Another Surgery for Blu

In August, Blu had a series of surgeries to straighten his left foot and ankle.

Hopefully this will allow him to walk (with his prosthesis and walker), and explore his world with a taller view.

Mt. Scott Pool

This pool has a water slide, river, and rope swing - lots of fun!

Tired, and all done swimming.

Perfect

Our girl loves dirt!  She is a great fit for our outdoor loving family.

Swimming with Cousins

August was a great month for swimming and playing in the sprinkler. 

Emmarie loves the water, and was thrilled to be invited over for swimming with Malcolm and Margot.

M&M are such fun, and great cousins to play with!

 

On a different warm day, we played in the pool and dirt (aka mud) with Cousin Hayden.

Hayden is two months younger than Emmers.

She is loved.

A Special Post...

 On August 1st we received our first foster child in the form of a precious, healthy 1 year old girl named Emmarie.  That morning, as I was getting ready for work, I asked God to send me "My baby girl" today.  I don't know why I asked for a girl, it just came out.  I rode the train to work and had a morning just like any other.  Around 2pm a ray of sunlight caught my eye out of my third story office window.  I felt like I needed to go outside for some reason.  I went downstairs and sat on a bench in the sunlight.  After about 2 minutes, my phone rang.  It was our DHS Certifier.  She had a baby girl for us.  I was ecstatic!  I jumped back on the train headed towards home.

I called Andrew and he was stunned that this was really happening!    He picked me up from the train stop, and we rushed over to our DHS office.  We were told to wait in the lobby so they could track down who "had the baby" waiting to be placed.  It was completely surreal.  We were just a couple of strangers, waiting to take someone else's stranger baby in our home and lives.  We were waiting for someone to hand us a 1 year old child.  They were just going to give us someone else's baby.  There were other people in the lobby, just sitting and waiting as if this was a day like any other.  Didn't anyone else think this was totally bizarre and strange?  How could this be real?  You don't just hand babies out to strangers.  Then I had a heart breaking realization: this little girl had not a single soul on this planet who wanted to protect her, love her, and stand up for her.  Not a single person was coming forward to say, "I know this sweet baby, and I want to do whatever it takes for her to be safe and loved.  Tell me what to do, and I will do it.  She is worth any amount of effort."  She had no one, and so a strange couple was called to come forward and take her into their home.  Surreal.  Not ok.

 After a few minutes, a caseworker holding a tiny child came out into the lobby.  She took us back into a small room with a table and chairs.  The little girl was dressed in boy clothing and sandles that were about 6 sizes to large.  She was very quiet, looking at us and sucking on her hand.  The caseworker told us the very basics of her situation, but not in any detail.  We were told that she would have visits arranged with her mother soon, who hadn't seen her in 4 months.  She handed us a medical insurance card, and a extremely brief health history with her doctor's name on it.  She told us Emmarie hated riding in cars.  She went to the back and brought out two small, white garbage bags with all of her worldly belongings inside.  Then she took the baby out to our van, strapped her in, and closed the door.  Andrew drove us home, while I sat in the back talking with this little one who had no idea who we were, or where she was going.

 When we got home, I set her down and let her explore, while Andrew and I observed her in state of shock.  Who was this girl?  What was her personality, temperament, routine?  Did she still drink from a bottle?  What kind of food did she like?  Does she need a nap?  Does she like binkies?  Is she hungry? I opened her bags of belongings.  There were a couple of outfits, 5 diapers, a few stuffed animals, some cards written to her mother congratulating her on Emmarie's birth, and the tiny hat that she wore in the hospital when she was born.  I put the animals in her crib, threw the clothes in the wash, and safely stored her cards and infant hat.  She walked around checking out the house, and was drawn to the toys in Blu's room.  She was content playing and following our dog, Saleh, around the livingroom.  I fed her some yogurt.  I gave her a bath and dressed her in a comfortable, light weight dress.  It was a very hot day.  She had arrived in dark blue sweatpants and a light blue t-shirt.  I held her, and we layed down with her on our big bed.  She fell asleep, as I'm sure she must have been exhausted. 

And thus began our life with Emmarie.  She adjusted to us and our home very quickly (which is sad in a way that she wasn't destroyed by leaving everything she has ever known).  She is a great eater, and tries everything that we offer to her!  She is happy, smiles a lot, likes to get hugs and kisses.  She adores our dog, but it is not mutual.  We have a good routine with her now, with which she thrives.  On the days that I don't work, she sits in her highchair next to me while I cook breakfast.  She sings and "talks" with me while she samples the food.  In the evening she takes a bath, her favorite part of the day!  She swims and splashes, and has recently started "washing" her hair!  After bath, we read a book in her room and then she goes to sleep.  She hates being strapped into her car seat in the van, I have uneasy feelings about why she is so distraught about this.  She is very needy, especially when she is tired.  Her vocabulary is taking off.  She has recently learned the words apple, cheese, cookie, thank you, mama, dada, kitty (which is any small animal from crows to bunnies), down, and baba.  She is a very smart little child, already trying to put her own shoes on, brush her hair, and feeding herself with a spoon.  

Our lives have changed drastically.  This is my first child.  We are her Mama and Dada.  We don't know what will happen with her case.  At this point in time DHS is attempting to rehabilitate her parents, so she can be reunited with them.  All we can do is love her, protect her, and raise her like our own until we are told to give her back.  Though it will break our hearts to let her go, we will give her every second of our time, and all of our effort and love in the meantime.  She is worth it.