Tate Bundled Up...

 
 
It's been cold out so when we went out to run errands on Saturday, we got Tate all bundled up! We thought he looked pretty cute which made for...you guessed it...a fantastic photo opp!!! 

Daddy's Swaddling Job

 
Daddy had night time duty last night and in the middle of the night, Tate got up for his night time feeding and diaper change. Daddy hasn't had night time duty all by himself before, so when he tried to re-swaddle Tate, this is how he did it. He gets an A for effort, but when I woke up in the morning and saw Tate's swaddle loose with his arm hanging out and covering his mouth, I HAD to take a picture! It was pretty funny! I LOVE Sean, he tries SO hard! He is doing an excellent job! 

My First Friday at Home!!

 
 
  

My first Friday at home was good. I got to spend lots of time with Daddy because Mommy had a fever and didn't feel good, so she took a nap for a couple hours while Daddy played with me! I liked that because usually Daddy works all day and I don't get to see him until later. Mommy woke up though and took care of me for the rest of the day while Daddy went to work.

Mommy sure likes to take lots of pictures of me! I think I am getting the hang of it though...I know that when she has the camera in front of me, I am supposed to look right at it. I do that most of the time. Mommy says I better get used to that flash because I am going to be seeing a lot of it! Daddy and I think that she goes a bit overboard though.

I was awake a lot today (and last night!), I just haven't wanted to sleep much since yesterday. I like it when Mommy stays up all night with me and rocks me and sings to me and holds me. I don't think that she always likes it though. Sometimes I look up at her and she has her eyes closed and so I have to make some noises so that she wakes up and pays attention to me. That's what I did last night a lot!

Today Mommy and Daddy played with me while I layed on the floor. They dangled my blue monkey toy in front of me, and I really liked looking at it...I even liked to suck on it's nose! We had so much fun today! I was exhausted by 10 pm and fell asleep on Daddy's chest. I like it there, it's comfortable.

Tomorrow, for the first time, I get to watch the Hawkeyes play! I can't wait! Then, I get to meet more people on Sunday! I am going to meet my Great Grandpa Clodfelder, Kent, Gale, Carolyn and Olivia! I can't wait to meet them!

Love, Tate

In Love

 
 
 
I don't think that it is possible for me to be more in love with these 2 boys! I have never felt love like this in my life. Not only do I have an undescribable love for my perfect little son, but Tate has made me fall even deeper in love with Sean than I ever thought possible! Being a Mother is the greatest feeling in the world! I couldn't have planned out how it happened better! There were many times during this process when I wondered why things weren't going "my way". Why can't I get pregnant? Why are these fertilitly medications not working? Why is this paperwork taking so long? Why haven't we gotten "the call" yet? Why didn't we get those babies? Why didn't that birthmother choose us? Well, now I know why...because if ANY of those things would have happened, we wouldn't have Tate today. Oh how grateful we are that none of those things happened for us. I now know better than I ever have before, the meaning of "God's timing". I told myself so many times, this will all happen in God's time, not mine, but I don't know that I ever truly was content with that reality. I truly believe now more than ever that God sure knows what he's doing!!! Thank you Lord, for this unbelievable blessing you have given us! 

First Doctor Appointment

Well, we have a little chunker on our hands!!! Tate has gained exactly 1 1/2 lbs since we brought him home from the hospital!!! He weighed 7 lbs 4 oz. on the 7th and now he weighs 8 lbs. 12 oz.!!! He shrunk a half inch too! Ha. He is 21 inches long they said. He did great...didn't make a peep the whole appointment! Although, he didn't have to get any shots. I am soooo dreading that appointment! Dr. Timboe said that we "got a good one", which we already new!!!! He couldn't be more perfect! So, not much else from the doctor except that things look great and he's a healthy boy!

2 weeks old!!!

