Hooray for December...and celebrating the birth of our Savior! We kicked off the month by watching the Nativity Story movie. We were going to go to our little town's Christmas tree lighting (it is like a little 4' tree in front of town hall), but inclement weather kept us in. People who live in places like Minnesota would have called us wimps.
Now that we have a little one the thought of establishing family traditions, as well as keeping some of our own families', becomes more important...so if anyone has a neat tradition they would like to share..I would LOVE to hear it! I'm not ashamed to say that I am a total plagiarizer and need help being creative about such things!
New post and photos - Signs, signs, everywhere signs - at www.youbelong.net/goff.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Biscuit head
When Matthew saw that Reed (http://www.jeffandabbey2001.blogspot.com/) had a biter biscuit, he wanted one too. They freak me out a little with their potential for chokiness, but if super-parents Jeff & Abbey recommend them, then we'll try 'em too! Here are some photos of our biscuit head boy.
Earning his keep
Here is a little video of Mateo drying the kitchen floor for his allowance. It is kind of long, but I know my mom will savor every second.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Baby Showers for Adoptive Mamas
Disclaimer: I am only sharing my experience as a first time mama. Our family and friends have been more than generous both before and after Matthew's arrival. I write this post simply because through my conversations with other adoptive parents, I find there to be uncertainty about "party protocol" for adoptions. Visitors to the site, feel free to add your opinions!
Baby showers for adoptions can be a strange topic. Even though you are adding a child to your family just as with a bio baby, there seems to be a question as to whether or not showers should be thrown for adoptive parents. First, on the side of the adoptive mother, there can be a feeling of not deserving a shower, feeling awkward registering for gifts when you aren't pregnant, or feeling like with an adoption you should be responsible for all purchasing all other necessities. (Don't ask me why, these are just some things people have shared).
For family/friends there can be questions of "party protocol" such as who has the shower, when is it held, what kind of games do you play when you can't wrap the toilet paper around the mama's big belly, etc. While we were waiting for Matthew to come home, I had a large number of people tell me, "Oh, you should have a shower!" I wasn't sure if they meant I should throw a party for myself...???
SHOWERS: A big issue with showers is when to have them...before of after the child comes home. Here are some thoughts.
BEFORE - Before you leave to travel you are going to want everything ready for that baby (the nursery set up, the car seat in place, the necessary items for travel). A shower prior to travel gives you time to get necessary items and get them in place (with time to make adjustments/returns if needed). Believe me, you do not want to be installing a car seat the night before you leave for a foreign country. Believe me! Also, I have found that things that didn't get done prior to travel are definitely not getting done now. Furthermore, a "before" shower lets you enjoy a party in your honor...one last time to just relax and have fun. The downside to an early shower is that it is difficult to buy some gifts because the actual size, interests, etc of the baby are not known. When we brought the boy home at 6 1/2 months he was ready for 9 month clothes.
AFTER - Many people like the idea of having a party after the baby arrives so everyone can meet him/her. An "after" party also allows you to see the size and developmental abilities of your child so that people can give appropriate gifts. The downsides to this choice are first, you may have already purchased everything you registered for by the time of the shower (like I said earlier, you will want everything ready before you travel)...and second, you may be dealing with bonding, jet lag, time zone, and other adoption issues which may make attending a party more hectic than fun.
GIFT IDEAS: Some people choose to ask for donations to an adoption charity in lieu of presents. What I have found though is that family and friends really want to either buy something special for the baby or help the parents with the adoption costs. I know it seems so impersonal, but gift cards are wonderful: VISA gift cards for the family to use during travel, Target, Babies-R-Us, Amazon.com, etc. I would suggest not buying gifts of baby food, bottles, diapers, pacifiers, etc. simply because of the unknowns in size, baby preference, allergies, skin issues, etc. If I was going to attend a shower and planned to spend $50...and there was something specific I wanted to buy for $25, I would get the other $25 in a gift card rather than finding other items to purchase.
I think the main point is if you are a friend wondering if you should host a shower for an adoptive mother, I say "YES!" And if you are an adoptive mother feeling like you shouldn't take up your friend's offer to throw you a shower, then read some articles on "entitlement" in adoption and say, "YES!"
Baby showers for adoptions can be a strange topic. Even though you are adding a child to your family just as with a bio baby, there seems to be a question as to whether or not showers should be thrown for adoptive parents. First, on the side of the adoptive mother, there can be a feeling of not deserving a shower, feeling awkward registering for gifts when you aren't pregnant, or feeling like with an adoption you should be responsible for all purchasing all other necessities. (Don't ask me why, these are just some things people have shared).
For family/friends there can be questions of "party protocol" such as who has the shower, when is it held, what kind of games do you play when you can't wrap the toilet paper around the mama's big belly, etc. While we were waiting for Matthew to come home, I had a large number of people tell me, "Oh, you should have a shower!" I wasn't sure if they meant I should throw a party for myself...???
