A Bowl Full of Cherries

 . . . has nothing on our bowl full of baby.

 Isn't she cute!?!

We think so.

Two Weeks

At Alina's two-week old checkup this week, she weighed in at 7 lbs, 2 oz. Not quite back up to birth weight, but close!

She's in the 20th percentile for weight and 30th percentile for height (which was measured at 19.75 inches--1/4 inch shorter than her birth height.)

 Our petite little girl is bright eyes all day long, and we think she's practically perfect in every way.

 Which is exactly how the doctor summed up his checkup.

Serving Hearts

One of my main mantras in parenting is "Ye will teach them to love one another and to serve one another." It's a quote from an ancient Native American King, named Benjamin, when he is teaching parents about raising children. This is my main motivation behind letting David be as hands on with Alina as he wants to be. If he wants to do something, he gets to do it.

He loves feeding her--and feels so big when doing it. I was wondering if he would be strong enough and have enough coordination, but that supporting couch arm behind him really helps.

 I was even more uncertain if David could hold Alina to "burp" her like he wanted to--but it turned out it was just fine for the 90 seconds that it kept his attention. (I can't say it enough--what a patient and calm girl we have to help with this process!)

Making her formula is a special privilege as well--and I carefully watch as he packs the scoops and drops them in. He likes the thought of using the bottle warmer for baby sister, too. I try to act cool as a cucumber while he volunteers to do all of these things, even though my gut reaction is often, "Oh, I don't think you're big enough yet!" But I want to fuel his desire to serve Alina, and I think the best way to do that is to encourage his eager ways of serving when he volunteers.

David is also excellent at "diaper duty." I'll call to him one time and say, "David, we have diaper duty!" and he eagerly comes into the changing table, picks up the dirty diaper I have tied into a bag and takes it to the outside garbage can. So far, I haven't had to ask him twice to do this chore--he eagerly runs in and does it.

For Alina's part, I emphasize that she serves us by giving us cuddles, sometimes a smile, helping us feel happy, and even kisses. I also talk about how much extra love we have in our home since Alina joined our family. David loves Alina kisses--which are particularly easy to get from her when she's hungry and looking for her bottle.

One of the trademarks for me of being a successful mother is if my children know how to see each other's needs and serve each other, motivated by the love in their hearts. 

Now we just need to keep up the momentum of this first week, and we'll be so blessed by abundant service as well as hearts full of love for each other!

Favorite Moment

My favorite moment of the week was when David was holding Alina while sitting on the couch, and he broke out into singing "Two little boys" with all of his little boy heart.

He knew every word of the song, and I loved his intent to share this family ballad/lullaby.

He's just as smitten as the rest of us with this little bundle of pink.

(right after I took this photo, Alina gave her whole bottle back to David--and David was confused why something so yucky had to happen to such a nice big brother. I cleaned up Alina, then went to check on David. He was standing inside his laundry basket, quietly waiting for his turn for help with changing his soiled clothing. Since then, David is on ultra spit-up alert.)

Soft

 For as cute as Alina is to look at, she's  even softer to cuddle.

 Our girl  needs help keeping her bottle down, so we feed her in small amounts (can't seem to make it past 1.75 to 2.5 oz at a time yet) and then hold her upright for 45 minutes after each feeding. This makes feeding times last for a full hour. The wee one isn't satisfied with snack size portions of formula, so she's hungry an hour after the first feeding, and sometimes hungry again an hour after the second feeding. This means the feed and cuddle upright cycle lasts 2 to 3 hours at a time. It doesn't let me get much done, but it certainly lets me get in those soft cuddles. I soak it all up.

Being her patient, calm, and agreeable self, Alina then snuggles into a  nap that lasts anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. That stretch of time is such a blessing at night time--until she wakes up for an early morning feed and has to be held upright again for 45 minutes after the feeding. Once I go back to bed, I am fully awake, and consider any sleep in the second half of my night to be just a cat nap. But again, I wouldn't trade those soft cuddles for anything! I'm glad she wakes me up to cuddle her. This little girl has absolutely stolen our hearts!

From 36,000 Feet

Alina slept the entire flight home--for both legs of the trip. But I think her sleepiness was due to the over stimulation of the people chatter and noisy engines. Once the engines were off, she woke up with bright eyes. I think newborn stage is such an easy age to travel with an infant--particularly if you have a sympathetic ticket agent who blocks out a whole row for you and your baby so you have plenty of room. The second leg of our trip was especially comfortable!

Getting settled into row 24--Alina was alert and looking around.

 The first flight was full, so I held her the entire time--but on our second flight, we had room to stretch our legs. She looked cute as a button, barely reaching those little legs past the lap belt for the duration of our 4-hour flight.

Big Brother Meets Baby Sister

Alina and I arrived in Anchorage 48 minutes before our scheduled time, so we sat down to wait for the Daddy and David duo. It wasn't long before I heard an excited call from behind me, "Mama! Mama! Mommy!!!" Oh, it was good to see David again.  I was away from him for nearly 2 weeks, and I missed him. I got a good hug from him, and several times since then, he's snuggled up to me and told me he missed me, too. It's good to feel missed sometimes.

David gave me a hug, then immediately went to look at his new baby sister. Oh, he was excited about seeing her for the first time!

 David's very first comment about Alina was, "Her hands are so tiny!"

