Josie's First Halloween Party

Mae Mae & Opa

We had such a great visit with Mae Mae & Opa! They flew in on my mom's birthday so she had a great gift...Josie! What a fun day to meet each other on! They watched her on Wednesday and Thursday and I took Friday off.
We spent a lot of time with Andrew's parents and shopping (of course!)
We also did some really cute crafts for her room. They didn't have the letter I for her name above her bed, but as soon as I get it I'll post a picture. They turned out SO cute!Josie tried some new foods too. We are trying to introduce new textures and flavors so she doesn't end up being as picky as her Daddy is! She tried (and loved) yogurt, peaches, cheese, melon, and avocado! She wasn't doing too great digesting meat, so we switched her over to Tofu so she could still get the protein. My little veg head! She wasn't too crazy about it, but she ate it.
There was nothing I would change about the weekend, well, I would have made it last longer! But other then that, it was perfect. I can't wait for them to come back. I really can't wait to take her up to Minnesota!

We finished off the weekend by going up to Trunk or Treat at the church. We are mean parents and won't let her have any sweets, so she didn't do much trick or treating! We got to show her off in her cute costume though! The cutest Ladybug ever!

We have a few Halloween events this week, so I'll be sure to post lots of pictures!

Link to Fall Family Pictures

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=61498&l=fbfff&id=536945594

They will all be up tomorrow, but there are about 30 up now.

Grandpa's JoJo

So the Glover's are AMAZING photographers! You'd have to be to get a little girl with a cold and her two non-photogenic parents to look this good! We had so much fun and I am in love with the pictures. They took a ton! I am still struggling with which ones I am going to blow up for the house. I do know which one is going to be our Christmas card though! Josie does not like to smile for the camera, but that's who she is, so I think they look perfect with her little inquisitive face!
On Saturday we had a great family day! It was the first time we went and did something with just the three of us. We spent the morning lounging around and doing some much needed yard work and then we went up to Atlantic Station to walk around. Josie loves to stroll around and watch people. On the way home we found this little restaurant called the Tree House and it was so fun. It was in a little house right at the end of one of the nice neighborhoods in Atlanta. We sat on the patio and had a great meal. Josie loved it! There were a few people there with their dogs, so she liked watching them! Sunday was fun as well. My dad and Grandparents drove through so Josie got to meet them. We thought they would be there around 12 and we would visit for a bit and then Josie and I would head over to Andrew's mom's house for Josie's shower. Well, my family didn't get to our house until 3 (which is when the shower started!) so we were 2 hours late to our own shower! But it was so worth it. I don't think I have ever seen my dad with a baby, and I must say, he is smitten with Josie. It was awesome to see how much he loved her right away. And the feeling was mutual, she just stared at him and let him hold her (which is a big deal since she doesn't take to all men). It took her about 20 minutes to start really acting like herself, but once she was used to them she was hamming it up! She talked quite a bit and was blowing her spit bubbles (her new favorite!). She is one lucky baby to be loved by so many people.
Even though we were a little more then fashionably late to the shower, it was great. A lot of Andrew's extended family was there and she got some amazing things! She hadn't had a nap so I was a little worried about how she would be getting passed around, but she was laughing and talking. Everyone loved her. Darlene has these pics, so they'll get posted later too!
We are now getting ready for my mom and Bill to fly in on Wednesday morning. They will be babysitting Wednesday and Thursday so I know Miss Ladybug will be spoiled rotten! I can't wait for them to meet her!

MAMA!!!

Yup, Josie said her first words last night and much to my delight it was... MAMA! I'm not sure if she knew what she was saying, but she looked at me and said Mamamamama. Once we clapped and laughed, it was her new favorite thing to do to get us smiling!
We met with our caseworker last night and everything still looks really good. There has been no word from the other foster family which is great news. She told us the longer Josie is in our home, the less likely a judge would be to move her if they did file a petition. We are still waiting for the TPR to be filed at the courthouse. Once that happens, we wait 30 days and then she will be legally free for adoption. Then we will file our Intent to Adopt paperwork. She will have to be in our house for 6 months before we can finalize, so that puts us right at the beginning of March! When we were going over all the paperwork for our foster parent contract it was cool because she kept reading certain parts and then saying, "well, she'll be yours by then so that doesn't really apply." Ours. That sounds so nice. I can't wait for it to be official!
Andrew's mom is going to pick her up from daycare around 10 this morning and spend the day with her.
If this rain would let up, we'll be taking our family pictures tonight. Tomorrow is a family day, then on Sunday, little ladybug gets to meet her Grandpa and her Great Grandparents! That is going to be so much fun! Plus, she has another shower Sunday afternoon. On Wednesday, my mom and step dad will be flying in to meet her too! It's going to be a busy couple of weeks!
I can't wait for Halloween! Josie is going to be...what else, a ladybug! We're going to go Trunk or Treating at the church and we have a Halloween party at the Glover's house the night before Halloween. It's so fun to be invited to the parent events!
I will have lots of pictures to post this weekend! Our nice camera is in the shop, but should be back next week!

