Out, damned egg! Out I say!

Little Miss Magic

Last weekend was our regularly scheduled monthly meeting at our consultant's house. It was our turn to present (aka tell our story and show off the Wee One) and we wanted to do that when the weather was still nice enough for an outdoor meetings.

We chatted with our consultant a few days before about some of the things we wanted to cover and some of the things she wanted us to cover. She gave us our instructions for what to bring (several bottles of champagne and some of sparkling juice). We were excited to introduce the Wee One to the whole community.

It was an incredible day.

The weather was perfect. The garden looked amazing. Our presentation part went well. Everyone was so very excited to meet the Wee One.

There were two very special people there that the Mister and I were beyond thrilled to see: the NPL and her mom.

Long time readers might remember our very first NPL. If you've started reading more recently you can select the category related to adoption to the right and get all caught up. Sorry to be so lazy and not do proper links but I'm trying to get this all written while the Wee One takes a wee nap in her much loved swing (thank you Auntie Liana and bff-to-be Zara).

We haven't seen the NPL since before her son was born. We skipped a couple of meetings out of deference to her needs. She's been at a few more recent meetings but we happened to be out of town for those.

So when I saw her smiling face I was just so very happy I broke into tears. So did she. We knew she'd been thinking about us a lot and always asked about us. We'd done the same with her. But to see her again and reconnect was just so wonderful.

She saw the email that we planned to present and was so excited for us she changed her schedule so she could attend. Her mom was also thrilled for us and there were more tears when we greeted each other.

She showed me pictures of her son and caught me up on her life. She held my daughter. It was one of the most healing and touching moments I've ever experienced.

She lives even closer to us and offered to babysit. I can't believe we haven't run into her around town but maybe this was how it was supposed to be (don't tell the mister that, he *hates* any talk of "meant to be"). We were so honored she wanted to share in our joy.

She set the bar incredibly high for what we hoped to find in an open adoption situation. Every time things didn't work out we went back to the NPL and our connection and hoped we'd find something like that. I think what we have now with Ms FoodNetwork is very similar to what might have been with the added possibility of more information and an eventual relationship with the birthdad.

So there was much celebrating last weekend and it was a beautiful thing. 

Finally a few photos (that likely won't last long) and name stuff.

Here is one of my favorite photos. Look closely and you'll see the Wee Ones feet, then Ms FoodNetwork's hand, my hand and the mister's hand.

Now on to the naming story. First, I must say she has a much longer name than we originally intended.

Her last name is my family name (I'm the last in my extended family to carry it). Ms FoodNetwork changed her own name to another family name when she came of age so she understood why it was so important to me. When we were talking about names when the wee one was a few days old and I said I was the only one besides my parents with my name she said "Not anymore."

Her second middle name is a family name from the mister's side. It's similar to his last name but more feminine and American sounding (his is very VERY Scandinavian sounding). It's similar to a popular name that means inspired by grace (eloquence or beauty of form, kindness, mercy, favor), which is derived from the Latin gratia (favor, thanks) according to the Namepedia.

Her first middle name is a family name from Ms FoodNetwork's side. It's also a word that has two entries in Merriam-Webster: as a noun it means "a group of related individuals,one's relatives,family relationship"; as an adjective it means "of a similar nature or character, like or of the same ancestry". What could be more perfect, right?

Her first name was on our short list for a long time but seemed perfect for this situation. In my family tradition and somewhat commonly in the South, one daughter is named after new grandmothers. We were lucky in that one name honored three of the Wee One's grandmothers (and was in all family lines somewhere). It means bright shining one and that is certainly true. It met all my crazy naming requirements and we all agreed on it. It's a serious grownup name with some totally cute nicknames.

I'm so very happy to introduce you to Eleanor.

Because I Know You, I've Been Changed For Good

It's been another incredibly long week around here. Last weekend flew by all too quickly. It was just so lovely having Ms FoodNetwork here with us and it was over in what seemed like an instant.

