Legal documents

On Thursday we received the legal documents from Bethany's lawyer for us to look over and sign. Somehow the lawyer got our house number wrong, but luckily our postal worker figured it out. We also had some questions about the papers because they made it sound like Carter had to remain in Arkansas until finalization. We contacted our agency, and luckily that isn't the case. I think our "residence" just has to be in Arkansas, but Carter is allowed to travel out of state. We are glad about that because we have family still waiting to see him!

After going through the documents, we had to get them notarized and then mail them back to the lawyer who will then complete everything, and send it to a judge in White County. The judge will put us on his "docket" (hopefully within the next few months) and we will go before the judge and answer a few questions to finalize our adoption. Six months after finalization we will be able to receive a new birth certificate with our names listed as Carter's parents. Unfortunately this timeline puts us very close to tax time so we will probably have to get a temporary identification number for him since we can't apply for a SSN until we have his birth certificate.

I'm a little confused about the "six months after finalization" rule, because my understanding had always been it was six months after placement (when we took Carter home). I was talking to a worker at Searcy Children's Homes and she was surprised it was six months after finalization as well. Not sure how that works, but our agency has been around many years and done tons of adoptions so I assume they know what they are talking about! Does anyone else familiar with the adoption process have any insight on this? It's not a huge deal except we have to wait until the period is up before getting Carter's new birth certificate. Oh well, by this point we've definitely gotten used to jumping through hoops!

We are loving spending time with our little man, and he is getting cuter by the day! He has started smiling at us daily, and seems to be practicing laughing (not quite a laugh yet but sounds like he's trying!). We can't imagine life without him!

My first smile! (caught on camera anyway!)

Carter has been up a lot more during the day, and he seems to be in pretty good spirits every morning. Here is a smile his grandma caught on camera. Isn't he adorable???

1 Month!

I can't believe our sweet boy is already 1 month old! It has gone so fast! He has definitely gotten bigger, he weighs 10 lbs 5 oz, and is 22 in long. He has been eating every 2-3 hrs during the day, and 4-8 hrs at night. Yes we have had two 8 hour nights! Unfortunately that 8 hrs started around 8pm so we didn't get to sleep as long as Carter did! He usually makes it about 6-7 hrs though which is really nice!

He has started making really good eye contact, and he's gotten better about holding his head up on his own. He isn't a huge fan of tummy time but he will tolerate it for short stretches, and he can lift his head up briefly and move it from one side to the other while on his tummy. He likes laying on his back and looking around, but he MUCH prefers being held while he's awake...which makes it difficult for me to get alot done! Hopefully I can wean him of that once he starts staying awake more.

He likes taking baths, and has finally started enjoying being changed more (this used to be the WORST thing in the world!) He has smiled occasionally, and Nate said he even heard him laugh once. He likes to stare at our faces, and will follow things with his eyes. He makes little "eh" noises alot whenever he's awake.

He still likes being swaddled and sitting in his vibrating chair. Those can usually calm him down, even though he rarely gets upset unless he needs something. He has started using his pacifier more as well. He is still a big mover, and will move himself around in his cradle or on his blanket while on his back. He is already in size 1 diapers, and wearing 0-3 month clothes, though we have some of those that are starting to get a little small on him.

I've enjoyed getting to stay home with him, though it is difficult to get much done. I have to make good use of the times he's asleep. Luckily I've usually been getting a good night's sleep so I don't have to nap during this time!

We had Nate's parents come visit right after Carter was born and my Mother-in-law stayed to help out the next week. Nate's brother Eric and his wife came down at the end of July and stopped by to see Carter, and then my mom and sister came down at the end of July with my nephew Jaxon. Now Nate's parents are here again along with his sister Rachel to watch Carter while I'm gone all this week to in-service at school. Even though I'm taking 7 weeks off at the beginning of the school year, I still have to get my in-service hours. Thankfully they were able to watch him so we didn't have to figure out something else!

We have been enjoying being a family of 3 and cant wait to see what the next month has in store! Here are a few pictures!

Jaxon giving Carter kisses!