Well, I can't believe it, but Tate is officially 2 weeks old! We got "the call" just 13 days ago that we had been selected! What an incredible 2 weeks it has been! We are sooooo very blessed to have the honor of raising this perfect little being! We love him more with every minute that passes! This has been an incredible experience that words can't even describe. I don't know what it is like to have a biological child, but I know that Tate is just as much "our child" than he would have been if he was biological. I can't imagine Tate not being in our lives now. It's almost like I can't remember what it was like before he arrived! It's crazy that I can say that after only 2 short weeks, but it's true! He was growing in our hearts since we began this adoption process and he arrived at the perfect time...God's time! We prayed so hard for him and he is beyond what we ever prayed for. It all seems like a dream! There have been several days already where I literally sit on the couch ALL DAY and just stare at him...I can't take my eyes off of him! I don't want to miss a single second of his life! All I want is for him to be happy! I never knew this kind of love existed...it's the most amazing feeling in the world! I think of Tate's birthparents constantly! I pray for them constantly and thank God for them! They are 2 amazing people and we feel so blessed to have continuing contact with them. We cannot imagine it any other way! We will still meet with the birthfather and have contact back and forth with him, but as of now, the birthmother has requested only pictures and letters from us. She has a lot of healing to do and at this time, doesn't want to meet us or see Tate. I am sure it would be so hard! We pray that she will someday want to be at least a small part of our lives and that we will be able to meet her and thank her in person...it's just so hard to write these strong feelings on paper! Please, continue to pray for Brandon and Maggie (the birthparents) and their healing!

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted what I asked of Him…"
-1 Samuel 1:27

Sleepy Tate...

 
 
 
 

Until today (Tate's been a bit fussy today) Tate has been sleeping a TON! I went to download all of my recent pics and he doesn't have his eyes open in a single one! So here are some pics of him sleeping. We loved him more and more every minute! 

Apple Picking Trip 2006

 
 
 
  

 
 
 
  

 
 
 
  

 
 
 
 
We went on out annual apple picking trip in Wisconsin this weekend. We had SO MUCH FUN! Tate loved it! :)

It is so wonderful to have a son to include into our family traditions. I can't wait for the years to come!

It was VERY cold, so we had Tate all bundled up and he was quite warm! He did great in the hotel, and we can tell he is going to be quite the traveler! Ha. As of now, he is great in the car considering he sleeps so much. He was a perfect angel and slept quite well also.

It's late and I NEED SLEEP, so that's all for now. 

Going on 5 days!

 
 
  

I can't believe as of Thursday at 3:45, we will have had Tate for 5 days! It has flown by! I even think he's changed since we met him! He is more beautiful every second it seems! He is such a wonderful baby. Tonight is the first night that he is sleeping in his crib. We have had him in a bassinet in our bedroom and it's so tough to sleep that way. I find myself constantly checking on him with every peep, and when there are no peeps for a while, I want to check on him to make sure he's okay!

We love Tate so much! He has changed our lives in a way that we never knew he could! He has made us love so deeply in a way we didn't know exhisted. Also, he has taught us that we can survive on only an hour or two of sleep a night for several nights in a row and still be able to smile all day long! I used to think that I could barely survive on anything less than 6 to 8 hours! :) Sean and I will never be the same. The topics that we get most excited talking about are things like how big of a poop he made today, or how many ounces he's eating now or how cute he looks in his pj's! He has also made me fall in love with Sean even deeper than I loved him before! He is an AMAZING Daddy and it is the best feeling in the world to be just sitting on the couch with my two boys! I can't wait for the rest of our lives! We are a family, not just a couple! It's so surreal still!

The pictures above are of Tate's first time in his swing. He did great and seemed to really like it! He was really checking out the dangling toys and the lights! The last picture is of Tate meeting my friend, Jessica! He actually slept through the entire meeting, but he was pretty content! :)

Okay, Tate is sleeping in his crib, so I better get some sleep while I can! We are going apple picking in Wisconsin this weekend (Tate's first vacation! :)), so believe me, I will have plenty of pictures to post next week I am sure!

The Knutsons Visit...

 
 
 
The girls LOVED Tate...especially Delaney! He loved her too. He fell asleep in her arms and I think she would have held him all night if we'd have let her! Thanks for visiting Knutsons! 

Our Precious Tate!