Sofia's HOME!!!!

Sofia arrived to her brand new home this evening - to open arms and hearts full of love and joy! She traveled half way around the world from an orphanage in the Ukraine, to an adoptive family where she we will be loved forever.

The moment Jen, Hector, and Sofia came down the escalator... whew! Talk about water works...

Hi, Baby Girl!



I didn't take too many pictures (believe it or not), and the few I did take didn't come out great (some are really blurry) because I turned my flash off so it wouldn't be overwhelming for Sofia.

The Sisterhood (well, some of us anyway)

Sheree's sparkly sign :)

A little book I had made for Sofia as a welcome home gift so she could get a jump start on learning about her buddies

And then here she was! With her Nana :)

Snuggling Miss Sheree (Sofia is a TOTAL snuggle bug)

With Miss Jonna (my favorite picture of the evening!)

Miss Jenny

And finally... my turn!

I swear she's smiling here!

CONGRATULATIONS, SANCHEZ FAMILY!

And now... a bonus video of Joaquin walking :)

Sheridan + Joaquin = Twice as Nice

It's no secret (to those who know us) that Gary and I want to have another baby. But let's face it, one is a lot of work and, well, I'm a bit scared of having two little ones to chase all over the place. I think my friends who have more than one child are amazing. Modern day super heroes. I know families just work it out. You just make it work. But that doesn't make it seem any easier on this side of things.

So I decided to do a trial run.

Jen and Hector needed somebody to hang out with Joaquin yesterday (he's staying with Jen's parents while Jen and Hector are overseas for Sofia's adoption and Jen's mom needed back up for a day). I was happy to have Sheridan's buddy over for the day.

But let's face it... this was big. For me AND for Sheridan.

So I planned out the day: Joaquin would arrive at 7:30, we would eat breakfast, J & S would have music therapy together from 8:30-9:30, we would go to the park and Sheridan would have PT in the park from 10:30-11:30 while J and I played in the sandbox (or whatever else J wanted to do), we would eat a picnic lunch in the park (which I packed the night before) and play until nap time - S goes down between 1:30 and 2:30; J doesn't nap anymore, so my biggest concern was getting S down and get hi to STAY down while J and I hung out. After that, the rest of the afternoon would just be hanging out playing in our play living room or back at the park.

The boys' picnic lunch... yum!

The boys had different plans... but it all worked out :)

When Joaquin arrived he was VERY tired - apparently he had woken up very early that morning (well before 5:30) so he just wanted to snuggle on me. Which was fine by me :)

Sheridan was so happy to see him first thing in the morning. He was all smiles, giggles, and he was constantly waving "hi."  At one point he even came up and put his hand on Joaquin's back as if to tell him, "it's okay, Buddy."

After 45 minutes of snuggling, I decided to put Joaquin in Sheridan's crib to see if he wanted to take a nap. Um, yeah. Two and a half hours later, he woke up. I think he needed that sleep!

So Sheridan did music therapy alone (I'm actually surprised Joaquin didn't wake up from all the ruckus!) and I switched PT back into our home (I wasn't sure when Joaquin would wake up). He did wake up just in time for Sheridan's PT.

Both J & S have the same PT - and they both love, love, LOVE her. It was pretty funny watching her try to work with Sheridan while Joaquin was all over her :)  And apparently Sheridan's favorite PT toy is also Joaquin's fave... luckily I have one, too.

Sheridan was so sweet... he could tell Joaquin wanted to play with it so he gave it to him. But a few minutes later he wanted to play, too, and... well... neither boy was too excited to share :)  So I busted out our toy. Imagine their elation when they could play with TWO farms! (By the way, now I know why parents of twins have 2 of everything.)

When PT left at the end of the session, Joaquin started to cry (he essentially knows PT better than me - he's been seeing her twice a week every week for longer than I've known him, so he was sad to see her go and be left with me in this unfamiliar house). He didn't full-on cry, but kind of whimpered for about 2 minutes and then we were back to playing.

So we headed to the park...

 Just chillin' outside the house getting ready to go.

Here's the boys singing "slippery fish" - see their fish?

Here's their "Ohhhhhhh, noooooooo!"

They ate... each staked out his own territory...

Joaquin did NOT want Sheridan to feed him :)

Then came the good stuff... the sandbox!

Now, if you've ever seen Joaquin do his "yoga" (as I like to call it), you'll know that he loves be on his hands and feet in plantigrade and look at everyone upside down. Sheridan has been experimenting in that position a bit for a while. Joaquin did it for a moment in the sand box, and then Sheridan mimicked him, and started walking all over the sand box like that...