There was one day that was just for hanging out. We all went out to our favorite local greasy spoon dinner. It just happens to be owned by a member of Ms FoodNetwork's favorite band. It's very artsy, especially for our town. We also went to the local Target and introduced Ms FoodNetwork to the wonderful world of cart escalators (have you all seen them? I am a HUGE fan of interesting escalators. We have both cart escalators AND curved escalators close at hand). The mister cooked us a lovely dinner. We talked and just hung out. It was beyond lovely.

The next day was a longer one, more business and tasks to check off the list. Ms FoodNetwork had her second meeting, the sickeningly named "relinquishment meeting".

Let's just pause here for a minute. Why such hateful terminology? Words have tremendous power. She wasn't relinquishing her daughter with all the negative connotations associated with that word. She was consenting to an adoption plan that she created, she was actively choosing us to parent her daughter because she felt that was best for her daughter. There was nothing negative about her plan or her actions - it came from a place of pure and unselfish love.

Ok. Back to that day. Let's just say the second meeting was held. Papers were signed. Forms were gone over. It was the business part of all this and while it was handled as well as it could have been, and it was in a serene environment in a lovely house surrounded by trees and nature (not some hospital or office building), it was still taxing for all.

After that part we had a lovely lunch. Food is good and good food is even better and it's so connecting to break bread together.

Then a dear friend and amazingly talented photographer joined us. She took the mister and my "signature shot" for our website and materials. Ms FoodNetwork and her mom loved that picture and it played no small role in their desire to get to know us. We were honored that The Photographer wanted to take some pics of all of us. How incredibly generous of her. How lucky we are to have those shots. I've only seen 3 of them so far but they are beyond beautiful. I'll post a couple of them in my next post and you'll see what I mean.

Then Ms FoodNetwork spent some time alone with our consultant. She was given loads of books and additional support and resources. I hope that it will be helpful to her.

After that long draining and emotional day we went back to our house. The mister took over baby duties and Ms FoodNetwork and I had a girls' night out. We got all gussied up, took the train two stops north, had a couple of cocktails and saw a rock opera (written by one of her favorite band and the coolest of said band was THERE...in the audience with us).

I know I keep using words like "awesome" and "amazing" but I just can't come up with anything else. It felt so good to be able to just hang out together and enjoy each other's company. It felt so good to treat her to a very special show, one that meant a lot to her, and just have fun together. She hasn't had a lot of opportunities for pure fun over the last few months and it was just very healing for both of us.

I think it also helped us survive the next day. That day was rough. Rough rough rough rough rough. We all knew it would be but it was even worse.

We had an errand in the morning, some last minute business to take care of and had to head straight to the airport. No one wanted Ms FoodNetwork to miss another flight. No one wanted her to leave either, if truth be told.

Saying "See You Soon" (not goodbye, I don't think we could ever say that in person) and watching her wait through security lines and then walk away all by herself was utterly heartbreaking. The three adults were in tears. The mister and I both hate that she was flying alone that day. We can't even imagine what that was like for her although we thought of little else until we got the call that she had reached her destination and her friend was waiting on the other side.

There is still tremendous grief in open adoption, that is for sure. One of my adult adoptee friends told me how it still breaks her heart when she thinks of her birthmother leaving her baby in the car with her doctor and walking home alone. That is just barbaric. Thank goodness we've come a long way from that. But it's never easy.

So today's post title comes from yet another musical* and I don't really think it needs any other explanation.** I'm so glad Ms FoodNetwork is and will be in our lives. I'm so glad our daughter has so many people that love her. I'm grateful she had that extra time with her first family because I think it's important to all of them and to her. That is part of her story. When she grapples with her own issues related to her adoption she will know how hard we all worked together to do right by each other and more importantly by her, putting her needs above all of ours and that can only be a good thing.

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*Shoutout to MichelleL for correctly identifying the musical a few posts back: Avenue Q. Love those puppets!

