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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
A Big Day!
Yesterday was a huge day in our journey as foster parents. We were at Dauphin County Courthouse by 7:30am (the hearing was not until 9:00) for the Termination of Parental Rights Hearing. The natural parents did not show up. Brief testimony was given and the Judge signed the order terminating parental rights!
Then at 12:30pm we met with an adoption caseworker and she finalized our home study.
The natural parents have 30 days to appeal the courts decision. Based on their lack of contact the county does not feel there will be an appeal.
We have been referred to the county's adoption worker as well! After the 30 days is up and all of our paperwork is in the county can schedule our adoption date.
It's so surreal. We never thought we would get to this point. He is our miracle baby and was 100% worth the wait! The hope is that he will be adopted by his first birthday!
Jody and I spent the day with him spoiling him as usual. We love how everyday is so different. We then spent the night at Fall Fest and Landon got his first pumpkin! Jody and Landon also went through the corn maze and 1 hour and 11 minutes later they came out!
We will be on pins and needles until the end of October but the end will be so worth every minute.
Then at 12:30pm we met with an adoption caseworker and she finalized our home study.
The natural parents have 30 days to appeal the courts decision. Based on their lack of contact the county does not feel there will be an appeal.
We have been referred to the county's adoption worker as well! After the 30 days is up and all of our paperwork is in the county can schedule our adoption date.
It's so surreal. We never thought we would get to this point. He is our miracle baby and was 100% worth the wait! The hope is that he will be adopted by his first birthday!
Jody and I spent the day with him spoiling him as usual. We love how everyday is so different. We then spent the night at Fall Fest and Landon got his first pumpkin! Jody and Landon also went through the corn maze and 1 hour and 11 minutes later they came out!
We will be on pins and needles until the end of October but the end will be so worth every minute.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Life
It's amazing how quickly things change. Landon is over 9 months old now everyday is a new adventure for him. Watching him grow and learn has been amazing to say the least. He is crawling, scooting and pulling himself up on anything he can. Sullivan's food and water make him move the fastest and he is less than thrilled when Mommy/Daddy get to it first.
He tried lasagna this weekend and we had a less than pleasurable wake up call this morning. The dairy allergy seems to continue :(
This week our neighbors and great friends welcomed their little man into the world, Marshall Scott Ludwig and he is beyond perfect! I am so in love with this little guy and so happy for mommy and daddy and to have been part of their journey...he may always be Baby Ludwig to me :)
Life has its ups and downs and road blocks that we must overcome but there truly is a plan for each one of us. We all will question what that is from time to time and some days/years will be better than others but it is the amazing people we meet and friendships we make on that journey that makes it all worth while.
Thank you to all my amazing friends that have made this year one of our best! We couldn't have done it without each of you.
I can't wait for Landon and Marshall to grow up together and make their parents crazier than we already are :)
He tried lasagna this weekend and we had a less than pleasurable wake up call this morning. The dairy allergy seems to continue :(
This week our neighbors and great friends welcomed their little man into the world, Marshall Scott Ludwig and he is beyond perfect! I am so in love with this little guy and so happy for mommy and daddy and to have been part of their journey...he may always be Baby Ludwig to me :)
Life has its ups and downs and road blocks that we must overcome but there truly is a plan for each one of us. We all will question what that is from time to time and some days/years will be better than others but it is the amazing people we meet and friendships we make on that journey that makes it all worth while.
Thank you to all my amazing friends that have made this year one of our best! We couldn't have done it without each of you.
I can't wait for Landon and Marshall to grow up together and make their parents crazier than we already are :)
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Nine Months
So I have to be the worst blogger in history and to add to that housekeeper, cook, etc... I knew this summer would be busy but I don't think we expect just how busy it would be and how fast it would fly by. Now that we have been home from Florida I feel like things are falling back into place. My house is finally back in order, things are relaly put away and I am up to date on laundry..I don't think I will ever be able to express how much I truly hate doing laundry. I would rather scrub toilets all day. Back to the point of the post...
Landon is 9 months old as of 9/4! It is unbelievable how fast time is flying by. I recently read something that said a mother's days are long but years are fast and I beleive it.
At his 9 month well baby check he was 23lbs and 28inches long! Jody is conviced that he will either be an All Star catcher or linbacker, I am still going for gymnast or swimmer :)
I was concerned (unnecessarily) at his nine month appointment due to comment from others that he was developmentally delayed and should have Early Intervention Services. I do think Early Intervention would have been helpful especially when we were dealing with the severe reflux and the pain while on his belly but overall I thought he was doing well. At his nine month appointment I asked the doctor questions about an Early Intervention assessment as well as expressed some concerns that he was not crawling, pulling himself up ect. It's not that he wasn't trying. The docotr laughed at me a bit and said if at his 12 month appointment he is not doing any of these things then we have a problem. But to give him some time and the person who was giving me a hard time just smile and shrug.
