Category: Open Adoption

So today’s post is actually about the Babe’s actual adoption. Z turned 4 yesterday, and we were invited to his birthday party, so we had our 2nd visit with J & G since the Babe’s birth and hospital stay. Our first visit was in December, and then we tentatively set the next one to be around Z’s bday. So the invitation to the party was perfect!

For our first visit, we were nervous. This time though, it was more like going to see old friends we don’t see very often. It was at one of those hellacious Chuck E Cheese type places, our party was one of THREE going on in their “party room”. The upside to this was that there was lots going on, and the focus was on Z, and we were more like the “other” party guests as opposed to getting together for the sole purpose of them seeing the Babe.

So we chatted and visited and took lots of pictures. We saw J’s mom, G’s mom and grandma, Z’s bio dad, Z’s papaw (who is some relation to bio dad, but we’re not sure what), and several friends J had told us about. We saw the friend who came to visit J in the hospital, who has a little guy just a few weeks older than the Babe. She actually brought an outfit for the Babe–she said that she had intended to bring one to the hospital that day but didn’t have the chance!!!

We really did have a good time seeing everyone, and the Babe, was, as usual, a charmer. She smiled and cooed and let everyone hold her until she was past the point of tired. Even then, she was happy to bounce on my lap and play.

The weather was wonderful, and we spent sometime outside while Daddy and Z &G raced go-karts.

All in all, it was a good day and a great visit. We were concerned that the Babe would take the focus away from Z, but she didn’t. While everyone was happy to see her, it was still very much Z’s day, which is how it was supposed to be. We didn’t know if things would get very emotional, but they didn’t seem to be. It was like visiting friends or relatives we don’t see very often–very much like that. Which, for the moment, seems to be a good fit for us. We’ll see if it fits the Babe as she gets older!

I think we will get together in June sometime, and then again for the Babe’s first birthday (yikes!)….and then we’ll see where things lead us.

This past week I received my collegealumni magazine. I was excited, because the Babe’s birth/adoption announcement was printed in the “Class Notes” section. L teases me about the “Class Notes” because really, it’s the only section I read every single issue. If there’s something interesting posted, within minutes of reading it my phone starts ringing–my Marian friends are ALL dedicated “Class Notes” readers. So we dish about births, weddngs, promotions and what nots.

But here’s where it gets cooler, and I think I played a part in it happening. In every issue of course, is an envelope so you can donate more money to our alma mater. On the envelope, there’s also a “We’d Love to Hear from You” plug–this is the section on which you can write your Class Note and send it in (preferably with a donation) if you don’t believe in email or whatever.

I happened to be glancing at said envelope and looking at the categories that qualify under “Class Notes”: New job/promotion; Weddings; Birth/Adoption!!!

This caught my eye because never before was this an option–it was always just birth. So now I am taking the credit for inspiring the magazine to add Adoption as something to submit to Class Notes. Who knows if it’s really how it happened, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

We just got the best email from J. Her computer’s been on the fritz since Christmas, so we haven’t heard much lately, but she’s still sending smoke signals so we know all is OK there. Anyway, I recently sent out a 6 month update to family and friends about the Babe. This time it was “written” by the Babe herself.

The sweetest thing is that J wrote back to the Babe directly this time. It’s really sweet, and says how proud she is that she’s almost crawling and of all the other fun stuff she’s doing. She wrote about Z, and some of the fun stuff he’s doing. I’m so glad that I’ll be able to print it out and save it for the Babe.

In other Babe news, Daddy is home after a long business trip. They’ve spent most of the weekend playing together and howling at each other, which has been a trip. We went to a baptism this morning–the little baby was SO little, SO scrunchy, SO blissfully sleepy and unaware of the world around him. **SIGH**