A couple of funnies......

I seem to say this over and over, but where does the time go????? We had a great long Memorial Day weekend, and it was filled with a lot of firsts both for Wyatt and myself. Saturday was fun we went to Karter's first birthday party, it made me a little sad because I realized that Wyatt will never have a first birthday party, I guess I knew that, but did not REALIZE that. That night we went swimming at Samantha's house, and Justin took his eyes of Wyatt for a split second and guess what? Wyatt had his first experience of going under the water in a pool, he did not seem fazed by it, but me on the other hand............

Sunday we went to Karter's baby dedication, and then on to lunch for the Meacham family. As we were finishing up, Karter and her family came in to have lunch. I had to use the public facilities to change Wyatt, and while in there it got CRAZY. Justin has always said that I did not have to take Wyatt's shoes off to change a diaper, well maybe he is talented, but I do not share his talent because I managed to get poopy on Wyatt's shoe, and when I quickly jerked it off it caused the poop to fling on the wall, and stick. Picture this--------- I have a dirty child, a dirty shoe, and a dirty wall and I can not put him on the dirty floor in a public place. What a dilemma!!! I changed Wyatt took him to his dad, and went back to clean up the wall and shoe. As I came back out Amber looked at me as if to say, everything okay? No not really I responded and told her to watch the blog for my latest adventure with Wyatt.

From there we traveled 2 hours to Jay,Oklahoma to meet with other friends and cook out and swim, it was fun and Wyatt did good considering his nap was short, and it was an hour past his bedtime before we left to travel back to Tulsa. As we drove around the lake and I was holding Wyatt I realized how lucky we both were to be sharing this moment, me with him and him with me and all the beautiful creations. So different from Vladivostok, Russia! I have found myself several times this week wondering if Wyatt likes the hot temperatures of Oklahoma?

Monday was pretty relaxing, the only outing was to a new Walmart less that a mile from the house. Other than the toothless women rubbing my babies head, and saying he is such a beautiful blonde baby, funny how they all start out blonde then turn dark headed?!!?? She was proud of herself, and I found myself wanting to say something but decided against it. That entire shopping experience is one I will remember for sometime to come.

That's all for now, but stayed tuned because I have lots more to share in the coming days......

What a week.....

I am so glad that it is Friday, and that we are beginning a 3 day weekend. I need one, and I know Wyatt needs one with Justin and I. Okay, I posted about him getting 4 shots on Monday, and about the doctor wanting to have some blood drawn for labs, we did that on Wednesday. Well, this morning I got a call from the doctors office saying all the labs looked good except for one, and they wanted it repeated. I said okay, next week? They said No today or tomorrow, so we went today. That made 3 times this week that Wyatt has been poked, and pricked with needles! Come to find out the concern was for nothing because it appears that vial of blood was handled improperly! Which was fine by me because it was Wyatt's red blood count they were concerned about, the numbers were HIGH, really high and the doctor thought maybe a mistake had been made at the lab, he was right on. So, all the labs we had drawn came back normal and again Katie thank you for sharing that information.

Also, we had a speech therapist out yesterday to assess Wyatt because I have been concerned he is not moving food around properly. They thought things looked good for the most part, but we qualify for a program called Sooner Start, so we will be with them for the next 6 months or so. They will work with Wyatt on Speech/language/physical/occupational therapies. As a first time mom, I do not know all the things Wyatt SHOULD be doing, and we are enjoying each day. But, we also know that for every 3 months a child is in an orphanage they loose a month developmentally so this will allow Wyatt to catch up quicker with his peers. But, I can also say it is helping me as much as it is helping Wyatt. They give me things to practice with him, and every day a new light bulb goes off. Yesterdays light bulb had to do with feeding, and what I was feeding. The therapist said baby food is good, but pureed food is better. Tonight I steamed vegetables, and pureed them with milk and butter and Wyatt ate 2 serving spoons full. I also made extra meals and put them in individual containers to serve over the next 4-5 days. I realized it is all about the quality not quantity! Every day is a learning day for the Meacham family. We are getting there, it just takes time.

I hope everyone has a safe, relaxing, and wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We are taking Wyatt swimming in the morning, a birthday party in the afternoon, and a swim tomorrow night.

We will keep you posted....