**Ok maybe just a tiny explanation if you haven't seen Wicked. And congrats to Elphaba/Maureen and her handsome hubby on the birth of their son ONE DAY after our wee one. They are a lot like the mister and me: dated for 7 years before getting married and it took them nearly 7 years to have a baby. Of course we're far better looking and sing wayyyyyyyyy better than them. ;)

                   

Homecoming, Part II

They both here. Ms FoodNetwork and the baby. It was a long day yesterday (especially for the two of them) but they both looked utterly adorable when they arrived. BabyFood was dressed in an adorable Japanese inspired outfit we'd purchased. Ms FoodNetwork was glamorous in a black frock and very stylish coat, like she just  stepped out of a fashion magazine not like she'd been through the wringer with two long plane rides and a difficult connection.

We fed both of them then headed into the city. Ms FoodNetwork met with an agency social worker for her advisement meeting. It seemed to go really well and we were grateful the agency folks were understanding about the travel snafus and were able to meet with her later than planned (even thought it was a holiday weekend for them).

I'm not sure how it works in other states but here mothers who are doing an adoption plan are required to meet with social workers at least twice and it can't be on the same day. The first meeting is called an advisement meeting and basically the social worker spends an hour or two alone with the mother/expectant mom and explains the process, her rights, answers any questions, etc. Then at least one day later (and at least 3 days after the birth of the baby) there is another meeting called the relinquishment meeting (isn't that horrible language?). We'll do that meeting at our consultant's house on Sunday.

After our city appointment we drove across the Golden Gate bridge. It was a spectacular day here yesterday and was great fun to show off our cities to Ms FoodNetwork. We spent a few hours at our consultant's house, eating cupcakes and passing the baby around.

Then we came home. Let me say that again. We ALL came home.

It was such a happy night here I can't even begin to find words. In a lot of respects it was a very normal night for us. We ordered pizza. We watched tv. We ate said pizza in front of said tv. We had ice cream for dessert.

And the mister and I took turns getting up with our daughter all night. Just a totally normal night for us. ;)

You'll be Faced With Problems of All Shapes and Sizes

I figured I'd continue with the current theme in today's title. Quick...name that musical!

There were a few more speed bumps this week. We actually hit one right on schedule. I think we could have set our watches by it: 2 days before scheduled departure. Same time as last week.

This time the "speed bump" looked a little different (we'd solved the biggest one from last week so it really had to take a different form). I think deep down it really had nothing to do with the "speed bump" itself but just what it represented: incredible anxiety and angst over the coming days and the complete loss of control.

Again, none of this is coming from Ms FoodNetwork and we do understand how hard this is for her mom. I can only imagine how hard it must be to consider puting her daughter and granddaughter on a plane knowing they're flying miles and miles away and having to trust in a couple of people they've only known for a few weeks, a number of "adoption professionals" they don't know at all and a process that instills a lot of fear. I do get that.

That being said the 34 minute phone call I had on Wednesday with Grandma FoodNetwork was one of the longest, hardest ones in my life. The mister and I were on our way to the beach for some much needed soul nourishment when we hit this speed bump. I think I handled the call as well as I could have (even though the mister couldn't find a single Diet Coke in the entire strip mall we parked in so I could take the call!) but it was rough. I drew on my fairly deep experience in such situations (that five years in grad school studying clinical psychology paid off in spades) and I put on my game face and kept telling myself "it's just a gig". 34 minutes never seemed so long.

Honestly I think she just needed to hear me repeat some things over and over (after she ranted for a bit). Just that we knew this was hard for them and recognized all this anxiety. That we would take care of her daughter and granddaughter and there would be no surprises once they got here. That everything would be ok.

It seemed to help her.

Two glasses of wine with lunch and a two hour nap on an incredibly gorgeous beach with totally spectacular weather helped me (and the mister). We listened to the sound of the surf and it soothed our souls. After that we went to a quaint English pub where I had Shepherd's Pie and a couple of pints of cider and the mister had Beef Wellington and a couple of pints of ale.

