Where Are We in the Process for Baby #2?
One word: S L O W

Just thought I would post an update on our process to adopt baby #2 for those of you who may be new to following our adoption journey. 14 months and 1 week ago we sent in our initial application to AIAA. This is the agency we used to adopt Riley through. In January (after waiting for over 7 months and still on the waiting list just to apply) we received a letter that said that adoptions through their agency were slowing down and they really couldn't be sure when families on the waiting list would even be able to apply to the Korea program.

We spent some time thinking, praying, and researching what our options were. We decided to switch agencies and are now working with another agency. This agency accepted all of our paperwork that had already been completed but then we had additional forms and coursework to complete. On March 4th all of our paperwork was processed and we began officially waiting for a referral.

Waiting for a referral is the point in the process where we still are. The referral is when we are matched with our baby. At that point we will receive pictures, background information, etc... We were originally told an estimate of 0-5 months for our wait. We are now close to the 6 month mark. Our phone could ring with good news at any second, or it could still be a few more months. With adoption, you just never know!

The waiting continues to be HARD! But, when that phone rings and our lives are forever changed (again!) most of the heartache of the waiting disappears.

How to Confuse a 2 Year Old...

Poor little Riley has a stomach bug--thankfully he's not throwing up, he just has very loose stools. As you are more than well aware, we are in the midst of potty training. Talk about confusing your potty training toddler....

Yes, Riley, normally you do get some M&Ms when you go pee pee in the potty, but not today.

Yes, Riley, normally you get to open a present when you poop in the potty, but not today. (Not to be gross, but at one point he was pooping every half hour...at that rate I would have been bankrupt!)

Tomorrow is a new day!

Buy 1, Get 1 FREE!!

There is an incredible deal going on right now here. You can buy one Thomas the Train dvd and get the 2nd one of equal or lesser value free! There is also free shipping.

It doesn't look like there is a limit to how many you can buy. Happy Shopping!!!

How can the summer really be almost over? Actually, because no one in our household is in school, summer is more just a season and being in the south it will still feel like summer for a while longer. But, it feels like summer is almost over as other kids are preparing/going back to school, our summer hangout (the waterpark) will be closing soon, our vacations are over, and we're getting ready to start our fall activities.

It is also a little disappointing because I really thought that by now I would be the mommy of two. I know we are so close that I can almost touch it, but it still seems so far away.

The family who was one day ahead of us in having their paperwork approved by our agency, received their referral a week ago Friday. We are out of state, so we are on a different list than they are, but it is still hopeful and exciting to know that they were matched.

Please pray for us--for peace in the waiting and that our baby would be matched with us soon!

Potty Training Progress Report

Well, I'm sure that you are wondering how the potty training is going...actually, I can't think of anything else to blog about tonight, so here it goes.

We officially started last Tuesday. Riley and I went to Target and he picked out some "big boy underwear." (After growing up with so many sisters, it's hard for me not to call them panties, but I am resisting the urge and calling them underwear.) Riley was so proud!

It has gone fairly well. He's not afraid of sitting on the potty and he loves the candy treats he gets when he goes to the potty. He's only told me a couple of times that he needs to go but for the most part he's staying dry. There have been a few times that I have wanted to quit but with some encouragement from my friend Jen and my mom, I am trying to stick with it.

Some memorable potty training moments (so far):

1)Riley choosing a new potty seat at Target. I tried to encourage him to buy the more boyish one of Cars, but he insisted on the Dora seat.
2) At the YMCA I was in the bathroom stall and Riley starts cheering at the top of his lungs "Yay, Mommy! Woo-hoo!!"
3) Riley running towards me at Sears saying "Oh, no!" as his crocs start filling up with pee. (Seriously, he had more liquid in his shoes than in his shorts! Thank goodness they were his washable crocs!)

Stay tuned for more riveting potty details!! :)

The Olympics...

Do you get excited about the Olympics? I do! I cannot wait! I love watching all of the events, even if it's a sport I don't typically care for.

I love the competition, and I love how athletes are competing for the pride of their nations.

The only thing I don't like is when the Olympics are in such a different time zone because I am always afraid that during the day I am going to find out who won which competitions before it is shown on tv. I will be listening to something on talk radio (yes, I listen to talk radio) and they will interrupt for a newsbreak and before I can turn the volume down I will hear and "so and so just won the gold medal in..." Ruins my day! What is your favorite thing about the Olympics?

For the love of a milkshake...

On Saturday night my sisters Susannah and Karoline came in to town to see our new niece Laila. After we left the hospital we decided to go by Cookout for milkshakes. (Cookout has the best milkshakes you've ever tasted!)

Riley has become a bit of a milkshake hoarder and you're lucky if you get your shake back once he has it in his hands! I wasn't very hungry so I was sharing my Oreo Mint shake with him.

We needed gas, so Michael pulled into one of our local stations. Before he got out of the car he noticed that Riley had punctured the cup with the straw and the milkshake was leaking all over his clothes. In an effort to save the milkshake for me (since at this point I had barely had a sip--remember the 2 year old milkshake hoarder!) Michael ran into the store with the leaking milkshake and grabbed one of the cups from the drink station.

After dumping the milkshake into the new cup, Michael then went and waited in a very long line so that he could pay for the cup. He said he was tempted to drop a quarter on the counter and leave, but he wanted to tell the clerk what he had done.

When it was his turn in line he explained to the clerk "Tiffany" (actually her name, after the incident definitely not trying to protect her name)what had happened and that he would be glad to pay for the cup. She then told Michael that if he had filled the cup up with ice it would have cost him 15 cents but since it was just the cup it would be 94 cents. Michael looked at her and repeated back to her what she had just said and said something to the effect of that doesn't make much sense and how could she charge 94 cents for an empty cup? She copped an attitude and told him that they had to pay for the cups somehow.

Michael, being the honest and upstanding citizen that he is, paid her the 94 cents and then asked for her manager's name and her name. Somehow, "Tiffany" couldn't remember her manager's full name. Shocking....

So, consider this a warning blog post...if you ever need an empty cup from a convenience store be sure to fill it up with ice--it's cheaper than just the empty cup!

Another addition...

My brother Ben and his wife Jenna had their second baby yesterday! Laila Cassidy was born around lunchtime and weighed 7 lbs. 13 ozs.

Ben, Jenna, big brother Mason and sweet Laila are all doing great! Here are some pictures!