Grassy Gus

Gus and I took advantage of the beautiful day by playing outside for a little while.  It wasn't until after we were playing that I realized that the grass had been cut and we were both picking up quite a few grass clippings.  Gus ate quite a bit of grass, I am afraid.  Regardless, we had lots of fun playing.

LOVE this hat.  LOVE the boy even more!!

"I'm gonna go find some dirt or bugs."

"I'm not so sure about this."

Had to enlarge this one so that you can see the drool hanging from his mouth down to the grass.  Ewww!!!

"I've got some grass stuck in my mouth.  Help, Momma!"

Collecting lots of grass in these little hands.

"TA DA"

Interesting....

I thought this was interesting...People.com put together photos of adoptive families in Hollywood.  Kinda cool.  People like Angelina Jolie and Madonna get a lot of attention for adopting.  But many of these families consider it no big deal and don't have reporters covering every step of their adoption process.  Just fun to look at after a long day.

http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20364464_20364484,00.html

NIAW

One of the blogs that I read has brought NIAW to my attention.  Apparently it is National Infertility Awareness Week.  No reason was found for why we couldn't get pregnant and there is nothing to say that we couldn't get pregnant someday.  The blogger creating this awareness posted a great video.  It was something that I could completely identify with.  I have often found myself asking many of the same questions. 

It is strange that through our stuggle to get pregnant and through Gus' adoption, I have formed many stronger friendships with others who have similiar lives.  But it took one of us being brave enough to talk about it and share our story.  It is so easy to feel like you are the only one.  Just by sharing a story, it is easy to see that there are so many others in the same boat. 

If your are interested, check out this video.

http://vimeo.com/11214833

Kids these days...

I am always amazed by what teenagers these days come up with.  Recently some of the teenage boys at school have made some unwise choices.  Some of them are harmless, but others are bigger than they can understand.  I realize that "boys will be boys" and they didn't see the consequences that would occur.  Gus and I had a long conversation about these choices and I encouraged him to make wise choices as he grows up.  (And yes, I realize that he will not remember any of it but I still feel it is important to discuss these things early on.)  And although I realize that my little boy will not always be the sweet and innocent boy I have right now, I hope that he follows a good path in life with the direction we give him.  As far as he current role models go, I could do without one thing that these teenage boys do because apparently my son has already picked it up.  "Hike your pants up, son! Nobody needs to see your undergarments!!"  Only 10 months old and already sagging those pants!  What's a mom to do?

What?!? No way!!

This week has been kinda rough but today there was a bright spot.

Joel was being interviewed by a 9th grade English class for their biography unit.  One student, MC, raised his hand.  "There are people going around saying that Gus is adopted....so is he?"  Turns out MC, who is one of Joel's players and knows the two of us pretty well, had NO CLUE that Gus was adopted.  It was pretty funny.  He felt pretty embarassed and kept apologizing to us.  I explained to him that that is no big deal.  "Adopted" does not define who Gus is.  I don't ever want one word to define who he is.  I explained this to MC...but he still felt bad and was completely shocked!  But when I think of it, he is a freshman.  He didn't see that I wasn't pregnant last school year.  How would he know?  Poor kid is mortified.  I did explain to him that I am sure many kids were happy that he asked that question because it was something that many of them, I am sure, wanted to ask.  It certainly opened up a wealth of questions for Joel.  One thing is for sure...those 9th graders learned a lot about the Stape Fam today!

Please, Momma....

I expect to see this sweet little expression many times in my life as he hopes that we buy a new toy or treat at the store.  This time we were buying shower gifts for our friends, Drew and Miranda, who are getting married in June.  Gus loves playing with them!  Drew is so crazy and can make Gus let out those adorable little belly laughs.  Miranda is not only Gus' hairstylist, but will also be watching him twice a week next school year.  She is so good with Gus and it's clear that she is pretty smitten with our little guy.  So Gus gave them some cookie cutters in hopes of making lots of cookies at their house next year.

Looking at the sweet little expression in this picture, I fully expect to see this when Gus wants a new toy or whatnot. And how can I say no to that face?!?  I'm such a sucker!!  I am sure that I will cave in quite quickly to this little charmer.

What not to say...

I know that people mean well and are genuinely interested in what is going on with us.  But recently I have had a handful of people (some family, some friends and some others) ask me a similiar question and it is starting to piss me off!

"Have you heard from the mom?"

"Do you have contact with his mom?"

"Why did his mom give him up?"

What don't people understand?  I am Gus' mom!  Just because I did not carry him in my belly or gave birth to him...I am his mom just the same.  Even his birth certificate says so!  I had my own pregnancy.  It started in November of 2007 when we started the process, "our pregnancy".  Gus was born in June of 2009.  So instead of a 9 month pregnancy...we had a 19 month pregnancy.  Our labor and delivery lasted 8 months while we waited for finalization.  Just because I did not become a mom in the traditional way, does not make me any less of Gus' mom.