Yesterday was actually very calm. There were nice texts and messages flying between LoneStar and here. We tried to prep for our guest/new arrival. I even found time to get my brows waxed and a mani-pedi. Late last night we dropped the dogs off at our pet sitter's house (all the better to allow for a longer transition) and came home and spent a couple of quality hours with Jimmy McNulty and Omar.

Jimmmmmmmmmmmy. Ahhhhhhhhhh. In DEED.

All was fine until a text early this morning. It seems that Ms FoodNetwork missed her flight by minutes. Don't fret, she was rerouted to Chicago and will be touching down at SFO in just a few hours (she even made a tight connection between long distance gates). We're not happy about this change in plans as we very carefully planned a short, direct flight with a good seat for Ms FoodNetwork. I'm trying not to let my inner control freak completely rage at how my offer to fly out and back with Ms FoodNetwork and BabyFood was deemed "unnecessary". This was supposed to be easy peasy but nothing yet has been easy peasy.

Deep breath.

So the good news is they are in the air. Actually that is GREAT news. And I will squeeze another blog post out before they arrive which will do wonders for my stats and readership. ;)

Everyone's a Little Bit Unsatisfied...But Only For Now

I've started so many posts in my head. But the words just don't seem to come. How many times can I come here and say we're still waiting? Perhaps a few more.

Time is passing so incredibly slowly. Is it really only a few days since we've been home? Is it really two weeks since she was born? And one week since the speed bump? How can that be?

It has been a huge relief being at home again. HUGE RELIEF. It's also been a bit of a crazy time.

Saturday was my birthday. It was actually a pretty damn good one. It wasn't the best birthday ever that I'd hoped it might be but it was mighty fine it it's own way.

I was awakened in the middle of the night by thunder and lightening. We just don't get that here and it's something that I miss. It seemed like we were still in Lonestar or back home. My poor kitty had never experienced that kind of storm in her whole, short life and freaked out. I found it soothing. It mirrored my own emotions over the previous couple of days.

It wasn't as welcome the next morning when it was still raining and I headed into the city with friends for a three hour spin cycle fundraiser. Outdoors. In the midst of the storm. But we persevered and it was an amazing day. We raised a ton of money for an awesome charity. I met some incredibly inspirational people and I biked my heart out. It was just the kick in the ass I needed.

I followed that up with a very long massage and then a nice small get together with a few Beatles-loving Rock Band playing friends. And a lot of champagne. Lots and lots of champagne.

Sunday was nice and mellow and the mister and I hung out in front of the tv most of the day. We didn't really feel like venturing far from our den.

Yesterday the real world came crashing back. We both spent most of the day making calls, leaving messages, getting logistics handled. There were calls to the midwife and lawyers here and there, our consultant, the agency here and banks there. It just brought all the stress and agitation up to the surface and out in the open again.

Yesterday it got hard again. No nothing changed in terms of our plans but just the act of "holding all of this" became overwhelming. It wore both the mister and I down. We're both running on fumes at this point. We're back to not sleeping well and just feeling like extremely taut strings that will break at any point.

I was sitting on the couch at one point, trying to compose an email to someone. Ms FoodNetwork? The midwife? I don't even remember. The mister said "There's something I need to talk to you about" and I bit his head off. I'll admit those words often set me on edge but I just couldn't handle it.

He wanted to talk about what he wanted to get me for my birthday. Poor guy. He wanted to talk about getting me an extravagant present ( a ROAD BIKE of my very own!) and I snapped at him. This is not how I ever want to be but this is our reality for now (but only for now).

Today it was hard all day. I think doubt began setting in for both of us last night and it just isn't letting up really. Every time we get an email or a text or a phone call from one of the people involved my heart just pounds. None of this is rational, I know. Everything is moving along but there is just nothing left for us to do at this point but have faith and believe.

