Emma Grace

We got word today that our dossier was logged into the CCAA on December 7, 2009. This is the date that our official wait begins! So, our papers made it to China, we are in the system.... now we just wait for our baby girl!

If we switch to the Special Needs waiting list, the wait will be significantly less. If you do the math, there is a chance that Emma is growing inside her birth mom right now. We pray for her every night and can't wait for her to join our family!

All the boys, Lord knows we have enough of them in this house

and just for fun, here is Rick picking his nose while he holds Timothy

Go Blue

Here are our 3 lads sporting their UK outfits at the same age. Well, we definitely took all the right boys home from the hospital! 

My newest creation...

I am going to start selling these headbands with my bows. I hate to brag, but I think this is the cutest thing EVER. Shhh... don't tell anyone, but I even put it on Timothy. Oh, my... those little bald baby girls would look darling in it. Spread the word if you know of anyone with a baldy! I love the big bow too, looks so darn cute on those little heads. I will put it on my tutu blog soon. 

A little bit of personality

Our little man is now 8 weeks old. How can you not love this face? He is doing great... sleeping 7-8 hours a night, nursing pretty good most of the time (still avoiding dairy, I think it is helping, but who knows...) and just filling our hearts with so much joy! My only complaint (besides the massive spit up that soaks my shirt on some days) is that he will not put himself to sleep! Ugh! This little man wants to be cuddled to sleep. I guess I shouldn't complain, because once he is asleep, he stays that way.... but I really have too many people to take care of around here to be rocking a little babe to sleep every night. Not to mention that it will be a horrible habit to break in a few months. Oh, well. Life goes on and I will deal with that when I have to.

He is definitely filling out, but not near as chunky as the other boys. Like Rick said, he is going to have to be smarter or faster than the other boys or he is going to get his butt whipped! 

I wasn't kidding about Matthew....

He is quite the trouble maker!

EMMA GRACE

“An invisible red thread connects those who 

are destined to meet, regardless of time, 

place, or circumstance. The thread may 

stretch or tangle, but will never break.” 

An ancient Chinese belief 

BIG SMILES

I adore this little boy!!!!

Oh, my little Matthew....

He really is a sweet boy, just destructive and always getting himself into trouble. You give him markers, he colors on the walls and in the carpet.... you give stamps to decorate paper, and he stamps his entire body, you leave the pantry cracked a tiny bit, he climbs to the top shelf to get his snacks. He throws things, tackles Andrew, chases you around the house because he wants to eat you (he acts like a T-Rex on a regular basis). When he poops in his pants he will look at you and say "I poop in my pants but that's OK though..." And when he finds something he shouldn't have, he hides under the table to play with it (you should've see the mess with the hand sanitizer....) But, that's our Matthew. Always happy, always laughing and making us laugh, but just a one man wrecking machine!

This is what happens when he plays.... he dumps everything out (or throws it out). On this day, he felt the need to dump it out, tear the picture off the wall, and he was walking on all the bins. And of course, he isn't wearing pants because he never has clothes on. 

It won't be long....

Our agency sent our dossier to China last week. We should get word in a few weeks about our log-in date (LID). It is from this date that the wait is calculated and it means we are officially on the "waiting list." We are currently requesting a healthy baby girl as young as possible. But, our eyes have been opened to another option, so we are thinking about it. We learned that 85% of the children in China orphanages are listed as "special needs". China considers children with cleft lips (that have often been repaired) birthmarks and burns as children with special needs. Often times these "needs" are minor and correctable. We started thinking that if our 2 older boys were born in China, they would be on this special needs list because of issues that they had. (Remember Matthew's "hole in the bum" that ended up being a hemangioma, that is on the special needs list too....) So, we are thinking about switching to this list, in which case the wait could be as little as 18 months or 2 years (instead of 4-6 years for a "healthy" child). We have to think about what things we could handle as a family and if this is the right choice for us. So, for now we are just waiting on our Emma Grace. Her stocking is hung with all of our other children's stockings and it will be every year until she is here!!!

Timothy has slept 7 hours straight for the last 3 nights. I know it won't last, but I sure do appreciate it when it happens! He is such a sweet little boy. He has been able to nurse with no problems for the last several days. I have to supplement with formula because he seems like he is still hungry after he nurses. But, he has very little spit up and he no longer cries when he tries to eat. Who knows what all that was about! I am avoiding dairy to the best of my ability (Rick says if a 4 year old can do it, then I can do it.... but it sure is hard). He has this yucky breathing thing going on (just like Andrew did) so if he ends up having a problem with milk products, I will not be surprised. Matthew is in the process of potty training.... he stays dry pretty much all day, but I have to put him on the potty OFTEN. If I don't, he wets his pants. As for the poop....we have a long way to go with that one! He has yet to go in the potty. So, we still have our work cut out for us, but we are making progress. Here are a few pictures!

