the Natalie diaries...

So, I'm not sure I ever actually finished my writings about our adoption. Did I? I can't even remember. And I'm too lazy right now to go back & look. ;-) I also haven't written about Natalie in awhile. The truth is, as you mommies know, she is the very reason I haven't had time to write about her. :-) I was reminded yesterday by my MIL that I need to be writing things down that Nat is doing, so that, years from now, I can look back & remember the little things. Because those are the things we tend to forget. Sitting up, walking, first words, etc...those things we remember. But the things I'm about to list here are things I just know I won't remember months from now, much less years from now. So, I'm going to try to be better about recording tidbits of Natalie's life here. Feel free to join me in reading about her mannerisms, or feel free to ignore this post. :-)

At 22 Months Old, Natalie:

Speaks in full sentences, even though it's mostly jibber jabber that we can't understand, with a few actual words mixed in.

Says so many words that I can't even count.

LOVES Elmo, Mickey, Minnie, puppies, kitties, balloons, bubbles, keys, & her blankey.

Calls her Mimi {my mom} by name, her Granmama {Baron's mom} by "Mama", her Paparoxy {my dad} by "Papa", Tata {my grandmother} by name, and Izzie {her cousin} by "Ishee".

Identifies family members in pictures.

Feeds herself with a spoon, if it's something like pasta that sticks easily to the spoon.

Goes to Mom's Day Out 3 days a week, naps for about an hour while there, and LOVES her class & teachers.

Is obsessed with coloring. And not just on the paper! :-/

Identifies when I point out to her the coloring on the table, and calls it a "no, no".

Can put on socks & shoes herself...not always on the right feet, but still.

Knows these animals & the sounds they make: cow, dog/puppy, kitty, chicken, pig, bird, owl, tiger {although sometimes it is also a kitty}, sheep, goat, horse, snake, frog.

Loves to play with her friends, even though she hasn't quite grasped the concept of sharing.

Likes to play on the keyboard at Granmama's house, and loves to dance along to music.

Dances in the kitchen with Mommy & Daddy when we play music on the iPod.

Puts her baby "night-night" in her stroller or crib, and covers her with a blanket.

Says "hey!" to strangers in stores.

Pronounces sock as "fock"; TV remote as "fifi mote"; coffee as "foffee"; blankey as "tackey" {or something of the like, I can't quite identify}; sorry as "fowwy".

Asks me "you ok?" every time I cough, and pats me on the back.

Says "oh, fowwy!" when she bumps into someone or even when she bumps into something herself.

Sometimes calls me "Mom" instead of "Mommy", thereby making me feel like I have a teenager instead of a toddler. :-/

Is such a good sleeper. She willingly goes to bed at night and sleeps about 10.5-11 hours, and typically takes about a 2 hour nap with no resistance. {SUCH a blessing!}

Likes to help with the laundry.

Loves her baby cousin London.

Wants a napkin to clean up when her milk splatters on the coffee table.

Blows her nose...into her hands.

Mimics. A lot. Both actions AND words, so "be careful little mouth what you say..." :-)

Likes to watch Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sid the Science Kid, Bubble Guppies., and Wipeout.

Has gone both tee-tee and poopie on the potty, although she doesn't do it regularly at all.

Cheered for me for going tee-tee on the potty in the restroom at church. :-)

Occasionally complains when I take her picture by whining. {Ok so maybe I take her picture too much.}

Loved to pass out the gifts at Christmas time.

Did not care much for Santa ("Tanta").

Is not a big fan of sitting in a high chair in a restaurant for an extended period of time.

Likes to eat: chicken nuggets, peas, apples, mandarin oranges, Cheerios (duh), fruit snacks, Snapea Crisps, chili, macaroni & cheese, french fries, sweet potato fries, hot dogs, sausage, pizza, crackers, chips, yogurt, Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal, cookies (duh), most of mommy's pasta casseroles, applesauce (mommy gets the kind with veggies mixed in!), steak (if it's tender), jelly beans, fish sticks.

Does NOT like to eat: scrambled eggs, bananas, bread, grilled chicken (sigh), carrots, broccoli, green beans, mashed potatoes.

Does this cute little almost-fake laugh where she snickers & covers her mouth.

Is petite, but looks huge to us because she's grown so fast. She is wearing size 24 months clothes.

Has the most awesome hair ever. It hangs to the middle of her back, and has a little wave to it. Mommy might be a little jealous of it. ;-)

I hope this is an adequate snapshot of her life right now. I can't write into words how incredible her personality is! She loves to laugh, loves people, and is thrilled to be able to play with other kids, especially bigger kids. She is a social butterfly, and adapts well to new situations like her new class at Mom's Day Out, and staying with a babysitter (other than family) for the first time at 21 months old.

adoption update

Several people have been asking me & Baron how the adoption process is going. Most of you who are interested already know, but just for kicks {and because I have been neglecting the ole blog}, here's a quick post to bring you up-to-date.


1. The profile. We finally finished our profile! {For those of you not familiar with the adoption process, the adoptive couple makes a profile of themselves, which is basically like a "get to know us" sort of scrapbook deal. It's what the birthmother looks at when she picks parents for her child. This is basically the adoptive parents' marketing ploy. :)} We decided to do our profile a la Wal-mart photo book, and we FINALLY finished it. Just waiting on the 937 copies to arrive at our nearest Wal-mart store. {Ok so there are only 4 copies.}


2. The agencies. We started off using Carolina Hope out of South Carolina. They "merged" with Nightlight Christian Adoptions, so now they're known as Nightlight. Agape of Central Alabama did our homestudy. {Speaking of the homestudy, that has also been completed as well...whew.} So, we decided to have both Nightlight and Agape working for us. The more the merrier!