That's the hardest thing of all. The mister and I have a tremendous amount of experience in things not working out. We're right back in limbo land and we hate it here but we know how to survive. We hunker down. We rely on our friends and we've got some amazing ones who "get it" and others who are just here for whatever we need.  We reorganize our Netflix queue so there's lots of dark comedies and tv series with a lot of cursing. If I wasn't so lazy I'd cite previous limbos where we went from Vic Mackay to Al Swearengen then Tommy Gavin and finally through Frak. We're now solidly settled into Jimmy McNulty. Finally. Honestly I'm not sure there's anywhere to go after The Wire.

So while I may sound strong here please believe me that I'm not always that strong. Because I'm not by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just incapable of even typing during those other times. I do have a great resource network and am relying on them very heavily right now. I'm trying to let them help me but I'm sure it's not a big surprise that is one of my areas of weakness. I am working on it though.

I just want to take a minute to explain something about our consultant. This is partly in response to sally's comment on my last post but I'm sure that many of you reading this are thinking similar thoughts and questioning our consultant and her ways of doing things (and sally please understand that I know your comment comes from wanting to protect us and a place of love...I mean no disrespect).

We chose our consultant because she is one if not the most ethical people in the field of adoption. We do think that she does an amazing job, when she is empowered to do it. In this situation she has not been able to do the work she would like to do. The mister and I knew that was a risk (just as we know that any last minute situation is risky) and there's only so much I feel comfortable about saying here. There are many complicating factors in this situation. Our consultant has been there every step of the way for us and done a great deal of work behind the scenes that is invaluable. She is available to us, the midwife, the other family's attorney, our agency and our lawyer. She goes above and beyond in every situation. She also creates an amazing community that we are thrilled to be part of and so incredibly grateful to have right now. The other adoptive and birth parents in her community are amazing models and true friends.

I think there is still a perception that you can "just adopt" and things will be easy. Adoption is messy and complicated. There are huge decisions that have to be made and honestly these are the most serious decisions anyone can ever make. We PAPs have the luxury of time and resources, at least the resources to research and think about what kind of adoption we want and process many of our own issues around it. Someone who is thinking of making an adoption plan for their child is put on the fast track, especially if they've been in denial about the pregnancy as so often happens.

While I do think our path has been potentially longer and harder than we would have liked, I also know that we are doing everything in our power to have the kind of adoption we want: ethical, honest, respectful and open.

What keeps me going this week is knowing this will be over soon and we are doing everything in our power to stay focused on this baby and treating everyone as well as we possibly can. While this week seems incredibly long to us I'm also sure it seems incredibly short to Ms FoodNetwork and her family.

Now it's time for me to get back to my diversions. The Beatles are warming up and those drums aren't going to play themselves. (Pamplemousse and The HeadBanger: we've got your spots saved. It's just not the same without you!)

Homecoming, Part I

The mister and I are home and very glad to be here. I'm going to keep this short and simple for now: things are still moving forward with this adoption but we have made some changes in the transition plan. We are ok. The baby is ok. Ms FoodNetwork is ok. That's all that matters.

Now breathe deeply. Go ahead. I'll wait.

...
...
...

I am beyond exhausted. The last 48 hours have been the longest and hardest of my life. It all started when we went to leave Ms FoodNetwork and her family late on Tuesday night.

I do want to be as clear as I can about this, even as I consider how much and what to share at this point. I've had the benefit of some time and great advice from a number of people so it's all a bit clearer to me at this point. I'm still struggling with what and how much to say here but will say for now her mom's fear and anxiety overwhelmed her. She blindsided us with something and it sent us reeling. She and Ms FoodNetwork have an incredible amount of processing to do and are just in a slightly different place than they thought they were.

I think with every adoption there is, as one friend from our support group said to me, "always one thing in an otherwise smooth process to get your gut churning and have you running for a stiff drink."

It's not a big surprised that all of this bubbled to the surface shortly after our plans to travel were solidified and shortly before we were supposed to leave. This was a last minute situation which our consultant beats into our heads as being 50/50. We had not had the time to really build a solid relationship built on mutual trust. Ms FoodNetwork's family had not allowed our professionals as well as their own to do their jobs. These are make a challenging and complex process at the best of times even more challenging.