I called my mom on Sunday 9/9 and asked...who wanted this baby to crawl? Titi says it's because I embarassed him at the doctor, I think it was because mommy was home with him for a few days due to a fever (cause unknown) but on Thursday, 9/6 he started to crawl (his version of crawling). Depending on what leg he was getting out first the other one lagged behind he was called Tiny Tim for a few days until Grandma got mad. What we figured out was he was sliding on the wood floors so was using that foot for traction.
Also on 9/9 he started out of nowhere clapping and this cracks him up. It is pretty adorable and he knows it because when he is told no he can't play with an outlet or Sullivan's water he claps and smiles at us- we praise him for clapping and then he goes right back to what he is not supposed to be doing.
9 months 1 week also brought NO SLEEP and being able to easily bring himself from laying to sitting and then pulling himself to his knees and being able to go back into the sitting position. I dont' know what his issue was (other moms have said it could be all of the milestones) but for 3 nights he would not sleep for more than 1 hour at a time unless he was being held. Sunday night he was screaming and I went to get him as soon as he heard my foot steps he stopped. Little stinker was trying to snake me into the room to get him out! But this mommy is happy to say for the first time in 9 month Landon slept from 8pm until we woke him up around 7am to get ready for school. Of course, I was not able to sleep thinking what's the point, he will be up soon. Let's hope this was not a fluke.
As challenging as I thought month 8 was..I am in love with month 9. Seeing his personality come out and seeing him figure out the way the world works has been just amazing. I miss him more and more each day being at work.
His favorite things this past mont have been: Eating (and no more purees he wants food he can pick up and eat), Still his pacificer (bobo), books, Sophie, Sullivan and of course Milly (specifically the balls in her hair that he likes to pull)
As for Our Honey Girl-
Milly was with us while we were in Florida for the week and we continue to pick her up everyweekend. Some are easier than others. She is an amazing little girl and so smart. She has a personality that just makes others smile. For all that she has been through in her little life, she continues to be sweet and caring. But she is also 2 and very sassy. She loved Florida and was in awe over the princesses (as you can see from the previous pictures). It was a great trip and she was spoiled beyond words by Gma and Pops (we all were) but Milly has my dad wrapped around her little finger so tight (almost as tight as daddy is). We contiune to be Dada and Mama Dawn and this is also what she calls us to her mom. Drop offs on Sunday are pretty horrific and we are fearful that the older she gets the harder its going to be. We just continue to hope that there is a reason for all of this and there is a plan that we are not aware of (just like the rest of our life)
Some of her favortie things: I bet you can guess PRINCESSES! She is actually on the border of obsessed. She just cannot get enought of them. I went out grocery shopping 2 weeks ago and Disney toothbrush/paste was 2 for $5 and when I gave them to her you would have thought I gave her a million dollars. She loves the movie Rio and playing with doll babies and of course Landon.
We are all very excited for the fall especially for new babies to be born. Baby Ludwig will be coming sometime before the end of the week and the Padurean twins within a month! Now that life is calming down for us maybe I will be able to update more frequently!
Landon is 9 months old as of 9/4! It is unbelievable how fast time is flying by. I recently read something that said a mother's days are long but years are fast and I beleive it.
At his 9 month well baby check he was 23lbs and 28inches long! Jody is conviced that he will either be an All Star catcher or linbacker, I am still going for gymnast or swimmer :)
I was concerned (unnecessarily) at his nine month appointment due to comment from others that he was developmentally delayed and should have Early Intervention Services. I do think Early Intervention would have been helpful especially when we were dealing with the severe reflux and the pain while on his belly but overall I thought he was doing well. At his nine month appointment I asked the doctor questions about an Early Intervention assessment as well as expressed some concerns that he was not crawling, pulling himself up ect. It's not that he wasn't trying. The docotr laughed at me a bit and said if at his 12 month appointment he is not doing any of these things then we have a problem. But to give him some time and the person who was giving me a hard time just smile and shrug.
I called my mom on Sunday 9/9 and asked...who wanted this baby to crawl? Titi says it's because I embarassed him at the doctor, I think it was because mommy was home with him for a few days due to a fever (cause unknown) but on Thursday, 9/6 he started to crawl (his version of crawling). Depending on what leg he was getting out first the other one lagged behind he was called Tiny Tim for a few days until Grandma got mad. What we figured out was he was sliding on the wood floors so was using that foot for traction.
