Extremely overdue post

It has been way too long since I have been here. Almost four months since my last post and let me tell you all it has been quite the four months. I guess I will start with Lilleth. She is growing so fast, almost one year already since the little bean entered our world. She is crawling, standing, but not yet walking. She is close to taking that first step. She is sleeping through the night, at least a majority of them these days and has four teeth, a tooth just poking through and more on the way.

This summer Lilleth went camping for the first time and loved it, played at the beach with friends climbing sand dunes and splashing in the ocean. We also spent time visiting friends and family in WI where Lilleth had lots of time to help with Grandma's garden and eat leaves and grass.

We had a couple of small set backs, one being our house getting broken into and our wallets, credit cards, computer and car were stolen. It was a terrible two weeks. However, we got our car back and they caught the person who committed all of the crimes, so we are relieved. We also lost a very important person in our lives this summer and said goodbye with another trip to WI.

But I guess the biggest news, that some of you know about already, is that Lilleth is going to be a big sister! I am 16 weeks pregnant and finally feeling better now that I have entered my second semester. The whole pregnancy was a bit of a surprise for us. In fact, I thought I had the flu and even called the doctor for an appointment. Anyways, we are thrilled to bring a new soul into the world and for Lilleth to be a big sister. By the way, I am due March 4th.

I can't forget to write about our gardening, which is one of Lilleth's favorite things to do. We have been helping a friend with her garden since May and are now reaping the benefits! Can you say tomatoes?! At least once a week we go out to the garden and visit the chickens, the kitties, the doggies, our friends and all of the plants we have been nurturing throughout the season. Almost 100 tomato plants, beans, beans, bean, summer squash, winter squash, onions (sweet and storage), basil, eggplant, blueberries, pears, figs, apples and I could go on and on and on. Already this summer we have put away 40 quarts of tomatoes, zucchini relish, pear/plum honey, fruit butter, 15 pounds of blueberries, 35 pounds of peaches, 5 quarts of pickles and pickled squash, and more is on the way. We love fall and food.

So all in all the last four months have been seriously intense so I am sorry for the lack of communication. I will try to be better now that we are settled (sort of) back into some routine, at least until March.

Taking a Deep Breath

Finally, I am finding the time to update this darn blog. Life has been whizzing by and L is nearly 8 months old. Yes, 8 months old is what I said. I can barely believe that L has been in our lives for that long, but then again I can barely remember the time before she arrived, maybe because of lack of sleep or more likely because she is just so delightful to be around!

Let's see, we have done a lot over the last month...

L has graduated to eating pretty much all solid food in sight! She loves everything we put in front of her including salmon, turkey, blueberries, watermelon, green beens, carrots, potatoes, rice puffs, bread...the list goes on and on. Watching her taste new foods is so fun for us that we have really gotten into making quite the gourmet baby food for L - things like root mash, salmon and rice delight, green bean/turkey and mint yumminess, and more. In fact we are thinking of starting yet another blog that is going to follow our food journey with L. Most of you know that David and I can be considered foodies and food snobs so we are always thinking about how to make sure L shares this love of really yummy, healthy food with us!

We got to spend some time with friends visiting from Missoula who have a little girl just a few months older than L. How fun it was to see the two girls spend time together and for us to spend time with our friends.

The pool has been one of our favorite activities!

We spent time with L's birth mom at the Portland zoo! It was a great trip and L's favorite animals were the zebra and giraffe. It was great to see A and be able to share L's laughs and smiles with her.

L has had the privilege of spending quality time with one set of her grandparents each week, not to mention we have had the pleasure of their fine babysitting skills!

L is now standing up on the furniture on her own (and in her crib) and as of recent she is crawling all over the place! She is so happy that she can get to Ursa (and Ursa's toys) and anywhere else she fancies!

And finally, the best for last - L loves to play the piano and we caught one of her performances on video for you all

Milk Sharing

I haven't written a lot about this topic, not because I haven't wanted to, but mainly because I keep forgetting to share this part of our story. So, this lovely article in our local newspaper about our story (and another family) has prompted me to share with you.

Click here to read the story:
Our Milk Sharing Story

Before Lilleth was born we knew that we wanted to give her the best start to life - breastmilk. I could have tried to figure out how to make my body start lactating, without a promise of success or possibly not producing even 1/2 of the amount of food she would need. Instead, I went with finding breastmilk donors, which has proven to be one of the best things we have done for Lilleth.

After a lot of research and some great advice by a friend (that has been both a donor and recipient) we were convinced this was an excellent choice for our family. We found donors in so many different ways, everything from a website www.milkshare.com to facebook (yes facebook!). We also found donors through local midwives and friends.

What an amazing gift all of our donors have given our family! We can't be anymore thankful to the incredible women that have given all of the liquid gold to us and Lilleth. With the help of many women, we have been able to feed L breastmilk until she was 4 and 1/2 months old and are still giving her it whenever we can get our hands on it.

What an incredible adventure we are on!

Math

Here is an equation I recently solved...

If being a fulltime parent = hardwork
AND
If working fulltime = hardwork
AND
If not getting a full night's sleep = fuzzy brain
THEN
Fulltime parent + Fulltime job x Lilleth - no sleep = A most perfect life!