Our Nanny was labeled " Just the help" today

Okay, so I have to tell you all what happened today. Emily and I went to stay in play, a program that is supported by our local school district. This was the last session of the school year so I asked my boss if I could go, and see what they do during play and stay and maybe learn something educational to do with Wyatt over the summer. I was dressed for work, and had open toed heals on, and we started in a class room and ended up on the playground. Emily was dressed appropriately in shorts, and sandals. All the other moms also looked like they were ready to get down and play with their kids. It started out that I felt dressed incorrectly for the occasion, but then one mother that had 3 children ( let me add they were not well behaved at all) looked at Emily, and said you just the help? I thought to myself this lady did not really just say that, with that tone. Of course I very nicely answered back we count our blessings that we have her, she is a 3rd year college student home for the summer, and she is with us until she goes back at the end of summer. Of course as I was telling this story at work today my co- workers said I should have offered MY HELPER to her so that she could get her children under control.

I felt so bad for Emily, and myself. You have seen the movies about the Nannies, at the park with the kids discussing the families they work for. I felt like we were a scene out of the movie, and it was not very funny. I felt Uppity, the word we did not like in this house to describe our situation. I feel VERY BLESSED to have Emily, and I am glad Wyatt has her for the summer, but it is hard for me to say he is cared for in the home because I worry about being judged. I know you all are going to tell me, Don't worry Lisa.......

Anyway that was the start to our day, then after stay in play Wyatt made us a package so we took advantage and went by the lab to leave a specimen, and have blood drawn. I was sure glad I had our nanny she had to help out with it all. LAUGHS....... I told her we were getting the bad end, first Monday and Wyatt got 4 shots with me, and today he got blood drawn with me. He may decide he does not want to go anywhere with his mommy, lately is has not been anywhere fun. Emily, maybe you could take him to Disney world with you next week, that would be fun!!!

Our Nanny.......

I promised I would let you know about our Nanny, Emily Brown.

She is so good to Wyatt, and plays with him, teaches him, takes adventure walks with him. The first day she started we discussed a lesson plan of sorts. We have certain signs and certain words that we teach him daily, she works on them in the day, and Justin and I do them at night. One of the words is Bye Bye, and last Friday Justin was going out to mow, and I said, tell daddy Bye Bye, Wyatt waved. Justin said did he just wave at me? I said YES, Nanny E has been working with Wyatt on that among other things.

On the 2nd day she was here, when she entered the room and Wyatt started waving his arms I knew that he had enjoyed his first day, and that brought me peace. On the 5th day ( last Friday)I was leaving and said, Bye Wyatt, he cried. I was sad that I left him crying with Emily, but knew he would soon be okay. Emily said he was fine within minutes!

The picture on the blog is them headed for an adventure walk today, he was not a happy baby today, of course you would not know it from the picture, but he was not happy because of the four shots he got yesterday. Nobody suggested that I give him Tylenol before or after the shots, and I even asked the Doctor, should I be aware of anything, side effects of the shots, etc. He said no he will do fine, maybe he was thinking technically deep, and missed the question I was asking, but next month we are scheduled for two more, and I will be more prepared and know what to expect.

Next week Emily is going on vacation with her family, to Disney and we will sure miss her. I hope she has a great time, but hurry back, okay! We have her until she starts back to OU in the fall, and at that time Wyatt will be going to daycare.

More updates soon about the adventures with Wyatt.......

Dr's appointments

Wyatt had follow up appointments with both the eye doctor and the pediatrician today. We learned today at the eye doctor that the patching is working well, and in fact we were able to go from 2 hours a day, to only 30 minutes daily. He wants to see us again in a month! He is still concerned about Wyatt's pituitary gland, and wants us to see an endocrinologist. I discussed this with our pediatrician today, and he agreed that it would be best to see the doctor. We will also be going to the lab in the next day or two to have blood drawn for some tests that need to be done, and we will provide a stool sample as well. Thanks Katie for sharing the information, I took the list in to the doctor, and he thought many of the things were included on the medical information I provided from Russia. He rechecked his information, and based on that ordered a number of tests. Wyatt got 4 shots today, at the time he did not seemed to bothered, he cried briefly. But, tonight after dinner and his bath, he cried for 1 1/2 hours non stop. I went for a stroll, he calmed down but as soon as I tried to put him in the crib, he got ANGRY again. I rocked him, that was not comforting him, I drove around in the car, he liked that but again when I tried to put him down, he was MAD. I again tried to rock him, and finally he fell asleep in my arms of pure exhaustion! Was it the shots or something else?

The pediatrician said Wyatt looked good, but I was disappointed because we only gained 1 lb 2 ozs. For those of you that have seen Wyatt eat, he eats well, and is not picky for the most part. The weight gain is only about 15 grams a day, and the goal is 20-30 grams a day. I may try and squeeze in one more snack during the day. Amy or Carrie do you think I should try Benecalorie? The doctor suggested an appetite enhancer, but I explained that he eats well. Bloggers, what is the one food that gives the MOST calories?

