I’m Gonna Have a Big Sister!

Sun, 5 Oct 2008 20:09:45 -0700

It’s official. We are growing our little Drew Carey Show... with a beautiful ten year old girl, who we will call “T” for now, who we hope will be joining our family within the next few months.

Because of new regulation in Ethiopia, we can’t offer too many details about her (including her name) until court proceedings are finalized. But here is some of the information we received on her:

“T is a sweet young lady. She has many friends and is always helping the caregivers around the orphanage. She loves school. Her favorite class is math. T hopes to be a doctor when she grows up. In her free time T likes to hang out and play games with her friends. She desires to have a forever family.”

Forever family. We will be her forever family. Never would I have predicted this to be the course our lives would take, but we couldn’t be happier about this direction. We love her so much already and have been having so much fun preparing to receive her into our lives.

Next steps, you ask? Our paperwork is already en route to DC and then off to Ethiopia (yes, we’ve been busy and a bit under the radar), and then we will be joining the ranks of all our adoptive friends who are waiting for a court date. The courts are just now reopening after the annual rainy season closure, so there is some expectation of a backlog. So for now, we just wait... and hope and pray that things will move swiftly and we will soon be picking T up to bring her home.

It seems impossible that it was just a year ago that we were waiting on pins and needles for a court date for Zoe. It was also just a year ago that we started discussing the possibility of an older child adoption. Once we were in Ethiopia, we knew that was our next step.

T doesn’t know about us yet. She will find out about us once our paperwork leaves from DC for Ethiopia. So hopefully this week! Tonight we emailed Gladney a picture of us and a letter that will be translated for T, telling her about her new forever family. What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall for that one!

Would you want these people to be your family?

We can’t wait to officially introduce you to T once we clear court, but suffice to say, she is a vibrant, gorgeous girl who just radiates an inner beauty, even in her pictures. We haven’t met her in person yet -- and won’t until we are her legal parents! -- but we are moving forward in faith that we are meant to be together as a family. And we’re eagerly awaiting the travel of other Gladney families with the hopes that they will be able to meet her and send reports home -- just like we savored with Zoe.

We’ve come off a busy summer, made even busier with Zoe and pursuing a second adoption, but we’re jumping back on the blog bandwagon to document this second extraordinary journey to Ethiopia as we grow our family through adoption.

What a ride!

One Year Ago Today...

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:03:31 -0700

... we received The Call that forever changed our lives!

It’s been the best year of our lives!

We love you, Zoe!

I’m In!

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:12:51 -0700

This month, I’m turning 36. I usually like to lay low and fly under the radar on my birthday, but this year, I’m announcing it to everyone and getting in on the September birthday action -- because this year’s birthday has a twist: I’m joining my buddies Emily and Ted, and I'm using my birthday this year to support charity: water's September campaign to help bring clean and safe drinking water to the people of Ethiopia.

I recently learned that more than 1.1 billion people in the world today don't have the most basic thing: clean water to drink. Over 4,500 kids die each and every day from water-related disease.

This year, I've decided to actually ASK (gasp!) for birthday gifts in the form of donations to this tangible, relevant mission. 100% of the money raised will go directly to building freshwater wells, which will be proved with GPS coordinates and photos on Google Earth.

I'm asking for my age in dollars. Please make a donation on my page:

This is a seriously cool organization, so go check out their site.

Who knew it could be so great turning another year older?

There’s No Place Like Home

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:06:32 -0700

Where did summer go? It feels impossible to me that it’s Labor Day weekend, and we’re about to settle into the fall season. Of course, the summer weather will continue here, but the beach will slow down, the kids will return to school, the traffic will pick up, and we’ll settle back into the routine of life.

This feels like a good thing. Although summer is always my favorite time of year, this one has been particularly busy, culminating in the most whirlwind, jam-packed August of our lives. It feels impossible that BU’08 was just four short weeks ago. It seems like a lifetime. So here I am, Saturday morning, pausing to reflect on all the twists and turns our lives just took.

For starters, the BU’08 was more magnificent than imagined. I don’t know that I could adequately describe in works just how extraordinary it was having all of these families and our children together, totally care-free and blissed out, basking in the sunshine and the unique bonds that have been formed over the past months. The best was just watching all the kids together. Every once in a while, I would step back to take it all in, and I’d find myself being overcome by the profoundness of it all. My parents came to beach day, and as my mom walked toward the ocean to greet us, I could see her face holding back the tears. Her words said it all: “it’s just too much.”

The Sunday evening after the BU, there was a concert on the beach. It’s a great event where the whole community comes out and picnics on the sand and listens to music while the sun sets. The Bottomly’s and Runnions were still in town, and we even got to see Meredith and Ryan for a few minutes. We nicknamed the concert the BU “closing ceremonies.” It was great to be able to reflect on the weekend together and also get to know each other a little bit more. Here are some photo highlights...

The moms hangin’ with their babes:

The guys enjoying the sunset:

After a busy weekend, mommy & Zoe unwind together:

After that, it was off to the races. We got up at the crack of dawn on Monday morning to pack Drew for a week in NYC for a big shoot. I was back to work for three jam-packed days, and then Zoe and I were on a plane to NY early Thursday morning to join Drew for the weekend. We visited his relatives who got to meet Zoe for the first time. It was great fun!

Zoe with her great grandma Swersey:

Mommy and Zoe hangin’ in Central Park:
Taking a table snooze after Sunday Brunch:

Of course a champagne brunch always makes you tired:

We got to meet our NY blog buddies during this trip and see their daughter Eyerus again, who we met in Ethiopia. Here are our two girls together again:

That Monday, we flew back to LA and were back to the office Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a shoot out of the office Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Phshew. But ‘lo and behold, we were with Heather (who we often hire as a stylist) when she got “the Call” from Gladney, introducing her and her husband Chris to their new daughter. We had joked on a few occasions how cool it would be if we were on set when she got her call. And that’s precisely what happened! You can read all about it here. It was an unbelievable rush witnessing someone else’s Call first-hand. I will never forget that moment and can’t wait to meet Heather and Chris’s new daughter.

Heather during “the Call”:

We were then back to work on Monday and Tuesday, and that Wednesday we were once again flying to the East Coast. This time it was to Naples, Maine for another work project. We were there through Sunday morning and returned back to LA late Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, we were able to bring Zoe with us, and unlike the NY trip where she was a lap child, we splurged and bought her her own seat. It was a far more pleasant trip. And I have to brag: she’s quite the traveler!

Here’s Zoe enjoying the Maine scenery while Mommy & Daddy worked:

We took Monday off to decompress and then just powered through this past week to get caught up on a lot of work. We’re both pretty exhausted. But now it’s Labor Day weekend, and we have a new appreciation for its significance. We will be doing NOTHING this weekend. Just hanging out as a family, getting in a lot of rest and play, and being thankful that we have a home we love so much. As the old adage goes, there truly is no place like home.

Although our work lives tend to be full, we fortunately don’t have to travel much and our lives are or not usually this chaotic. Living the occasional August provides a nice reminder of how important it to slow down and enjoy life. And now that we are a family, we have a new appreciation for just how precious downtime is, to take in the details and truly look at life through the eyes of our little Zoe.

She adds so much dimension to our lives. Like, just this past week, she started walking. You know the kind: remove hands from the table, stand there in frozen disbelief as she holds her own balance, take a few Frankenstein steps forward, listen to loud cheering from parents and then collapse on floor with a big goofy grin on face, followed by her own self-applause. Sometimes she does a drunken sailor variety of walk, and mostly she does the take mom or dad by the hand kind of walk... but nonetheless she is walking, and I never thought that this milestone would bring so much joy or entertainment.

