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On Sunday afternoon, August 19th, I stepped aside and two of my Tuf-Enuf aerobics buddies, Denise and Kris, took charge of our house and transformed it into baby shower central! It was so fun to watch the decorations go up, food preparation swirl into full swing and yummy dessert come to life. My only request of the hostess' was to include Patrick. I really wanted him to experience the excitement that a baby-oriented party congers, especially when Devi's expected arrival is so near.
Amazing how the level of competition goes up when men are present! Matching baby names with their celebrity parents was extremely challenging for almost everyone, but the guys gave it their all. It was too funny to listen to comments like, "that's not a baby name!" or "they shouldn't be having children together" and "I don't even know who that is!" Obviously, some of us haven't been buying enough People magazines :)
Next was the taste test. Baby food tasting that is! We tried eight different flavors?...types?...colors? I'm not sure what the baby food companies are trying for here, but bland seems to be key. Up until yesterday, Pat has thought of Mac n Cheese as its own food group; a staple. Baby Mac n Cheese, however, is unanimously forbidden in our house! It was the most horrid tasting muck I have ever let pass my lips. Plah, plah! No wonder kids become picky eaters :)
We rounded out the events by attempting to drawing a picture of a baby while holding the paper on our heads. Doug won this one followed by a round of whoops and high-fives. I was the judge and am a sucker for cute facial features....at least that is what I thought those were! Honorable mentions went to the baby that was drawn teeny tiny like Devi by Linley and another one was crying with hand written sound effects "wah". Cleeeveerrrr...wink wink!
We even had a celebrity grace our presence. Believe it or not, Snow White was in town! Just our luck :) She was a great helper and assisted Pat and I with the gifts. We were showered with all kinds of wonderful baby must haves and indulgences! Everything from a copy of Pat the Bunny, a big hit with Patrick (wonder why?), to a brightly colored tie-dyed dress, which I was totally digging (a mommy's girl in that regard, I hope)!
The day was great fun. It was especially nice to see our fellow Tuf-Enuf-ers in street clothes. It is sometimes hard to recognize everyone when there is no sweat! We all seem to clean up pretty nicely though :) Thank you to everyone who made the day so special for us....for the future babysitting volunteers and all the parental advise. We are so incredibly lucky to have the support of friendship in both happy and troubled times. It is truly amazing.
As we settled down that night and recounted the day, Pat was smiling from ear to ear, occasionally letting out a chuckle. After years of hearing baby shower horror stories, he said he never expected the day to be so much fun. Okay girls, the secrets out...baby showers aren't for just women anymore! Thanks so much Denise and Kris.
The day we allowed ourselves to begin preparing your room also marked the day that we felt sure that you would, without a doubt, be joining our family forever. Before this, the sense of being vulnerable seemed far to great to start. On this sunny day in July, however, we donned our painting clothes, rolled up our sleeves and immersed ourselves in thoughts of you. It was a great day...and everyday after as we worked on a project for your room, our hearts have felt so full. This may explain why your room is...well....so full! We hope you love it!
One special item is the grandparent's hand print picture that we made for you. I've explained earlier that this was our way of having my mother ( your grandma Dee Dee) take part in preparing for you before her passing. I love how it turned out; each print gives you a glimpse of each of the grandparents unique personalities, all of whom, love you so much.
Your borrowed crib was handcrafted out of sturdy maple by your Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tim for your cousins Olivia and Jordan. It was made for "Ross babies" and says so right on the bottom. That is why your Aunt Shannon and Uncle George wanted us to use it. The crib has traveled alot since it's creation. The latest leg of it's journey from Montana to Washington was in the back of Oma and Opa's car...special delivery.
Around your room are toys of mine saved from when I was a girl, including the tattered old teddy bear your great grandpa gave me when I born, which will hopefully bring you comfort as it did me so many years ago.
The furniture was used by your aunt Joan and I when we shared a room as girls and the rocker was a hand-me-down gift from Gail, a friend of your grandpa.
The valance is the sari that was given to us from our friends Martha and Paul (mentioned in an earlier blog entry) and the yellow and gold embroidered lamp shade was purchased from the Indian restaurant we like to frequent. It was a woman at Gateway to India who taught us the correct pronunciation of your Indian name and smiled when she informed us we were adopting a bengali girl!
We hope that you will feel safe and comfortable in this room of your own. We are certainly ready for you! Will you be ready for us? Hmmm....
I guess that goes for Devi too! Today we found out that the judge signed our guardianship papers and we can begin to prepare to travel in as soon as 4 weeks. With a huge exhale we just have to stop and wonder for a brief moment. Does this judge have any idea the powerful thing he has just allowed to happen for this couple and child who are soon to become a family? This experience for us has taken a turn. Suddenly, the feelings of worried hopefulness have turned into joyous anticipation and it feels wonderful.