As of today we still have the appointment with the specialist in OKC for his eyes/ brain. Also, we will be scheduling an appointment with the endocrinologist for the near future. I think once those appointments are completed, we can relax a little, hopefully.

Please continue to pray for Wyatt's health, and adjustments. Both seem to be doing very well, and I count my blessings daily. Also, pray for Emily Brown ( our nanny) that she and Wyatt will continue to have fun together, learn together, and enjoy the summer. Emily is AWESOME with Wyatt, and she deserves an entire post to herself so I will update later this week on our Nanny.

Good Night.....

Magic Bullet

Okay, I have to share with each of you about our Magic Bullet. Does anyone else have one? My Uncle Wayne purchased ours for us for Christmas several years back to enjoy together. Now, I know my friends, and you need to get your mind out of the gutter, and into the kitchen.

It is a food processor among other things. You have probably seen the info commercials showing them making pasta and pesto's. I have to say we have not used it many times since we got it, but that is all fixing to change. I made a chicken noodle casserole for dinner the other night, and the next day at Wyatt's meal time, I thought to myself, hhmmmm what if I put some of the leftover casserole in the magic bullet and pureed it for Wyatt? Oh, my gosh he could not eat his dinner fast enough!!!! He loved it. Now, we try daily to use it, the goal is for Wyatt to get a nutritious meal that does not come out of a Gerber jar every meal. Tonight, Justin is making steak ( I do not think that can be pureed, to fatty, but I may try), but we are having mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables. I will put his vegetables in the magic bullet.

Last night Justin used the magic bullet to make a new creation of ice cream. He LOVES his ice cream, last night's flavor was PB& J Ice Cream. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, tablespoon or two of peanut butter, and a tablespoon of grape jelly. He said it was good, and ate it all.

I will share my new inventions as they become available, and Alex you and Taylor need to tell your dad ( Uncle Wayne) you want one for Christmas. You can blend Ice Drinks for adults, and puree baby food for Ginger. It even has a couple of recipes for baby food. Carrots, and Chicken and Rice ( I think)!

I am headed to the grocery store to buy supplies for the Magic Bullet....

New Pictures

A very quick note to let you know that new pictures were posted, and that you can click on each picture to enlarge it and view.

A special Thank you to Breck Ryker for his time and talents to continue to post these for us. If you want to continue to see pictures now would be a great time to say Thank you, Breck for helping the computer challenged Lisa with this project.

I will post a long update this weekend about first week back, and all the other adventures of the week.

Off to work I go.........

Wyatt's First Road Trip

We left Friday night at 8:00pm for Brownwood, Texas to be with family this weekend. Wyatt was interested in the sights until about 9:00 pm when it got dark, and then it was off to dream land for him. He only briefly woke up a couple of times, but never made a sound. We arrived at my moms at 3:00am, Wyatt woke and babbled at my mom briefly, and crawled. We put him in the pack n play at 3:30 am and he sat in there until 4:30 am, never making a sound. He slept until 10:30 am Saturday morning. We got ready and went to my brother and sister in laws about 1:00 pm. We had lunch, dinner, and cake there. Wyatt enjoyed the cake so much, it was his introduction to cake, and I was not sure he would like it because to this point he has not liked anything sweet. Stephanie, Beky, Natasha and many others had a little party for Wyatt. He received several more toys, all of which he loves, and several of which we got to hear all the way back to Tulsa. I will be dreaming about Patty Cake, Do my ears hang low, BLUE EAR all night long!!!!!! Thanks Moreland family for a great weekend. We got some great pictures, and I PROMISE to post new pictures this week.

Between lunch and dinner we went to the state park so the kids could swim ( it was 100 degrees on Saturday), Wyatt put his feet in the sand and water. He loved it!

On Sunday was very special because my brother was baptized, and I celebrated my 1st Mother's Day. It was a great day.

I wondered how Wyatt would do on the car ride home because we were traveling during the day, he did well. He took a 2 hour nap, but other than that he was up, and patiently rode along in his car seat. All of this even though I do not think he is feeling well. He has had a runny nose since Friday, mostly clear but occasionally will get green gunk mixed in. Also, he has been sneezing, and on Friday was tugging at his ear, but not since. Also, his appetite is not what it has been, but today it seemed just about back to normal. I mention all of this to say that tomorrow is my first day back to work, and I was concerned I would have to call in with a sick child. I knew my boss would wonder who was sick, Wyatt or Mommy not wanting to leave Wyatt?!!??!!?