She is also talking up a storm. Carrying full-on conversation in some alien language that occasionally incorporates the words “daddy,” “duck” or “woof.” And perhaps I am biased, but I do believe she’s the most animated 13 month old I’ve ever seen. Her face truly goes wild with expression as she points to butterflies hanging in her room and goes “ooh!” or as her eyebrows lift high when she hears a good beat that she then head-bangs to... or that furrowed brow she gives in return after you say “no” for the 20th time after she puts her hands in the dog’s water bowl. In fact, usually after saying no to her on something, I have to exercise great self-control to keep from laughing at the death-stare I get from her. She remains a strong-willed child, and I am still somehow entertained by it.

Something else I admire about Zoe is how friendly, independent and adaptable she is. She will quickly settle into new relationships, initiate peek-a-boo with perfect strangers and venture out to explore new territory. Although strong-willed myself, I was never this kind of confident, fun-loving child, so it truly gives me the greatest joy seeing this part of her personality. It’s early to say for sure, but I think our little Zoe is an extrovert. She surely is energized by the party.

These are the types of things we’re thinking about this Labor Day weekend. How special all the details that make up Zoe are. How blessed we are to have her in our lives. How just this time a year ago, we were talking about how certainly we’d be getting our referral soon and that next Labor Day she’d be home with us.

It’s good to be home.

P.S. This just in. Go here and see if anyone looks familiar =)

More BU’08 Pics!

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 20:02:49 -0700

Our slideshow was updated to include pics from the beach day! Here it is again...

BU’08 -- Kick Off Fiesta!

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 07:55:00 -0700

We’re off to a great start with BU’08! Here are some highlights from our Friday night fiesta.

Zoe’s 1st Birthday

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:06:45 -0700

Zoe turned one on July 11, and we celebrated with a luau-style beach bash on Saturday, the 12th with about 70 of her closest friends and family. It was pretty overwhelming to see the love in this little girl’s life. What a special day! It was particularly fun to have so many of her Ethiopian buddies there for the big event. Thank you to everyone who shared in the celebration of her magnificent life!

Maximum Capacity for BU ’08!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:50:42 -0700

Yes ladies and gentlemen, this fine affair has attracted a bigger response than ever dreamed of! We have 115 (adults and kids) official attendees. Wow! And it’s going to be an amazing time for all us who’ve become such close virtual friends to meet each other in person at last.

I would love to keep the doors open right up until the eleventh hour, but alas, it is time to order tee shirts and finalize head count and venues that are large enough to accommodate such a large group. If I heard from you today, don’t worry as I’ve included you in the final count and event info is coming over to you shortly.

If you weren’t able to make it to BU ’08, hopefully this tradition will continue and we’ll see you at BU ’09...

For the rest of you, see you in a couple of weeks!

Happy 1st Birthday, Zoe Makeda!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:56:11 -0700

Our precious girl. We love you more than we could ever put into words. How abundantly blessed we are to have you as our daughter -- and that we get to celebrate every birthday with you.

My heart is full.

BU’08!

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 21:28:29 -0700

Where will you be this August? Hopefully, it’s partying with us at the first ever Ethiopian Blog Union held right here in beautiful Hermosa Beach, CA! And we even have our own logo, courtesy of Tommy (as in Judah’s daddy!)

So far, we have 37 families confirmed to be in attendance, coming as far away as Massachusetts and Connecticut! Yes, it should be pretty hilarious seeing how we cram over 100 people (over 40 of them babies and children) in our small house for the Kick Off Fiesta!

Update since original post: We are officially at maximum capacity for BU ’08, coming in at a whopping 115 people! We look forward to seeing the rest of you at what we hope becomes an annual tradition.

One Year Blog Anniversary!

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 07:56:14 -0700

One year ago today, we announced to our friends and family that we were adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia... and we launched our blog!

What a difference a year makes. It’s gone by so fast, and yet it also feels like a lifetime. One year ago today, we walked in a bit of a daze through the bustling festivities of the 4th of July holiday at the beach, daydreaming about our future family, feeling certain Zoe had already been born (but she wasn’t yet!), thinking about 4th of July THIS year and how we’d be a real, bona fide family. And we are.

Some highlights from the past year:

Sending off the last of our paperwork, officially placing us on the Wait List!

Drew receiving the referral call from Mary, writing down a number where we could call her back... I remember having the hugest headache and thinking I should guzzle some water, which you can see me doing on our referral video...

The first picture we ever saw of precious Zoe:

The beginning of our 30 hour trip to pick up our new daughter:

The official “hand off!” I just love Drew’s facial expression in this picture:

Who are these crazy people? (She still makes this face):

Homecoming:

Fast forward to now. Teeth, joy and a mission. That’s our girl!

I’m so glad we chose to blog about our journey. Not only has it served to document our most life-changing experience; it’s helped us form an amazing community of friends and adoptive families who share in this special bond.

We love it and plan to continue to blog as we grow our family through the miracle of adoption... stay tuned...=)

Drink More Coffee!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:42:35 -0700

Our previous blog post drew a comment from the founders of Gobena.org, an awesome charitable organization that sells organic, fair trade coffee from Ethiopia, Guatemala and Colombia. 100% of the proceeds to go help Orphans around the world.

Go check out their site and read the story about how their company was founded. It gave me chills, and then when I watched their adoption video, I bawled my eyeballs out.

You guys are awesome, and Drew and I are for sure buying some coffee and spreading the word! Thanks for letting us know about your Coffee for a Cause! Guess I’ll just have to kick up my coffee drinking habit. I mean, everyone needs a vice, right?

Making it Count

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:15:42 -0700

Life is busy! We’ve been in one of those windows where there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day, which frankly can be a wee bit stressful. I don’t know about you, but it’s during times like these that thoughts about that new mattress we need or my disorganized garage or my growing “to-do” list can become all consuming. And I quickly get caught up in the busyness of life.

I didn’t realize I had fallen into one of these windows until I took a day off last week to do some catching up. During two of my errand stops, I found myself in conversation with a couple of 70+ grandpa types -- neither of whom seemed to have a sense of time, and both of whom just chatted away with me about their wives, kids, histories. During the first such conversation, I was thinking inside about how much work I had to get done and how I didn’t have time to chat. But it was like I had a little good angel on one of my shoulders tapping me and telling me to slow down and just enjoy this guy’s company. So I did. And oddly, the stress started to lift, and I quickly fell into a groove during my errand-running day, enjoying the process. After grandpa #1, I was hopping on the freeway, and there was a homeless guy on the entrance with his sign “hungry, please help.” I remembered I had a balance bar in my bag, which I rolled down my window and gave him. The old, homeless guy jumps up and runs to my window, takes the bar, and says, “God bless you!” I said, “thank you, God bless you too!” And he said, “He already has.” As I accelerated onto the freeway, I had that rush of energy and excitement that comes from doing something thrilling. But all I did was hand someone a little food. It dawned on me that with all the stress and hustle of life, I need to slow down and make sure that I’m not just going through the motions -- but that all my actions count.

Drew and I think about that a lot too in relation to giving. Most people want to give to a great cause, but one of the biggest roadblocks is the concern (very justifiable) that donations genuinely be put to good use. “Making sure it counts,” if you will.

To that end, we want to share some info on a few organizations that really “make it count” for the people living in Ethiopia.

Watch this commercial and then CALL the 800# on the screen and donate a wheelchair to someone in Ethiopia. (This specific 800# is specially tracked to redirect chairs for an Ethiopia campaign we’re working on, so call the 800# versus donating on-line)

Drew’s company produced this commercial last year, and thanks to many generous contributions via our blog, as well as generous donations from the Wheelchair Foundation itself, an entire cargo unit filled with 280 brand new, large tire wheelchairs has been purchased and should arrive in Ethiopia by October of this year! Wahoo!

