Worth It

Lincoln & I are quickly learning that when something WONDERFUL happens...especially when it involves expanding your eternal family...the adversary works double-time on you! This adoption process is SO INTENSE. I don't know how else to describe it...and it's really hard to understand unless you've gone through it. You feel like you are on a roller coaster every day! It's extra hard for us right now, because we are trying to become certified at the same time we are adjusting to having a new baby. Certification takes A LOT of time...which is something you don't have a lot of when you have a newborn and one of you is working full-time & going to school! Every day we look at what we have to get done and look at the hours in the day...and it just does not add up on paper. Yet somehow we get it done, even though most of the time it is at the last possible second and involves a lot of frustration and stress. I will be SO proud of ourselves when this is over! We are holding up (sometimes barely) under A LOT of pressure and are somehow making this happen. I know it really isn't just us though...we are being helped SO MUCH. Thank you to everyone for supporting us through this. And for those of you who have tried to contact me and I haven't gotten back to you...please be patient with me. It's going to be awhile before I feel like I am back on my feet again!

The other night Lincoln & I were really frustrated with the situation and trying to work some things out. We were both so overwhelmed and tired...and then we looked down and saw this little face smiling at us...how can you not feel like things are somehow going to get better when you see her sweet face?!
Despite the stress, we are experiencing pure joy from having this little girl in our home. We are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she is with us forever!!!
Wish us luck as we try to get through these next few days. We are supposed to finish our home study paper work tonight and have to have our home ready for the inspection by Friday. I will be breathing a lot easier once those things are done. :)
P.S.-Lincoln volunteered to get up with Kylee all night tonight so that I could get a full night's sleep. I am VERY excited!!! :)

Utah Bride Blog

My brother Shawn & his wife Ashley were featured on the Utah Bride Blog! Check out the links below!!!
Shawn & Ashley's Engagement Session
Shawn & Ashley's Wedding Session
I love Shawn & Ashley...they're not only a beautiful couple...they are two of the kindest, most genuine people I know! I am so lucky to have them in my life!!!

Don't Get Me Wrong...

I LOVE being a mom, but the "no sleep" thing is killing me! I am the type of person that CANNOT function without sleep. It's been interesting to say the least.

Cuddle Bug

Kylee loves to cuddle...and we LOVE cuddling with her!!!


She had her first appointment with her pediatrician today, who I love...he was my pediatrician growing up! Here are her two month stats: Weight: 10lbs 2oz (40th percentile), Height: 23 1/4 (90th percentile), & Head: 15 1/2 (70th percentile). She got her shots today & hated them. We actually took a picture of her screaming, but I felt like a mean mom posting it on here. :)

Family

So many people love Kylee already! There have been lots of introductions these past couple weeks! Here she is with her Grandma Hiatt (Linc's mom) at the cemetery in Snowflake... Our niece Claire giving Kylee kisses...
My little sister Megan meeting Kylee for the first time...
Grandma Allen (my mom) meeting her first granddaughter!
Lincoln's grandparents with Kylee in Snowflake...
*I am so behind on blogging...I'll catch up someday! We had our temporary custody hearing this morning & received custody. This means that we can now add Kylee to our insurance, & it just makes things even more legal & official. Our home study is in a week & we have A LOT of paperwork to do before then. I had an amazing baby shower last night (I'm really sorry if I overlooked inviting someone...my mind is in a million different places right now) and I have pictures from that to post. The birth mom came over for her first visit a few days ago. Things are busy but we are all doing well!

Introducing Kylee...

I am going to be posting quite a few pictures...I have two weeks' worth & a lot of "firsts" to post. Here is our little girl...we just can't get enough of her!!! She is 7 weeks old today.

This first picture was taken before we met Kylee. Her birth mom sent it to us...
Kylee & I at Sugar Bowl...
After her bath...she was STARING at Lincoln in this picture. She LOVES her daddy!!!
Another bath picture...she sticks her tongue out A LOT.
Linc changed the lighting on this next pic on his phone. I think it looks kind of cool! Here's Linc introducing Duke to the baby...he did great with her. Now Duke likes her a little too much! He is always wanting to see what she is doing. :)
Look at Daisy's paw resting on Kylee...isn't that funny?! Daisy is still going through some jealousy issues. Most of the time she just ignores Kylee...hopefully that will change someday. :)
Daddy holding his little girl...
I took this picture this morning. My favorite one so far! She started smiling last week...I love it!!!
This past week she has started to:
Follow our voices
Try to grab things
Smile!

More pictures to come!!!