SHOWERS: A big issue with showers is when to have them...before of after the child comes home. Here are some thoughts.
BEFORE - Before you leave to travel you are going to want everything ready for that baby (the nursery set up, the car seat in place, the necessary items for travel). A shower prior to travel gives you time to get necessary items and get them in place (with time to make adjustments/returns if needed). Believe me, you do not want to be installing a car seat the night before you leave for a foreign country. Believe me! Also, I have found that things that didn't get done prior to travel are definitely not getting done now. Furthermore, a "before" shower lets you enjoy a party in your honor...one last time to just relax and have fun. The downside to an early shower is that it is difficult to buy some gifts because the actual size, interests, etc of the baby are not known. When we brought the boy home at 6 1/2 months he was ready for 9 month clothes.
AFTER - Many people like the idea of having a party after the baby arrives so everyone can meet him/her. An "after" party also allows you to see the size and developmental abilities of your child so that people can give appropriate gifts. The downsides to this choice are first, you may have already purchased everything you registered for by the time of the shower (like I said earlier, you will want everything ready before you travel)...and second, you may be dealing with bonding, jet lag, time zone, and other adoption issues which may make attending a party more hectic than fun.
SHOWER INVITES: There are now plenty of shower invitations for adoptions...just throw the words into google. For our shower, the lovely hostesses made an invitation with one of Matthew's update photos on it. Too cute! It also gave the attendees a keepsake photo of our boy.
GIFT IDEAS: Some people choose to ask for donations to an adoption charity in lieu of presents. What I have found though is that family and friends really want to either buy something special for the baby or help the parents with the adoption costs. I know it seems so impersonal, but gift cards are wonderful: VISA gift cards for the family to use during travel, Target, Babies-R-Us, Amazon.com, etc. I would suggest not buying gifts of baby food, bottles, diapers, pacifiers, etc. simply because of the unknowns in size, baby preference, allergies, skin issues, etc. If I was going to attend a shower and planned to spend $50...and there was something specific I wanted to buy for $25, I would get the other $25 in a gift card rather than finding other items to purchase.
I think the main point is if you are a friend wondering if you should host a shower for an adoptive mother, I say "YES!" And if you are an adoptive mother feeling like you shouldn't take up your friend's offer to throw you a shower, then read some articles on "entitlement" in adoption and say, "YES!"
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Would you like a little toxin with your toy?
With all the crazy recalls and questions concerning the safety of toys made in China (love their babies, not their toxic toys), I visited some web sites to research alternative sources for buying toys. As expected, prices are quite a bit higher, but these companies seem to be committed to selling safe items for children.
http://www.moolka.com/ - has a "top 20 holiday gifts" section
http://www.willowtreetoys.com/ - has neat advent spirals, as well as toys
http://www.northstartoys.com/ - located here in NM!
http://www.oompa.com/ - has cool furniture by offi and notneutral, as well as toys
http://www.moolka.com/ - has a "top 20 holiday gifts" section
http://www.willowtreetoys.com/ - has neat advent spirals, as well as toys
http://www.northstartoys.com/ - located here in NM!
http://www.oompa.com/ - has cool furniture by offi and notneutral, as well as toys
I'm an adult! I can talk like an adult!
I needed to stop by my former workplace (www.calvaryabq.org) to have some readoption paperwork notarized, so I dropped off Matthew at Scott's office. I knew my co-workers would be bummed because they would rather see him than me, but it was easier this way.
Well...what I found out was that I can still have an adult conversation! Really! I can have a whole conversation without speaking in a high-pitched voice...without saying "no no"...and without reaching over to wipe drool off the person's chin. And even when the conversation shifted to topics other than diapers, formula, and sleeping through the night, I could still keep up and participate! I was so excited! I felt so grown-up!
Here's a photo from Daddy's office. Next time Matthew goes to work, he needs to come home with a paycheck because after we left the office we spent $50 on formula, baby food, and rash-stopping lotion.
Funny little things
One of Matthew's favorite things to do is open and close the little speak- easy door in our front door. He smiles the whole time! In these close-ups you can see his poor rashy face...ugh...and a crusty nose!
Having some morning fun...in the walker and chewing on a bib!
Whenever I happen to walk out of a room that Matthew and I are in, he will start crying and crawling after me. Last night I was putting his pajamas on him in his room and, as soon as i finished, he bolted for the door. When I realized he wasn't stopping, I started crying like he does...so he stopped, turned around to look at me, smiled a huge smile, then kept on going!
I am also trying to get him to crawl more rather than carrying him all over the house...so when we go from room to room, I will have him crawl after me. He hates it. Hates it! He will start crying, close his eyes, and crawl....which makes him look like he is in a "dizzy bat" race because he can't crawl straight with his eyes closed.
Our Thanks-for-the-Day
When daddy goes into work late and we get to spend the morning with him!
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