Friday, February 24, 2012

glur

glur

I figure most people say "I wish I'd written down the funny things my kids said," so I might as well start with some of the funny sounds she makes. I have no idea, to this day, what the "glur" noise was for ... but she did it a lot. I ran across some of the Basic Grey baby girl paper ... and just had to use it.

I have now ordered 70 pictures for events/stories that have yet to be recorded, and that I think are actually kind of important from her first year. It'll probably translate into about 20 layouts, so that'll be fun to do when they arrive in the next several days.

Because I know you all like seeing her.

Oh, and that reminds me. Here's a picture from today:

snow 02/24/2012

We built a little snowperson. Okay, I built it and she admired it. Still, a joint effort. She loves so much!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

A few more layouts

My page for this past Christmas ... the title says it all!
exactly what we wanted, page 1
exactly what we wanted, page 2

My little snow baby
snow baby

Monday, February 20, 2012

More layouts!

From our November trip to the Art Institute:
art love?

Showing her fascination with the camera she sees every day:
CLICK!

Finally located all the fun stuff from her baby shower to make this page:
it's all about Alexandra

Look how much she's grown!
bathing beauty

And last Easter, she was a tiny thing, not even capable of sitting up on her own!
bunny love

Saturday, February 18, 2012

So, is Alexandra going to have a sibling?

As Alexandra approaches her first birthday, I am experiencing a huge upswing in people inquiring if we intend to pursue a 2nd adoption, so she can have a sibling. For the record, I am totally open to adopting another child ... I just cannot for the life of me see how we'd swing it, financially, through an agency. We drained ourselves down to pennies (I kid you not), and it's a very uncomfortable position to be in, especially in this economy. Our daughter is priceless, and I wouldn't change a thing - but the fact remains that even if we went with the local agency, where we've already paid a chunk of fees, we'd still have to come up with $17,500 for the agency and $5,000 for an attorney. I have no clue where that would come from. And, yes, I've applied for grants & loans (almost a dozen of them the first time around) and came up empty.

So then the question is just how much time & energy could I free up doing all of the legwork myself? The answer: not much! My life is very full, and I wouldn't want to miss out on Alexandra's development, on my relationship with husband, or on my professional career by spreading myself even thinner. So, as much as I'd like to be a mom of more than 1 child, I don't want it enough to sacrifice what feels like a pretty perfect life right now. So, if you've to the urge to ask The Question -- there's your answer!

I'd love for my daughter to have a sibling for a variety of reasons ... so if anyone reading this knows of someone who is considering an adoption plan, feel free to put that person in touch with me! We could certainly swing the legal fees, and over the long haul, we could afford RAISING a child ... just not coming up with an extra $20,000 in less than a year. And let's face it ... if we wait until we're 45 to adopt a 2nd child, that means when that child graduates high school, we'll be 63. And that just isn't fair to the kid. My own parents are almost 68, and one of them is contending with some major medical issues - I would NOT want to put that burden on a young adult barely out of college!

It's an odd position to be in ... wanting something, but not wanting to risk what I already have. I suppose it's because Alexandra is so very precious to me. We waited so very long to have her, I just don't want to miss out on anything, you know what I mean?

Okay, so inquiring minds have been satisfied ... and I've got my thoughts off my chest. I think that's probably enough for a random Saturday night. I'm going to go look at my cute, sleeping sweetie & then read for a bit in bed.

Monday, February 13, 2012

48 weeks old

I've been taking pictures every 8 weeks to document Alexandra's growth, in the same spot - her daddy's arms. She's almost old enough that she doesn't want to be held in that position - in less than a month, she'll be a year old! - but that's okay. If she tolerated it into her elementary school years, Daddy would have a broken back! We'll have to pick a different position for her next year & measure her relative to it. Maybe on Mommy's knee!

Photobucket

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Alexandra's modelling career


Okay, I'm not really serious about the whole modelling career thing. And that Toddlers and Tiaras show -- never seen it, never want to. But I will admit I entered Alexandra into the Gerber baby contest last year ... and was stunned she didn't even make the cut for judging, because let's face it - she's cute.

I may be a bit biased. A bit.

We had her picture taken a couple of weeks ago & the photographer is participating in a charity contest, so I said to go ahead and enter Alexandra's picture. If you're so inclined to support the charity (it's a buck a vote ... hey, it's a fundraiser, what do you expect?), go for it. The charity sponsors free portraits for families who have lost a baby -- kind of a way to commemorate the baby's brief life with compassion and grace, to give the family a way to remember the baby other than in a cold, hospital setting. We thought it was a worthwhile non-profit, and that's pretty much the whole story.

If Alexandra wins 1st, 2nd, or 3rd prize, there's some cash ($250-$1,000) and a camera in it for her. We'd safeguard all of it. Okay, and probably use the camera with abandon, truth be told.

So, if you want to vote, go here. Otherwise, just enjoy the picture of our cutie!