Off to the pond
One of the perks of our neighborhood is the local pond. It was in the high 80's today so after we ran our errands today, Jason, Jess and I went down to cool off. The water is still too cold for me to go in although Jess enjoyed my pouring our water bottle water over her head to cool off. Jason played with one of his friends who was down there and I talked my neighbors. One of my neighbors is expecting her first baby in September and we were talking about daycare since we're both looking for it. The walk home was a little tough as it's all uphill.

Getting ready to go


Watching the boys play

Geting ready to come home

Jason showing off pulling Jess up the hill. Notice Jess holding on very tightly.


The cats were very interested in her sand toys when we got home.

Good News for a little boy
Our agency had one child on their WC list left who's from the same SWI as Jess. The pic the agency had was old and didn't show the child at his best. Someone traveling to meet their child took a new pic of him and posted it on their blog. I don't know whether it was because of the new photo or just coincidence in timing but the little boy got matched! I am so happy for him I just wanted to cry when I found out. Looking at the blogs, my heart just breaks when I see all the little faces of children still there. When we traveled to get Jess, the director told us that all of the children in Jess's room had been matched with international families and were waiting for them to come. Tomorrow we are going to Build a Bear; hopefully we will be one of the first 200 people in the store. If we are, we will be able to build a bear for free to be donated to the Joint Council of International Children's Services to be given to children worldwide who are waiting for their forever families.

My new favorite restaurant



When I went to Nashville with my mom a few years ago, we found a fondue restaurant called the Melting Pot. It was awesome! When I came home, I kept checking their website and finally, they opened in MA. My mom, sister and I went the day before Mother's Day for dinner. It was so good. We started with Wisconsin Trio of Cheeses fondue with bread, veggies and apple chucks for dippers. After that came the California Salad which was lettuce, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts with a black raspberry vinagrette. My mom had filet mignon for her main course and Tricia and I split a plate of duck, chicken, filet, sirloin, and pork. Each of us had different colored skewers so we'd know who had what in the central pot. Dessert was chocolate fondue with Baileys mixed in - yum!!!! It's a rather expensive restaurant but well worth it for a special occasion.

The Wait

Anyone involved in international adoption knows about "The Wait". Some programs' waits are longer than others; The Wait can change at any time, either increasing or decreasing. Someone asked on another board whether people would recommend China for IA. My answer was definitely. Yes the wait is extremely long and getting longer; yes, when we signed up The Wait was 6 months from DTC; yes it is stressful not knowing exactly when you will be getting your little one. However, many other countries have long waits as well. Looking at an agency's website, I found that the Philippines has up to a 24 month wait for an infant and up to 18 month wait for a school aged child. Korea, India, and Ethiopia, among others, may have a 12 month wait for an infant. With the wait aside, I felt China was one of the most predictable, stable programs after talking to peopl who are adopting from other countries.

I went to a Waiting Families meeting at our agency last night with Jess and Jason. It's tradition that people who've been regulars at the meetings during their wait bring their baby to the first meeting they're home for. Someone asked me if I'd forgotten about the wait now that I was home. I have heard others say that once they got their baby, they couldn't remember the wait. I remember the wait just like I remember being in labor with Jason. However, when I held Jess in my arms, I understood just why I had to wait so long. It's cliche but I was waiting for her. I've said it before but I really think it was fate that everything fell into place the way it did. WHFC hadn't had a WC list for a long time; my DTC group was next to get their referrals. When I get the email that there's a new list, I decide to take a peek even though I don't plan on switching tracks (we were NSN). BAM...there she is looking at me with those oh so serious eyes. I'm on the phone requesting her file and a week later we're matched. Yes, I remember the wait and how long and stressful it was; I won't minimize that. But, when you look into your child's eyes, you'll know the wait was for a reason.

Fun in Boston
Last Saturday, I took Jason and Jess into the city to go to the New England Aquarium. We had a great time. Jason loved the jellyfish, especially the ones that stay upside down on the bottom. They looked like plants but were jellyfish. I like the seadragons which I'd never seen before. On Monday, I took Jess into the Boston Children's Museum. We took the train to South Station and walked from there. It wasn't really crowded and Jess had lots of time to play with the things she liked. We ate at Au Bon Pain splitting a bowl of mac and cheese - yum!!


Penguins at the NE Aquarium


Bench at South Station

Jess in the Arthur room at the Children's Museum

Jess in front of the green screen at the Children's Museum. I took a pic of the monitor that was pointed at the green screen.

Jess playing Blue Man Group type instument

Around town, rock climbing and Early Intervention

Yesterday was a beautiful day so Mike and I took Jess down to the Jenny Grist Mill and walked around. She slept through our walk down through Brewster Gardens but when we got back to the Grist Mill, she woke up so we stayed there for a while. I'd hoped to get an ice cream but of course Tuesday is the one day the little shop is closed. It was amazing to see the herring trying to swim up through the waterfall. They kept flopping back down to the pool below.

Today I took Jess and Jason to REI so Jason could go rock climbing. I thought the open climb started at 4; turns out it starts at 6 so I gave in to Jason's begging to go to Bertucci's for dinner. Jess was in a great mood as we walked across the parking lot and sat down at the table. She continued to be in a good mood while we ordered, ate rolls and got our food. She ate a couple of bites of my sporkie and a couple of minutes later was sobbing. I don't know whether she got a bite that was too hot (I tested most of it so I don't know that she could have) or if the food gave her a stomach ache but she began screaming and sobbing. I took her to the bathroom to see if she needed her diaper changed or if anything was sticking into her and just to get her away from the other people eating near us since it's not fair to them to have to listen to her scream. I couldn't find anything wrong with her but she continued to cry and cling to me. Finally, I brought her back to the table, flagged down our waitress and asked for the check. We left and she continued to cry. Jason pushed the stroller and I carried her since she had become velcro and was not letting go. We sat outside REI on the benches for a bit and then I walked around with her pointing out flowers and colors and she calmed down. We went into REI so Jason could climb and she was back to her normal self. I have no idea what set her off; whether it was something physical or emotional that got triggered. She hasn't cried like that since the day we got home and she was buckled into a carseat for the first time.

The therapist from Early Intervention came this afternoon to work with Jess. She played some games and looked at books with her. Jess doesn't seem too sure about her yet. She took quickly to Miss Lee at Gymboree but I think that's because gross motor activities are one of her favorite things whereas the therapist from EI was doing more fine motor activities. I think as she gets to know her, though, she'll warm up.