waiting for Eli

Here's a smattering of what we did while we were here waiting for Eli. 

We spent lots of time with cousins, which Will absolutely loves. I think he is going to have a hard time when we go home and it is just plain old mom for a friend, again!

Had a yard sale which was a huge success and a lot of work! Thanks to everyone who donated and helped out!!
Went to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. Rode the horses twice, fed all the animals and met up with my cousin who lives in Mexico and was in Utah for a visit.
No Fall would be complete without the trip to the pumpkin patch. 
And of course, you can't miss the witches at Gardner Village!
These are just a few things we did. We also took a trip to the Sweet's Candy factory and went on a tour, which was FREE and awesome. We also did lots of fun playing with cousins, and I've been able to work a lot on my crochet, as well as read TWO books. It has been a fun trip, but all good things come to an end, right? We are hoping to get back home in the next 4-5 days. 

Now, the next fun event is grandma and grandpa Hopkins coming home from their mission on Sunday! What a whirlwind adventure of a trip this has been. It will not be forgotten, boy am I going to have lots to tell Eli when he gets bigger about his entering our family.

Speaking of Eli, he is doing great. He had his two week check up with Grandpa Mortensen today and seems to be super healthy. His weight is up to 8lbs. 14 oz., height up to 20 inches, and all seems to be functioning just great. I think he is growing and changing daily. I was glad to hear his weight is up, since babies are supposed to be at least back to their birth weight. With his weight up, it means he is thriving and happy, something that can be a difficult adjustment for an adopted baby. 

We love you baby ELI!

snow???

It isn't uncommon for it to snow in Utah before Halloween. But when I woke up this morning to it snowing and some fresh on the ground I was a little baffled. I can't believe I arrived in Utah when it was like 80+ degrees, then the temperatures kept dropping and now I got to see the first Utah snow! Kind of exciting in a way....

We have really been enjoying our time in Utah and feel so blessed to have such great family that helps out and entertains Will! The real test will be when we are back home and I get to manage two kids on my own! :) We are looking forward to it! Now, if I can just kick this sickness I've got, either the flu or the swine flu, without the baby getting it, we'll be in great shape!

i think we are going to make it

Two nights down, umpteen bottles, 50 diapers later..... I think we are going to make it. Our little Eli is a charmer, it is hard to resist his big kissable cheeks and dark eyes. Even at 3am. There is just something so amazing about this brand new baby stage that melts my heart and encourages me to be the best mother I can be.

PS - don't worry, his curls are still running wild, we figured out it is water that will do the trick!

a mother's love.... & going home

I've had a lot of time to think about what it means to be a mother in these past few years. But not until now have I really understood the love a mother has for her child. In our case with Eli, the mother's love is multiplied by 2. I feel so blessed and lucky to know his birthmother the way I do. I can't wait to show him pictures and tell him about the amazing woman who brought him to earth. It was an emotional day yesterday as we said good-bye at the hospital and watched our sweet little birthmother kiss Eli, talk to him, tell him to be a good boy, and then hand him to me. 

Here are her last few moments before she signed her relinquishment papers....

All of us

All strapped in and ready to go!

BIG BROTHER TIME!

Will is doing such a great job and absolutely LOVES Eli. He held him for over an hour when we got him home, wouldn't let anybody touch him, and just loved on him with kisses, little pats on the head, stroking his cheek, and telling everyone around him all about it. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. He's been so exciting to include him in everything, brings him toys and snacks to eat, and loves to be a part of changing his diaper, feeding him, and getting him dressed. When we got in the car Will said "Mom? I didn't know he was going to look like that inside Keona's tummy?!" 
So far, so good, we are surviving the new parent stage! We'll see how things go when Scott has to go back to Cleveland and I'm all on my own!! Good thing I have great family around!

48 hours and getting cuter by the second

Here's the latest. We got to spend most the day today in the hospital oogling over our little man. He has the funniest facial expressions and his hair as curly as it was the night he was born is getting straighter and straighter. He is so darn cute, I just can't help myself when I see him. 

