Sarah and I had a great trip to Memphis, TN to get our little Natalie. We got there Thursday morning and since we didn’t get to see Natalie until Friday evening, we decided to drive down to Little Rock to visit my sister, Sharon and her family. It was really good to see them and get to spend some time with them. Their little boy Josh has grown so much! I can’t believe how big he is now. On Friday morning we all went to the Memphis Zoo, which I highly recommend going to if ever you’re in the area. I think my favorite part were the three tigers. One in particular seemed especially ornery and was trying to play with the other two. 
At 3:30, we went to meet with our adoption agent and go over some last minute details and then it was on to get Natalie!! Woo-hoo! Sharon and Cory were able to come also and did a great job taking pictures and videoing. We had a little “Giving and Receiving” ceremony which was very special. Then they brought Natalie down and we got to hold her for the first time! She is SO tiny and has SO much hair! After a little while, she was cooing and actually smiling at us – very cute. We said goodbye to the cradle care family who had done such an awesome job of caring for her, and headed back to the hotel.
Since we had some time to kill Saturday morning, we drove to the hospital where Natalie was born to take a picture. We also got a picture of the “Graceland” sign (“Thank you, thank you very much”) and then did a little shopping at a local mall. Everywhere we went, it seemed all the women just “oooed” and “awed” over Natalie (understandably, of course.) Even when we went to the airport, the ticket agents were just going on and on about Natalie. It was kinda funny because our suitcase was over by 5 lbs and after I took something out, it was still over, but the ticket agent said “You’re fine. Well, technically you’re not, but you’re fine.” Thank you, Natalie! :)
Natalie did so well on the flights home. She slept on my chest the entire first flight and some of the next. In fact, the hardest part came when we tried to get OFF the plane. We had brought Natalie’s car seat onto the plane since it wasn’t a full flight and had strapped it on to the seat. Well, when I went to take the seat off the base to undue the seatbelt, it was stuck and wouldn’t come off!! No matter how hard I or a couple of other passengers tried, it just wouldn’t come off. Finally, I had to actually unhook the seatbelt from the plane seat itself to get it off, then reattach the belt. Hopefully it’s not a federal offense to dismantle an airplane seatbelt like that! I’m not a terrorist, really!!
The drive home wasn’t so pleasant. For the first hour, Natalie cried and screamed. Ugh. When we stopped to get something to eat, Sarah changed her diaper, fed Natalie, put her back in the seat and just like that, she was sound asleep! Natalie does not like sitting in poop! (I can’t say I blame her.)
Carlos was still up when we got home and was so excited so see Natalie. He had this big grin on his face and even got to hold Natalie. Jeremiah was so excited to see us the next morning and was fascinated by this new baby. Both Carlos and Jeremiah have done so well adjusting to Natalie. There have been some issues and I think it’s a combination of having a new sister and having us gone for a couple of days. But we’re working through those.
So here we go, adjusting to another little baby in the family. I hope I won't get wrapped around her little finger too much. :) For more pictures of Natalie, Carlos, and Jeremiah, check out Sarah’s blog (link over there -->)
At 3:30, we went to meet with our adoption agent and go over some last minute details and then it was on to get Natalie!! Woo-hoo! Sharon and Cory were able to come also and did a great job taking pictures and videoing. We had a little “Giving and Receiving” ceremony which was very special. Then they brought Natalie down and we got to hold her for the first time! She is SO tiny and has SO much hair! After a little while, she was cooing and actually smiling at us – very cute. We said goodbye to the cradle care family who had done such an awesome job of caring for her, and headed back to the hotel.
Since we had some time to kill Saturday morning, we drove to the hospital where Natalie was born to take a picture. We also got a picture of the “Graceland” sign (“Thank you, thank you very much”) and then did a little shopping at a local mall. Everywhere we went, it seemed all the women just “oooed” and “awed” over Natalie (understandably, of course.) Even when we went to the airport, the ticket agents were just going on and on about Natalie. It was kinda funny because our suitcase was over by 5 lbs and after I took something out, it was still over, but the ticket agent said “You’re fine. Well, technically you’re not, but you’re fine.” Thank you, Natalie! :)
Natalie did so well on the flights home. She slept on my chest the entire first flight and some of the next. In fact, the hardest part came when we tried to get OFF the plane. We had brought Natalie’s car seat onto the plane since it wasn’t a full flight and had strapped it on to the seat. Well, when I went to take the seat off the base to undue the seatbelt, it was stuck and wouldn’t come off!! No matter how hard I or a couple of other passengers tried, it just wouldn’t come off. Finally, I had to actually unhook the seatbelt from the plane seat itself to get it off, then reattach the belt. Hopefully it’s not a federal offense to dismantle an airplane seatbelt like that! I’m not a terrorist, really!!
The drive home wasn’t so pleasant. For the first hour, Natalie cried and screamed. Ugh. When we stopped to get something to eat, Sarah changed her diaper, fed Natalie, put her back in the seat and just like that, she was sound asleep! Natalie does not like sitting in poop! (I can’t say I blame her.)
Carlos was still up when we got home and was so excited so see Natalie. He had this big grin on his face and even got to hold Natalie. Jeremiah was so excited to see us the next morning and was fascinated by this new baby. Both Carlos and Jeremiah have done so well adjusting to Natalie. There have been some issues and I think it’s a combination of having a new sister and having us gone for a couple of days. But we’re working through those.
So here we go, adjusting to another little baby in the family. I hope I won't get wrapped around her little finger too much. :) For more pictures of Natalie, Carlos, and Jeremiah, check out Sarah’s blog (link over there -->)
3 comments:
Good story! Maybe I'll just copy and paste to my blog!!
Oh, guys, I'm SO happy for you, two!!! Hmmm, now that I know you both have blogs, what am I supposed to do????
Have a happy "baby"moon!
~D
Hello Stephen, loved the story and we can't wait to hold your newest little one as well as meet the other two for the first time!! Love to all, Mark Anthony
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