World Adoption Day!

Today is the first ever World Adoption Day. It's pretty cool that we have a day to celebrate and bring awareness to adoption. Everyday I'm reminded of the amazing gift that Isaac is to our family and that without adoption we wouldn't be the family we are today. A recent UNICEF report states that there are approximately 143-210 million orphans worldwide. These numbers are staggering and incomprehensible. While we didn't set out to adopt a child when we thought of starting our family, I am so thankful that there were ethical processes in place that allowed us to finally meet the baby that was meant to be ours. The name Isaac means laughter and that is what he has brought to our lives. When I think back to the dark years of struggling with infertility, of the uncertainty and unknown, the days of despair, meeting Isaac was like hitting a switch in our lives. We were filled with joy, love, and of course, lots and lots of laughter. However you build your family is a beautiful, wonderful thing. Adoption is how we built ours and I will be forever grateful that this option was available to us. I hope that bringing awareness to adoption will provide hope to couples struggling with infertility. To look at adoption, not as a last resort, but as an amazing opportunity to achieve the family that you've been dreaming about. That's why we're celebrating adoption today and why we were happy to draw the little smiley faces on our hands for our family photo. Check out http://www.worldadoptionday.org/ for more information.

Issac had a smiley face on his hand as well, but he kept wanting to lick it. I think he was just confused by the whole thing.

And if I needed one more reason to feel so thankful today, yesterday I hosted a baby shower. Yup, you heard it, actually hosted a baby shower. Baby showers for someone struggling with infertility can be one of the most gut wrenching experiences. I used to hate going to them, although, of course, you're not supposed to say that. Seeing my pregnant friends used to bring such mixed emotions. Of course, I was happy for her, but at the same time, I would be filled with such feelings of jealousy, anger, frustration, and despair. It would be hard to keep the smile pasted on my face and I would leave feeling exhausted, drained, and depressed. I used to feel like a horrible friend. Since having Isaac in my life, those feelings have disappeared. Sure it would have been nice to experience pregnancy, but this no longer consumes me like it used to. Now, I can be fully happy for my friends as I was this Saturday for my dear friend, Wendy. It was awesome to see how our group has expanded to include seven little ones and one more on the way. With 15 adults and 7 kiddies, our house was packed, but you really can't go wrong with being squished together with such a great group of people. Here are some pics from our party. I particularly loved the kitchen table with three lobster chairs attached to it and five kiddies sharing a meal together. It was cuteness overload. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Kid table :)

Blue cupcakes for a baby boy

I love these guys, especially my guys in plaid.

That Moment

It's that moment when you realize that nothing will be the same ever again. You were hoping that it could be avoided for just a bit longer. You live in a state of denial that it's not happening, but know inside that it's really only a matter of time. And then the moment happens. That moment when you realize that nothing is safe. That moment when your child finally figures out how to climb up onto every chair in the house and uses said chairs as a means to climb up onto even higher pieces of furniture, like tables, or to access breakable items that you previously thought were out of reach. You go through the stages of loss - denial ("I'm sure you won't be able to reach that bottle of wine."), anger ("No Isaac! We don't climb on the table."), bargaining ("Mommy needs you to stay on the ground now so we can play a really fun game."), depression ("WWHHHHYY!@#&*!!"), and finally acceptance (I'm not sure if it's acceptance or just submission at this point). Yup, life will never be the same. I think the answer is to hang more shelving, really high shelving, and possibly move to a more Japanese way of life and sit on mats and pillows instead of chairs.

Look Mama, I moved the table and now I can get so much closer to all the items on the mantle. Isn't that great?