Catch up

I'm super busy and don't really have much time, sorry!We've had one busy week...so here is a catch up post.   _________________________________________________

Adoption update

We had an update hearing for Charlotte on the 15th.  They called us so we could join the hearing via teleconference.  Our CO adoption worker wasn't present so they basically had no updated information on Charlotte.  They relied heavily on us to provide updates. 

We told them what she's been up to, what her favorite things are, how we are all bonding, how she behaves around other people/pets/children, how the adoption is proceeding, and how she is doing medically/developmentally.  It wasn't a big deal, but fun to brag about Charlotte!  They told us that the court date was set for March, but there was a chance that it could be pushed into April depending on how much time CO needs to review our homestudy packet once they receive it from CA.  We are hoping there won't be a delay.

We also had our fingerprinting done (again) last Thursday.  It was quick and easy just like last time.  Traffic was crappy on the drive over there, but hey we live in CA, when isn't there crappy traffic?!?

Tomorrow we have our homestudy and interviews, which I feel a little nervous about.  Not sure why...I guess I just feel a little judged.  I have to keep reminding myself that they are helping us keep Charlotte not trying to prevent it.  Last we have our physicals on Friday.  I'm hoping the doctor doesn't take FOREVER and we can actually get them done within a reasonable time.  With that everything should be complete!

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Cooper's Doctor Appointment

We had Cooper's 9 month check up last Friday.  He is a big boy!!  He weighs 23 lbs and was 32" tall, which keeps him in the greater than 95th percentile for height and the 75th-95th for weight.  He's growing 2-2.5 inches every 2-3 months...that is crazy!!  I honestly can't believe he can wear 18-24 month clothing (they are a little big, but 12 month are just too small now).

He got his final Hep B shot and also a finger prick to check for anemia (all clear).  He is about average for his verbal and fine motor skills, while he is advanced for his major motor skills.  She said he looks very good, happy and healthy.  She was glad to hear that breastfeeding is still going well, and that he is also doing well on solid foods.  She asked about the choking incident and thought we did everything right in responding to the situation.  She was glad that he was okay.

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Cooper Update

Cooper is now standing on his own for several seconds.  He regularly walks around with toys and gets very frustrated once he runs into a wall.  His tantrums are starting to happen more often, but mostly when he is tired, hungry, or frustrated.

He is starting to say all done, but still doesn't sign it.  He spends much of the day saying 'da da da da' or 'ma ma ma ma', but we're sure he doesn't understand the meaning yet.  He eats just about everything, but is fairly slow at eating since he isn't so coordinated with his hands yet. 

Cooper loves to play with complicated toys.  He likes putting things in and taking things out of containers.  He loves to crawl into small spaces, in/around/under things.  We made a small fort, but he wasn't sure what to do with it, so he pulled the blanket down.  He likes to wrestle and tries to do so with the dog and Charlotte, but neither of them like it to much...which means that he tackles me and Chris quite a bit.

Cooper has done extremely well with transitioning to his crib.  He loves being in it!  He sleeps for a solid 2 hours for one of his naps, and sometimes even both of them.  He has started to increase the amount he eats during the day and has dropped is 11 pm feeding.  He still cosleeps with me from 1 am to 5 am since he eats twice during that time and it's the only way I can function.  He likes to be put back in the crip after his last 4:30/5 am feeding so that he can stretch out and roll around.

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Charlotte update

Charlotte is now standing on her own for up to a minute.  She can eat, drink, clap, play with a toy, and raise her hands above her head all while standing.  She regularly walks around with toys, but if she runs into a wall she will either start screaming and crying or just give up and crawl away to something else.  She is also crawling all the time now!  It's so cute, because she also begun to bear crawl up on her feet and hands.  It cracks us up.

Charlotte really watches our mouths when we say words and she tries a little to mimic some of them.  She still uses her sign language, but she does verbalize most everything.  She understands basic commands like sit down and stand up.  Charlotte also likes to scold the dog for whining at her while she eats dinner.  She says "Tout, eh, eh, eh".  It's very nice that she corrects the dog for us!

Charlotte is getting two more molars in, so she is very cranky.  We also think she is growing again because she is looking slim these days, plus she is eating nearly twice as much as normal and she is also sleeping 2-3 hours for two naps a day, plus 12 hours a night!  That is quite a bit for her!

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Us Update

Chris and I feeling reconnected again in our marriage.  It has been a stressful year for us, but we finally feel like it has all fallen into place.  We are spending a lot of quality time together and we have stopped snapping at each other when we are tired/stressed and instead communicate like we used to.  It's just comfortable again and I'm enjoying it!

Chris is really enjoying being a stay at home dad.  He loves how much time he has with the kids and gets a kick out of teaching them new things.  He has also had time to think about what he really wants to be 'when he grows up', which he hasn't thought about in a long time.  I love hearing all the ideas he comes up with and I can't wait to see what he decides.  I'm hoping that whatever he chooses may give me an opportunity to switch roles with him and be the stay at home parent!

Work is extremely busy for me right now.  I am constantly being challenged, but I really love my new role as a supervisor.  The industry as a whole is slowing down in activity, so it adds a little tension in the system.  However, I think everyone is handling it rather well.  Life seems to keep on going!  In fact I was presenting to the management team on an important topic and the GM busts out asking who had watched American Idol.  About 5 minutes was spent on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the contestants.  I was sort of floored that we were talking about American Idol during the management team meeting!

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Current Events

I am so excited about the new president!  I don't really talk about politics on this blog, but really this is a moment in history that is too big NOT to talk about.  Our president inspires me to be a better person and I am looking forward to enjoying listening to our president speak.  It has been 8 years of avoiding the TV when the president spoke, so this is refreshing.  I especially love how the new president is using technology to connect with the people.  Check out the blog I added, and I hope to catch is video updates on youtube as well as enjoy my email updates!

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Other

I will do a separate post to talk about my super quick, secret trip to Denver last weekend, and load some pictures and video of the kids.