Preparation and Anticipation

This morning when Claire woke up she said, "Mommy, do you think Aspen will be born today? I just can't stand it any longer! I want her here now." David and I concur! We feel like time has stopped and everything is at a stand still. I have to remind myself to breathe sometimes. Claire and I were at a store the other day and she saw some cute baby clothes and she used some of the money that Grandma Patty and Grandpa Dave gave her at Thanksgiving to buy a cute little outfit for Aspen. The front of the outfit says "adorable, loveable, huggable". I'm the luckiest Mom - soon there will be 2 adorable, loveable, huggable girls! Claire and I were also looking at a Pottery Barn baby magazine, and Claire was ooing and aahing over the little babies and said, "Mommy, don't you just love their little toes? I mean, like they are so adorable!!!" (she loves that word).

I spent many hours making a gift to give to Aspen's birthmom Ashley... a handmade quilt. I made one for Aspen too that is identical to Ashley's, each quilt has their name embroidered on it. Claire helped me choose the fabric, David helped me stay awake to get them finished before the birth, and my friend Ginger helped me with her invaluable quilting knowledege and skills.

Some of my friends surprised us with a brand new infant car seat and some baby clothes. The car seat is the prettiest one I've ever seen! It's quite the fashion statement. Apparently car seats have expiration dates stamped on them, and the infant car seat we used for Claire is now expired. So we were quite touched by the gift. We have so many wonderful friends that are so excited for us. I get phone calls or emails daily from friends and family calling to see if little Aspen is here yet... it's like her arrival is the most anticipated event of the decade!

What do I do If....

Yesterday when Claire woke up, she came and crawled into bed with me to snuggle (one of our favorite things to do). As we laid there snuggling, she proceeded to quiz me for the next 45 minutes..."Mom, what do I do if when Aspen starts crawling, and we are at a restaurant, and she picks up food off the floor to eat it, what do I do?". "Mom, what do I do if I'm changing Aspen's diaper, and her foot gets in the poopy?". "Mom, what do I do if I see Aspen crawling down the stairs frontwards and not backwards?". "Mom, what do I do if she's taking a bath and she pees in the water?" I finally told her that I will be there everyday to help her raise this little baby, she didn't need to figure it all out right at that moment. I wonder how many nights she was awake lying there thinking up all these questions.

Claire had her baptism interview with the bishop tonight. She was very proud of herself. She is so ready to be baptized, and her desire to make good choices humbles me. Sat Feb 23rd will be her big day!

So far we have 10 family members flying into town and many friends to share in her special day, which will be even more poignant with her newborn sister Aspen present!! We are so excited for both events.

Giving the baby a name

For years, we would discuss names we all would want to name our second child. Claire has been adamant that the name HAD to start with the letter "A" since Brenda starts with "B", Claire with "C" and David with "D". She agreed if our second child was a boy that we could name him Ethan, but she would call him "Ace". And if it was a girl, our family pick has been "Aspen". The origins of her name come from "mother earth". As a family we all enjoy being outside running, skiing, playing, skating, biking, hiking, climbing; just enjoying the great outdoors. In fact it was while we are all riding up a ski lift one winter day, that Claire first mentioned using this name for a sister. Then when we met with the birthmother the first time, she told us that one reason she liked our photo profile was due to a picture of the 3 of us skiing together, and she and the birthfather also love to ski. Claire was so excited when she heard her say that, she concluded that Aspen just had to be the name for her new sister! We hope to help Aspen appreciate this earth and the things we enjoy doing as a family. She has already brought a breath of fresh air into our lives.

As far as Aspen's middle name, Claire again has strong opinions. It must start with the letter "M" like her middle name does. And since Claire was named after Brenda's paternal Grandmother Maurine, she thought we should name Aspen after someone from David's side of the family. We thought that was a clever idea, so after much discussion, we are thinking of naming her after David's Maternal Great Grandmother, Maddalana, who was born and raised in Italy. However we are contemplating spelling it "Madeline" which is a more common spelling today. To be continued...

The Singing Christmas Card

We will never forget the day our adoption agency caseworker came over to do our annual home visit update. She called on her way to apologize for being late, but she had to stop to run an errand. That "errand" was stopping at the birth mothers house to retrieve 2 cards for us. The small card that looks like a bear she gave to Claire, and inside it says "It's a Girl!". The other card (which plays Christmas music when opened) she wrote to us - has changed our lives forever: "...I want ya'll to be the family, I don't think there's anyone better to fit the role of parents but ya'll...". And indeed, it is that goal we strive to accomplish every day.

The Best Christmas Gift!

This year there was a new level of excitement in our home with the fantastic news that a wonderful birthmother and birthfather had decided they would like to place their baby with us as soon as the baby is born. The due date is February 9 and it's a girl!! We will try to detail this amazing journey of our second chance to sprint down the path to parenthood. Good luck keeping up with us!