As LUCK would have it (a term we have referred to often in this blog), Tami, another Dillon mother is picking up her daughter in India and sent us 6 more precious pictures. I especially liked this one....another tiny spec of personality revealed to us...a Kodak moment :)! In her message she had this to say about the girl we only know through a few pictures, two short video clips and now this message.
Bhargabi is adorable. She seems very calm and easy going. She was standing on her own without any assistance. She has a few teeth. She likes to suck her thumb on her right hand. She is babbling some...and makes good eye contact. She was a little shy about us picking her up, so we didn't force it. But she was really interactive otherwise. She and Mohana share a crib.
We've also heard that she and Mohana have taken quite a shine to each other. I think that is so sweet that these two have each other. First friends.
"Good Morning! Bhargabi's case was approved by the Judge in the Kolkata courts today, Congratulations!
That is the message I saw this morning when I opened my email and I can't think of a better way to start a day. Can you?
It has been such a long long time in coming. Next step....the attorney will now write up the guardianship court order and will submit it back to the judge for his signature. (This usually takes a minimum of a week and we are continuing to pray for no delays) Once it is signed the guardianship part of the process will be done and the documents will be released to the babies home so they can send them to Dillon to apply for Devi's Indian passport.
On the home front, we get to start applying for our visas, and collecting our necessary paperwork. We also will be getting immunized for travel. Patrick just had to come meet me for lunch today and we shared the biggest hug. This feels so good.
On Saturday morning when daddy woke up he rolled over to me in bed and his first words to me were...
"Are you good at math?" With sleep still stirring in my brain, I focused and thought about it and said...yes. Then he said "Oh good, you'll have to help Devi with her math homework." With that he rolled back over and closed his eyes again.
We were driving around recently running errands with the radio playing, the car was otherwise silent. Out of the silence daddy said.....
"What if she doesn't like soccer?"
I was reading from the India travel book about some of things I'd like to see and asked daddy what sites he'd be interested in seeing while in India. He responded...
"Devi...I want to SEE Devi. Everything after that is a bonus."
Yesterday I called him at work and said, "Are you ready to turn our not-so-wonderful-summer around?"
Daddy responded, "REALLY! We got it? Legals, I mean?" Boy did I feel awful when I told him, "Oh, no...I managed to score Stevie Wonder tickets."
I need to learn to be more careful about what I say these days...he is a bit jumpy :)
Almost daily, daddy says
"I can't wait to hold her..."
and that goes for both of us!
On Sunday afternoon, August 19th, I stepped aside and two of my Tuf-Enuf aerobics buddies, Denise and Kris, took charge of our house and transformed it into baby shower central! It was so fun to watch the decorations go up, food preparation swirl into full swing and yummy dessert come to life. My only request of the hostess' was to include Patrick. I really wanted him to experience the excitement that a baby-oriented party congers, especially when Devi's expected arrival is so near.
Next was the taste test. Baby food tasting that is! We tried eight different flavors?...types?...colors? I'm not sure what the baby food companies are trying for here, but bland seems to be key. Up until yesterday, Pat has thought of Mac n Cheese as its own food group; a staple. Baby Mac n Cheese, however, is unanimously forbidden in our house! It was the most horrid tasting muck I have ever let pass my lips. Plah, plah! No wonder kids become picky eaters :)
We rounded out the events by attempting to drawing a picture of a baby while holding the paper on our heads. Doug won this one followed by a round of whoops and high-fives. I was the judge and am a sucker for cute facial features....at least that is what I thought those were! Honorable mentions went to the baby that was drawn teeny tiny like Devi by Linley and another one was crying with hand written sound effects "wah". Cleeeveerrrr...wink wink!
We even had a celebrity grace our presence. Believe it or not, Snow White was in town! Just our luck :) She was a great helper and assisted Pat and I with the gifts. We were showered with all kinds of wonderful baby must haves and indulgences! Everything from a copy of Pat the Bunny, a big hit with Patrick (wonder why?), to a brightly colored tie-dyed dress, which I was totally digging (a mommy's girl in that regard, I hope)!
The day was great fun. It was especially nice to see our fellow Tuf-Enuf-ers in street clothes. It is sometimes hard to recognize everyone when there is no sweat! We all seem to clean up pretty nicely though :) Thank you to everyone who made the day so special for us....for the future babysitting volunteers and all the parental advise. We are so incredibly lucky to have the support of friendship in both happy and troubled times. It is truly amazing.