Lets not stop there. Thousands of people in Ethiopia, including children and the elderly, crawl around on their hands and knees, dodging traffic and breathing diesel fuel, all for lack of a wheelchair. (If you’ve traveled to Ethiopia, you’ve witnessed this first-hand.) We work closely with the Wheelchair Foundation and can assure you that your donation will truly change lives in Ethiopia. Donate one wheelchair and you will literally change a person’s life. (If anyone reading wants information on sponsoring an entire cargo unit of wheelchairs to Ethiopia, and thus possibly traveling to experience the delivery of the chairs, contact Drew directly. Sponsoring an entire cargo unit can make for a great local fundraising event as well.)

Help Gladney help our kids!

Anyone who’s traveled to Ethiopia has seen first hand the unbelievable love and support Gladney provides to so many children. This piece was put together with just some of the pictures and video we took on our trip to pick up Zoe. All of the kids in this video reside in orphanages heavily supported by Gladney, and as they get older, the likelihood of them ever being adopted diminishes drastically. Gladney helps improve the quality of these children’s lives and gives them a chance at a future. Please watch the video, and at the end you will have an opportunity to make a donation to Gladney. All funds go directly to the kids and orphanages in Ethiopia.

Finally, forget about Starbucks and check out Fair Trade Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee. If you like coffee, order from this web site. Ethiopian coffee is considered to be the best in the world. This website enables you to order it in a way that directly benefits the farmers on the ground in Ethiopia who actually harvest the coffee you’ll be drinking. It’s also very affordable and you can even set up auto delivery, so it’s a simply way to help people in Ethiopia while enjoying some great coffee. We’re big coffee drinkers and just signed up for the auto-delivery program...

* * *

Later on my errand-running day, I ran into grandpa #2, who was clearly an alcoholic and terribly lonely. He was telling me about how he hates his job and how he lost his wife a year ago. I listened; we chatted, and we laughed together. He told me I’m a good girl. When I left over an hour later from what should have been a fifteen minute detour, I realized that this is what life is about -- making each moment count. It was the best day I’ve had in a while.

I’m going to buy a bunch of balance bars for my car today.

Happy Mother’s Day

Sun, 11 May 2008 08:05:26 -0700

Last year this time, I got to celebrate Mother’s Day as an expectant mom, not quite done with paperwork. Fast forward a year later, and I’m the mom of a ten month old! That’s right, Miss Zoe Makeda is celebrating her ten month birthday today, and it seems impossible that she’s actually been with us for a full six months. Where has the time gone?

Here she was just six short months ago:

And here she was today, taking me out for my Mother’s Day brunch =)

This is indeed a Mother’s Day to celebrate, and today I’m going to celebrate all of Zoe’s ten month milestones.

Teeth! The girl has two bottom teeth and one top tooth and three more ready to pop out at any second! Unbelievable.
Hair. Can you say curly mops? Of course, she already uses the finest quality hair care too. That’s my girl!
Vocabulary. It now includes Daddy, Bye and E-I-O (a la Old MacDonald), as well as a lot of indiscernible babble. The girl likes to “talk!”
Decibels! Not only does she like to experiment with vocals, she does so LOUDLY. Apparently, this runs in our family.
Expression. This little lady is animated. Also runs in our family.
Independence. They say you can see their personalities from the get-go. Well, let’s just say our little Zoe is a one-woman show. I see a strong willed child in our immediate future!
Congeniality. She will charm the pants off of anyone. Zoe can work a crowd better than anyone I’ve ever met.
Mobility. She went from so nicely playing in one place to rolling, creeping and just today (what a Mother’s Day gift!) crawling every last corner of the house -- revealing to me in leaps and bounds all the child safety hazards we are immediately addressing. (P.S. Remove those caps that cover the bolts on the base of your toilet. Choking hazard! Who knew?)
Reading comprehension. Okay, this is a stretch. But she does love her nighttime reading routine and can sit through two or three bedtime stories.

I could go on and on bragging about our angel of a daughter. She is truly the light of our lives! Here are some more cute pictures taken today...

With our next door neighbor, Papa Joe:

Just looking the part:

Being silly with Daddy:

Um, you’ve got a little something on your face...

This age is SO MUCH FUN! And this mommy business just keeps getting better and better...

To all my mommy friends, Happy Mother’s Day!

This One’s For You

Thu, 8 May 2008 13:16:48 -0700

It’s come to my attention that I have been a little lax about posting to our blog as of late. This came from an unlikely observer this week, during Zoe’s second business trip. Drew and I both ended up attending the same industry convention in San Diego these past few days. Since we’re not ready to be away from the Divine Miss Z just yet, we brought a friend with us to watch her.

So there I am at this convention hotel in San Diego, standing at the bar to order a round of drinks for a meeting. This guy standing next to me, who’s clearly attending the same convention, asks who I work for. I answer, and it turns out his wife is someone who services my business, who I happen to know (somewhat off the record and hush hush) is also adopting, but from China. So I say that I know about “their little secret” and that we just adopted from Ethiopia. And he says, “hey, I read your blog; I know who you are! I should have recognized you from your pictures.” He then promptly reprimanded me for my lack of regular updates!

As the convention goes on, he happens to meet the one and only Zoe, which was clearly special, since she’s real life proof that this long, laborious and emotionally complex journey of adoption does in fact have a joyful ending. (Plus, it turns out she’s already famous in his household.) Later in the day, my new friend also met Drew. I’m paraphrasing here, but Drew told him “you know, people always talk about what it’s like the day your child is born, and specifically, being in the delivery room and watching your child come into the world. That may be an experience we’ll never know, but I can tell you the exact spot where I was standing when we got ‘The Call.’ There are very few people who will ever know in their lifetime what it’s like to get ‘The Call’ that will introduce you to your child. It’s the most amazing experience a person could ever have.”

Isn’t it true? For those of us who’ve received “The Call,” there’s no more remarkable, life-altering, exhilarating experience. And for those who are waiting for “The Call,” you’re likely following along on blogs, living vicariously through others and imagining where you will be and what you’ll be doing the moment you have that life-changing experience. I remember daydreaming about that moment every morning in the shower. I stalked blogs, reading every last detail of others’ journeys and crying as I watched their families being formed. At least once I day I would move myself to tears over the vision of it actually happening to us. Yes, “The Call” is as wonderful as you imagine -- trumped only by actually having your child placed in your arms.

So, to my new friend waiting for your referral -- I hope your trip home from the convention was a safe one and just know that this this blog update was written especially for you! May your referral call come soon. You will in fact become a family, and it will be even more spectacular than you’ve dreamed. In the meantime, may you enjoy the journey every step of the way!

And now for some Zoe pics:

Look who we met at the beach! Another Ethiopian princess and her parents.

After a long day at the beach -- did we get everything???

Just hanging out in our jammies

Zoe picking tomatoes with her great grandma, “Mamma.”

Zoe and her Unkie Adam -- a silly pair

Enjoying the sunshine

Hard at work

Living the Good Life

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:20:11 -0700

This is one of those spectacular, summer weekends we are prone to get here in Southern California, leaving us feeling like all is right in the world. Yesterday, we went for a family walk on the strand, and when Zoe fell asleep, Drew and I decided to take the window of opportunity to stop for some appetizers and a margarita. We were watching Zoe have a nice little nap in her stroller, and it dawned on us -- we officially can’t imagine life without her. She’s now been with us for five glorious months. The “adjustment” phase somewhere along the way passed us by, and now we’re just living life together as though we’ve always been a family of three (I mean four -- sorry Rocky!).

