Mural is finished

I have completed the mural. I worked on it as Xander slept.  I also decided to add coconuts above the leaves instead of a sports theme, it was more appropriate and I must say I love the way it turned out.  I'm also attaching a picture of the mobile he loves above his changing table.  When he wakes up, I change him and he just giggles and giggles.  I love him and his personality...even with all his colicky cries.  I have found what works to calm him down...he LOVES walks!  Today we ended up on 4!  Yep, 4!!!  If it helps calm him, I'll do it.  It's amazing at what stepping outside will do for this boy.  Monkey boy is even enjoying this more because he ends up on 2 walks a day rather than his 1 prior to Xander's coming home.  I walk him in his stroller and he also loves the baby carrier.  I'll have to get hubby to get a picture of us walking...since he's coming home this week!  Yep...this week!  Alexander gets to meet his daddy Friday...I'm so excited.  Ok, now for the pictures:

Have a great day!

My Birthday

Today I turned 31!  It wasn't quite the birthday I'd dreamed about, but I did have my baby boy with me before I turned 31, so that makes my heart smile.  I didn't have hubby here with me as he's still deployed, but he should be coming home within the next two weeks.  I'm so excited for his return now that we have returned home as well. 
Xander is having a difficult time sleeping the past 3 days.  I think it's because it's warmer here than he's used to and no AC.  It's making it hard for me to sleep, so i'm sure it's hard on him as well.  He's so sleepy though, I put him in my arms and he instantly falls asleep, but when I put him in his bed, he awakens and has a hard time falling back asleep.  He's been sleeping in the bed with me for the past 7 weeks, so maybe that has something to do with it also.  In time, he was adjust to his new bed and new surroundings. 
I'm having a hard time putting everything away from the long trip.  Everything is everywhere and it's driving me crazy.  I feel like I live in a mad house!  I'm not used to having stuff everywhere and out of place.  Tomorrow we're going to stay home from going anywhere that takes time and organize everything.  I'm hoping Xander will cooperate and let me get thing done.  I won't put any money on it though.  It might just have to wait until hubby gets home and he can play with Xander while I clean and organize.  As soon as I start on a room, Xander wakes up and starts screaming.  How do you get things done with a baby so young that always wants to be held?  I have a carrier thing, but it gets in the way when I need to bend over or reach for something.  Any advice or tips you'd be willing to share?  I'd let him scream it out, but I can't let him scream for as long as it's going to take me.  That would be torture. 
Ok, now for picture overload.

One month old

3 of my beautiful nieces with Xander at Atlantic Beach, NC

Xander loves him some Papa

Just for fun

hanging out with Opa

Mommy and Xander

sleeping in the airplane bassinet going home to Germany

1st sleep in his bed...only 45 minutes, but he did it

Monkey boy found comfort sleeping on Xander's new clothes

waiting to get tags taken off and washed

Loves bathtime

Have a great day!

We're home

Today my baby boy is 7 weeks!

Back in Germany!  Praise the Lord everything went through with the passport the second time around and we arrived safely in Germany Friday morning.  Although we had a little scare at the passport agency, after I already paid and was coming to pick up the passport, the agency gave me my ticket back and said they needed further information and I needed to get another ticket to see another lady.  I was devastated automatically assuming we wouldn't be coming home.  As I was waiting to see this other lady, about 30 minutes, his name was called...they had his passport!  I didn't need to see the other lady after all, so i'm not sure what the problem was, but whatever it was, I'm glad it was resolved quickly.  Needless to say, we ended up driving in DC traffic coming home, what took 2.5 hours to get there, took 4.5 hours to get back. 
Alexander was great on the plane rides, everyone praised how well he was compared to the 2 other small infants on the plane.  I was able to have a bassinet for him and he had his own seat also...he didn't care too much for the bassinet as he likes to sleep in my arms for the most part.  This is something I am trying to break, but its hard for this mama to listen to him cry.  He's so overtired right now, I feel bad for him.  He's confused, different scents, different scenery, new time zone...6 hours ahead of east coast.  I knew it would be hard on him, but I never imagined it to be this hard.  I'm hoping over the next week or two things will start to become normal for him.  He's so tired right now that he's snoring...so young and already snoring.
He does love his changing table mobile...it's a cheap mobile i found at Ikea awhile back, but it's colorful and he smiles so big at it.  He also loves when i read him stories.  Most times he'll be sucking on his paci, looking up at me read to him...he's just precious.  He also likes his mobile on his crib, when I start the music, he instantly quiets down, when the music goes off...so do his lungs.
I'll try to get some pictures posted tomorrow.  He's growing and changing so much!