I'm very proud of how we handled this tremendously difficult situation. We have said all along that she would need to "re-make" her decision and we'd have to give her the space to do that. We also recognized that some of the process might have to change and we had to be open to that.

Ms FoodNetwork is not questioning her desire to have us parent this baby. She and her family fully support that. They do, however, need a bit more time and a few additional things in place. We are happy to work with them on that but also need to do it all in a way that is comfortable for us as well. This is really serious and hard stuff, no question about it.

During this difficult time several people have stepped in to help and that has been incredible. The midwife is taking a very active role. The family's attorney is also finally very involved. They are both working with our consultant and other folks. That is all really, really good.

The mister and I also have incredible support from wise friends, our consultant, our therapist who has lived through all of this herself and each other. We are just trying to breathe and not let our own stuff and anxiety get the better of us. We can only control what we do and how we react. We can only act with honesty, openness and trust and make sure we are being as ethical as possible. We are focused on a bigger goal than just getting some papers signed or getting this baby to California. This is creating a new extended family and that is never without a few speed bumps.

So back to the nuts and bolts of where we are now: We did change the travel plan. It was just too much too soon for them and we really needed to get home for us. The mister and I came home very early this morning as planned. Ms FoodNetwork returned to school today and her professors were very supportive. She and the baby will fly out here in 8 days.  This gives her and her family some very precious time with the baby and gives us a chance to make sure everything is ready to go on our side.

And now I'm truly about to drop and looking forward to climbing into my very own bed, next to my very own mister and surrounding myself with my pets and sweet dreams of the rest of the homecoming in only 8 days.

The Plane!!! The Plane!!!

Just a quick note to thank y'all for your magical powers of persuasion. We are booked on a lovely non-stop flight from Lonestar home on Thursday morning! Can you hear the relief in my typing? Sooooooooooooooooooooooo glad we get to fly.

We carefully crafted our argument additional data points. It's truly all about making it as easy as possible for Ms FoodNetwork and the baybee. A four hour nonstop flight where the baby can be held the entire time vs a long train ride followed by a long car ride? Big cheers for logic prevailing (and the desire to not leave the baby in a carseat for 6-10 hours).

Thanks to our lovely airline (they love to fly and it shows) and my previous life we're all in first class. Yes, we will be those people in first class with a baby that everyone hates but I don't care. Ms Foodnetwork will be staying with us until early next week then flying home. I don't even want to think about that part yet.

I'll be home for my birthday with the bestest present ever. Life is good. Reallllllllllllllly good.

Perfection!

I seemed to have fallen back into my lackadaisical posting pattern all too quickly. I do apologize but I've been busy with the best excuse ever.

Time doesn't pass quite the same way when you're holding a baby in your arms.

Where did we leave off? Last Wednesday? Seriously? We've got a lot of catching up to do.

The mister and I stocked up on all kinds of good breakfast things like migas and cherry pancakes and bacon and went off to meet the reason that brought us here. I know I'm completely biased but she's totally perfect. When we first saw her she was in a sleeper Ms FoodNetwork wore as a newborn. She has a head full of dark hair, big blue eyes and the most expressive eyebrows ever! I can't believe just how perfect she looked.

Ms FoodNetwork had a fairly easy time when it came to pushing (less than half an hour) to make up for all that other work she'd done. She looked amazing for all she'd been through over the previous few days.

We took turns holding BabyFood (until I think of a better nickname, feel free to submit your own ideas). We went outside and ate our feast and just talked and listened and breathed. It was magic.

We stayed for several hours then Ms FoodNetwork, her mom and the baby all headed off to the family homestead. The mister and I went out to a late celebratory dinner at a famous barbecue place. A famous bbq place in a dry county, I should add. We were the only folks around that didn't bring a cooler.

The next day we loaded up the car and ran some errands for Ms FoodNetwork including picking up a breast pump for her.  She requested a small handpump but I knew better. We went back to this amazing local store (we'd gotten her a postpartum band thingy the day before) and they were so incredibly supportive of all of us.