Zoe just turned nine months old on Friday! It seems impossible. She just started rolling over a few weeks ago, but now there’s no stopping her. She just log rolls all over the house. Thank goodness we finally got the gates installed! (We have lots of stairs!) She also now goes from a sitting position into a launch that lands her on her tummy. But the crawl seems a ways away still. We don’t mind one bit having her stay in this baby stage for as long as possible. She also just cut her first two bottom teeth, and the pediatrician said it looks like the top ones are working their way out too. Oh, how we’re going to miss that magnificent, gummy smile that lights up a room! (Somehow I think she’ll now have a magnificent, toothy smile that lights up a room...)

We had our nine month appointment with the pediatrician on Friday, and it seems that someone tipped Zoe off that she’s in a tall family. She’s managed to grow to almost 29 inches, which puts her at the 85-90th percentile. She’s also weighing in at the 70th percentile, and her head’s gone up to 70th percentile. Her iron is also up to healthy levels now, and the pediatrician is very happy with her progress and the clear indications of the quality of nutrition she’s getting. (Honestly, the girl could live off her juicy thighs for a week!) Yes, we are proud parents!:)

She is also sleeping better. If she’s not teething or sick, she’s pretty much sleeping 11-12 hours, God bless her! Of course, every time I say that, we get a sleepless night. I’d say at this point, she sleeps through the night about 60 percent of the time. The other 40% is usually pretty bearable. I’m becoming more adept, though, at functioning on limited sleep. And the slightest stir can have me sitting upright in bed. It never ceases to amaze me how a tiny little person can totally have a grown adult wrapped around her little finger.

The Divine Miss Z continues to entertain us with her lively facial expressions and sparkling personality. You can’t meet her eyes without receiving the warmest, most joyful smile. Oh, and I got my first hug last week! It was a week ago today. We were out to lunch and I picked her up out of the high chair, and she wrapped her chubby little arms around my neck and squeezed tightly. Drew said, “she’s hugging you!” So it wasn’t my imagination. As Drew is my witness, I got myself a bona fide hug from my little angel. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was a life highlight. No wonder people keep having children. These moments are truly magical.

One of the funny things about being parents is how quickly our social calendar has filled up. Well, really, it’s Miss Z’s calendar. It seems we have something going on each weekend. Recently, she was spotted bonding with the Rooney’s. She got to meet them before they left to pick up Abe, and let’s just say, she loved Ted!

Then we got to meet Abe at his welcome home party in LA before they went up to Oregon. What a cutie! He’s even more splendid in person than he is in pictures -- as if that’s even possible. It is always so special to meet these magnificent children after following their parents’ journey. (We’re also celebrating that Samantha, Fernando and Marina are officially baby Celeste Fenit’s family! We can’t wait to meet her too!)

We also celebrated Easter with my family in Huntington Beach. We went to my dad’s church (he’s the pastor) and had brunch and an Easter egg hunt at my parents’ afterward.

Grandpa with three of his grand babies:

Here’s Zoe with three of her four cousins...

We also had our first family vacation. The impetus to this was mine and Drew’s desperate need for some R&R. We learned an important lesson, though -- there’s really no such thing as R&R when there’s an infant with you. The packing for her alone was an event in and of itself. But we did have some fun family time and made some great memories... AND Zoe went swimming for the first time!

Here’s Zoe in her travel tub:

Breakfast in bed:

And here she is hanging at the pool with us:

The day we got home from our little family getaway, we jetted off to another celebratory event -- Zoe’s BFF Aliya Selam’s first birthday! Aliya’s mom, Anne, and I became friends through this adoption process, and she brought Aliya home three months before we came home with Zoe. Zoe arrived at the Gladney foster home the week Anne was there. Aliya is also just three months older than Zoe. We look forward to these girls getting to grow up together!

This weekend, cousin Haley (our goddaughter) and Auntie Theresa (my little sister and Zoe’s godmother) came to visit. Theresa and I were sorting through our collection of baby clothes, so Drew took the girls off our hands with a trip to the toy store. Haley calls Drew “pop-pops” for “god pops.” She’s a genius and a year older than Zoe. We’re nuts over her! (By the way, Haley doesn’t use a pacifier -- she thought it was a good idea yesterday when she saw “Zo Zo” using one...)

Although we somehow passed through the adjustment phase of transitioning to parenthood, I still struggle with prioritization (since I notoriously take on more than I should), and finding enough time in the day to get everything done. Does anyone else find it impossible to find time to work out anymore? Health & fitness have always been very important to me, but with all of these life changes, I started getting out of my groove. Not to sound like an infomercial... but... Drew’s company just produced an infomercial for the Ten Minute Trainer by Tony Horton, and the product is AWESOME! It’s officially launching this coming weekend, but I’ve been using the videos and exercise bands for the past several weeks -- and I love it! No more excuses to ever skip a workout. I can do at least one ten minute workout in a day. And usually after the first ten minutes, I’m inspired to do one or two more workouts (sometimes more!). Anyway, not to pitch products on our website -- BUT if you’re a busy mom pressed for time, I’m telling you, you’ll totally love these videos and THEY WORK! I’ve been so excited about them, I keep telling everyone. So now you know too...

That’s about all for now. Looking forward to seeing so many of you at the BLOG UNION in August, and we’ll be posting a very exciting wheelchair fundraiser update in the next week, so check back soon!

TTFN!

The Divine Miss Z has been tagged

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:04:13 -0700

Zoe’s blog buddy, Pacey, tagged her to share 10 random things about herself. Zoe is a free-spirited, multi-dimensional and philosophical individual who prides herself on living life to the fullest, one day at a time. In her own words:

I model my life after Gandhi’s philosophy: Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
I’m a little more rock’n’roll than I am country.
I’m a real clothes horse. And I’m totally comfortable taking fashion risks.
I LOVE my bedtime routine: bath, stories, prayers and rock to sleep while mom hums me lullabies. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Rocky’s okay. I like him alright, but he keeps taking my toys and licking my entire face with his giant tongue.
I love to fly around the kitchen. My daddy takes me flying almost every day.
My favorite song is “Girls just want to have fun” by Cyndi Lauper. Me and my mom dance to it in front of the mirror and I scream with laughter! (Oh, and I have my very own play list. It’s eclectic. What can I say? I’m a renaissance girl.)
I’m a big conversationalist. I mean, what better way to get to know someone than to have a nice chat?
When my mom comes home from work, I squeal with delight. I know that it makes her day. Then she tilts her head to the side, and I copy her -- and we both have a good laugh.
I’m a real beach girl. I love going to the beach on warm days, walking on the strand with my parents and playing on the swings. And I can’t wait to share my beach with all of you at the Blog Union this summer!!!

I’m a little more on the ball than my mom (who forgot to pay forward her last tag), and I would like to tag Abe Rooney when he gets home. I know he’s going to have a lot to share with us. I also tag my Gladney buddy Zion and my Maui friends Tsebay & Kozette.

And from Carey: Since I forgot to pay forward my last tag of randomness, I would now like to tag Tara, who I think could entertain us immensely.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Keeping it Real

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:40:35 -0700

It has been nearly a month since I’ve posted. I’m a bad blogger. In fact, my blog viewing has been down too.

These past few weeks have been a little crazy for the Drew Carey Show. For starters, I got the flu. You know the kind: fever, aches, chills, sleeping through the day. Then Miss Zoe Makeda came down with the same bug.

So there we both were. Sick, miserable. And do you know what happens when a baby is sick? She wakes up every one to two hours. All night long. Do you know what happens when mommy is still sick? She is very sad waking up every one to two hours. (Daddy shared baby duty, but ultimately, sick baby wanted mommy.) It was a hard week. The following week was hard too, as I was still not back up to snuff, and Zoe was not far behind. I was back to work, trying to get caught up on everything (since I called in sick for the entire previous week) -- yet still pulling the all night shift with my baby girl. It was miserable.

