby boy.

In the adoption world, a couple is used to surprises that make you jump and go. We found out about Gavin the day before we left to Florida to go get him. Lili came a month early so we had to hurry and pack for a trip in another state not knowing how long we would be there. Usually, the adoptive couple has been waiting so long for a baby that we do just jump and go. We have put a lot of faith and trust in God's plan and at times felt like we were heading blindly down a path He chose for us.

This adoption feels more like my fertile friends who thought they were done at 4 kids and then surprise, a 5th one is on its way. It has taken me a little bit to get my head around the situation. I'm a control freak with plans and well a baby wasn't part of the plan right now.

But one thing I have learned over and over again with each of my kids is that God's plan is so much better than mine.

For a little I wondered if this baby was actually meant for another couple. We have two friends who have been waiting for a baby since before we got Lili. Zane and I did what we always do when we need answers. We went to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint temple in our area fasting and praying. We both had the confirmation and peace we were seeking knowing we were chosen to be the parents of this child.

I'm still scared though to have kids 16 months apart plus two other kids. I hear being a mom of four kids is easier than three. We will see.

I have lots of help though. Dallin loves babies and has a special bond with them. In the below picture, I was trying to make dinner while the boys got a little TV time. When Lili started fussing to be held by me making dinner prep difficult, Dallin picked her up and cuddled with her. She loves hanging with her big brother.

 Dallin is super excited to have another little brother. He asked Santa Claus for a baby for Christmas.

 Gavin is also a super helper. Right now he and Lili are starting to play together more. Dallin sees Lili as a baby but Gavin sees her as a play mate. I hope they stay close.

And if I need more help, the house across the street is for sell and maybe I can convince my parents to move in there! :)

 

We are super excited to be a family of 6!

Family Portraits

 My sister-in-law Kara came into town and she was sweet enough to take our family portraits. We are hard subjects and she did a great job like always!

Silly Dallin as photogenic as ever

Gavin got a great picture the first try. You ask him to smile and he flashes you his biggest and handsomest.

Some daddy and son funny pictures

And of course Lili who is a daddy's girl wanted to be thrown too.

Trying to catch Lili smiling and holding still for the camera is a team effort. It paid off!

Getting the three kids together was even harder. This picture is typical. Lili stuck in the middle of two boys wondering what is going on and Gavin annoyed that Dallin is touching him again. Dallin is happy as can be hugging his favorite people.

My sweet, crazy, loveable boys

And my sweet angel Lili

 Zane and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary in December. I'm so glad I have this man by my side.

So Thankful

 I wanted to share a few moments that made me smile this last month.

 I love seeing my boys interacting with their daddy. They are bonding over an angry bird movie in this picture. Whatever works! Zane also took them on a Father's and Son's camp out a week ago while Lili and I got some girl time. I hope my kids are always close to their dad and realize what an amazing man he is.

Since starting home schooling, I have felt like Gavin has gotten less individual time with me. If I wasn't home schooling, I would be teaching a preschool class for Gavin and his friends in my house. I try to include Gavin in our home schooling activities, but he just isn't ready for any sit down education. I feel like so many times I'm telling Gavin to wait until I finish something with Dallin (listening to him read, math etc) or am busy taking care of Lili's needs. Gavin is such an easy going kid that he doesn't seem to mind or is suffering from it. But moms are the worse at making themselves feel guilty. I don't know how moms with really big families do it! It has cross my mind several times that just like Gavin I was the 2nd child and I was also very easy going...

I love when I get moments where it is just Gavin and me together.

Gavin could paint all day long!

At the beginning of this month, I joined this group of fun women and went to Time Out for Women. We stayed over night  and had a great weekend. I got some girl time in, ate great food, and got some spiritual rejuvenation!  I came home a much happier wife and mom!

This little girl is constantly making me smile. She is in the exploring stage and while I put away groceries, she pulled a Popsicle out of the freezer. She was trying to get it open and I let her continue to try because I thought biting on a Popsicle could help with teething gums and it was keeping her occupied while I put groceries away. When I went to check on her, Lili had found a way to open the Popsicle and was enjoying it immensely.  She was pretty proud of herself too.

Teaching is going really well right now and Dallin is thriving. I'm so amazed at his progress. In the lesson below we played with magic goo (water and cornstarch) and watched it turn from a liquid to a solid. The boys took the lesson further and decided to experiment what would happen to the magic goo on the dinosaur. I love it when they are excited to learn!

I'm so thankful for how helpful Dallin is. When he noticed Lili fussing for me, he picked her up and started dancing with her.  Dallin is a great big brother and super helpful!

 Lili's birthday is on Saturday. Our family has been reminiscing lately about our trip a year ago to get Lili. I am so grateful for Zane's sister Toni taking us in for a month. Her family made the hard situation so much easier! I can't believe how far our little 4 pound baby has come in a year! On Saturday we are sealing Lili to our family for all eternity in the temple. We are so excited! My friend took a few pictures of Lili in her white dress. Lili wasn't too excited about wearing her dress again and not being able to move in the bean bag so she refused to smile at our funny faces. Even without a smile, Lili is such a pretty baby!

 Our kids bring so much joy to our life (and headaches too...). Not a day goes by where I don't think of three courageous women who put in our care the most precious gifts. We have so much to be grateful for.