He's getting SO big...

Awhile ago Abby found a great deal on a pack-and-play. We opened it up and couldn't find any directions so we did our best to put it together. I swear, I thought I broke it at least three times. There are two parts to the pack-and-play: the full unit that can be used for older/heavier kids and then there is a zip-in part they call the bassinet. On the bottom of the bassinet is a mechanism that allows the whole pack-and-play to vibrate for the child. We finally decided to get the battery for the vibration kit (a size "D" battery -- didn't know they still made those!) and see how it worked. As we were looking at the "mattress" we found the instruction manual and finally learned all the ins and outs of the pack-and-play.

After we got the battery in and all the pieces put back together, we thought we would see how it worked. And surprise, surprise, it worked like a champ. Then Abby started reading the instruction manual. Come to find out the weight limit for the bassinet (with "D" size vibration unit) is 15 pounds. 15 pounds? 15 pounds! That's all good and well, except we were told last week that Ari is already close to 18-20 pounds. Awesome. So all the work to get the vibration kit working were in vain. We read more in the instruction manual and learned how to take the bassinet out. Below is the pack-and-play as it sits in our bedroom. Everyone keeps telling us we won't believe how fast he will grow up. We had no idea he would already outgrow his first bed...before he got home. C'mon January!!!

T Minus 26 Days!!

We are leaving three days earlier!! Wednesday, January 6th! There was an availability on an earlier flight and we jumped on it, of course. That means we will meet Ari Friday, January 8th rather than Monday the 11th and we'll have a full week together before we board a plane to fly 8,000 miles and 20 hours home. This anticipation is like nothing I've experienced before. And, because I'm so dang happy, I thought I'd share another new picture of our sweet boy today and every Friday until we travel. Just a little something to look forward to until the real fun begins. :)

43 minutes

I'm really trying to make a post every day until we leave. Luckily I still have 43 minutes left today to make my post. 43 minutes means that it's 11:17pm which means we're still up. We are still up because we are trying to fit as much as possible into the time we have left before we become a family of three.

Tonight we went to a small gathering after work, went to see The Blind Side (amazing), and then had a small dinner at 10:00. Made it home just in time to see the opening credits of Frasier so we could guess what the opening credits would be. (In case you didn't know, the opening of Frasier is alway different -- a light will blink, it will rain, there will be a train, some lights will go on in the building.) Yes, this has become one of the highlights of our day. One of the reasons this is a highlight is because we know another day has come and gone and we are another day closer to Mr. Ari.

We have become "those people". Those people being the ones that whip out photos of their children -- even when people don't ask. But we feel like we can since it's so different than most people. And 99% of the time people actually seem interested to see the pics and hear our story. Or at least it seems that way.

Another day down, another day closer. Hope you like the new ticker.

5 + 1

Today Ari turns 5 months old

One month from today we will be on an airplane to go get him.

Since we only have one more month until he's home I am really going to try hard to blog (or ask Abby to blog) something daily. Just so we can remember all the stuff we did getting ready for him to come come. And all the stuff we did to distract ourselves from the fact that we have a month until we go get him. I'm also hoping to post more pictures of me and Abby during this last month so someday we can look back at how young we looked before Ari came into our lives. We cannot wait for the day we get to see him... "ARI DAY"

We got some great/amazing/beautiful shots of Ari from Lyra's parents. Thanks to Ben, Kate and Lyra for the pictures. We are being a little selfish and holding them close for now but we will post some of them soon. He's a big boy!

Embassy Appointment!!!

We received confirmation today that we are scheduled for embassy January 14! Yay!!!!!!! This means we will leave a week before that -- in about a month. One more month. We can do this. We will be arriving back in Springfield Saturday evening, January 16. And, no, it still doesn't feel quite real yet. I'm wondering when that will happen. When we pack our suitcases? When we get on a plane? When we hold him in our arms for the first time? Right now I just feel so incredibly lucky and blessed to have made it this far. Thank you, God.

And the newest picture of our little man which was taken last Monday, November 30. Cute, cute, cute!!

Showered

This past Saturday Roger and I were showered with our friends' and families' love, both for us and already little Ari. Thank you to all who attended. There were quite a few of you we haven't seen in a while, and just your presence on our special day meant so much to us. We appreciate all of the wonderful gifts and orphanage donations we received -- thank you for your generosity! Thank you also to Jeff and Becky Kelley and Brian and Tammy Wilmsmeyer for hosting such a beautiful shower. You made it very memorable for us.

The End is in Sight??

Have I mentioned the waiting doesn't get any easier even when you're close to the end? (sigh.) December can't go by fast enough.

Oh, yeah, we got a new picture of Ari two days ago. His hair is long! And adorable. We will be taking Curly Q's Milkshake to Ethiopia. And he's still chubbalicious. And we got a report from some friends he's happy and healthy. It really doesn't get any better than that. Unless our agency calls us tomorrow and tells us we have a confirmed embassy appointment. That would be better.

An Unfamiliar Feeling

So, this is a strange new feeling. We are SO THRILLED to being so close to the day we meet Ari, yet it's very surreal. Like it's hard to believe it's really happening. I made a registry, for crying out loud. There was a time I never thought I'd get a chance to do that!! We lived with NOTHING happening for so long, it's hard to wrap our brains around all of this reality. I keep waiting for someone to tell me it's not going to happen or there's been a mistake or there's a new huge delay (that's really depressing, isn't it?). In the meantime I am super-busy with work, preparing to take an extended time off to be at home with Ari (SO EXCITED!). When I'm not at my computer or at a deposition I spend a lot of time silent, deep in thought, not able to turn off all the checklists I'm making in my head. Roger also is a little more pensive and quiet these days. Luckily we started preparing for a baby a year ago, so we do definitely have a jump on things!

We are still waiting to hear of our embassy appointment. We're being told it will likely be the first or second week in January. Hopefully we will have confirmation soon. I'm sad he won't be home for Christmas, but it is still just around the corner and we are not complaining one bit! I am planning to be completely done with work by the end of next week and then it is full steam ahead with travel and more baby preparations!! We can't wait!!!