Prune Juice Poops

I know nothing good that began with this title. PJP's are running rampant in our house and getting the balance between not enough and too much is harder than anticipated. Our little E screamed for a solid 45 minutes after a failed trip to Target (I apologize to whomever had to take care of my cart that I hastily left in the middle of the aisle) last night that I almost called the dr on. Thankfully my husband, a renowned gas expert, took one look at her, asked me if she pooped today (the answer was no) and he diagnosed her instantly with gas painaramo (official term). We have been giving her the pj in her morning bottle and the pediatrician said to play with how many times a day, etc. So, apparently once isn't enough. BUT last week while my mom was here (I had backup, so I felt brave) I did the 2 pj bottles and the results reeked of messy...literally. Blowouts each time...up the back, to the shoulder blades blowouts. The second time James got it right through the clothes and car seat cover (btw, whoever invented that thing needs to be more sensitive to the process of the getting it on/off for cleaning....it's a beast). Both times were throw the clothes away blowouts, you get the drift. So, as I heard E push and grunt and then cry as I awaited my $12 coffee in the Starbucks drive thru this morning, I just knew we were having some kind of explosion. I finally get her home (thanks to the end of construction season, there was a backup...didn't they know we were having a car seat explosion? Moms should get dispersed sirens for these types of things!), undid the velcro and bam! What I thought was going to be an up the backer, turned out to be a rock. THE biggest rock a LUVS diaper can hold. If I could not take 5 hours to upload pictures, I would have posted it. Thankfully, I am sparing you. So, needless to say, we are out of whack on the pooper and she's a fussy trooper. PJP's.....another gift that keeps on giving.

Zeus-the Guardian

Anyone that has been in our home over the last 6 years knows about our humongous white haired lab-Zeus. Well, Zeus now has a miniature not potty trained counterpart maltipom named Gumball and Queen Esther is enthralled by both of them. This morning as she was waking up on James' lap in the living room, Zeus began to scratch his ear ferociously and Esther watched, then he walked around the living room, Esther watched...until he laid down and she got bored. I then took Esther to feed her and as we finished up her bottle, I saw Zeus get up and start to sniff. First in the living room, then he went to Esther's room....that worried me as yesterday I saw he enjoys a nibble on the Baby Einstein teether parrott (who doesn't really?) and I called him to come out of her room. He did, but he was still pacing, sniffing, looking for something. I chalked it up to a senior doggy moment until I just turned to look and realized what he was looking for. Esther's routine is eat, burp, and then playmat time. This morning the playmat was in my bedroom and usually it is in the middle of the living room floor. I went to get it, got Esther settled on it, and I see Zeus, wagging his tail with delight, coming towards us as I hit the music button. He slurped me on the face and then frump, he found his place right next to it, guarding Esther as she enjoys her time on the mat! What a dog, again finding his place with the newest addition. Zeus-the guardian:)

4 months old

No pix again, but just a note that we survived the 4 month shot sequence. Gosh, I hate it!!! This time though I told the nurse that I had to turn my back. I did. She understood. I didn't cry, but Rory did. My sweet, sweet babies. Both of them were crying. Rory was crying so hard that she distracted Esther enough to make her stop! It was a heart swelling moment to see my almost 7 year old baby cry to see her new sister hurt. She was truly the one I was concerned about most in finding her new place as a middle child. She has stepped up and then some and it's genuine. So, with that said, we all survived, she's sleeping peacefully and I hope to do the same! I'll try to get some pictures on soon-her hair is getting big!!!

Milky Raspberries

I don't have a pix. I'm not gonna lie, I suck at the camera thing....don't judge me. But I have to document (for my own posterity) that Esther Marley has officially become the Raspberry Milk queen. Don't panic, I'm not feeding the 3 month old raspberries. She figured out how to stick her tongue out and make the spitting/raspberry sound and ever since that it has been going non-stop. She gets especially wound up when she takes a break from sucking her bottle and as she's belching like the dad on Family Guy she throws one out to say "SUCKA" (insert Mr. T's voice here) "I gotcha!" She blows, literally, all the belch remnants in the cutest, messiest, smelliest milky raspberry I've ever experienced. Raspberry milkshake anyone? YUUUMMMYYY!! Only a mother would wipe off her face and smile as she does it again. And I know that's a true statement since she has blessed all in our household with the same experience and I truly was the only one to be smiling afterward.

I'm hoping Mother's Day is spectacular!

3 Months Old!

If you have ever read any of my posts on 3's, today is a special something as Esther turns 3 months old! When we met her in muggy Houston, she was 3 weeks and 3 days old. When I turned on this blog, it said I had 33 posts up until this one...it just goes on and on. So, in celebration of yet another milestone for Baby Esther, I got a laborious lesson on the ole Kodak and am sharing her home grown photo shoot. We entitled the shoot the "watchutalkin about Willis"/Jermaine Dupree, Pretty in pink, I love my hand, Look at all this hair set! We celebrated this special day with 4 bottles and an upgrade to 3 month Avent holes. We also bought teether rings and I can NOT believe we have teething rings in our freezer once again!

Esther's First BBQ

Two of the women who really came beside me while we prayed for our adoption through the swirls and curly q's of Texas, and then bringing her home have been Cassie and Traci. Cassie and her husband, Todd, opened their home last Sunday afternoon to have all of our families over for some great food and fellowship! Thank you McWhorter's we had a great time and that was officially Esther's first bbq! Note the cute bathing suit:)

1st Post Placement Visit

Yesterday at 7:50am, as we're bustling around to get ready, our ding dong rings for our first post-placement visit for Esther. I open the door to find this very warm, welcoming social worker who was hesitant to walk in, but after finding her place in an Ikea chair in the living room, next to the newly doused with dog hair (again) rug (I was appalled over the hair), she got to meet my pajama clad older girls and talk with our family about what the last 6 weeks have been like for us all. She was there to confirm that all was well in our little abode and thankfully, she had her form, asked the questions, and even though Chloe farted inappropriately about 5 times during the interview, I think all went well. She commented that she had never had a family so organized in giving her the info she needed, that was all Dr. Pete's doing in his fantastic growth/appointment form from her 2 month well check. So, we have one more to do in September/October and then finalization. I just got goosebumps typing that-finalization. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers in this....I'm still trying to figure out the new camera to post pix:)