Have a great day!

Documents in hand

I have all the documents I need to get the passport.  It's truly a good thing we have an open adoption and LP (birth mom) and us don't go through the agency for much.  We just meet when we want and do what we want.  I drove LP up to Richmond yesterday to pick up the birth certificate, then this morning Xander and I drove to Virginia Beach to pick up the notarized authorization statement from the agency.  I tried making an appointment at the passport agency for Monday, but they didn't have any available.  So, we have an appointment Tuesday.  Because we have an appointment Tuesday, we will get the passport that day rather than driving back up...so i guess it was a good thing.  Now all I can do is pray that they won't "need" something else. 
Today Xander's grandpa Ron is coming into town.  He should be here any minute.  Although I'm a bit nervous for the visit, because hubby has always been around when we've visited, i'm sure it will be a great visit.  Ron is super excited to meet his first grandchild. 

Have a great day!

Emotions

I've been full of emotion lately...if it's not from being over tired, it's from the stress of the process of getting back home.  I just want to get home in the comfort of my own things, my own car and my own kitchen to cook in.  I want Xander to get used to sleeping in his crib, meet his daddy, meet his puppy and get accustomed to living in Germany.  I'm little worried about taking him though because when I first moved there last year, I was sick for 6 weeks as soon as I got there. 
I really should be sleeping right now because I don't think Xander will sleep well tonight. 
So, we spent 3 weeks at my sister's in North Carolina, it was a great time.  We went to Atlantic Beach, it was beautiful, celebrated graduations (one for my 4 year old niece and then my sister), my older sister and her family came for a weeks visit, then our parents came for 3 days.  It was a great time and I'm glad us sisters could spend time together.  The last time we were all together was in 2009. 
I came back to VA on Sunday night...in a much nicer hotel this time around, but I'm on the party floor, so it's a bit loud.  I signed the placement papers yesterday finally.  We had to wait on the putative father registry to clear.  Today Xander and I made the 3 hour drive up to DC to apply for the passport to go home, but were turned away.  I bawled..I just want to go home.  I know i don't love the place, but my stuff is there and we need to settle in there, not a darn hotel.  So after we were turned away, I called my sister and cried to her...thanks for listening.  After I talked with her, I called the agency then our birth mom.  The passport agency says I HAVE to have the birth certificate, plus authorization from the adoption agency.  Ok, so now I came up with a new idea.  I called the vital records in Richmond and they told me our birth mom can come in and get the record the same day.  So, tomorrow, I'm driving LP up to Richmond so we can get this birth certificate.  What a mess I'm going through.  I then also have to have authorization notarized, I had the consent written up, they just didn't notarize it...it didn't say it had to be done.  Oh well...I think we have this figured out now.  I'm going to hopefully schedule another passport appointment for Monday because we have our tickets to fly to Germany for the 19th...very soon.  I really pray things work out this time around. 
I sent LP a bunch of pictures today.  I'm excited to see her tomorrow as we always find fun stuff to talk about.  It's never awkward or a dull moment.
Here's a few pictures of my little man...he'll be 6 weeks on Saturday already.  On Monday he weighed in at 10 pounds and 20 1/4 inches.  He's growing...but still so scrawny.  He's still rolling over constantly, loves to look at his toys, looks at himself in the mirror, smiles a lot and follows my voice.

A little playtime

playing with Jayla

Atlantic Beach, NC

Jayla's graduation

emergency diaper change in a traffic jam

at BW3's at auntie Renee's Air Force commissioning

sleeping at bw3's