Very quickly I went from visions of a house full of children to thinking that one child seemed like a better plan of action. After riding the high of new mommihood, I have been humbled by how challenging it can be when every component of life isn’t balanced. And really, how often is life in balance? Now I’m trying to take a new approach, roll with the punches and be okay with life being a little chaotic (and me being a little overtired)... I’m trying to keep it real.

Fast forward to today. I am healthy again. In fact, I’m feeling healthier than I did before we left for Ethiopia. And Zoe’s all better too. I’m back to work and almost feeling caught up on my workload. And it’s daylight savings and a happy time to live at the beach. Zoe is sleeping better, and our quality time together just keeps getting better. So guess what? I’m feeling on top of my game again. Hey, I can do this mommy thing! Bring on the big family!...

In spite of the adjustment phase, I truly do love being a mom, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more fulfilled. My mother has taken to calling Zoe the Divine Miss Z, and I think it suits her perfectly. She is splendid, indeed. We’ve already been together for over four months, and she just celebrated her 8 month birthday. She’s getting so big and full of personality, and with each new day, we just grow to love her more -- as if that’s possible. And I really like her too, ya know? I mean, it’s a given that we love her, but she’s just such a likable person.

I have a million new pictures of her, but I just experienced an iPhoto problem and can’t access any of my pictures right now. BUT, I did download some new pics from Zoe’s first business trip!

That’s right. I needed to head up to Portland for work, and I wasn’t ready to leave her yet. So I flew my mom up with me to watch Zoe during my meetings...

Here she is at LAX with my mom:

When we got to our hotel in Portland, Zoe received a warm welcome from my vendor:

And here she is at her first business dinner (she was a scintillating conversationalist):

She also got caught up on some important reading (and she’s frankly disgusted by the whole Eliot Spitzer scandal):

This trip wasn’t all work. We did manage to squeeze in a little play. While I was in my meetings on Friday, Zoe and my mom spent the day with my sister-in-law Tracey, and my nephew, Red (they live in Beaverton). That evening, me and my brother were able to join up with the rest of the gang, and we all had dinner together.

Here’s Red enjoying some water in a fancy glass while the grown-ups enjoyed some Oregon Pinots:

And Zoe was NUTS over her Uncle Tim (one of my three brothers). Here’s Tim with Red & Zoe at the dinner table:

I think the feeling was mutual:

(And if you’re wondering why I have an up-the-nose shot of my brother, it’s because he, like myself, is freakishly tall. We’re the tallies in the family...)

Instead of flying home on Saturday morning, we stayed until the evening so we could drive to McMinnville and see my best friend’s new baby girl, Sarah. She is LOVELY. Here’s a funny picture of me holding her -- funny because this is the best of about 20 pictures Sarah’s two and a half year old brother took on my camera =)

He took this picture of Zoe too =)

Our flight home was delayed, so we stopped for a bite to eat and some moments of reflection:

I’ll post more pictures of Zoe as soon as I figure out what I did to my photo library. In the meantime, we remain so excited by the great turnout we’re getting for the Blog Union! We can’t wait to meet all of you and your kids!

TAGGED -- An Incomplete History...

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:29:54 -0800

My older brother, Jason, and I have joked many a time about the “curse.” You know the one: where your mom in exasperation over your youthful behavior declares, “I hope you have children just like you one day.” It appears her wishes from well over 20 years ago are finally being granted. Zoe is just like me. (Poor Drew.) I mean, in addition to being a little over the top animated, this girl is a wee bit bossy and, shall we say, assertive?. What she doesn’t realize is that I wrote the book on that subject. Yep, I’ve got Zoe’s number. And I’ve gotta say, this girl cracks me up.

I’m not sure, but I think Zoe might be clapping at me for something in this picture... =)

This morning we got a new comment on You Tube about our referral video, which of course had me watching it again. I never get tired of reliving that moment. I remember Drew and I crying and shaking with excitement over the fact that our referral call came, even BEFORE we were able to clear the room and call Mary back for details about our precious Zoe. It’s been five months since that call and three months since we’ve had her, and I think it’s safe to say, we can’t imagine life without her.

Fortunately, our photo library helps us remember life (as thought it existed!) before Zoe...

My blog buddy, Lori, tagged me to participate in an incomplete photo history of sorts. Some of our best pictures pre-date digital photos (or were lost in the great computer crash of 2005), so I’m limited by what’s stored on our computer.

In honor of the randomness of this particular blog tag, I’m going to be random in my photo selections. The theme to my randomness will be “fun memories pre-dating Zoe... since 2004,” which happens to be as far back as my digital library will take me.

The picture above is of me and Drew tailgating (just the two of us!) at a Dave Matthews concert. I don’t see tailgating in our new future.

Drew and I have gotten to go on some pretty cool trips too. One of my all time favorites was when we rented a 5-acre island in the middle of the South Pacific in Fiji, called Namotu, with a group of friends. It was extraordinary.

In 2004, my baby brother, John, and I trained for and ran the LA Marathon. Shortly after these pictures were taken, I found myself in the emergency room. No, not from dehydration but from OVER hydration, which can prove to be fatal. Emergency room aside, this was one of my greatest life memories. (Drew has since made me promise my marathon days are over. It was a scary day for him.)

Here we are 26 miles into it, with .2 to go! (And yes, I’m doing the “thumbs up” run... and yes, my arms ARE that long)

After crossing the finish line...

One of the great joys -- and great panics -- of my life was when my sister, who is five years younger than me, was pregnant with our goddaughter, Haley. Truth be told, when she called to tell me, I had to pull over on the side of the road and hyperventilate. After all, I am the big sister and was supposed to have children first. Drew kept promising me that when it happened for us, it would be more extraordinary and memorable than I could ever imagine. Little did we realize how prophetic his words would be... And it turns out, I’ve very much enjoyed being able to tap into Theresa’s experience as we face many “firsts” with Zoe.

Here’s a picture of me and my sister at the baby shower I threw for her...

And here’s me and Drew glamming out at an Emmy’s party -- self portrait:

And at the Love Ride. Don’t we look fun and cool? Well, the honest truth is I had a huge headache by the end of the day. (An admitted control freak, I don’t do well on the back of a motorcycle for the better part of a day. I do, however, like my pink helmut.)

And finally, just a short three months before Zoe was born, Drew and I were standing in front of the Louvre. I remember panicking before this trip to get as much paperwork done as possible so a week out of the country wouldn’t hold up the adoption process...

And the rest of our current history -- well, you’re already up to speed on that, courtesy of this blog.

Which brings us to today’s randomness... The Blog Union! Ladies and gentlemen, it’s getting a great turnout. And if you want to check out some of the oh-so-cool bloggers who will be in attendance, visit my newly added Blog Union web page.

Oh, and if you need a Zoe photo fix, check out the latest album just added on our albums page.

And a great big CONGRATULATIONS to the Crazy Thorne Gang who just got their referral for a beautiful little toddler boy!

Team Spirit

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:33:02 -0800

Last week started off on a high note for us when the Giants won the Super Bowl! Okay, I’ll admit it now. I’m not really a sports fan. But I do have team spirit, so it was easy for me to don the entire family in Giants apparel in solidarity for Drew’s team.

It’s with that same team spirit that we celebrate the amazing turnout thus far for our inaugural Blog Union! So far, I’ve collected 26 emails of families planning to attend, and we’ve set up our very own Blog Union Google Group. So please leave a comment with your email address if you want to get in on the team-spirited action! Just a little teaser...

We had our first Blog Union Miracle! One of the families who really wanted to come didn’t know how they were going to swing it on the heals of their adoption. Well, they just received a gift of miles, and we’re going to find them a host family while they’re here. Wahoo!

Then we had our second Blog Union Miracle! Another super cool family was dealing with almost the same scenario -- and then realized that between airline miles and hotel points, they were going to be able to pull it off!

