Merry Christmas

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We are spending the week in Montana with my parents and sister and brother-in-law. Lucas was so excited for Christmas that he slept from 11 to 8:30! Merry Christmas to me!

New toy

We got this new toy in the mail from 2 of my aunts. We set it up immediately and Lucas was just mesmerized for so long. He loves it. It was so fun to watch him look at the toys and coo at them.

Watch this short video to hear him and see him kick his legs at this:

Baby bjorn

At my nephew's wrestling tournament

Both of us love this baby carrier. It is the best!

2 Month Check up

Lucas went to the doctor today for his 2 month check up. He is a growing boy!

Weight: 9 lbs 10 oz He is in the 9%. He gained about 2 pounds since his last appointment on November 4.

Height: 22.8 in He is in the 43%. He has grown 3 inches since his 2 week check up.

Head Circumference: 15 in He is in the 13%.

The doctor said that he is doing great. He had to get an oral vaccine which he took very easily and then he had 3 shots. It was so sad! He was so sad. He was hungry too so I fed him and got to soothe him. He quickly forgot.

We went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping and he got to sit on Santa's lap. Santa kept saying "Thank you for letting me hold this precious baby." He also said that he was straight from heaven. I didn't disagree and told him that he was our miracle baby.

Lucas wore his cute Christmas jammies!

Sealing and Blessing

After the adoption was finalized we were able to take Lucas to the temple on Saturday, December 11, and he was sealed to us. In our church we believe that families can be together forever. When Ryan and I were married we were married in the temple for time and all eternity. Lucas dressed all in white and he was sealed to us. This means that we will be together even after we die. It was a beautiful experience and Lucas looked like an angel. He was so smiley and happy in the temple. We have had many miracles in our lives. And this includes this little baby placed in our family. We are ever grateful for his birth parents and family that gave us and him this opportunity. There were many family members surrounding us. Through all of our prayers, Lucas was placed with us.

On Sunday, December 12, we took Lucas to our church and Ryan was able to give him a name and a blessing. We took lots of pictures with lots of our family.

Ryan's parents and Lucas

My parents and Lucas

3 of my sisters, me, and Lucas (sorry Nicole, you were already gone). 5 of the 7 girls in my family were able to be there. We missed the other 2, but they are in Minnesota and Texas.

Finalization

On Friday, December 10, we went to the courthouse with our lawyer to finalize Lucas' adoption. The lawyer introduced the case to the judge as a petition to finalize the adoption and change the baby's name from Baby Boy Z. to Lucas Alexander N. We were sworn in and our lawyer asked us a few questions: What are names were and our address; how we came to receive Lucas into our family; how long we had had him for; if we understood the responsibilities that came with parenthood. The judge was pleased with our desire to be this baby's parents. He asked us if we had anything else to say and we told him how we love Lucas so much and from the instant that we met him we knew he was supposed to be our son. We have such an unconditional love for him. The judge signed the adoption decree and said that he wanted to be the first to congratulate us on this adoption. I then asked if we could take some pictures with him. It was a great experience. We were so happy! And we still are! Lucas was such a handsome boy. I went to so many different stores trying to find him an outfit that would fit him.

Officially a family of 3!

My mom was able to be there with us

Happy Lucas

He is such a smiler!

He is usually a little more vocal, but everytime I turn on the camera he turns shy.

Thumb sucker?

He is just getting ready to eat...but he does like his thumb. He is solely a right thumb sucker.

Gobble Gobble

Gobble Gobble...Lucas had a great outfit for Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

We celebrated a wonderful Thankgiving weekend surrounded by family. We got so much snow and it was so cold here and so this is how we have to dress Lucas up to go outside:

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We are getting all ready for Christmas now!

A Celebration

My sister was in town from Denver this weekend to throw Baby Lucas a shower. She did an amazing job. It was better than I could have ever have expected. She is an awesome party planner. You can look at her blog for part one of the shower details. It was a great party!

Smiles

He is such a smiley boy in the mornings! I love it. And we finally captured some smiles.

My sister Melanie and baby Lucas. She came from Denver for some snuggle time with Baby Lucas.

1 month and belly button

As of yesterday, Lucas is one month old! He is still wearing newborn clothes, and not all of them fit yet. I like that because he has so many cute clothes and he has worn them more than just once or twice. He is such a cute little baby.

After 4 weeks, Lucas now has a real belly button. And so he got to take a really bath. He liked it, meaning he didn't cry the whole time.

Video of him taking his first bath:

Taking a snooze...he must be dreaming of something cool because he is just smiling away.

God Found Us You

This is another adoption story that we absolutely love. Here are some excerpts:

Little Fox cuddled up to Mama Fox one night and said sleepily, "Mama tell me again about he day I came home...

This is my favorite story of all. When God found us you, it made me that happiest mother in the world...

I dreamed of how you would look, smell, even what you would sound like. And every day I thought of how wonderful it would be to hold you in my arms...

"No matter how much I prayed it would happen, I still had to wait." "You waited and waited and waited?" "And waited. But I knew that someday you'd arrive, when God would find us you."

"It made it hard to see other mamas with their children," she said, like she was telling a secret...

"Did you ever want to give up?" Little Fox asked. "Sometimes," Mama said. "But I trusted that God knew you, and knew me, and knew when we'd fit perfectly together."

"How come I couldn't stay with the mother who had me?" "She must have had very big reasons to place you with us. She must have thought it was best for you...She was as beautiful as you are handsome."

"I think she prayed like crazy that you would be safe. I think she prayed for me as much as I prayed for her. And God answered both our prayers." "I came then? To you?" Mama nodded, happy tears in her eyes. "You came then. When God found us you, you made me the happiest mama in the world."

"Mama, will you be my forever mama?" "Always and forever. No matter what. This is where you belong. Here, with me, my sweet child. You are mine. The best gift in the whole wide world. I will always love you and treasure you and celebrate the day you came, the day that God found us you."

...

Big boy

Just a cutie in his firetruck onesie!

Lucas went to the doctor again a few days ago. He wanted Lucas to be weighed again and just make sure that he was gaining weight. This time he tipped the scales at 7 lbs 11 oz. He gained 20 oz in 10 days! The doctor said they like him to gain 1 oz per day, but 2 oz per day is even better! He is a great eater. Lucas is almost 2 lbs more than what he was at birth. His cheeks are getting more and more kissable.

His elephant jammies that his Aunt Melanie gave him. He loves elephants!

Lucas has started taking a binky. He loves it, but he doesn't always need it. It is so cute to watch him suck on it. He was laying on our bed the other night just sucking on his binky for so long. It was so cute.

He is sleeping really well at night. He usually goes for about 4-5 hours and then wakes up to eat and then will go right back to sleep. That makes Ryan and me so happy!

Lucas with both his grandmas

My mom was in town this last week for some cuddle time with Lucas. It was great to have her here. She made us yummy meals, helped organize Lucas' room, and was a big help.

This was most of the stuff that Lucas has gotten from so many wonderful people. Luckily we got it all organized.