Birthday Boys

Tomorrow is a special day...it is Jackson's 3rd birthday & our nephew Jayten's 10th birthday. My nieces & nephews really played a part in helping me feel special & loved when I didn't have kids of my own. Jayten especially is so kind & sensitive to my feelings and cares about Jackson. His past two birthdays, he has wanted to add an extra layer or extra candles to his cake to celebrate Jackson's birthday with his. Jayten...thanks for being such a good person & for showing Lincoln & I that you love us. We are so thankful for you.
I'm sad that Jackson isn't here to share in the excitement of having Kylee in our family. I'm sad that the two of them aren't going to grow up playing together. As time goes on, the pain of losing him changes but it is always there.

Happy birthday Jackson. We are so grateful that you are a part of our family. We are trying to live good lives so that we can be with you someday! We love you!!!

Coincidence?

Back in July, when my grandma died, I wrote this post about her. In it, I mentioned that Grandma was always talking with me about my infertility, my relationship with Jackson, and getting pregnant again. Grandma died 8 days before Kylee was born. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Together

I love that Lincoln & I are experiencing parenthood together. We've had a lot come our way since we've been married...and somehow we've made it through & come out on top. Oh, I love him. Even though we hoped for children much earlier, I realize how extremely valuable our 5 1/2 years of being able to focus on each other has been. Things won't ever be quite the same. But I'm not sad. We've had our time together and we are moving on to new things! We are starting a new chapter in our lives. Today Lincoln expressed to me that he has been feeling kind of ignored. (It wasn't funny, but I almost laughed...because I remember reading about this very thing in baby books & magazines when I was pregnant with Jackson...a gentle warning to not forget about your husband when the baby comes!) Today I am recommitting myself to my relationship with him. He is amazing. He's the best father I've ever seen. Really, he is. He is so kind to me. He is extremely unselfish with his time and energy. He makes my life easier. Linc....I love you, I love you, I love you. Thanks for being you and for being mine.

Divided Attention

These cute little things are still here in our home & are doing well. When this whole adoption situation came about, Linc mentioned that there was a chance we would have to get rid of the dogs. My reply? "Lincoln, I can't handle that thought right now. Don't throw any more life changes at me please." He didn't say anything else about it. :) It's a good thing they do well with the baby. They haven't barked at her once. We never leave them in the same room alone with her and don't let them lick her as much as they want to. :) They usually just sniff her & run away. They do seem pretty jealous though. When we are playing with Kylee, Daisy will work her way between us & the baby. It's pretty funny. Poor doggies...they aren't quite sure what to do now that our lives don't revolve around them anymore. :) Because Kylee is in our room, Daisy & Duke no longer sleep in my bed with me ...I miss it. :( But when I realize that there is a sweet little baby sleeping by my bed I just want to pinch myself. Is this really happening to us?

Good News!

THE PAPERS ARE SIGNED! This is how my mom & I feel about it...

Are you ready for a story? The papers were originally supposed to be signed on Tuesday. I had commented to the birth mom that things have been going SO,SO smoothly...and I wondered if that might change. I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about when I say that when you are making a really good, life-changing decision, that bad things sometimes start happening that can get in the way of it. Well, Tuesday was that day... a million different random things in our house have broken these last couple of weeks (laptop, microwave, my beloved hair straightener, etc.) & we added a few things to that list on Tuesday. Oh how fun. I had called the birth mom to tell her that I was WAY behind schedule that day & shared with her a few things that were going on...you know, just little things like finding out that we had to have ALL of our adoption money that day instead of the $1000 we thought we needed. (The birth mom told me that she had been having a similar day...it was insane.) I commented to her that I didn't know what else could go wrong. Well... Finally, HOURS after I should have had everything ready to go to LDS Family Services, I was ready to walk out the door. After I had Kylee in her carrier, & all of my paperwork was finally copied and in my folder, I went to use the bathroom. Are you ready for this story? Trust me, it's a good one. When I flushed the toilet, I turned to wash my hands and my truck key (the big one with the faub on it) flew out of my pocket & straight down the toilet! Linc took the whole toilet apart and the key is nowhere to be found. And it is our only one...because I lost our other one over a year ago and have never found it. Now we have to go to the dealership tomorrow and spend $180 on a new key. Of course.

As far as the papers that were signed...this means that the parents have signed over their rights. We now have Kylee "officially" in our care and have the ability to make decisions for her now (like medical care, etc.) We are still in the process of being certified through LDS Family Services and signing temporary custody paperwork with our attorney. I could go into more detail, but it is kind of confusing. Basically, getting these papers signed was the most important part of this process and means that as long as certification goes well (I'm not sure why it wouldn't) she is ours! We are BEYOND excited!

Oh, and are you ready for some other INCREDIBLE news? My sister Melissa (who is responsible for bringing Kylee into our lives and who has always been my BEST FRIEND) is pregnant!!! Seriously...life just doesn't get much better than this!

P.S. More pictures like the one above (taken on our Utah trip last month) are coming...I finally uploaded the past month's pics to my computer! I'm sure you can't wait! :)

Can You Tell We're New Parents???

Linc's mom snapped this on the way to our niece's baptism on Sunday...yes, we are really asleep!