I just hope Lilleth has such mad math skills as me!

Lists

I was recently inspired by my friend's latest post over at Poop, and Other Fun Things. In reading about her little one's favorite and not so favorite things I feel like I know him and I haven't even met him! It also got me thinking about what L's favorite and not so favorite things are right now. It seems these two lists change weekly! So for whatever it is worth, here are L's two lists (for this week)...

Favorite things...
-pears and bananas
-her new stoller
-being worn by mama
-all things about mama
-URSA (probably should be at the top of the list)
-Going for afternoon walks
-being swaddled for sleep
-her johnny jump up
-giving raspberries
-rolling
-her giraffe

No so favorite things...
-carrots
-seeing mama but not being held by mama
-sleeping without a swaddle
-her swing
-not being able to move more quickly
-wearing clothes and diapers

I look forward to writing this list again in a few weeks (if I can remember or find the time) to see how it has changed!

Bananas for Dinner

The Beginning

About a month ago we had another first for our family - our first (of hopefully many) visit with Lilleth's birthmom and birth great grandmother. It was natural. It was sweet. It was amazing.

Since the beginning of this adoption journey, which coincidentally began in early March of 2010 (just one year ago!), I wondered about how a visit like this would go down. Would I be nervous? Would it be uncomfortable? I mean how does a visit so filled with emotion begin and end? Well, all I can say is it just does and it just did.

We spent the weekend in Washington and had a blast exploring Olympia, vintage clothes shopping, drinking coffee, eating great Mexican food and spending time with our extended family.

Seeing Lilleth with her birthmom was so sweet. I imagine it was like looking in a mirror for Lilleth - seeing where she gets her eyes and nose from. Similar for her birthmom, I saw the spark in her eyes when she looked at how beautiful and happy Lilleth is, a sense of relief and excitement that we really are committed to her and this new "family" and of course a bit of sadness, which I cannot even comment on or know how to write about. But all in all our visit was so natural, kind of like going to your cousin's house for a birthday. It was really evident that we are all working to figure this thing out and open to experiencing it with open and honest communication and a little bit of humor.

I really am looking forward to future visits - watching and supporting Lilleth as she builds a relationship with her birthmom. I also look forward to continuing to build my relationship with Lilleth's birthmom, she is fun to be around and I can't wait to see what she is going to accomplish in the coming years.

A post to (try to) cover the last few months

Well it has been a very long time since my last blog (that kind of sounds like I am about to confess) and here is my lame attempt to try and recap the last few, sleepless, heartwarming, beautiful months.

Lilleth is five months old, yes five months old already. I look at her somewhere between 12-13 pound body and I can barely remember when she was 7 pounds. It is hard for me to remember holding her neck because she couldn't yet support it or letting her lay on the couch without worry of her rolling off (no she has NOT done that...yet). It truly is amazing how fast babies change in just five months.

In just the last few months Lilleth has become a master smiler, giggler and an ultimate mover. She is never still, constantly moving like a second hand on a clock. She mastered rolling from her belly to her back at the ripe young age of 2 months old and is now exploring the adventures of rolling from her back to her belly. She hasn't quite mastered this new skill but it is just days before she is rolling across our hardwood floors to chase Ursa.

Speaking of Ursa...she is Lilleth's favorite. I sometimes think she would rather have Ursa swaddle her up and rock her to sleep instead of me or David. She is always looking for her the moment she wakes up and seems to spend lots of time reaching for her, smiling at her and talking to her. This "relationship" is not quite equal. While Ursa does like her (she tastes pretty good and gets praise when she lays down next to her) she doesn't quite adore her quite as much as Lilleth adores her. We know that will change as soon as Lilleth becomes mobile.

Lilleth is pretty much the perfect child, but is not without some things we are working on...for example, sleep. For most of the first three and half months Lilleth slept A LOT and through most of the nights. However, when four months hit, so did the sleep deprived, zombie eyes, mega coffee drinking days. For three weeks it felt like we were being tortured (hard to imagine something so small, pretty much not mobile, and so completely adorable could do so much damage to two adults).

While there have been better nights this week, it is still touch and go with the sleep, so if we drink your coffee or don't answer your calls or emails you know why. I know this phase will pass so I look to the light at the end of the tunnel every night before going to bed!

Okay, so I think I have you all caught up...time for bed, or at least a few hours of sleep.

Giggle Giggle

Lilleth loves dancing and Michael Franti...AND watching daddy doing his silly dance (don't worry I spared you all that image, although I bet you would giggle too!)

3.5 Months Old

Wow, oh my how time flies by. I know, I know I can't be anymore cliche, but it is the truth. Here are some pictures of her growing like a weed...

For more pics, check out this link...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95182&id=1081114697&l=5258daa480

12 Week Old Babble

Hands Taste Good

Top Ten Holiday Moments

Happy Holidays! What a great year it has been, so much to celebrate, so much to be thankful for, so much to share with you! Here are the top ten holiday moments for our family...hope your top ten are just as delightful!

Drum roll please...

Number 10: Christmas morning bathroom construction project...almost done. Yes, I know we started it on Labor Day, but we just can't stop the project (or should I say finish?!)

Number 9: Brandy slushes! Shelly's family tradition of brandy slushes throughout the holiday season. Yum!

Number 8: Baking cookies and delivering to our neighbors and friends!

Number 7: Our President revoked Don't Ask, Don't Tell!

Number 6: Healthy minds and bodies!

Number 5: Welcoming back the light with a lunar eclipse!

Number 4: Weekend trip to the coast and L's first trip to the aquarium!

Number 3: Delicious holiday fare made by David with love (and eaten with love from the rest of us!)

Number 2: Celebrating the holiday season with Aunt Jenn who is visiting us all the way from snowy and cold Vermont!

And the Number 1 Holiday Moment of 2010 is....

Our Adoption is finalized! Lilleth Mina Ponder is official!

We got word from our lawyer and the adoption agency that our adoption was finalized on December 7th! We received our certificate and the Judge's signature on Christmas Eve...a wonderful gift!

I hope that your holidays are filled with peace and joy!

Reflections

Well it has been quite a while since my last blog post...we have been a little bit busy! Our last 9 weeks (yes L is 9 weeks old today) have been pretty amazing. L has changed our world for the better, crazy thing is I didn't even know my world could have gotten any better before she arrived. I mean, our lives were pretty good - we had jobs we liked, a great community, really wonderful friends close by and far away, we just bought a house, and our dog is (finally) extremely sweet and adorable - but then L arrived and our lives got so much sweeter.

Each day with L has shown both challenges and pure joy...some of the hardest challenges you may wonder...well brushing my teeth and taking a shower before 6 pm...now that is a challenge with a newborn! However, my dirty teeth and greasy hair can't stop me from staring with pure uninhibited love at this bundled up being in my arms. How wonderful that she doesn't even seem phased by my stench, now that is love on her part!

October was such a beautiful month, we brought L home, we had quality time just the three of us getting to know one another, figuring out how change diapers, make bottles, dress a squirmy baby and finding time to sleep. Our first family visitors arrived and L got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa P sleeping, sort of smiling and just feeling the love. L also participated in her first halloween dressed as a Skeleton and even trick or treated...by the way she still rocks that onesie!

November, the rain finally arrived in the great Northwest and L learned to smile (at the beginning of the month "Elvis lip sort-of I think she is smiling" smile), went to the farmers' market to ooh and ahh at all of the things you can grow in Oregon (even in October/November), enjoyed a sweet visit by Grandma C who just held her and rocked her for an entire week while mom and dad enjoyed some quality time away and even though the fog and rain pretty much obscured the view, visited the OR coast and ate (or at least watched us eat) fresh seafood! She also gave thanks at her first thanksgiving with wonderful friends around the table. She had guests (Yeah Sarah, Matt, Henry, Jack and Daisy) drive all the way from MT to see her. Last Thanksgiving (before L was even a thought in her heads) we drove to MT to see these folks and meet Henry who was then 3 months old. We all had so much to be thankful for...including an incredible dinner prepared by the guys!

Now we enter December, now halfway over. Already L has learned to roll from her tummy to her back, smile at everyone, including strangers waving and cooing at her, she is talking and learning to use her voice at every decibel possible. She loves to stand on her own two feet pushing up, almost like she is tired of laying around and already I feel like she is growing up way too fast! L had her first plane ride and did great, sleeping through all of the flights to WI. She experienced very cold temps and lots of snow, met lots of her extended family and can't wait to go back to see them again (but hopefully it will be A LOT warmer and much less snow)! And December isn't even over...

I am so thankful for this wonderful life our family has and I can't wait to see what L will learn in January!

Grandma C Comes to Town

A few weeks ago we had the honor of a visit from Grandma C! It was wonderful. Grandma C and Lilleth loved to rock together. We drove to the coast (first time for both Lilleth and Grandma C), Lilleth started cooing and smiling (a grandma favorite) and we spent quality time hanging out in our little house while the rains came down. Lilleth and I are excited to see Grandma C very soon...we are attempting our first (and solo-no David) airplane ride back to WI in just one week...wish us luck! For now, enjoy the pics of Grandma C and Lilleth enjoying their first of many visits together.

Grandma and Grandpa P

Lilleth got a chance to meet her Grandpa and Grandma P last week and what fun we had! She was spoiled with lots of love, cuddling and gifts. It was a great visit and we look forward to the next time they are in town.

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Feet

Two Weeks

Well, miss L is now two weeks old...still can't believe it. In her first two weeks on this planet she has already done a lot, here is a snippet of what Lilleth has accomplished: Went to a party, planted garlic, went on numerous walks with her dog Ursa, went to the fabric store, visited with many friends, met her new best friend over skype (Yeah Mady), slept (a little), went to the pediatrician, went to her first Birth to Three class, and so much more. We are loving new life and look forward to the many, many, many weeks with Lilleth! Here are some pictures...

One Week Old

The first week of Lilleth's life has already come and gone. We can't believe it. Already the time is flying by. This first week has been amazing, wonderful, sleepless, absolutely perfect. Here are some pictures to prove it...