Denver Visit Recap

It started with parking at the airport. John Wayne airport is like a long hallway and the parking is just across the street. Except when you fly during a busy time of year, then parking is several blocks away down the street and you have to take a shuttle to the airport. Great…just what we needed. Two toddlers who are cranky, two carseats, two suitcases, two diaper bags, a double stroller, getting out of the car, on the shuttle, off the shuttle and in line for the check in.

Then our flight was delayed 1.5 hours for some unknown reason. This means a long wait in line with two impatient, hungry, tired toddlers who want to run around and explore. We fed them all their snacks (no food available until you get on the other side of security), then pulled them out of the stroller and let them run free in a relatively contained area. I attempted to chase two toddlers in opposite directions, carefully choosing who to go after first based on who was in the most dangerous situation while Chris stood in line with all our stuff.

We got checked in managed somehow to get through the security line with crying toddlers who were not happy about being tied down in their stroller, only to be un-strapped, then strapped in again, and finally un-strapped and forced to sit on our laps for 2+ hours.

Neither of them slept on the plane and both ate continuously. The toys were boring but the peek-a-boo lady behind us kept the entertainment up for at least half the flight. By the time we got to Denver it was already bedtime. After getting our stuff, loading on yet another shuttle to get a rental car and then driving to Mikael and Che’s, we were all exhausted. The kids went to bed 2 hours later than normal and were VERY cranky.

We all slept in the same room the first night and every time either child moved or if we rolled over, everyone woke up. Then we had to get up at 6:00 (2 hours earlier than normal) to get ready for court. Both babies catnapped in the car on the way to and from court.We rushed around and got to court (after a stop at Starbucks) on time, only to wait 20 minutes before going in.  

Cooper played by the drinking fountain:

While Charlotte kept everyone entertained:

Court was amazing! It was wonderful to share the experience with friends and family. Cooper tried to crawl on the table the entire time and Charlotte was yelling so loud we had to ask the judge to repeat the questions! Of course snacks fixes any problem for Charlotte, so she was great after getting food. The judge was so sweet and we felt overwhelmed with joy to hear that she is entitled to all the benefits of a biological child and that her new name is Charlotte Rai Derichsweiler!!

The remainder of the visit in Denver was also great. It helped that we moved Charlotte out of the room and everyone slept much better (Cooper is used to our noises, but not used to Charlotte getting up and yelling ‘Cooter!’ at him).

Grandpa came and visited the kids on Wednesday and then we went to dinner with Mikael and Che for a celebration and afterwards played near the water fountain. Thursday included some errands and then time with Grandma Anita (my mom), Auntie Savannah (my sister) and Charlotte’s birth mother (my sister). This visit went really well and so much better than I expected. I hope Charlotte has an opportunity to have a healthy relationship with her birth mother for many years to come.

(Me, Charlotte and Angel, Charlotte's birth mother)

Auntie Savannah, Charlotte and Grandma Anita

Friday included some errands to prepare for the celebration on Saturday and then dinner with the Hilgers’ family. I honestly don’t remember my two every being as tiny as Ryan! She is a little doll and becoming so expressive now! Dinner was fantastic and it was great to share a glass of wine and cook together.

Even Charlotte and Cooper enjoyed dinner:

Saturday was the big party day. Charlotte woke up not feeling well and running a fever, but a little Tylenol went a long way. My sister Lisa made all the food, and oh my gosh it was all amazing!!! I think she would be an amazing caterer! I let her have free reign to cook what she wanted and she had the best ideas that turned out amazing. Everyone commented on how great the food was.

It was so nice of Mikael and Che to let us have it at their house…it is a perfect set-up for entertaining! We had the best time at the party and it was exactly what we wanted. Thank you to everyone for coming and for helping us put it all together!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Charlotte seems to warm up to males faster than females.  Here she is with cousin Lane, who was learning that toddlers are a bit squirmy (Uncle Mike helped and cousin Hayley watched):

Grandpa Larry had a lot of fun with the kids, although Charlotte was a little unsure with his big beard:

Cooper telling Grandpa to get something for him (I think that's what the pointing meant):

We got to visit with lots of friends and family.  My friend Raeann:

Mikael's family (here's 'Nana' and 'cousin' Justin):

'Grandpa' and Mikael and Che: 

'Aunt' Nicole and 'Uncle' Lonnie:

All while the kids had fun:

We left early Sunday morning and had a wonderfully uneventful   flight home. Except when Cooper puked all over me at the end of the flight. By the time we got home it was obvious Cooper wasn’t feeling 100%. By the following day we both weren’t feeling well. The last few days haven’t been fun with being a little under the weather but we are all feeling much better now.