Do you like his shoes? I made them and I was pretty proud that they actually fit!

Mom and little dude. He's already the love of my life!

Pucker up for Dad!

This is a rare face for Eli, he doesn't really cry. Ever. We've only heard him cry twice. So I had to capture this picture of his cute little sad face. Isn't it irresistible? Yes, it is.

Eli....

I know several of you are confused, most of you had no idea we were even considering adoption. Well, for the past couple of months our lives have been a whirlwind! It has been a crazy, emotional, yet rewarding journey. 

For several years now, we've been wanting to add to our family, and last night, it happened! We have the sweetest birthmother we could have asked for. She went in to the hospital to get induced Sunday morning around 9am. At 6pm Sunday night, she was still only at a 2, the baby had moved completely posterior, and was very high. So she had a couple options and after tearfully considering them, she chose to have the baby via C-section. She was very nervous, yet knew that physically and emotionally it was the right thing for her to do. 

At around 8:20pm they put me in sterile clothes (per our birthmoms request that I be in attendance. She told me it was my story to tell our little guy when he gets older and it should be me in the room with her), wheeled our little mama into the operating room with me holding her hand and started to get her prepped for surgery. They started the surgery and NO LESS than 5 minutes later, we had a baby. It was an amazing experience to watch and participate in first hand. As I sat behind the curtain with our birthmom, trying to reassure her things were going well and it would be over soon, the doctor leaned over and said "Kara, stand up!" So I stood up and he said "watch!" and then out came my little boy. My first reaction was "Oh my gosh, he has a ton of hair!" my second reaction was "That is MY baby, and he is SO handsome." Then I thought wow, he looks so healthy. Rolls all over, CHUBBY kissable cheeks, and seriously the best curly hair ever. If I pull out one of his wringlets it is like 2 inches long! I love it. Oh and he has LONG fingers and toes. Then I thought "I better shut off the water works and get it together so I can function...." it was a teary moment, for all involved!

Then they pulled me away from our birthmom and I got to watch the baby get cleaned up, sucked out, and then I got to carry him out to show Scott and take him to the nursery. He was the only baby in the nursery so we got to be very involved. The sweet little thing came out thinking he was starving so I fed him a bottle which he guzzled, and from then on he was drunk with happiness. Scott bathed him and he slept through it! What newborn baby sleeps through it's first bath?? Ours apparently. The nurse said "It looks like all you'll have to do to keep him content is feed him!" :)

Here's his stats (then you can enjoy some photos!)

Date of birth Oct. 18

Arrival time 9:09pm

Weight 8lbs. 5oz.

Height 18 inches

Demeanor CUTE CUTE CUTE, and calm.... so far

Savoring every little moment of holding him the night he was born. Those are the most special moments, when they are so new and smell just like a baby should, eyes swollen shut, squirmy little bodies, I love it. This picture above gives you a good shot of his head of hair. I can't keep my fingers out of it. I had to ask our birthmom for special instructions on how to take care of it..... it is going to be interesting! :)
Right after birth, all squishy and wet with the white vernix stuff.
VERY mad that they are poking him around and rolling him from side to side.... I wouldn't like it either Eli!

FINALLY, in mom's arms, can you tell I have a huge grin behind my mask? I forgot that I had it on! I waited for this moment a very long long time, it was not disappointing!

First time with Dad

First bath, after the bottle, slept through the whole thing and even smiled a little when we rubbed his head/hair

Welcome to our family Eli, this is going to be awesome! You have a big brother anxiously waiting to see and hold you.... darn that swine flu, you can't let big brothers visit in the hospital unless you are over 14.

Hello folks. Well, we're doing it again. Some of you may not have even known that my blog has not been private for almost a year now. I went private, changed my mind, and now I'm going back to private. No reason imparticular, just feeling like I should. 

So, if you've been reading my blog and were reading it when I was private, I have your e-mail and I'll add you back on the list. If you are a new reader and want to keep reading, send me your e-mail and I'll put you on my list. 

kara_hopkins(at)hotmail

Thanks everyone, I'll be making the change this week!