Finalization!

We are home from Texas and happy to say that Skylar and Elaina are FINALLY officially Pedersens!!! We had a lot of fun in San Antonio where we finalized with three other families. We enjoyed lots of Tex-Mex food, hanging out on the Riverwalk, and time with friends. From San Antonio we traveled to Houston where we stayed with my friend from college. The kids loved hanging out with the "big" kids. She has twins that are almost 4! Skylar and Elaina did great on the trip and adapted really well but were happy to be home. It is a lot of work traveling with two very active toddlers!!!

Elaina at the airport in St. Louis


Enjoying Tex-Mex at La Margarita in Market Square (Skylar loved the beans!!)


Elaina was not quite sure what was going on.


In the courtroom and ready to go before the judge


The entire hearing took less than five minutes. Seems like something so important should take longer!


Officially a family of four!!!


Getting their adoption decrees


In front of the courthouse


At the Riverwalk...the kids were more interested in the boats passing by


Elaina and Avery at the Houston Zoo


In front of the Long Horn statue at the zoo


I don't even know what to say about this one.


First time on a carousal...she loved it!


Avery, Julie, and Elaina


Skylar couldn't stop looking at himself in the mirror.


Bathtime!

Early February 2009

This picture really just tells the story of the kids' personalities. Elaina is really laid back, easy going, rarely cries, and entertains herself. Skylar is full of emotion...when he is happy you know it and when he is not you know it too! Guess who didn't want to be in the pack n play?!?


Bath time is so much fun now that we use Mr. Bubbles! Neither of the kids are afraid of the water and LOVE bath time. Skylar now enjoys putting his face in the water and getting the bubbles on his face (and usually in his mouth).



They also laugh at each other and Elaina couldn't resist playing with Skylar's bubble face which caused belly laughs from him.


Look where Mommy caught me playing!






Ready to go out!

Elaina Wins the Contest

It is official....Elaina is the first to walk. As I type I am watching her stand up in the middle of the room. (or in the middle of the bath tub which is not fun for us!!) She does this all day without holding onto anything. She has been taking a couple steps at a time but the other night she took 8 in a row which we counted as she is now walking. She is so eager to do it and gets so excited when she takes steps. Skylar is still cruising along the furniture but is very fast with crawling. He is all boy and into everything. His new favorite things to do are toss a ball and chase after it and get into the dog food. He doesn't try to eat it but thinks it is fun to get into the bin and then throw the food on the ground. Dumping the dog food bowl is also fun. It seems each day we find new things we need to baby proof. They are so much fun and so EXHAUSTING to keep up with these days!!

Finalization Finally!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the process, when you adopt there is a supervision period before you go to court to finalize an adoption. Our agency requires more than the standard 6 month period of supervision when you adopt a sibling group. So we were required to wait a year before we were eligible. We received word last week that we were cleared to proceed with finalizing their adoption and couldn't be more excited!! While we knew in our hearts Skylar and Elaina were to be forever our children, it still doesn't quite feel like you are there parents when you are in this part of the process. We had to do monthly reports, have visits by a social worker, and other things that just don't make you feel like you are truly a parent. We can't wait to go to court and hear the judge tell us they are forever part of our family!

While in Texas we will spend two days in San Antonio where three other families (two from our orientation group) will also be finalizing. We are then traveling to Houston where we will spend two nights with my best friend from college Maggie and her family. She has boy/girl twins that are almost 4 so it will be fun to see what is to come. Jon will also get to visit with his friend Andrew who is there receiving his first round of chemo (see blog posting below). We are excited about the trip but feeling a little nervous about traveling with two very active babies!!

Elaina's First Haircut

So after months of putting it off, I finally took Elaina for her first haircut. The poor girl had never lost her baby hair on top so she had this long patch that was always in her eyes. It looked cute when we pulled it back or put it in a ponytail but she is super active with fine hair so this didn't last long. When we went today, she was very well behaved but did not smile at all!! I think she was a little confused. Like with most haircuts, it will probably look best in a week or so. Her bangs were shorter than I wanted and according to Jon they are crooked (ok I will agree they are a bit!). But they are out of her eyes. And now the back is even and she doesn't have a mullet in the making. I looked at her afterwards and thought my little baby is now a little girl. She seemed so grown up in the chair...where did time go?!?

Look at the height on that hair! Yes, it was time!

What is going on!?!



Checking herself out in the mirror!


Still staring down the sweet woman who cut her hair!


Now her food doesn't end up in her bangs when she eats!


And a side look

Such a big girl now!

Prayers for Andrew

I just wanted to direct our blog readers to another blog. It is called Andrew's Journey and it follows our friend Andrew's progress through his cancer treatment. He and Jon became fast friends when he started coming into Duffy's a few years ago. Andrew is full of life and if anyone can beat this rare from of cancer, it will be him. But along the way he will need lots of prayers and support so we are asking for you to keep him in your thoughts. His blog is also listed on the left in our blog list if you need the link later.

Christmas and Early January 09

We woke up Christmas morning to a very cold house! Our heat went out in the middle of the night. It was a minor problem and we got it fixed before lunchtime but it was not fun. Luckily we had a space heater that we put next to our tree. So opening presents wasn't too bad. And the basement stays pretty warm. We are lucky it was only one day which is much better than I am sure many less fortunate than us could say. We tried to not go overboard with the gifts especially since they just had a big birthday party and really are too young to know. We got them a few little gifts and the wagon was their big present. We also got them tons of books which is as much a present for us since we read all day long and the same ones get old fast! We are so lucky to have the twins in our lives...it makes Christmas so much more special now that they are part of our family!


Checking out the loot and not looking at the camera!!


Skylar was fascinated with his phone, which is just like the kind I had when I was little. Gotta love Fisher Price classics!


Elaina modeling her Smurfette shirt!! Love it!


Can you tell which one liked it right away?!? All it took was a ride around the house for Skylar to get excited! It even has beverage holders:)





Don't worry...no babies were injured during the taking of this photo! Blackmail I am sure later!


Our little man with crazy hair and lots of drool!


Getting into trouble! I was telling her no which she thinks is funny!


Skylar loves his new Little People garage from Aunt Barb! He also loves Elaina's doll house but we are ok with that!


Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk! Thanks Uncle David and Aunt Amy for my KU attire!


They love their castle playhouse and Elaina has decided it is easier to climb over the door to get it. Skylar gets a little freaked out once inside and prefers to watch her!


I have a ponytail now...I love it and Skylar loves to pull it!


Here she is reading, her favorite thing to do!


And another book...


MoMo gets attacked when she comes over! Elaina is checking out her earrings by the way.