Also on 9/9 he started out of nowhere clapping and this cracks him up. It is pretty adorable and he knows it because when he is told no he can't play with an outlet or Sullivan's water he claps and smiles at us- we praise him for clapping and then he goes right back to what he is not supposed to be doing.
9 months 1 week also brought NO SLEEP and being able to easily bring himself from laying to sitting and then pulling himself to his knees and being able to go back into the sitting position. I dont' know what his issue was (other moms have said it could be all of the milestones) but for 3 nights he would not sleep for more than 1 hour at a time unless he was being held. Sunday night he was screaming and I went to get him as soon as he heard my foot steps he stopped. Little stinker was trying to snake me into the room to get him out! But this mommy is happy to say for the first time in 9 month Landon slept from 8pm until we woke him up around 7am to get ready for school. Of course, I was not able to sleep thinking what's the point, he will be up soon. Let's hope this was not a fluke.
As challenging as I thought month 8 was..I am in love with month 9. Seeing his personality come out and seeing him figure out the way the world works has been just amazing. I miss him more and more each day being at work.
His favorite things this past mont have been: Eating (and no more purees he wants food he can pick up and eat), Still his pacificer (bobo), books, Sophie, Sullivan and of course Milly (specifically the balls in her hair that he likes to pull)
As for Our Honey Girl-
Milly was with us while we were in Florida for the week and we continue to pick her up everyweekend. Some are easier than others. She is an amazing little girl and so smart. She has a personality that just makes others smile. For all that she has been through in her little life, she continues to be sweet and caring. But she is also 2 and very sassy. She loved Florida and was in awe over the princesses (as you can see from the previous pictures). It was a great trip and she was spoiled beyond words by Gma and Pops (we all were) but Milly has my dad wrapped around her little finger so tight (almost as tight as daddy is). We contiune to be Dada and Mama Dawn and this is also what she calls us to her mom. Drop offs on Sunday are pretty horrific and we are fearful that the older she gets the harder its going to be. We just continue to hope that there is a reason for all of this and there is a plan that we are not aware of (just like the rest of our life)
Some of her favortie things: I bet you can guess PRINCESSES! She is actually on the border of obsessed. She just cannot get enought of them. I went out grocery shopping 2 weeks ago and Disney toothbrush/paste was 2 for $5 and when I gave them to her you would have thought I gave her a million dollars. She loves the movie Rio and playing with doll babies and of course Landon.
We are all very excited for the fall especially for new babies to be born. Baby Ludwig will be coming sometime before the end of the week and the Padurean twins within a month! Now that life is calming down for us maybe I will be able to update more frequently!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Photo Book
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Thursday, August 16, 2012
Medical Update
Yes, we are still alive and doing well. As its been pointed out to me I'm way behind on updates. This summer has just gotten away from us. I think in total we've been home 1 weekend since it started. It's been a great summer. We've been able to catch up and spend time with family and friends but it has not left very much downtime. We've celebrated weddings, 2 amazing baby showers and birthday parties.
Landon had his 8 month follow up appointment at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) yesterday also Jody's 29th Birthday! Despite the smiles in the following pictures little man was NOT happy when it came to the ultrasound. He did not want the tech touching him and he did not like being held down. The appointments started at 1:30 and we finally got out of there at 4:30. When he wasn't being examined he was so good and entertaining! his kidneys have not gotten any better but they are not any worse either so that's a plus. He has a lot of pressure in his pelvis from the kidney. There is some concern for kidney stones and frequent infections but the doctor is still hopeful that he will not need surgery. We wait until February for the next follow up!
Landon is getting real close to Crawling. He gets himself in position and then falls over. It's given me some minor heart failure but I know bumps and bruises will be part of life with this little man!
Here are some pictures of the past few months. I will update more soon! We leave for Florida on Friday...14 hours 2 babies and a puppy should make for an entertaining time. Gmom and Pops are ready for the circus to come to town!
Landon had his 8 month follow up appointment at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) yesterday also Jody's 29th Birthday! Despite the smiles in the following pictures little man was NOT happy when it came to the ultrasound. He did not want the tech touching him and he did not like being held down. The appointments started at 1:30 and we finally got out of there at 4:30. When he wasn't being examined he was so good and entertaining! his kidneys have not gotten any better but they are not any worse either so that's a plus. He has a lot of pressure in his pelvis from the kidney. There is some concern for kidney stones and frequent infections but the doctor is still hopeful that he will not need surgery. We wait until February for the next follow up!
Landon is getting real close to Crawling. He gets himself in position and then falls over. It's given me some minor heart failure but I know bumps and bruises will be part of life with this little man!
Here are some pictures of the past few months. I will update more soon! We leave for Florida on Friday...14 hours 2 babies and a puppy should make for an entertaining time. Gmom and Pops are ready for the circus to come to town!
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