I will keep everyone posted about my first day back, and also I will be throwing a challenge out to you readers. My Ohio friends the Costello's have offered up a challenge and we have accepted, more details to follow.

Have a great Monday!

Mother's Day weekend

It is Thursday night, and I am preparing for a road trip tomorrow.

We are headed to Brownwood, Texas to see my family. Wyatt has not met his Granna, or Uncle Don and Aunt Stephanie, cousins Dylan and Dustin along with so many others. This entire process has brought lots of people together. My sister in law, Stephanie has family coming in to meet Wyatt. Several of them have followed our journey, and have been so excited for us. They are having a cake, Welcome to the Family cake, and I am not sure who will enjoy it more, Wyatt or me. Many of you know, some do not know that Birthday cake is my FAVORITE dessert.

Also, my brother Don is being baptized on Sunday. I am happy for him, and that he has chosen to follow God, and make this statement of faith.

Lastly, when I reflect back to Mother's Day a year ago, what a difference a year makes. Last Mother's Day I remember laying in bed, and telling Justin that God would not mind if I skipped church on that day, I just wanted to remain in bed, with my head under the covers. After struggling for years with infertility,and the disappointment of not getting pregnant I did not really want to participate in the day. Basically, just pretend that another Mother's Day was not happening around me. I did just that!

At the end of May 2007 is when Justin and I submitted paperwork to begin the adoption process, and our prayers were answered in December when we got the call that our son had been selected for us. I told Justin yesterday that I loved that little boy ( Wyatt), of course I tell Justin and Wyatt both that very often. But, yesterday I told Justin that if I never gave birth that I would be okay, because the reality is that so often people say, " just wait now that you have adopted you will get pregnant." I have always thought okay, then let's get on with this. I am so happy that I have realized that getting pregnant, being pregnant, and delivering a baby does not make me a mother. You become a mother when you love this child more than life itself, when you know what they are thinking or needing even before they know, and when your days are consumed with meeting their needs, and that makes you happy. At least for me as a new mommy that is what I think it means to be a mom. Now, as we change stages then my beliefs will probably change or be enriched, but I want to share with each of you HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY!!!!!!!! Because of Wyatt, my Mother's Day will be a joyous one.

Thank you Wyatt for the best Mother's Day present ever, which is yourself. To all the other moms reading this blog, Happy Mother's Day and may you each have a wonderful day.

Weekly update

I am sorry my updates are not coming as regularly as some would hope. Who would have thought that all my days are taken up with one small little person. I use to tell Justin that I would stay home with our children. I would feed them breakfast and lunch of course, but then the rest of the time I would watch Young & Restless, Noon News, Guiding Light, Dr. Phil, Oprah and eat Bon Bons ( you get the picture, right) Well, I could not have been more wrong. The TV is never on in this house unless we have Baby Einstein's playing. Most nights after Wyatt goes down I think okay I can read, watch a little TV, visit with Justin, something for me. The only thing I can do for me is manage to get to the bed, and within minutes I am asleep. Oh, how my world has changed. I know everyone said it would, and now I have EXPERIENCED it.

A week from today I will be going back to work full time, and it is bitter sweet. I am very, very sad about leaving Wyatt. I really could be his full time Mommy, but at the moment we are not in a position for me to stay home. At the same time, I am excited about going back to work because I feel very strongly that I am using my talents that God gave me. Taking care of the Elderly is something that comes very easily to me! Yesterday, after church I met a lady at the restaurant, she was commenting on how cute Wyatt was, and before we left we had exchanged phone numbers, and she gave me her address and asked that Wyatt and I come for a visit. Justin said that will be you in 40 years, Lisa!!!! She was not shy, and was such a lovely lady to visit with. Wyatt and I will try really hard to go visit her.

About my plans for childcare, we have a nanny starting a week from today. Justin will not call her the nanny, he says that sounds very uppity,( is that a word?) Her name is Emily Brown, so that is what Justin plans to call her. EMILY!!! She is a 3rd year college student, early education from OU ( because she was OU, we nearly decided not to hire her) but, she is sweet, good with kids, and has great references. I decided to overlook the OU part!!!! She will be with us in our home through August, and then Wyatt will start daycare in August. I think it is very good that Wyatt can continue to adjust in his environment, and he is adjusting well. But, I also think by August it will be good that he will start a program and be around other children. This will be important to help him catch up with his peers.

Once I clear my camera, I will get some recent pictures and update the blog. He is changing weekly, and I can not wait to see Dr. Raley on May 19th to weigh him, and see if the doctor thinks he is catching up. I am tempted to go by his office this week just for a weight check.

Have a great week, everyone.