I try so hard just to calmly answer people when they ask and when I answer I make sure to use the term birthmom.  I know that people aren't very familiar with adoption and the pc terminology.  I try to be patient....but I am quickly losing my patience.  Perhaps some day, I will not be as sensitive about it...but that day is not today.

Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone,

But still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute,

You didn't grow under my heart - but in it

--- Fleur Conkling Heylinger

Sleep and Poop

Another fun surprise for us...Gus has been sleeping right through the thunderstorm that we have been having tonight. Joel and I were wondering how he would do with thunder and lightening and if we would have a fussy baby on our hands. Luckily, all went well for his first big thunderstorm.

We have been having a lot of sleep issues with the Gus-man and things have been getting much better this week so we were hoping the storm wouldn't set us back. We think we have a couple of things pinpointed.


#1- Gus is cutting some teeth. Clearly not happy about it either. I keep trying to tell him that if he just toughs it out he will be much happier because he will be able to eat so many new foods with new teeth. He currently has 4 teeth. The two on the bottom have been here for quite awhile but within the past few weeks he started to grow a "fang" on top. Just in the past few days we have been able to see the other "fang". So I may have a little vampire on my hands but aren't vampires popular right now?

#2- Lack of bedtime routine. We have made a strong effort to have a more solid bed time routine. In addition, we used to lay down with him until he feel asleep but now he goes right into bed. Each night, the blood curdling screams have shortened. Tonight it was only about 7 or 8 minutes. It was about 20 minutes this past weekend so hopefully by next week our little guy will start to get the hang of it.
#3- Naps. We knew that our son was getting a couple of naps a day but we weren't sure as to when they made the most sense and not only that but at what point do we put him to sleep?  It is hard to make a point to put him down for a nap.  We read a book that my sister-in-law, Sarah gave us a long time ago.  We read parts of it before Gus was born...but we really should have read the whole thing.  We also did some reading online.  We discovered that our little guy does need the 3 naps he takes each day...and he stays up at night just a little bit later.  We think that this could work quite well.  Over spring break he has been taking a morning nap, a nap after lunch, one late afternoon and then going to bed around 8ish.  His naps aren't really that long and that is why it is okay to have 3 naps.  (Little does this kid know...he is living the life!!)

In addition to our sleep issues, we have been trying to figure out his pooping issues.  With help from his doctor, we learned about apple-prune juice and we have adjusted his food.  Things are MUCH better now.  (And yes, I know that someday my son will be mortified that I share so much with you!)

This has been a week of adjustments for our little guy but so far all three of us are surviving our spring break week!

What a fun surprise!

Tonight as I was relaxing on my squishy, purple couch enjoying a DIY show on HGTV and skimming Facebook, I stumbled upon a fun little article.  I follow a site called http://www.detroitmommies.com/.  They had an article about traveling with an infant.  I was intrigued since we will soon be traveling with an infant to Florida.  I did pick up a few tips...but that is not what made my day.  At the bottom of the article was a small bio about the author.  She just happens to also be a first time mom to a son that was born last summer.  But to top it all off...she is an ADOPTIVE mom!!  So immediately I went to check out her blog that she writes about her adoption journey.  She and I have so many similiarities.  I wish she was my neighbor!  We would have so much to talk about!  It was so refreshing to find someone else out there who is so excited to share their adoption journey as we are.  In the past hour, I have read her entire blog...so great! Check it out if you want...she writes so much better than I do.  http://www.openheartsopenminds.blogspot.com/.  She also has two children books coming out.  One just came out to purchase in December.  It is called Wally One Sock about a boy who always seems to be missing a sock.  What other little boy do we know that always seems to be missing a sock or two?

All in all, a delightful surprise to my evening.

Happy Easter!

Gus in the Grass

Gus played for the first time in the grass while at Gramma's for Easter.  He wasn't bothered at all by the weird feeling of the grass, which surprised me.

He even found an old leaf to eat.  Bleack!!

Gus goes to the Farm

For years I have seen friends and relatives have their kids pictures taken with live bunnies.  I was hoping to do that with Gus this year.  Unfortunately, the places that offered the bunnies around us were filling up fast and quite honestly...didn't fit into our busy schedule.  Kinda bummed me out.  I even asked my parents to search for live bunnies to borrow so that we could take a picture at their house with them.  No luck.  While at my parents house for Easter weekend, it was suggested that see if there were any baby "chicks" available to take pictures with.  After calling my Uncle Tom, we were off to the Otto Turkey Farm to see the two week old baby turkeys!

Gus and 2500+ baby turkeys!

I think the feelings about each other were mutual.  Neither the turkeys or Gus knew what to think of each other.

Gus was not sure at all about the big turkeys...they were taller than him!

Gus was intrigued my the feather Gramma found until he tried to put it in his mouth and Daddy took it away.