We’re getting an unbelievable turnout, including some of our blog “pioneers,” like the Bottomly’s and Faulkners, some of our recently returning families like Renee & Geert and their kids, families who are presently traveling, like Jocelyn (woohoo! thinking about you!), and families waiting to travel, like the Rooney’s and Alexanders. And of course, this is by no means all-inclusive. Just look at the comments from my prior post.

This is just totally exceeding expectation, and we couldn’t be more excited! So don’t miss out on the fun. Just shoot me a comment with your email address, and I’ll add you to the list. (And if I somehow missed you, let me know!) Soon, I’ll be adding a page to my site with all the fun details as they unfold.

In the meantime, a blog post just isn’t the same without a little Zoe update. Well, yesterday marked THREE MONTHS of her being home with us...

Then...

Now...

Look how teeny she was! Would you believe, her seven month birthday is tomorrow? I can’t believe how big she’s getting. We just had a pediatrician appointment, and she weighed in at exactly 17 lbs, and she’s 27 inches long. That’s 70th percentile for height, and 50th for weight.

She’s still eating up a storm and now has three meals a day, in addition to her bottle.

She sits up, reaches for objects, talks up a STORM and is the most demanding 7 month old I’ve ever met. This is where the nature versus nurture experiment gets entertaining... because this girl is just like her mother! (Or so Drew keeps saying...)

A couple of you have asked about the adjustment back to work. Yep, it’s an adjustment alright, but it’s going really well, I think. We’re so blessed to have great childcare. Zoe’s nanny just loves her, and Zoe loves her right back. That’s a shift in and of itself, welcoming someone into your family. But each week gets a little easier for me, and it’s just life for Zoe. We also have a wonderful pediatrician who has assured me that Zoe still knows who mom is, and I’m very fortunate to work for a company that values family, which has really helped with the work/home life balance.

Here are some pictures that were taken of Zoe while mommy & daddy were at work. Enjoy!

Okay, this one cracks me up... What is she wearing? And is that my housekeeper holding her up??? It’s like there’s a party going on at my house while I’m at work!!!

Watching TV??? (not really.)

Yep, it’s a good life being Zoe Makeda...

P.S. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m multi-faceted. I can blog from the good ol’ US of A while accompanying Jocelyn and Amy Breedlove to Addis. See for yourself =) And thanks girls for including me in the fun! What I wouldn’t have given to actually be there with you. Instead, I will simply have to savor every last juicy detail from your blog entries...

Blog Union! - Save the Date

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 08:35:02 -0800

How does the weekend of August 1-3 sound?

We’ve been talking about it, so let’s do it! That’s right, it’s time to schedule our first (annual?) get together for all of us bloggers who’ve bonded through this adoption journey and need to meet once and for all. What a special opportunity for us and our children to share in this most unique and wonderful way to form or grow a family.

Drew and I are throwing our hats in the ring to host the 2008 event right here in beautiful Hermosa Beach (see pic above), known for it’s vast beaches, surf and beach volleyball. Our sister cities are Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach, so if you decide to stay a little longer, there’s ample to keep you occupied for a great family beach vacation.

Here’s a tentative itinerary:

For the early arrivers:
Thursday evening – California wine & cheese reception

Official Blog Union dates:
Friday afternoon – kick-off BBQ at our house
Saturday – beach day! Sand castle contest, beach volleyball, body surfing and just hanging out together.
Saturday night – shall we be so bold as to line up some sitters and have grown-ups night out?
Sunday morning – brunch & goodbyes

I’m seeing dorky, matching t-shirts and a group photo too, aren’t you???

Travel & Accomodations
We’re about a 15 minute drive from LAX. And you don’t even have to get on a freeway!
There’s an assortment of great hotels in the area too. If your budget can swing it, we highly recommend the Beach House. You’ll be able to walk from there to our house in a matter of minutes. Other nearby hotels within just a few minutes of drive time:
The Portofino (Redondo Beach)
Crowne Plaza (Redondo Beach)
Hampton Inn (Hermosa Beach)
Hotel Hermosa (Hermosa Beach)
Sea Sprite (Hermosa Beach)
Go HERE for a list of all local hotels

We’re hosting a couple of families at our house. If any of our other local bloggers want to do the same, that would be great. The expense savings would help more families be able to attend.

We’re really excited to get this show on the road. If you’re in for sure or tentative, please indicate so in the comments section and include your email address, and I’ll get an email list going. Questions? Just leave me your email, and I’ll contact you. Never commented before, but you’ve been a blog stalker and are dying to get in on the action??? Well, you’re welcome too!

Not sure if you want to hang out with me for an entire weekend? Well, I’ve been tagged, so now you can get to know me more. (And Drew’s list would be way cooler than mine.)

Hope to see you all in August!

Crazy 8’s

8 things I’m passionate about:
1. God
2. Drew
3. Zoe
4. My family
5. Ethiopia
6. Justice
7. Making a difference in the lives of the people around me
8. Organization (I know, I know, it probably shouldn’t make the list – but I am passionate about it)

8 things I want to do before I die:
1. Win the Lottery
2. The splits
3. Learn how to tap dance
4. Start a charitable organization (I have a concept I’ve been gelling on for a while)
5. Take a pass at being a full time mom
6. Learn how to play a musical instrument
7. Raise five kids
8. Learn how to be at peace with dying

8 songs I never tire of listening to
1. If I should fall behind (Bruce Springsteen)
2. Just about any song by Keith Green, the 70’s gospel singer
3. Jane Says (Jane’s Addiction)
4. There will come a day (Faith Hill)
5. Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton)
6. Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
7. Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver – and no, I’ve never lived in the country)
8. All I Want is You (U2)

8 things that attract me to my friends
1. Authenticity
2. A healthy dose of self-deprecating humor (I find it refreshingly honest, disarming and accessible when people can poke fun at their own idiosyncrisies)
3. Silliness
4. Vocabularies that include words like parallelism and snarkiness
5. A keen wit and sparkling personality
6. Humility
7. Kindness
8. Passion – for anything, be it a belief, justice, a goal. I dig passionate people.

8 things I learned in 2008:
1. I LOVE being a mom. I mean, more than I fantasized about or could have imagined. It just satisfies my soul.
2. The world will not come to a screeching halt – nor will I lose friends – if my house is messy. (Now I’ve learned this lesson, but I’m still not at peace with it.)
3. It’s my responsibility to proactively care for our environment.
4. (Confession from a control freak -- learned during our adoption experience): being out of control is scary and stressful, but it’s also exhilarating!
5. God’s grace, as it turns out, IS sufficient for me.
6. Circumstances and people don’t stress me out. I do that all by myself.
7. Less IS in fact more (from someone who crams way too much into a 24 hour period). My happiest, most fulfilling moments have been just sitting on the floor with Zoe, watching her sit up, roll over, eat blocks. That’s what really matters.
8. Having been on the receiving end of some stupid comments, I concluded that I’ve probably been the offender of unintentional insensitivity more times that I’ve ever realized. So to all my buddies out there who’ve been the recipient of MY stupidity, thanks for being my friend anyway =)

8 things I say often:
Thread the needle
Love you. Mean it.
At the end of the day…
Rocky, No.
AWESOME.
Let me gel on it
I was born ready.
I’m not gonna lie…

8 TV shows I recently watched:
Hmm, we haven’t been watching much TV lately, but I’ve caught episodes of the following:
1. Ugly Betty
2. that Climbing Everest show
4. Grey’s Anatomy
5. 60 Minutes
6. Entourage reruns
7. Friends reruns
8. Project Runway

And for an added bonus round…
8 new parenting tips I’ve discovered for myself…
1. The bumbo is a great place to put the baby when you have to go to the bathroom. (Yep, ours lives in the bathroom.)
2. There’s an array of fitness exercises you can do with the baby in your arms: lunges, squats, chest press, bicep curls
When setting up a play area for baby, set one up for the dog too. This avoids over using “No, Rocky” and also helps eliminate indiscriminate peeing.
4. When you need to pay bills, pull the high chair up to the dining room table next to you, so baby can “work” beside you. Who knew that bill paying could be fun for the whole family?
5. Don’t ever leave the house with the baby without a spare bottle. Ever.
6. The sling is the greatest invention since sliced bread. Fussy baby who doesn’t want to play, eat or sleep? Busy mommy who can’t just sit in the rocker holding her? Sling to the rescue! Productivity abounds, baby feels comforted and nurtured, mommy & baby bond… everyone wins!
7. Those play mat/activity gym things are a must have. I tried to limit the amount of gear introduced to our house, but this is a must-have if you ever want to take a shower, do the dishes or engage in any other activity that requires two free hands. I cart it around the house with me and use it all the time. And Zoe loves it! Baby is stimulated, and mommy can apply her makeup. Another win-win!