Milestones!

Josie's Milestones So Far...

Ate Baby Food on 10-03-07
Rolled Over on 10-04-07
Clapped Hands on 10-10-07
Waved on 10-14-07

Weekend Two!

Woo! We had a busy weekend!
Saturday we spent the day at the pumpkin patch with Missy and the girls! It was SO much fun! Josie got really hot (it was about 85 degrees...In October mind you) and tired, but she did great! I had her dressed in the cutest little Fall outfit, but she ended up in a little onsie by the end of the day! She was still cute as can be though. Sunday was her first church service. She sat in our adult life group meeting at 9 and just played on the floor then she napped during the student leadership life group. I had to wake her up to bring her over to the nursery at 10:45 and couldn't get her back to sleep so she was pretty tired by 12.
Missy threw us a GREAT baby shower at the student center. It was so much fun...even if the guest of honor slept through the first 45 minutes! We got a TON of clothes! I don't think I'll have to buy her clothes until she's 18 months old! (but I'm sure I'll find an excuse to anyways!) After the shower we went to the Glover's house for about an hour and did a few family shots before we left. They are going to do our family pictures in the next week or so, so this was our practice! We are meeting with our case worker again on Thursday to go over all the stuff we need to. I'm a little anxious for all this waiting to be over. I know it's going to be fine, but every now and then I get a twinge of fear that sneaks in. I'm trying to combat it with prayer and remembering how faithful God has been to us through this whole situation. Any prayers you can offer will be greatly appreciated. The 10 days that the other foster family had to file their appeal is over and as far as our case worker can tell, they didn't do it. I'm just waiting for the official call telling us their time is over and she is ours.

8 Months Old!

Our new baby is 8 months old today! I'd post a picture, but we had a little incident with our camera this morning and we have to send it in to be repaired. So the picture will have to wait.
We took her in to the pediatrician this morning. Our ladybug is 18 lbs 9 oz, 27.25 inches long, and has a head circumference or 17.75 inches! She did great. She's not due for a full check up until next month, so this was just a general look over. He said she looks very healthy, but of course, we already knew that!
We have a big weekend coming up; pumpkin patch Saturday morning, family pictures Saturday afternoon, and her first baby shower on Sunday! Makes me tired just thinking about it all! But it will be fun and as long as we're all together, it will be a great weekend!
We're still trying to get on a nap schedule. She takes 2 short naps in the morning and early afternoon and is exhausted by about 6. We're trying to push one of those morning naps back so she can take one longer nap in the afternoon. I'm going to have to talk to daycare about it so they can keep her on the same schedule.
Still no word from her case worker. We are hoping to hear from her today or tomorrow. Only one more day until the wait is over.
Happy 8 Month Birthday Baby Girl!

1st Day of Daycare

Yesterday was Josie's 1st day at daycare. She did great! I brought her around 7:15 and stayed with her for 1/2 an hour. We sat on the floor and she just started playing! We really like the center we chose and her teacher seems so nice. I kept kissing on her and she was looking at me like, "Mom, I'm fine, get outta here!" I cried like a baby when I left her there, but the teacher said she was fine all day.

She has mastered clapping her hands and blowing rasberries! It's so cute to watch her do it. We'll do it first and she'll just watch and then get this look like she is really thinking about how to do it and then she'll do it and just laugh! She's getting really good at rolling over too. We are giving her lots of tummy time so she can work those muscles!

Andrew's sister came by last night to meet her and Josie was so pooped from school, she fell right asleep in Caroline's arms! So sweet.

Tonight will be her first Cross Culture meeting. We won't be staying for the actual meeting, but I'll stick around for a little bit so everyone can see how cute she is!

She's learning so much!

We are praying for these last 2 days of the week to go by quickly. The foster family that had her only has until Friday to file their appeal. After that time is up, we are pretty much in the clear for the adoption. We know that God brought her to us and that he will provide a smooth adoption. Our God is so good!

Our First Weekend Together

We had such a great weekend! We love being parents.

On Friday night I meet Darlene at a consignment sale and we did some shopping for our ladybug. She is now the owner of many stylish fall outfits! Darlene got her a nice stroller that she loves. She likes to go for walks and be outside.

Saturday was a busy day! Missy, the girls, Josie, and I all got up bright and early to go back to the consignment sale for 1/2 price day. More clothes for Josie Girl! Then we went to Target to finish up her registry and get a few things. She is loving her baby food so we had to stock up on that! Then it was time to go home to eat and take a little nap. She is taking 2 one hour naps and one long one in the after noon. Missy and I finished setting up her room and it is now fit for the princess that she is! Andrew's aunt and uncle came over with their 3 little girls around 5 and we all had dinner together. Andrew's mom and step dad came over too. It was a lot of fun! Except Josie was not so crazy about Andrew's uncle. She gets kinda weird around some guys. But she started to warm up to him by the end of the night. We also had Amy and Scott over. They brought her some cool new toys that she squealed at for quite awhile! So cute!

We decided not to bring her to church on Sunday. She had had such a busy week and we hadn't had her home for a full day. So I stayed home with her and we had a great time loving on each other and learning about each other.