Please get me off my belly, mom!

Look how big Timothy is getting! He reminds me so much of Andrew (except he doesn't scream for hours at a time like Drew did!!!)

All my boys. Poor Timothy with the flash, it takes a lot of work to get a picture where he doesn't look like he is on drugs!

I told Matthew to smile so I could take his picture, and this is what he did. We were all laughing so hard at how serious he could look! Andrew wanted to try and not smile too....

You can tell that Andrew was holding back his laughs, but look how well Matthew stayed in character?!?! That boy is such a nut. 

The tree is up!

We got our tree up this weekend and the boys were so excited. Here are a few pictures. Rick even found time to put a few lights up on the house.... but he refuses to hang my wreaths on all the windows, even though I love the way they look. Maybe our next house won't have so many windows. 

Hanging the lights... of course Matthew isn't wearing any pants.

Hanging ornaments.....

This is where they decided to hang all their ornaments

We had to take down the pack and play, so Timothy lost his bed. This is where he was snoozing while we were working. 

All 3 boys watching the train...

Happy Thanksgiving....

here is Timothy with his Thanksgiving outfit... that he will only wear one time!

The Fischer cousins, except Timothy

Christmas Pictures 2009

Here are our Christmas pictures. We waited a LONG time in the studio to get these done, and Matthew had a massive meltdown as soon as it was our turn, but we survived and we ended up getting some cute pictures!

Bernheim Forest

Today we went to Bernheim Forest to have a picnic and to hike a trail. It was a great day to be outside! We have to take advantage of these nice November days while we have them. The boys had a great time walking through the woods, playing in the leaves and eating lunch outside. Timothy is such a laid back kid, he just sat in the baby carrier and didn't make a sound the whole time. We had a great afternoon together as a family! It only took us about 35 minutes to get there from our house. I would highly recommend a day there if you live close by, my kids loved it!

Rick would love to have this as his backyard one day...

This is how Timothy spent his afternoon

My two handsome boys on the "bouncy" tree

Playing in the leaves!

Mom with her boys

Dad with his boys

that is quite a load you are carrying, Rick! I'm just glad it isn't me!

Just for Fun....

Here are all my babes at the same age....

Fall Fun

I thought I should post a few pictures of these guys... Timmy has been taking over the blog lately! Here are the "big" boys playing in the leaves and having a blast!

I love Andrew's face in this picture. He would not cooperate (surprise) and I said "you better smile or I'm calling Santa!" This is the smile he managed to squeeze out. 

We survived our first month as a family of 5! To be honest, it hasn't been that bad. After I had Matthew I thought there was no way in heck I would ever have another kid... such a hard transition. BUT, we did have another and this transition has been freakishly easy! Timmy is a sweet and laid back little man. He cries when he wants to eat or when we are changing his diaper, but other than that, he is pretty calm. He was awake for several hours this morning and just laid in his swing or his crib looking around and not making a sound. Thank you, Lord for giving me a child that is so happy! He is sleeping pretty good at night, he wakes up about every 4 hours... most of the time twice a night, but occasionally we only have to get up once. I feel pretty rested most of the time. I have healed just fine from my surgery and have felt better than after the first two. It really helps having Andrew in school, and also having Andrew in a "happy place." He is healthier and better than he has ever been, although he is the one who screams most of the time in this house! Matthew had a rough few weeks adjusting to Timothy, but now he is back to his normal, happy and mischievous self. Timothy had his one month check up today. He is 10 lbs. 3 ozs. and 22 inches long. He is starting to get chubby cheeks and his feet are really stretching out those pajamas! He still sleeps most of the time, but I am starting to see those beautiful blue eyes more and more each day. Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. Oh.... paper work is finished for the adoption and will be sent to China next week. Keep praying for Emma Grace, that sweet little girl will be here before we know it! 

Timothy, awake in Mamaw's arms. He was 2 weeks 2 days in this picture

Here is little man at 3 weeks. Getting bigger! I try to get him on the floor as much as possible, but it is scary having Matthew and Andrew rough housing around him!

Look at those cheeks! This picture reminds me of Andrew.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this picture. First, I can't believe Matthew is a big brother and second, it looks like Timothy is trying to smile!

Here is Timothy at 4 weeks. He had a cold and his eyes were a little red. He wasn't too happy when I took this. We have all fallen to a cold around here, but Timothy and I got over it pretty fast.