Now we are packing so we can move on the 10th...we are so excited to move in our new place since we got that 4 bed/3 bath place around the corner!  It will be so much better for us!!

Adoption Day!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Earthquake!!

I don't think I'll ever get used to earthquakes.  They scare the crap out of me!  There's nothing you can do and it's freaky to have the ground shake and everything in the house shake without your control. 

We had one tonight just before 9 pm with the epicenter only 40 minutes away.  It was a 5.0 and definitely felt pretty big.  The kids slept right through it.  The last time we had one I freaked out too!  I'm glad it wasn't bigger and there isn't any damage or injuries.

Slaying the dragon

Our poor dog.  The two of them have really started to terrorize play with her.  They chase her all around, don't let her just lay down and relax but instead use her as a pillow/ beanbag/ trampoline.   She just puts up with it and is oh, so gentle with them.  We are trying to teach them 'gentle', but so far they only get it half the time.

Cooper's newest thing is to chase her with his sword.  He looks like he's trying to slay a dragon.  Scout just runs from him and mostly gets away.  Cooper laughs and laughs at the game of chase and Scout's low grumbly growls and yelps.

Charlotte loves to give Scout kisses and also share her food.  When she has snack, she puts the food in her mouth takes a couple of chews, then walks over to Scout and opens her mouth for Scout to 'share'.  It's a little gross.  We think they do these things because they love her so much. 

Chris took Scout to this week because her allergies are still acting up and she chews up her feet so they are red and raw.  We have changed her food in case she's developed an intolerance to her old food, we wipe her feet with baby wipes after coming in from outside in case it's something outside, and we take her to the vet almost once a month to make sure everything is okay.

Chris got to see first hand how much Charlotte loves Scouty.  The vet came out to take Scout back to the exam room.  As soon as Scout disappeared from view, Charlotte started bawling.  Real alligator tears and everything.  When the vet brought Scout back, she was full of smiles and started clapping!  Nobody takes her doggy.

Tales from a SAHD

Chris often gets a lot of looks and questions when he is out with the kids.  He usually gets to cut in line and has women young and old fawning over him.  He loves it.

What he doesn't really love are the questions only because we get tired of answering them.  We always get 'Are they twins?'  and for complete strangers our standard answer is yes.  The next question is 'how old are they?' and we say just over a year old.  It's just easier for us.

At the grocery store today an old woman asked the standard questions and got the standard answers.  The conversation then changed subjects rather quickly.

Old Woman:  You know, ::mumble, mumble, mumble::

Chris:  I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.

Old Woman:  You know the kids nowadays are taking guns and just shooting each other, so make sure you take those kids to Sunday school.

Chris:  mmmm, ::blink, blink::

Old Woman:  They should know the Lord in their hearts.

Chris:  ::blank stare:: ::blink, blink::

Old Woman:  You understand me, make sure you take them to Sunday School.

Chris:  Okay, yes ma'am.  Have a nice day!

Chris had absolutely no idea how to respond to this woman, but he wanted to be polite.  Really, though there are three main issues with this conversation:

1)  It's none of this woman's business how we raise our children in regards to religious views

2)  I'm not sure how going to Sunday school and preventing shootings by kids are related, and

3)  Why did she assume we are Christian?

We think religious beliefs (or lack thereof) are personal.  We don't talk about our views all that often because we've found that not everyone is tolerant of beliefs that are different from their own.  Our children may have different views than ours and we're okay with that.  We plan to expose our children to a variety of religious views (at an appropriate age) and allow them to make an informed decision about their own beliefs.

(I'm not having much luck convincing Chris to start his own blog...so he has reviewed my summary and gives it his stamp of approval.)

Found a Place to Live!

We've been searching on Craig's List, the local classifieds, and several property management company websites for a couple of weeks.  We found several options and started making phone calls yesterday (yep, on Mother's Day...more on that later).  We decided to drive around a see a few places that had open houses and to just check out the neighborhoods.  We went tonight to look at one more place.

We've had our eye on one place around the corner from us.  We love our new neighborhood, our proximity to the beach, the freeway, and shopping centers, plus my commute to work is only 20-25 min.  We went and looked at it yesterday and it was perfect!!  Four bedrooms (one of which is a large master and another that is perfect for an office), 3 (!!) bathrooms, large outdoor area plus a cute front yard, upgraded hardwood floors and brand new carpet, a newer kitchen, open floor plan with three of the bedrooms on the second floor, no shared walls, laundry room, 2 car garage, dog is okay, plus very nice (and experienced!) landlords who own 20 properties and have been doing rental properties for 15 years.  The landlord was okay with us getting Fios service installed and putting up a dish for DirectTV.  We didn't want to fall in love with the first place, so we took our time looking yesterday and then saw a final place today.

