Levi has more visitors!

Aunt Betty, Aunt Tootie ("Nana Tootie"), Aaron and Andrew came for a visit last night!  Levi is spending the day with them today and tomorrow before Aaron and Andrew go home on Saturday afternoon and Betty and Tootie go on Sunday.  It'll be a nice visit, and we have been looking forward to seeing them.

This is a picture that Aunt Betty took yesterday after a swim.  It was just so cute I had to post it.  

I love to swim!

Most-asked question

The most-asked question about Levi this week: "What size does he wear?"
Answer: He is just about too big for size 6 months! Wow!! That is hard to believe! Only a few months ago, he was practically swimming in newborn sizes!

More peas please!

I forgot the photo of the peas! It wasn't so bad. Levi likes to help us hold the spoon when we feed him. He doesn't want to miss a drop. He is what the docs call "a good eater". We call it "never misses a meal"

Time to brush your teeth!

Levi experiments with a toothbrush.

The toothpaste is apple and banana flavored, but by look on his face, he clearly favors peas over apples and bananas.

Adoption Status Update

In the last status update, I advised that Texas approved us.  Here is what this means:
The adoption is considered a "Private Interstate Adoption".  This means that the ICPC offices are involved from both Kentucky and Texas. (ICPC = Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children) Kentucky "approved" us a long time ago - and passed the paperwork on to Texas.  The Texas ICPC office was requesting some more paperwork - that included a Legal Risk Statement from us (because the birth father is not known or named) and the ICWA statement from the birth mother.  (ICWA = Indian Child Welfare Act.  This statement from her states that Levi is not a member of a tribe or belonging to a reservation).  It took some time to get those two documents, but we were able to get them, and that led to approval from the state of Texas ICPC.

After this, we were told to find a lawyer in Texas.  The state does not allow an individual to submit the paperwork to the courts directly; this must be done by a lawyer.  Sounds easy enough:  find a lawyer, file the documents, meet the judge and wham bam thank you ma'am, we are done!  Right?  Wrong. 

Naturally, nothing is this easy.  We fired several lawyers last week for various reasons - one was for simply neglecting to return our calls, another for having bad advice (she told us to "throw out the work we've done and start over"), yet another for literally not knowing what was going on - but wanting to take our case because it was "new and challenging" and sounded like fun....and finally one for "overcommitting" and being unable to keep appointments. 

We finally found one we like, and we feel like we can trust.  He knew all about this type of situation, and has even dealt with several cases like this in the past - with several states - including Kentucky!  He said everyone does things differently, and he didn't see any reason why this should be any problem.  He is associated with the circuit courts, and we should be in and out like it's no big deal. 

Here's the catch:  Texas requires us to wait at least 6 months after placement to finalize.  This means we should be in court some time in August. 

Meanwhile, we are still getting monthly home studies.  It is simple.  A social worker from the adoption agency comes for a visit - asks some questions about Levi's daily schedule, his eating habits, his hobbies, his star sign, his long walks on the beach, his poetry....oh wait...no not those.  Just his schedule and his eating habits, mostly.  She asks about his progress with growth, doctor's comments, etc.  She observes us with him and then writes a long report that gets submitted to Kentucky and Texas ICPC, Kentucky Judges, lawyers, etc.  We also get a copy and read it to Levi.  He giggles and laughs through the reading - he finds it very entertaining.  We find it very interesting....it's weird to read about what someone observes going on in your home or your life.  It's all good news, and we are pleased with the Texas adoption agency for all of their help and positive attitude. I may not have mentioned that we had quite a time finding a Texas agency that could help us because it's "Post-Placement", but they were ready to step up and really help us out.  We are so grateful!

That is the status for now - we are waiting until August.  When we have a court date, we'll let you know.  Pretty exciting! 

First for Everything!

Levi attended his first wedding ceremony this past weekend.  We went to the wedding of Cousin Mark and Jennifer.  At the same time, he had his first beach experience.  He met lots of cousins in the Warren family for the first time. And, he also went fishing for the first time on his first Father's Day!  Whew!  That sure is a lot of firsts all in one weekend!  He was one very tired boy!

Here are some photos:



I'm ready for my closeup!



Happy family at the wedding - Levi's first experience at the beach!

Fishing with Dad.  As you can see, fishing is hard work.

Where is he sleeping, you ask?  Well, Levi can sleep anywhere. 

Dad is out fishing with Cousin Scott.

First Solid Foods

Yesterday Levi had his first experience with solid foods. He did really well. He ate all of his food - the part he didn't wear, anyway - and actually grabs the spoon to pull the food into his mouth. 

He is also making a lot of effort to sit up on his own. He pulled himself up in his bathtub last night and figured out how to turn sideways to leverage his little feet on the other side of the tub so he can sit up on his own.  He did it really well.  Oh, and when I pulled the plug to let the water out, he kept trying to keep it from draining.  I guess he wanted to stay in and play.  Looks like he'll need to get some bath toys soon. 

Anyway, here are some pics of the first solid food.  It was messy, but as you can see, he enjoyed it - as he enjoys pretty much everything about life.  :)


 

More Cousins!!!

This past weekend, we visited more family and met even more cousins and family!  Levi was SO GOOD on the plane - quite a little traveler!



Cousin Adam and Baby Levi. 
Adam says "Levi is [his] favorite cousin"





Miss Carin and Levi.  Miss Carin LOVED on him so much, he was spoiled rotten by the time I got him back.





Cousin Kaelyn - the GRADUATE - and Levi.  She loved on him like crazy, also.  And, he loved her back just as much.



Speaking of SPOILING - Aunt Missy did her fair share of it. 
And, she did it very well, I have to say.



 



Kaelyn and Levi



Even tough-guy Stephen was wrapped around Levi's little finger



Shuttlebration!

Moving along the channel at the Kemah Boardwalk

With the news that Houston was not granted one of the retired Space Shuttles, the city was in an uproar.  After all, whoever heard of the famous line, "New York, we've had a problem."  No, no, no.  It is "Houston, we've had a problem" - said by the famous astronauts James Lovell and Jack Swigert.  If you happened to have missed it, you can see the whole story on the movie Apollo 13, starring Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon. 

Kemah Boardwalk

Anyway, after all of the hub-bub and hollering, NASA finally granted it's hometown of Houston with a consolation prize.  Yesterday, a full-scale replica of the Space Shuttle Explorer arrived just down the street from our house.  It was pretty cool, I must admit. 

Levi is seeing a part of History - and chewing on his thumb. 

So, during the day yesterday, Rob and Levi went to watch the shuttle being transported across the Galveston Bay, through the channel under the Kemah bridge and into Clear Lake.  Last night, the three of us took a walk down to the dock where the shuttle is spending the night before they load it onto a transporter today.  It was pretty neat.  There was a street party, an all-astronaut band, and - a giant space shuttle replica sitting on a barge.  They even had fireworks.  Tomorrow, they will have a one-mile parade as they pull the shuttle to its new home at Space Center Houston - home of Mission Control.

Kemah Boardwalk

Here are some pictures of the day.  Levi experiencing history in the making:

Docked for the overnight stay at the Hilton on Nasa 1

Toy shuttle

Ok.  Maybe it isn't really that small....