And finally…

8. When someone says, “Wow! You have a six month old? You look great!” You don’t need to explain that you adopted and didn’t actually recently give birth. You just smile, say thank you, and let them watch your fabulous self walk out the door.

And now I tag:

Pam, Renee, Samantha and whoever else wants to join in! And I fully expect to see you girls at the Blog Union! =)

By Popular Demand...

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:03:17 -0800

... a Zoe update!

Yes, I’ve been a bad blogger as of late. Life has gotten the better of me, and I’ve somehow neglected keeping our blog current. I suppose this is a sign that we’re settling into the routine of life, and I’m not going to lie -- we’re loving every second of it.

Truth be told, I was a little nervous that after all the efforts and longing to be a family that somehow the “reality” of parenting and all its responsibilities, replete with middle of the night wake-up calls, would somehow be a let-down or we’d have that “what have we done to our lives???” feeling. But perhaps it WAS all the effort and longing that makes even those middle of the night wake-up calls such a joy and blessed reminder that we get the privilege of being Zoe’s middle-of-the-night people. Not to romanticize this parenting business -- because holy cow, it’s a lot of work! It’s simply joyful work... at least, so far!

So what have we been up to? Well, let’s see...

For starters, I JUST finally mailed off our adoption announcement (sneak peek above! -- although a little cropped on the right...)

We celebrated two months of being a family on January 9th! and two days later, on January 11th, we celebrated Zoe’s six month b-day. Zoe has also received her official legal resident documents in the mail, and she is the proud bearer of a social security number.

Zoe’s doing great with her development. We were at the pediatrician yesterday, and she’s moved up to the 65th percentile in weight. Go Zoe! And I’d like to point out that with every visit the pediatrician comments that Zoe is some special baby with just a great personality. Yep, that’s our girl! She is seriously hilarious. She just this week learned to do that wet, razzing thing with her lips -- and it’s pretty much been non-stop since. She sitting up more and more by herself, and she loves pulling herself to standing. Oddly enough, though, with all the upward movement, she still hasn’t mastered the roll. She rocks side to side and arches her back and occasionally finds herself rolling over, but we don’t think she’s figured out yet how she does it, because we’re not seeing this particular activity replicated.

Zoe is also on solids now -- three times a day, as of yesterday. We don’t always let her get this messy, but every once and a while, we just have fun with it... I mean, how can we not? Just look at her.

Zoe’s Grandpa Bob bought her this Lakers onesie, so here she is a few weeks ago, practicing her sitting up AND showing her team pride.

Zoe will also be supporting her Giants for the Super Bowl this year. Stay tuned for pics...

Not suffering from poor self-esteem, one of Zoe’s favorite pastimes is entertaining herself in the mirror.

And here’s Zoe rockin’ the binky during a recent evening stroll (when the fog rolled in and we had to wrap her up in a blanket).

Our little lady is growing up! (Her new nanny loves dressing her up.)

As if it were possible, there is ONE member of our family with the post-adoption blues...

It’s actually a bit sad, and we’re not sure what to do about it. Rocky’s intrigued by Zoe and not remotely aggressive toward her. But he definitely has been a little depressed -- even skipping some meals. (And those of you who know Rocky know this is crazy talk! I even saw the vet about it.) He’s had numerous “accidents,” sometimes twice in a day. And no, it’s not incontinence when he pees on Zoe’s blanket.

In other news, I returned to work on Monday and just completed my first full week back. Wow, what an adjustment! Zoe did great and didn’t seem to miss a beat. Mommy on the other hand really missed her. I think it was good that we introduced the nanny into our lifestyles while I was still home, which made the return to work logistically so much easier. And we are so thankful to have found a nanny who loves Zoe so very much. She’s really wonderful with her, and Zoe’s crazy about her. But I miss being a part of her day. I think we have a good schedule down, though. I get up at the crack of dawn before she wakes up, to have a little bit of time to myself. Then I give her her first bottle and morning snuggle before the nanny arrives. When the nanny gets here, I pull myself together for the day and jet off to work. I make it home early enough to feed her dinner, give her a bath, read her bedtime stories & say prayers and then put her to bed. I can barely keep my head up, but I love this evening routine. I usually fall asleep while rocking her in the chair. Lately, I’ve been waking her up to give her a “twilight” feeding before I go to sleep, since she’s been conking out before her last bottle, and that seems to hold her through the night. I do get up with her once or twice a night, but I don’t have to feed her -- usually just soothe her.

So that’s the news around here. We have our first post-placement visit with the social worker on Saturday morning. Oh, and stay tuned... Blog Union dates coming soon!

Plan A

Fri, 4 Jan 2008 20:59:33 -0800

Are we the only ones who repeatedly hear the comment that now that we’ve adopted, watch out, we’re going to get pregnant? Suddenly, everyone knows someone who adopted and then whammo, got pregnant. Now I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but just to be clear, adoption isn’t some really terrific form of fertility treatment. It doesn’t relieve stress (quite the contrary!), nor does it increase the odds of conception. Don’t get me wrong. We’re pretty much never put out by comments not intended to be offensive, critical, judgmental, etc. We have wonderful friends who are deeply interested in our lives and wildly enthusiastic about Miss Zoe. But for some reason, as entertained as I’ve become by its popularity, this particular theory hasn’t been sitting well with me – and I’ve figured out why. It somehow (albeit unintentionally) implies that adoption is Plan B. So for Zoe’s sake and on behalf of all our adoptive friends out there, I want to go on the record stating that adoption isn’t settling; it’s very much Plan A -- regardless of what path got you here. Here’s what’s great about a Plan A. It means it’s your first choice. It means you didn’t have to go with the alternative. A is the highest grade you can receive in school. Hooray for A.

Will we ever have birth children? We don’t know. Isn’t that really in God’s hands? (And frankly, I’m not getting any younger!) We do know this. We can’t think of a more miraculous, exhilarating or fulfilling way to build a family than adoption -- and we’re not done with the adoption journey. We so look forward to knowing who else will become a part of our crazy little Drew Carey Show through adoption and hope to encourage others to walk down this path too. Adoption can be intimidating and overwhelming. When we first started looking into it almost two years ago, we found the process to be daunting and almost unattainable. But we finally dove in, and here we are, a family -- and this little road less traveled has indeed made all the difference. It has truly been the most extraordinary experience of our lives and only gets better and better as we enjoy parenting and celebrating every small milestone of Zoe’s life. We also think it’s pretty great that she has the most extraordinary smoky brown eyes, button nose and deliciously juicy berry lips that never could have been created between Drew and I. She is the most exquisite creature we’ve ever laid eyes on, and we can’t get enough of her. And then there’s that personality of hers – we can already tell that she’s so full of joy and verve. She really has this infectious way of cheering people up. No smile gets unreturned, even by a stranger. It’s a joy starting each new day with her. Our hearts actually ache with love for her. No, life doesn’t get better than this.