The place today was a completely remodeled single family home, but the bedrooms were smaller and we didn't like the floor plan as much.  It a great backyard, but a strange, oversized deck in the middle of it that the kids would climb on and fall off of.  Plus it would add about 10 min to my commute.  We also felt a little uncomfortable because the realtor who is managing the property didn't know much about it.  The property was just purchased in December at a foreclosure auction for $517K...and the rent they were asking doesn't seem like it would cover the mortgage plus taxes, especially because they had to gut the place and remodel.  We just want a safe deal after our last experience.

So we called on the place around the corner and she was excited to hear from us.  Chris will drop off the application tomorrow and then we should be all set!  I'm so glad we found a place that's perfect so quickly!  Relieves a lot of stress.

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Mother's Day - 2009

It was a great day again this year!  I got to sleep in and then both of the kids were in wonderful moods when I got up.  They piled on me and gave me lots of hugs and kisses.  Chris bought me a digital picture frame and loaded it with pictures.  He knew I didn't have any pictures up of the kids at work, so it was a perfect gift!  He also bought me a new longer chain for my necklace that has their names on a couple of pendants.  I can finally wear both of them around my neck!  (Cooper broke my last chain and I just got the pendant for Charlotte for Christmas.)  We ordered italian from my favorite restaurant Roman Cucina and enjoyed the day looking for rental properties.

Tales from a Stay at Home Dad

A lot of people ask me how Chris is liking staying at home.  I honestly believe he could start a blog of his own telling about his experience as a stay at home dad and all the crazy things he deals with.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for my husband and for what he does for our family.  He has the toughest job between the two of us and he does it very well.

I think Chris is enjoying being a stay at home dad.  He loves how much time he gets to spend with the kids and I think he likes that he doesn't have a boss (unless of course you count me :) ).  At the same time I think he gets stressed out, misses the interaction with other adults, and would like to have something of his own to work toward.   Guitar lessons help with the latter, but I think he would love to have more.

Now that the kids are a little older and they only nap once a day he is able to get out and do more.  However, there isn't much of a network for fathers who stay at home (nearly all Mom's groups), plus he isn't as social as I am, so that part has been tough for him.  Not to mention how tough it is to have two toddlers who dart in opposite directions any time they are released from their stroller...it makes it tough to go out alone with them.

I've asked Chris if I can start blogging about the funny, seemingly mundane things that happen to him.  He quickly said he'll try to remember and then proceeded to tell me about two of the latest shenanigans from our little trouble maker, Cooper:

Lesson:  Always lock the front door

Chris was changing Charlotte's diaper in their bedroom (where the changing station is).  Mid-change with a half naked baby he suddenly hears Cooper laughing in the living room.  He didn't know why so he rushed to finish changing Charlotte and went out in the living room.

When he first walked out his heart stopped.  There was Cooper standing at the front door -- which was wide OPEN!  He was laughing and Scout was looking at him in amazement.  Apparently Cooper learned how to open doors and one of us forgot to lock the front door.   Chris was so glad he hadn't run into the hallway!

Lesson:  Preoccupy tall babies in the car with a toy

Chris was driving home from some errands with both kids in their car seats.  They are both still rear facing (because it is so much safer - see here, here, and here) and sometimes they get bored if we don't give them a toy to play with.

Chris hears this click, click, click sound come from the back.  So he decided to pull over and see what the noise was.  He opens up the back door and there's Cooper with his car seat straps loose!  His arms are long enough to reach the lever to loosen the straps!  Chris tightened him back up and gave him the length of the belt (when you pull on it the straps get tighter) and a few other toys to play with. 

He was fine all the way home and seemed to forget how to do it again.  I seriously hope it's a fluke...otherwise we'll have to figure out how to rig the car seat to prevent him from loosening the straps!

Child Labor

At Christmas one of them (I think Charlotte) got a vacuum from Grandma Jacqueline and then Cooper got a vacuum for his birthday.  They are loving them!  I wish they were real vacuums. :)  Of course that could be child labor, but isn't that why you have kids...someone to do all your chores for you?? 

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Maternity Leave - Again!

So we are starting our house search again.  It was only a year ago that we were doing the same thing, except with a newborn (and seriously the whole month of May and June were really tough...what a life changing year we've had)!  This time we have two toddlers.  Our lease is up in June and we are DYING to get out of this cramped apartment.  I'm amazed we've lasted this long!