And Joaquin looooooooooved tucking his hands in the sand. So Sheridan decided he would do it, too.

We sang "itsy bitsy spider" - look at those spiders those awesome spiders they're making!

"If you're happy and you know it, say 'Hurray!'"

Yaaaaayyyyy! Good singing, boys!

Well, there goes Sheridan again...

I'm telling you, that Joaquin is a good role model!

And here we have more tag-team tucking...

Aaaaaand, he's off...

I knew it was time to leave when Joaquin just wanted to snuggle, and Sheridan was trying to climb up on me, too.

So I stripped the boys down to their diapers (it was over 80 degrees and they were full of sand and diiirrrrrrty), and we headed back home for a bath.

Here's Sheridan showing Joaquin the finer nuances of his bath toys.

And now, for a story.

Joaquin provided some mood music on the floating xylophone.

And yes, this is how Sheridan bathes.

They boy rarely sits any more. He only sits to splash. Splash big or go home.

Then came the moment of truth... I got the boys dressed and I realized it was 2:00. Time for Sheridan's nap. How the heck was I gonna do this with two boys?

I decided to let Joaquin play in the living room while I tried to put Sheridan down in his room (don't worry - our house is uber baby-proofed and our living room is basically a child's dream play room - any semblance that adults live here and use that room has vanished). 

Sheridan was asleep in his crib by 2:05. I was patting myself on the back :)

I came out of Sheridan's room and found Joaquin exactly where I left him - playing quietly on the floor. He wanted to snuggle. I obliged. 

Joaquin was asleep on the couch by 2:10. Double pat on the back :)

Sheridan slept for 90 minutes, and because Joaquin was still asleep I rocked Sheridan and let him rest on me for another 30 minutes. At that point Joaquin woke up after a 2 hours nap! Those boys needed the rest (and I needed the time to do some work, a win-win).

We spent the rest of the day hanging out playing at home, but did take another walk before Joaquin was picked up at 5:00.

Yaaaaaaaayyy! Clapping at the end of a song.

Jen and Hector, thank you for entrusting your baby boy to me (and thanks to Jonna for calling to check on me :). Joaquin was perfect, and sweet as always. It was also nice to see how the boys interacted. Sheridan was very sweet toward Joaquin, always offered to share his toys - even if he did want his farm back at one point :) - and also how Sheridan immediately picked up on the things Joaquin is doing and tried to do them himself. I swear, if Joaquin hadn't spent the day with us, Sheridan wouldn't be experimenting this much (yet) with all this walking on hands & feet. The only time I saw him do it consistently was in the bath tub over the last couple months... so to see him pick up on it so quickly at the park from Joaquin was so great!

And, yes, two children were more tiring and demanding than one, but at least on this day it wasn't too bad. Not at all the hair-pulling feat I expected. But I was exhausted :)  And it was worth it.

Sheridan is going to make a great big brother one day.

Rockin' the Scar

Today as I waited to pick up my lunch order from Nopalitos, I noticed a father with his teenage son who has Ds. They were finishing up their lunch - actually, the dad was trying to get his son to eat a few more bites of the bean and cheese nachos he'd only eaten 1/3 of.

I was in everybody's way (both because it was packed and because I wanted to watch the dad and his boy). I know the boy thought I was staring at him. 

Ok. I sort of was. But I was trying to be subtle about it, ya know?

I could feel that nervous pit in my stomach. I really wanted to say hi. But am I rude for interrupting their lunch (yeah, a little, but the dad was done eating and was fighting a losing battle against a teenager who didn't want to eat any more pinto beans).

Three or four times I almost got up the courage to go over there. What the heck would I say? "Hi, my name is Lisa and my son has Ds, too"???? Yeeeeahhhhh, that didn't really work out for me last time, remember?

The dad clearly noticed that I was eying them up. He mouthed to me, "we're almost done here," as he pointed at their table. GULP. Here we go...

I walked over to his table and leaned over and said, "Hi, my name is Lisa. What's your name?" Um, yeah, that's not weird at all, Lisa... he looked at me a little shocked (I don't blame him), told me his name, and shook my hand.

"Well, I just wanted to say hi because I have a 19-month-old son who has Ds."

And then came the smile. You know the one.

I love that smile.

Turns out, they're not local. They are from Chico (about 2 hours from Sacramento) and they come here to visit the boy's cardiologist every 2 years and always eat at Nopalitos afterwards. Why do they visit the cardiologist, you ask? As routine follow-up to the open-heart surgery he had at 6 months old.

Get out!

And he goes to the same cardiology group Sheridan sees...