As we enter this New Year, we reflect on the amazing twists and turns our lives took in 2007. It wasn’t until February 18 that we officially requested an application to adopt. Less than a year later, we have a baby girl and an evolving vision for our future family. 2007 was a difficult year in so many ways, but it was undoubtedly the most extraordinary of our lives to date.

But enough of my sentiment. I know what you really want is some of the most recent highlights from our little Plan A:

After Christmas, my cousins (12 & 14) came with my aunt (married to my dad’s baby brother) to visit Zoe. I remember carting them around family gatherings when they were babies, and now they’re beautiful young women carrying my little baby around. Wild!

We had an EPS (explosive poop situation) that had me calling for Drew’s assistance. Moments later, he appeared in his high-tech Diaper Duty gear, ready to lend his manly helping hand. I about died laughing so of course had to photograph a reenactment. (Zoe has some pretty silly daddy times in store for her when she gets older.)

Zoe visited with our friends’ Chrissy & Miles’ girls, Davy and Presley, who had learned all about Zoe and adoption and were very excited to meet her. (Hello, gorgeous girls!)

And of course, they were hard at work creating a cushy bed for our little princess:

And for whatever reason, this picture just cracks me up (like, what should we do now?) You can see that Zoe was a good sport. That’s just the kind of girl she is. (P.S. You have to observe the bike and the red story book thing that are sitting out -- both taken out to show Zoe):

We took our holiday picture -- too late to mail to anyone, so it will just sit merrily in a frame that makes an annual appearance:

And we took our first professional family pictures, so I can FINALLY send out Zoe’s birth/adoption announcements. (Pardon the proof stamp.)

We also visited our friends at Fassica for the first time since being back. The owner of the Ethiopian restaurant, who we befriended months ago when beginning this journey, went nuts over Zoe. While we were there, a man came up to me and thank us for adopting Zoe. That was a common occurrence while we were in Ethiopia, but it wasn’t something we expected to experience at home. Of course, we are the lucky ones, blessed with this extraordinary daughter, but it is amazing to know what a wonderful culture she comes from -- one where its people really care about each other.

Here’s Zoe with Sabel:

We’ve learned that Zoe loves the sling. I use it when she gets fussy and needs to be held close -- and can sometimes even sneak in a little blog action. Here we are first thing in the morning (i.e. no hair & makeup):

And for this blog post’s grand finale........ DISNEYLAND! Yes, Zoe spent New Year’s Eve at Disneyland with her Auntie Theresa (my sister), her Uncle Dave and her cousin (our niece and goddaughter) Haley. We had a great time! The park was packed, so we only went on a handful of rides -- and Zoe slept through the Pirates of the Caribbean. (In fact, she slept for TWO hours in the sling!) Here are some highlights:

The girls

She loved the carousel

Uh oh, someone’s getting tired:

Wrapping up a fun day:

We celebrated New York New Years, popped a bottle of champagne, reflected on the amazing year we just completed and went to bed by 10. Yep, we rock it.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

It was December 22, just ten years ago...

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 08:23:14 -0800

... when the pilot was written for our Drew Carey Show.

What a difference ten years makes (as evidenced by picture above)...

Yes, just ten beautiful years ago, Drew and I met for the first time at a holiday party. With all the busyness of the season and being newly home with Zoe (getting pictures with Santa and all), we nearly missed this milestone date, and this is the anniversary we usually celebrate as the big one. I mean, had we never met, there would be no wedding anniversary to celebrate -- and well, there would certainly be no Zoe in our lives. Fortunately, we had the bright idea about a week ago to line up a sitter for tonight so we could go out alone for the first time since we’ve been home. Little did we intend to be celebrating our ten year anniversary.

Now this important date dawned on us last night as we sat down with a nice bottle of bubbly to reflect on how blessed our lives are with little Zoe and to celebrate the exhilarating week that just passed in blogville for our extended Gladney family. Wow, what a rush! The Rooneys, Breedloves and Fairy Good Baby all got their referrals on the same day! The Quinn girls and Renee & Geert both cleared court! And Eyerus and baby Ian were both united with their families! It is still such fun sharing in the overwhelming joy of other adoptive families. Congratulations to you all!

We’ve had some other fun milestones in our family. Our little Zoe is growing up!

She gained over a pound and a half in the last four weeks and is now at the 50th percentile in weight. Go Zoe!
She’s just started rolling over, but mostly still rocks side to side.
She’s talking up a storm, squealing in delight and working on some consonant/vowel combos. Yes, she’s a genius.
Oh, and did we mention she’s bilingual? In preparation for my return to work in a few weeks, we’ve been trying out some different childcare options and were fortunate to land on a terrific nanny who will come to our house. We’ve been doing trial runs while I’m still at home, and I have to tell you, it’s like baby school here. Zoe’s new nanny talks to her in Spanish all day long (which we’ve asked her to do, as it’s her first language and we want Zoe to learn it too!), reads to her, sings to her, does tummy time, the works. Earlier this week, I walked in on this little classroom:

And... drum roll, please... she had her first cereal last night!

And just for fun, another Zoe photo shoot. (Drew and I are her very own personal paparazzi. Isn’t she divine?)

We are settling in to “normal” life -- and it’s starting to feel like we are in fact a real family and not just roll playing.

Anyway, what a wonderful time of year to reflect on what blessed lives, beautiful family and wonderful friends we have. From our very own little Drew Carey Show, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

California Girls!

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 08:29:53 -0800

Zoe had her first play date last week, and it was with none other than her Gladney buddy, miss Aliya Selam. I became friends with Aliya’s mom, Anne, during the adoption process. We had the same social worker, and turns out, we were both using Gladney. Aliya is eight months old and an absolute charmer! She is so funny, busy, and expressive. She worked hard crawling backwards, and she was very interested in the little baby. They are three months apart, and they also overlapped at the Gladney home by a week. Zoe had just arrived as a tiny little baby when Anne was picking up her precious Aliya. What a special story these girls will have! We’re thrilled that they will have each other. We love you Anne & Aliya! Here are some pics from their date:

And there was even more excitement going on last week. Through blogville, we were introduced to baby Ash’s and Eyerus’ auntie and uncle, Joelle and Lloyd, who live just a few miles from us. Actually, turns out Joelle and I even work in the same building. Small world. They came over to hang out, have lunch at the pier and meet little Zoe. It was so great meeting you guys. We look forward to spending more time together in ’08! (And Lloyd, I see a lot of babies in your future -- you are a natural!)

Eyerus’s parents and little bro are leaving today to pick her up in Addis. We are so excited for all of you!

Eyerus’ and Ash’s Aunt Joelle with Zoe

Lloyd (aka “the Baby Whisperer”) with Zoe

We know what all of you bloggers out there are thinking... how do you get in on all this California fun? Funny you should ask. A few of us have been emailing and blogging about the idea of a reunion -- or as Heidi Daileader pointed out, a “union,” since most of us have never really met. So we’re floating the concept of an actual blog “union” to be held in Hermosa Beach in August of ’08. We were thinking a long weekend, with a beach day, perhaps a night out for the parents and maybe even a trip to Disney? This is a really fun community, with easy access to LAX and a range of hotels to suit most budgets. (Although, we highly recommend the Beach House if you can swing it.) We will work out the details once we gauge the level of interest (or anticipated attendance), so we can plan accordingly. So what do you think? You need to schedule a summer vacation anyway, right? Post a comment if you’re game. It’s our pleasure to host the location.

P.S. Congrats to Jocelyn on the referral of the exquisite miss Pacey! And congrats to the Runnions on being official with Zion! We’re waiting with the rest of you to celebrate your successful court dates.