Then we drove down to our new encampment. The original plan had been for all of us to stay on the family homestead but they suggested we get a hotel room nearby (we were thrilled with the change in plans btw). We had a late lunch of awesome sour cream chicken enchiladas at a local spot then headed out to the homestead.

Ms FoodNetwork's mom wanted to host a celebratory dinner and she outdid herself with a 4 course extravaganza. It was just so great to be all together and celebrating.

The last few days have been fairly similar. We wake up and head over to the homestead. Sometimes we go a bit later in the day. We typically spend 10-12 hours a day there. We all take turns holding the baby, feeding the baby, changing the baby and just loving on her.

The first night home was fairly rough after we left. Grandma FoodNetwork broke into her secret stash of frozen infant formula and that allowed a bit of sleep for all. We offered up our own stash that we brought from CA as an insurance policy. Now Ms FoodNetwork is pumping and we're mixing the formula and breast milk. BabyFood loooooves to eat. She's already regained most of the weight she lost and is just thriving.

It is such a beautiful time. We're hearing all kinds of family stories and seeing photos and just sharing an over-the-top spectacularly magical time. THIS is why we wanted to do an open adoption. THIS is what it's all about. THIS baby is one of the most loved and cherished babies and she totally knows that. She's getting to know all of us and that is such an amazing thing. Really there are no words to express how thankful we are that this situation has worked out so perfectly.

Our families are over the moon about the baby and concerned that the "process moves forward". We're trying to gently educate them still. I understand this is a fearful, anxious time for them. They want papers signed and are just very nervous. They are trying to be supportive but are all clearly out of their comfort zones.

Honestly this could not be going any better. Well, there is one part that could be a little better: BioDad. He's being very supportive of Ms FoodNetwork but he's just not ready to meet his daughter. He did spend a few hours with Ms FoodNetwork the other day and I think that was really good for both of them (and those papers are signed). We sent photos and contact info for us with the message we'll always be here and open to him. Recently he's asked for pictures of BabyFood and agrees she is the most beautiful baby ever. Now he's asking for more photos and that is a really great thing. We'd love for him to meet the baby before we leave but recognize he's got to do this at his own speed.

We're planning to leave for home on Thursday. We're hoping to talk Ms FoodNetwork into the fast plane instead of the slow train followed by a long, brutal car ride. We've printed out lots of supporting documents that say the plane would be just fine and preferable to a longer trip so please cross your fingers that we can turn this into a 4 hour flying trip instead of 48 hours (at best).

I do promise to post a photo or two but that's going to have to wait until we're home. Hope y'all understand.

I'll also write about her name and how we came to it but will hold out on that for now too. Don't hate me.

Life is good. Really really really really really good. I have never seen a more beautiful sight than my mister holding BabyFood. No more extra bitter for him.

She's Here!

I"ll keep thus short and sweet: she's here!

The mister and I are off to buy a big breakfast for a very tired mama and meet a very new baby.

Both mama and baby are happy and healthy though we were beginning to worry.

Much more later but thank y'all for all the love, support and encouragement.

Sitting, Wishing, Waiting: Tuesday

Cutting to the chase: see title above.All of that continues to apply.

I will say it's VERY easy to find diversions here and the mister and I are having tremendous fun exploring this fine city.

This morning we TRIED to sleep in (more on that later) but were rudely awoken by a text on my cell phone. Nope, it wasn't that text. It was the usually lovely Bebe who couldn't stand to wait one more minute for an update. It was the crack of 8:30 here (and 2 hours earlier for her so you know she was impatient).

We didn't really start our day until a bit later. We met the oh-so-loverly Zanity* for pancakes at a local brunch spot. We hung out for hours and it was so great to meet in person and share stories, all kinds of stories. She was glowing and tan from a recent trip to the islands.

Then we trekked up to the highest point around. Thankfully Zanity warned us that although it had "Mount" in its name there wasn't much climbing to be done. Apparently some recent Bay Area transplants were disappointed to find a few dozen stairs instead of a more challenging mountain climb.