3. The books. Ah, the books. Both agencies require a certain amount of "education" before adopting. Nightlight offers several webinars, which we plan to do at some point in the near future. In the meantime, we are reading the oh-so-informative-and-slightly-boring adoption books we ordered.


4. The first phone call. A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Nightlight. They had a birthmother who came in, and they wanted to show our profile! But alas, we did not have a copy, due to the procrastinative (?) nature of ourselves. So I quickly proofread what we did have & sent them a link to the online version of the photo book. Oh and p.s. the birthmother's due date? October 21st. But, as it turns out, she never got back in touch with the agency. Strike one.


5. The crib. So, after that first phone call, I got all giddy with the realization that this could happen ANY DAY NOW. Granted, the odds are that it will still be months, but who knows? So in an rare form of non-procrastination, I started thinking of what we need to do to prepare ourselves should we suddenly have a new baby in the house. Coincidentally {or not so coincidentally, as I don't believe in "coincidence"}, Elizabeth told me about this consignment sale in P'ville and how I may want to check it out for any awesome deals. So I went over on a Sunday afternoon, and lo and behold, there stood the exact style/color crib I'd been planning to get! And for the low, low price of $150 smackaroos. I got Baron's permission {via text, since he was in a coaches' meeting, oops!} and made the first official baby purchase. Fun times!


6. The second phone call. Just this past week, Agape called us. They got an e-mail from their sister agency in Texas - they had a birthmother who was being very particular about the adoptive parents she wanted. And we just so happened to fit her criteria. The catch? This agency's placement fees are WELL over our intended "baby budget". And by WELL over, I mean about $15,000 more than we planned to spend. Oh and the mom is due in December, which would give us 2 months to come up with that money. So, since we unfortunately purchased a red maple from my brother rather than a money tree, we had to ask not to have our profile shown for this case. It really broke my heart to come to this decision. I cried at the thought of having to basically tell this mom/baby "no, we can't afford to adopt your precious child into our home." {Yes, there are grants out there available for adoptive parents. Unfortunately, we just don't have time right now to get everything together to apply for them in time for this particular case.}


So, there you have it. Our adoption process thus far, in a nutshell. :) Feel free to ask questions...I'll consult my latest 1200-page book for an answer if I don't have one. :)

hair on a biscuit.

At my office, we have a redneck customer who once answered the question "How have you been?" with a hearty response: "Oh, I'm hangin' in there like a hair on a biscuit!" The disgusting metaphor has become a constant joke around the office. But for me right now, it is so applicable.

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to blog, so I wanted to at least post something so y'all wouldn't have to see my "product endorsement" post any longer. So what have I been busy with? Well, the biggest thing is that my office moved last week. Which doesn't sound like a big deal, unless you have been in that position before. At a job for 5 years, responsible for about 5 different job duties, accumulating lots of stuff...etc. Moving an office is a much bigger task than you would think. It has been stressful, frustrating, and annoying. Our new office is REALLY nice (check out the "town" where we moved to here: http://www.townofhampstead.com/) but so far it is not very practical for most of us. I will not bore you with the reasons why it is impractical, but just know that it is. Very pretty though! That counts, right? :-)

Besides the work move, I've volunteered to help out with a baby shower, a bridal shower, and the ladies' retreat at Vaughn Park...among other random tasks & activities. All of which I am thrilled to do, and none of which I regret agreeing to.

Perhaps soon there will be a time when I don't have something that needs to be worked on. For now, I need to go to bed...I have to get up earlier these days thanks to the new office location about 10 miles farther from my house! :-)

Hopefully soon I will have a "real" post for you to enjoy! Sorry for the "filler" post!! (Please don't stop reading...)

life in limbo

Baron & I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago that, in a way, made me feel a little more sane. I had been having the same thoughts that he expressed, and I thought it was just me, but apparently he has made the same observations. :-)

We are in limbo right now. Stuck in the middle. Most of our closest married friends have moved to the next stage in life - having children & starting families. We love hanging out with our friends and their kids. However, we sometimes feel like they would rather be with other parents - so the kids can play, to enjoy conversations about parenting, etc. And there is also a number of our friends who are a step behind us in life - newlyweds. So where does that put us? In the middle. We have gone through this before, when we were dating and most of our couple friends were getting married well before us. This morning in Bible class, we were studying Ecclesiastes and we discussed the "to everything there is a season" passage. While I know that this is just one season in life, it is still hard for me to accept the feeling that we suddenly ("suddenly" being a relative term) feel like we don't fit in a "group". It's sad for me at times, but I also try to remind myself that different stages in life cause healthy transitions. It's tough growing up, huh? :-)


I don't want this post to be whiny or depressing, so I will just close with the words from the passage in Ecclesiastes:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

my life in pictures

Ok, so I stole this from...well, pretty much everyone. So here goes.

Where I was born: Baptist South. Back then it didn't look as much like a hospital:

Where I live now: The Preferred Community (aka Prattville, AL). I'm not sure what this is even a picture of:

My name: Laura Goins. I look good for my age:

My grandmother: Beth Haupt. Obviously this is where I get my good looks:

Favorite food: macaroni & cheese. Although this plate doesn't look too appetizing:

Favorite Drink: If I'm being good, Diet Coke with lime. Mmmm...:

Favorite smell: fresh laundry. Not that I enjoy doing it, but it sure smells lovely:

Favorite song: I don't really have one. Sorry. But amazingly, there is still a picture for that answer:

Somewhere I've lived: Taylor Crossing Apartments.

Where I work: Colonial Insurance Agency. Apparently I commute to Wisconsin every day for work:

Where I would like to visit: Hawaii. This is me soaking in the sun: