Introducing, River Shane!

I apologize that this has taken me so long to get together. I really wanted to create a cool slide show with my own music to accompany it, but I kept on running into roadblocks. First I was limited to pictures from my phone and DH's because the cord that connects our phone to the computer is still MIA! Second, I couldn't find any program that would allow me to add my own song to the slide show. So, unfortunately, this one is silent. But, if you are familiar with Ben Harper songs, hum either "By My Side" or "Gold to Me" as you are watching the following slide show :)

I will post more details later but DH just went to bed so I am on River duty and of course some of our favorite shows are premiering tonight... Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad. If only Fox would add Arrested Development, South Park, Futurama, and the Planet Earth series to their Sunday line up, they would have all of our favorite shows.

The following pictures have been taken over the last 2 weeks. River turned 2 weeks old today! The pictures include random shots hanging out at home with our precious little miracle and pictures of the family (Dad, Mom, older brother Lukin and older sister Nico) out on River's first hike out of the womb. River made this exact hike "in utero" days before he joined our family with DH, my MIL and of course Angie.



I hope you enjoy the slide show! Let me know if you know of any programs that will allow me to create a slide show that will allow me to add my own soundtrack.

p.s. Yes that is a Slayer onesie that he is wearing in a few of those pictures! But more on that later :)

My son, the statistic.

According to parents.com only 5% of babies are born on their due date. Well, I am happy to announce that River may very well be included in that 5% of babies. His EDD is September 14th and sure enough today Angie's midwife put her on the schedule at the hospital, Sunday September 14th, to be induced! As long as they are not too busy we will be headed into the hospital at 6:30 a.m. So cross your fingers, say a prayer, do a fertility dance, whatever you can think of so that we will be able to get in early and that Angie's labor will go as quickly and painlessly as possible.

I am SO excited to finally get to meet my little man but I am nervous because I officially only have 3 days to:

- spend some last minute quality time with DH,
- wash all of the clothes and blankets I got from my baby showers,
- fold and put said clothes and blankets away,
- wallpaper and paint his nursery,
- clean the bathrooms and finish other various household chores,
- turn all of the projects I am working on over to other engineers,
- exchange a few items from my showers for some necessary items including a changing pad,
- get parental rights and guardianship papers together and ready, and
- sleep as much as possible.

I can do that all in 3 days right? Luckily, Angie and my mother-in-law set up River's room last week putting the crib set together, setting up toys, bouncy chairs and my new glider in the nursery. They also set up the bassinet which is more of a priority since we plan on having him sleep in our room in the bassinet for at least a few months. Just in case you weren't aware or in case I haven't said it lately... Angie and my MIL are the BEST!

3 days left and counting... I call dibs on holding River first!

From the mouths of babes...

Because River's arrival is (hopefully) only days away I thought I would clear out a few of the skeletons in my closet. This is difficult to admit but since starting the adoption process I have developed a serious addiction .... an addiction to blogs. Wait, not all blogs. Blogs that fit one of two criteria. The blog must be about adoption or the trials of trying to conceive. I would say that I check all of the blogs that I have linked on the side of my page at least a few times a week. Sometimes even more! I don't know if I would be considered a "heavy user" of blogs or not, but it is starting to effect my work and personal life :) Am I a horrible person or what? I know, I know the nursery needs to get wallpapered and painted, the yard needs to be weeded, the toilets need to be cleaned but learning about adoption and sharing in other people's experiences will help me be a better mom, right? Well, at least that is what I tell myself when I start feeling bad about neglecting my work and my home!

Now, if you don't mind I'd like to take a minute to shamelessly plug some of the blogs I have been using to feed my addiction as of late. My first plug is for my friend Margie's blog, Fort Caughlan. I have mentioned her before but not by name. Way back when I blogged about making the announcement at work I mentioned a coworker I met because she was adopting, too. Well, that coworker is now so much more than a coworker! She is my friend Margie! Shortly after we started talking she got her referral for a baby boy due just 5 days after River! How cool is that? Since then we have totally bonded and are friends, confidants and even exercise buddies. It is so cool all of the friendships I have forged since starting this process. I have enjoyed that so much I would highly recommend adoption to anyone!

My second plug is for a particular post on the Johnson-McCormick "Party of 5" blog. The Johnson-McCormick family adopted twin boys from Haiti and just recently added a baby girl to the family through natural conception. I love their blog because when DH, River and myself are ready to expand our family again, I hope to both conceive naturally and eventually adopt from Haiti. I particularly enjoy reading about the dynamic in their family in regards to adopting interracially and mixing bio and adopted children. When their daughter Meera arrived I anxiously awaited news on how the twins would react to her. When they finally posted some of the thoughts that Kyle and Owen had on their sister, I was moved to tears. Click here for a direct link to the post I want to share. There are several other topics and pictures in the post so you can browse through the whole thing to learn more about them or you can scroll down to the picture of Owen holding Meera while she sucks on his pinky and he sucks on his thumb. The paragraph starts, "One day Owen said to me, 'Me and Kyle were adopted. And Meera was adopted, too!'" The thoughts they had so beautifully captured the miracle of children whether they be bio or adopted I was shocked to remember they are only 4 years old! I honestly couldn't have said it better myself. From the mouths of babes, right?