We followed our mountain adventure with a pilgrimage to cycling mecca aka Mellow Johnny's Bike Store. There's a wall full of yellow jerseys and some very cool time trial bikes. I was looking for cool sleeves/arm warmers but that wasn't to  be. Then we hit a funky shopping district to while away the rest of the afternoon. We hoped our lunch spot (named Zen) would add to our internal Zen. When that only worked momentarily we stopped by Amy's Ice Cream and all I can say is YUM!!! Soooo delish!

Now we're researching barbecue joints for dinner and waiting for the phone to ring/chime with a local number. ;)

It is looking like tonight might be the night although I think I just jinxed it by typing it. Last night our phone rang while we were in the hot tub (and phoneless). Can you believe we missed a call from Ms FoodNetwork during the only 25 minutes we didn't have our phone for the last few weeks? Yeah me neither.

She was at the birth center and invited us over. I think it's safe to say it's been a long time since I got out of my pjs quite that quickly. We both threw some clothes on and rushed over to the birthing center.

Well we tried to rush over but got lost several times along the way. I know, I know. How could we get lost with TWO iPhones between us?? Turns out that just because you know where a street should be, little things like highways and rivers get in the way.

We did finally make it to the birthing center and it was so awesome to meet her (and her mom) in person. It was like a big slumber party when we got there. The tv was on (3 guesses as to the channel) but we ignored it and just chatted for hours. Ms FoodNetwork thought her contractions were finally close enough and strong enough to warrant the drive in but her midwife took one look at her, told her it was hours and hours away and went straight to bed.

It was truly an awesome experience and I don't mean in Valley Girl speak. I know I said that above but it bears repeating. The mister and I are both so glad we had this chance to hang out and get to know her and her mom before the baby arrived. I really think she's delaying her appearance to give us all a chance to get to know each other better. We are very very very grateful to have had those special hours last night.

We took her a special floral arrangement we had made at a fun bakery/floral shop we breakfasted at yesterday.** It was fresh and modern and girly and so very much like Ms FoodNetwork herself. We also ran to the store and stocked up on ginger and treats when her nausea got bad. We asked what else we could get for her but she demurred. While we were at the store I got a text that read "Maybe there's a little bit of chocolate out there?????" Talk about a girl after my own heart!

After we stocked the fridge (and bellies) at the birth center we left in the wee hours to try to get some sleep. When I sleep in hotel rooms I love going to sleep with the tv on (we never do that at home) and the mister tolerates it. The only thing starting was Apocalypse Now on HBO. Man has it decades since I've seen that film! All I could think about was how young Harrison Ford looked and what a great performance from Charlie Sheen. ;)

Our own personal sleep consultant would be very happy to know the blackout curtains did there job and we slept soundly...until the text mentioned above.

*Lucky for me Zanity knew I meant "Z" in my previous post when I typed "X". In my defense in another life a long time ago I lived with a guy who had a very similar name and spelled it with an X.

**The shop is owned by one of those Hollywood types that we bitter infertiles love. You know the one I've written about before who is likely one of us and has called the press to the mat for always speculating about whether or not she's pregnant.

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Clearing up a few things:

@Yellowgirl: You cracked me up as well! IF I were a snarky girl I'd remind you that some (okay maybe one) of the presidents from this state were actually accepted into the local state schools and didn't require huge donations from Northern grandparents/family to force admittance to an Ivy League institution. Of course that particular president wasn't from the political party most associated with the rest of this state. ;)

@MollyMorgan: Ding ding ding! We have a winner! That is one impressive library/museum. The only other presidential library I've visited was in Simi Valley and, shall we say, lacking in substance. 

@jengirlie: I'm thinking this wee one has a penchant for sapphires. Nothing wrong with that.

@luna: Apparently there won't be any induction. See above for the meeting. I know you'd approve. We just have to let nature take it's course at this point. We are being thanked by everyone we meet for bringing a "cold front" with us. It was only 95 here today!