Mommy's little helper

Guess who helped me with laundry this morning. I was pulling towels out of the laundry and could not carry him and the basket at the same time. So I put him in it.
He thought this was hilarious.

After the bath

I just wanted to share a couple of cute "after bath" photos. He looked so cute in his ducky towel.

Texas Approval!

I was so excited about the Solar Eclipse, I almost forgot to mention something very important!

Texas has approved our paperwork!!  YAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

So, we are in touch with our lawyer here in Texas, who will walk us through the next steps.  More info to follow!

Solar Eclipse Sail

Sunday there was a solar eclipse.  We had the opportunity to go see this from the bay on the sailboat with John the neighbor.  Of course, Levi went with us.  He really seemed to enjoy the sail. He slept in the cabin for a while - which is the best way to nap - rocking gently back and forth on the sea. 

Here is Levi putting on his life jacket. He had to get a new one because he has already out-grown the last one. He's not fond of the cute little duckies...but when it comes to specialized baby things, there are not many options.

That's John Dickey - the neighbor - and owner of the boat - in the background. We are so grateful that John invites us on his boat - teaches us the ropes (literally) and he is always happy to have Levi on board



Here is Levi eating his life jacket.....
Since he is teething, he find everything useful for chewing.





And the reason we went - the Eclipse!  It was so cool to see it from the bay - what a scene! I cannot believe I forgot my camera!  So, this is taken with my little iPhone.  Not too bad, considering it's a phone. 





Adoption progress update

I realize I haven't updated on the adoption process lately.  It's mostly because it's a lot of paperwork and waiting.  Here's an overview:

We have approval from Kentucky.  Yahoooo!!

Texas needs just two more pieces of paperwork submitted before they will proceed.  One is signed by us (done) and the other by the birthmother (I understand that this has recently been done).  Once these are submitted and approved, then our lawyer here in Texas will take it to the judge here in Texas to get everything finalized. 

I know that sounds simple, but it can take a bit of time.  We are grateful for all of the people in the process who are patiently helping us with everything.  A big shout out to Ross Ewing - our lawyer in Kentucky - who has worked tireless hours to help us.  I don't know what we would do without him.  Between him and Miss Miller, we would be lost in this process.  They clearly work well together to get things done all in the best interest of the child.  Thank God for honest people like them.

We also really appreciate the help from our adoption agency here in Texas.  Melanie has been fantastic.  Of course, we always enjoy her monthly visits because she clearly loves her job and loves to visit with Levi.  She will be visiting with us every month until the adoption is finalized.  She is very patient and friendly as she explains everything to us. 

Prayers are still appreciated for the process, as it can be very stressful at times. 

Levi is happy and healthy and in the end, that is all that matters.  And, happy he certainly is. 
Here is a photo of Levi with Miss Lynn - our neighbor.  He is smiling, as always.

Levi Votes

Levi takes his citizenship seriously and never misses a chance to vote. 

Mother's Day

I was spoiled like crazy for my first Mother's Day. It was nice to enjoy this day - it would be the first time in many many years that I have. I will admit it is bittersweet, as I always miss my mom this time of year. But, I know she would be thrilled about this child, as we are and so are all of his grandparents. They have all been so excited since the day we called them about him.

Today we skipped church (which I have done since 1986 - long story- but it involves a corsage and being singled out as a "motherless daughter" at 12 years old - don't get me started!). We slept in, then had a nice lunch at Kemah boardwalk. Levi enjoyed the people watching and looking at the fish. He didn't care much for the Elvis impersonator though. That put him right to sleep.
Here is a pic of Levi checking out the fish.