Andrew has her today and she will start daycare tomorrow morning. I'm a little nervous about it, but she will only be there until 3, so it's not too bad. I'm sure I'll be a wreck tomorrow!

She is such an excellent baby. She sleeps about 11-12 hours a night, take great naps, eats like a champ, and really only whines when she needs something. I think we hit the jackpot on this one!

My dad will be driving through with my grandparents in a week so he will get to meet her and then my mom and step dad will be flying down to spend a week or so with us. I am SO ready for them to all meet her!

My Little Ladybug

She is such a cheese ball! She is adjusting very well. Better then expected actually. And we, of course, are infatuated with her. We lose hours of sleep because we would rather watch her sleeping. My arms are killing me (she's heavier then the cup of Starbucks that is usually in my hand), but it is worth it. After all, how can you say no when that little cutie is reaching up for you?
She spent yesterday with Pastor Charla and is with Andrew's mom today. She's a little fussier today, but she is teething and we have had to wake her up the past two mornings. I am SO glad that tomorrow is Saturday and I will have all day to love on her. I don't think her body has touched the floor since she walked through the door!
We now know her birthdate, but not much else. We should get her entire case plan this weekend.
We can't wait for you all to meet her. She has been meeting lots of new people. We are planning on just spending tonight and tomorrow as a family so she can have some down time.
Other then that, we are just enjoying our little lady.

Josie Kathryn Pope

I am still in complete shock, but I want to document this for Josie.
On Tuesday, October 3rd, 2007, Andrew and I were going about our days as usual. I was at work and Andrew was at the house. He was supposed to have a meeting, but it was canceled so he just went to the house.
At about 3:15, I went downstairs to get some papers. When I got back to my desk I noticed that I had 2 missed calls. One was from T, our caseworker. I figured that she needed some info about our references since that was what she was waiting for so she could write our home study on Friday.  So I called her back. She didn't answer so I left a message.
The other missed call was Andrew. So I called him back.
He told me that he needed me to go ahead and leave work to come home because T was bringing us a baby.
What?!? Are you serious? What do you mean? Now?!?
T had called him when she couldn't get a hold of me. She had an emergency placement that she knew was perfect for us.
A little girl, 7 months old, perfectly healthy. 
She was going to bring her over right then, but when she heard how nervous Andrew was to be by himself with a new little person, she said she would try to kill some time until I got home.
So I ran down to my friend's office, I had to tell someone. Then I sent my boss and email telling him I had to leave and jumped in my car.
When I got to my car I started to think, did I hear him right?  Did he say to come home now?  So I called him just to be sure my mind wasn't tricking me!
He gave me more details that I had been too excited to ask about; She was abandoned at the hospital when she was born so there was no birth family involved in her case. Since then she had been living in the same foster family. For some reason, DFCS closed that foster home and immediately removed all children from the home. T said that as soon as Josie's case worker called her with the situation, she knew that God meant her for us!
I am pretty sure that every slow person in Georgia was in front of me on the way home. 
I called everyone in my phone. My mom wouldn't pick up, I must have called 5 times in a row before she answered!
I finally got home at about 4:15. The anticipation was killing Andrew and I. Andrew paced by the window while we waited.
I, being a girl, went to the baby's closet and tried to figure out what my little girl was going to wear!
Then, at almost exactly 5:30, our daughter, the light of our world, the answer to our prayers, the most beautiful little girl, pulled into our driveway.
It was love at first sight.
She is the picture of perfection.
Made for our family.
The perfect fit.
She came with nothing. 
No clothes, no diapers, no food, no schedule, no toys.
So after Andrew's mom and brother got to our house to meet the little ladybug, we all piled in the car for Josie's first trip to Walmart!
It was a little overwhelming. 
I wasn't sure what a 7 month old needs.
Our good friends Jason and Tiffany meet us there with their little boy. And then Pastor Charla came to meet her too! I'm sure we looked crazy, all 8 of us grabbing things like maniacs!
But it turned out that all Josie needed was us. 
A family. Permanency. Security. Love.
And it just so happens, we have all those things already.
October 2nd was the TPR (termination of parental rights) hearing.
There is no birth family so of course it was uncontested. We now have to wait 45 days to see if any other birth family comes forward. It is 99.99% unlikely that they will, since they probably don't even know she exists.
The foster family also has 10 days to appeal DFCS decision to remove her from their home. This is unlikely to be successful, but we are still asking for lots of prayers.
She has to be in our home for 6 months before we can finalize the adoption.
But as far as we are concerned, she is already a Pope.
I am so in love with this little girl. She has Andrew wrapped around her finger, as it should be.

I wish there was a way to put this feeling into words. 
It just feels right.
Touched by God.
Like she was prepared for our family.
It feels like my heart is as full as it could be.
It feels like she is my daughter.
It's amazing to me, how God can answer years of prayers, dry years of tears, mend up years of heartbreak, all with one little girl's smile.

Welcome to the family Josie Kathryn Pope. 

We have been waiting for you.