I, of course, told him that we just found out that Sheridan will need surgery. I didn't even say another word and the dad looked at me and said, "I know you feel like you are going through hell. I know how hard it is and how scary it is. But after this, everything is a piece of cake. Trust me."

He told me about how scary it was for him and his wife. Especially the sight of him after surgery (he said nothing can fully prepare you to see your child with tubes and wires sticking out of them, even if they don't really look "bad"). He said going home with their son 9 days after surgery was the scariest part because they lived 2 hours away and they were worried ("he had staples keeping the incision closed and then one day they just took them out and put some tape for the wound - how they hell does that seem safe?!"). But he insisted, "just remember, they won't let your son go home if he's not ready, so if they let him go home, just know that he's really doing well."

Anyway, we talked a bit more about surgery - he pretty much just told me to fix Sheridan's heart and know that everything will be ok. He also told me that even though it was scary at the time, he doesn't even remember much about those 9 days in the hospital. He said the thing he remembers most was eating lunch at Nopalitos every day!

We talked a little more small talk before my food was ready. They have 4 children - the 14-year-old with Ds is their oldest. Etc. He was so nice. And just kept telling me that once I'm on the other side I'll wonder why I was so scared.

His son finished his nachos. And laughed when his dad teased him, "I thought you said you were full."

I left with a huge smile on my face.

As I got in the car and was ready to start my car, I looked up and the dad was chasing after me. Flagging me down. I opened my car door.

"The moment you left my son raised up his sweatshirt and showed off his scar. Would you like to see his scar?"

I almost cried - he had to know. He just had to know.

"Yes. Please. If that's okay. I would really like that if he's willing."

He shyly came around the corner, and then not-so-shyly put his sweatshirt up over his face to reveal his entire scar.

It was big. But it wasn't a big deal. Ya know?

His dad pointed out the other 2 small scars where the drainage tubes were. He mentioned that they were surprised that the scar got so big (it was only a 3-inch incision when he was 6 months old), but of course it makes sense that it grew over time with him.

So I joked with his son, "I bet the girls like your scar." He totally blushed and looked down at the ground. I didn't mean to embarrass him in front of his dad :)

He golfs, plays basketball, and swims in the special olympics. His dad said he likes to walk around with no shirt so he can show off his scar.

Sheridan's gonna rock his scar one day. Just like this teenager.

I went home and ate the best bean and cheese nachos I've ever had.

Up Syndrome

I can't wait for this arrive from Netflix! Watch Up Syndrome trailer here.

Sending Them There and Back with Love (and an Afghan!)

We had a fabulous playdate this morning (despite the lack of sun and the very chilly weather) to send Jen off with love... she leaves in NINE DAYS to begin the final leg of Sofia's adoption in her home country!!!

So, we just wanted to have one final Playdate BS (Before Sofia) before Jen leaves... and to give her a gift that our little ones created for Sofia.

Sheridan shared his scooper with Ainsley...

Then Annelies joined the group...

And, of course, our good buddy John Michael was there - he was all over the place. And he even gave me knuckles and called me "doo" (Dude)!

Joey showed me his "clappy hands"

Sheridan pretty much just enjoyed chillin' near the sandbox all morning.

John Michael and Sheridan stood at the bench and ate a snack... correction: John Michael ate a snack. See that lone goldfish in Sheridan's hand? I think he's trying to hide it from JM :)

Look at our boys growing up!

Of course, no playdate is complete with our rainbow blanket. We bring this to EVERY playdate. It's become our signature photo-op backdrop. Joaquin spent sometime hangin' out somewhere between doin' yoga and standing up...

The really cool thing is that our group is growing so quickly - we've nearly outgrown the rainbow blanket! And this isn't even HALF of our total group! Oh, say hi to Cristian at the back of the blanket there :)

And a new family came... little 4-month-old Lance met his new buddies for the first time.

And little Delilah Rose was there - here she is with honorary auntie Cori...

and sleeping on her mama.

Sheridan eventually found all of Joaquin's snacks, including his watermelon.

Did he eat it? Nah. He just wanted to stack it. Over and over again.

This is proof that even though he won't stack your boring 1-inch blocks during your evaluation, he will stack the heck out of everything else.

See how proud he is of himself?

And now for Sofia's gift... an afghan of her own! Made with love (as always!) by the fabulous, wonderful, amazing CJ. (a big thank you for pulling off the second afghan I've requested as a surprise!)

I asked each child to choose a color to "give" to Sofia and why they contributed it to her afghan. You'll have to check out Jen's post to see the details :)  But I know we did a good job when Jen cried :)

It was a great morning! And I'm so excited that the next time I see this afghan it will be cuddled around MISS SOFIA!!!!!!!