We started looking to buy, but in the area we want to live and for the amount of time we'll be here we 1) can't afford the house payment without Chris going back to work and 2) likely would not recoup our down payment in this market before we would sell.  So we've decided to rent.  We hope to find something comparable to our old place - 3 bed + den or 4 bedrooms, 2 car garage, laundry hook-ups, small yard, and in Huntington Beach.  This time we're not compromising. 

So far we've found several options in our price range, but we are waiting another week or two before contacting people since we don't want to move until June 10.  We plan to know where we're moving by the time we go to Denver (just like last year!) and this time we are hiring someone to move us.  It's too much work for us!

I am so excited!  Work approved my maternity leave in June and in September.  In CA I am allowed to take 12 weeks off after finalizing the adoption, six of which is paid.  I've decided to only take the 6 weeks paid and to split it up into two 3 week time periods.

I'll take the first 3 weeks off starting the second week of June.  Two reasons for this: 1) we are moving and this will help us get moved, settled and ease the transition for the kids and 2) Chris is going on a hiking trip in the middle of June!  He's meeting up with some old college friends (and we hope they will move the trip a few days so Mikael can join them) and he'll be gone for an entire week hiking the Continental Divide.  That means I'll be home alone with the kids!!

I'm a little nervous, but excited too.  I have lots of friends I can call to help if I need it, and I'm sure the kids will really miss Chris (as I'm sure he will also miss them), but I really think Chris needs this.

Then in August I have a training class in Denver so Chris and the kids are going to come with me.  We're hoping to come a couple days early and find a babysitter so we can go out for a real anniversary celebration on August 9th!!  It will be fun to see family and feel like we live back in CO for a week.

In September during my other 3 week maternity leave, we plan to take a trip to North Carolina to see Chris' dad and step-mom for a week of my leave.  They haven't met the kids yet, we haven't met our niece yet, and they haven't seen us since before we were engaged!!  It should be a ton of fun...although we are nervous to take the long flight with two toddlers.  I wonder if the doctor can prescribe something to make them sleep?!?!  (Just kidding...well sort of.)

It ought to be a busy summer!

Maximum Age Limit

Toys have a minimum age limit on them.  This is a good idea so that young children aren't playing with toys that may have small parts that they could choke on.  However, I really think there should be a maximum age limit listed on the toys as well.  Case in point:

And since they enjoy mimicking so much:

This is what Cooper thought of Charlotte climbing on top.

They are starting to get aggressive with each other.  Cooper screeches at Charlotte and pulls, pushes, yanks, and pinches to get her to 'share'.  Charlotte has always been aggressive, but has had to step it up in response to Cooper.  She tried to bite Chris during hand timeout, but a sharp 'no' stopped her mid-bite.

We've had to institute some consistent rules - No biting, pushing, or hitting to get the toy you want.  Immediate timeout for those offenses.  If one child has the toy they get to keep it and once they lose interest then the other child can have the toy...basically no stealing allowed.  This causes a lot of tantrums, but so far it's working.  Charlotte just follows Cooper around like a puppy dog waiting for him to drop the toy she wants.  She even tries to bring other toys to him that he might want.  Sometimes he falls for it, sometimes he keeps the toy forever!

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We went to the park today.  There is a new park not far from us that is more of a 'baby' playground.  Charlotte LOVES the slide and as normal, Cooper is intensely interested exploring every single inch of the playground.  It was fun to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

She looks like such a big girl walking here:

This is my favorite of Cooper (he had just eaten some sticks and dirt):

Charlotte loved the bench and could easily climb up on her own. 

My favorite of Charlotte trying to climb back up the slide:

She looks scared, but she comes out the bottom with big smiles (unfortunately we couldn't get her to sit at the bottom long enough to get her smile in a picture...she immediately ran to go down again):

Crazy static hair!

Cooper liked the bouncy ducks...except he kept hitting himself in the face with it.

Charlotte would go touch it and then run off...not so interesting to her.

Charlotte was afraid of the tunnels, but Cooper loved them.

Scout hung out in the shade the entire time.

Sock Obsession

Both of the kids are obsessed with putting socks on.  Charlotte is able to put them on herself, but Cooper just brings us socks so we can put them on him.  They don't care whose socks they are and they don't care if they clean or dirty.

Here are some other silly pictures:

Laundry basket fun (they climbed in on their own)

Suitcase fun

Big smiles at dinner time

Toy box fun (they both like to climb in the toy box to play with toys...makes clean up easier!)

Peek-a-boo with daddy

Cooper had a fight with an avocado, and I think he lost.

Pictures are uploaded to the shutterfly sites.