So, it’s been a long time since I posted on here. I’ve been in full Mommy mode since my last post. It’s been insane and wonderful, even with the quarantine. I ended up teaching from home from March through the end of May, so I was able to be with Ada.
Ada has grown so much since my last post. When I introduced her on January 10th, she was only a week old. Now, she is 8 days away from turning 6 months old! Time moves so quickly. It’s just amazing to see how much she has learned and change. She “talks”, laughs, dances, rolls over, so much. She is double the size she was in January. (See photos below.)
She is so bright, funny, and just gorgeous. I honestly have trouble remembering what life was like before we got that call on January 5th.
That call changed Steve’s life and my life.
As a reminder from an old post:
On Sunday, January 5th, I got a call from Emily at The Hope Box. A new mother had contacted them about her healthy newborn baby girl that she wanted to find an adoptive family for, and that she had chosen us. Emily asked if we were interested. All she could tell me is that the baby was still at the hospital, and that birth mom wanted to meet us that night. After speaking with Steve, we said that we were interested and drove into the city to meet with everyone. All we new is that the baby was healthy and was born on Friday, January 3rd.
When we met with her birth mother, we got along well. We found so many connections that just made her feel good about her decision. She wanted what was best for her baby and had chosen to use adoption. That was important to us when adopting. We wanted to be about choice. (See this past post about why we worked with The Hope Box.) That night, she signed over parental rights to us. There is no verbal or written way to express how grateful and honored we are to be chosen by her to raise and love her baby. All we can do is be the best parents possible and honor every part that makes Ada into Ada.
Our lives have been happily crazy ever since. Have I slept well since January 4th? Neither of us have. I’m just in awe of this amazing baby.
On June 10th, we finalized the adoption of Ada JeanMarie. It was done via video conferencing so we couldn’t have everyone there. Steve’s mom and step-dad were in the house with us while I FaceTimed my parents and one of my sisters. (It was hard to get anyone else.) Is it the way we wanted to finalize Ada’s adoption? Absolutely not, but it was the right way.
There are so many people to thank in this chapter of our lives.
First, I want to thank our families. Steve’s family and my family have been so supportive throughout this whole journey. They were there for every high and low with nothing but love.
Secondly, I want to thank The Hope Box, especially Sarah, Emily, and Dana. They were there for us when things went wrong last Fall, and they have been our cheerleaders since Emily called us about Ada.
Next, I want to thank our lawyer, Jeff Bunch, and his paralegal, Lisa Turner, for getting us from January 5th to June 10th.
Next, I want to thank our friends and co-workers. Since we started this journey, they have been sounding boards, shoulders to cry on, and always there.
Finally, I want to thank Ada’s birth mother. We may never know the full reason for why she placed Ada for adoption, but we are forever grateful for her hard decision. I hope she knows how much Ada is loved by so many people. As of now, she chose to have a closed adoption, so we can’t update her. However, I really hope the message has gotten to her through the universe.
If I had to go through all of this again, every tear and scream, everything… Yes, I would. It led us to Ada. Every miscarriage and sick moment. Every frustration and low point. Every bit of this led to amazing little girl that I love with my whole being.
Our world has changed. As I finish this post, Ada is in her bed, “yelling” at her Wubby pacifier while trying to take a nap. (It’s not cooperating and staying in her mouth.) Steve will bring her to me so I can bounce her and make her smile. (She withholds her laughs.) We will go through our evening of playing, dinner, playing some more, and bed time. Tomorrow, we will start it again. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Older Than I Thought 