 For the last few months, we've talked up David's role as his sister's best helper. He wanted to begin playing that role right away.

 He raced ahead to the elevator so he could be the one to push the buttons for baby Alina.

 And of course helped Daddy carry Alina to the car.

 Once we got home, David was quick to wash hands and sit on the couch.

 It was a very special moment--and I really hope that he'll remember this experience for many years to come.

 Bright eyes and a big smile--what else could a mama want!?!

 Alina has such a calm and patient personality--so I'm not surprised that she was so relaxed through this whole experience. What a sweet sister to let her brother get in all the loving he wanted without putting up any fuss at all!

 Lots of kisses for that sweet girl!

 I think my favorite part was when David handed Alina back to Daddy and he went over to the piano to play Alina a song or two. He played two versions of Twinkle Twinkle and surprised me with Mary Had a Little Lamb which he apparently has picked out on his own the last few weeks. David's language is music, and he immediately wanted to share that favorite with his sister.

Before we left on our trip, I came home from Costco with a large bottle of Germ-X. Over lunch, I talked to David about its use: "David, every time we touch baby sister, we'll need to use Germ-X on our hands."

David's eyes got big as he asked, "Is baby sister going to be really germy?"

Typical David logic, and it still makes me giggle! 

Quarter Collection

If I had a quarter for every time Daddy has said, "What a pretty girl we have!"

then we'd have Alina's college fund well under way.

Numbering Days

On Day 1, Alina took her first breath.

On Day 2, she gave us her first smile.

On Day 3, Alina checked out of the hospital and into the lovely home of Kent and DarLee.

On Day 4, Alina got her first hair bow.

On Day 5, Alina stayed up late to play the Great Dalmuti with LW, her mom Teena, friends Kip and April and of course with mom and dad.

On Day 6, Alina enjoyed the cuddles while LW, mom, and dad played games over at Uncle Eric's and Aunt Cheryl's home.

On Day 7, Alina went to church for the first time--in her darling dress.

On Day 8, Alina enjoyed her formula while mom and Dad had a truly Minnesoooohtan experience of eating a Juicy Lucy at the 5-8 club.

On Day 9, Alina was introduced to the Cheesecake Factory--and somehow the food still tasted like formula to her! (However, it was super yummy to Mom and LW.)

On Day 10, Alina said goodbye to our wonderful host family, Kent and DarLee Anderson.

 On Day 11, Alina arrived home to Alaska.

Ingenious

Alina has figured out that if she holds her hand just so, she'll be able to keep her binki in to her sucking delight.

She tries the same trick with her bottle, but that little hand tends to push the bottle away instead of hold it close. So I get her to hold my finger during our feedings, and all is right in the world.

Sweet and Fluffy

Fresh from a bath, Alina smells sweet

 and that fluffy hair is to die for!

Unwavering

The feelings of this past week while we have welcomed our daughter have been intricately tied to the feelings we have for our dear birth mother. We first received an email from her when she was 6 weeks pregnant, and her decision to place her baby in our family has been absolutely unwavering. We see this very closely tied to her testimony of the gospel--especially the eternal perspective she has kept through it all.

LW created a birth plan which included decisions she had made surrounding the birth as it unfolded in the hospital. She wanted us present. She wanted me to be the first to hold Alina. She planned that we would have the primary care of Alina while she was still in the hospital--taking care of all the diapering, feeding, etc during those first 48 hours. And she planned that we would take Alina "home" with us from the hospital--even though placement didn't legally happen until 72 hours after birth.

Someone recently asked me how I could keep the relationship open--if I ever wanted to just move on with life, and not have to share my baby with anyone. My answer was immediate, and heartfelt when I heard myself say, "I have watched both of our birth mothers give birth to our children. It's easy to have an open adoption and share the life of my baby because it's hard to forget who shared first." The extent of sacrifice of our birth mothers is not lost on me.

During the pregnancy, LW once wrote in an email, "Although I feel her movements and see my body changing I have had a hard time accepting and believing that I'm actually pregnant. I realized that I have assumed the connection with Alina's spirit would be as her birth mother, but I have been looking at it wrong. I finally felt the connection with her yesterday, but as a friend. I felt so strongly that we had known each other and been good friends in the pre-exsistance. I joked with my mom that she must have been a very good friend if I agreed to go through the pain of delivering her."

I cannot adequately express how I feel about our dear birth mothers, who have taken such good care of our children while they carried them. It is so rare for an adoptive mother to say that her babies were not exposed to anything in utero that she would not choose for her own pregnancy. I consider my interaction with our birth mothers, as well as the tender feelings I have towards both of them, to be one of the most unexpected blessings of my life.

LW has stayed so unwavering because she has kept the eternal perspective--the view of what our relationship may have been like in the pre-earth life, as well as what our relationship with each other will continue to be in the future eternities. Her testimony is built upon the rock of Our Savior, Jesus Chirst. From the first time we received an email from LW, I felt deeply that this girl was a valiant soul. Her commitment to that testimony is deep, and I feel privileged to mother the baby she has carried.

More than words can ever, ever say--We love you, LW!

Alina's first Bath

A few hours after Alina's birth, we wanted to introduce David to "Baby Sister" as he has been calling her for the last few months. We thought it would be perfect to do Facetime together during Alina's first  bath.

It was so fun to see David's enthusiasm over his new baby sister!

 We showed him her tiny hands, and all the wonderful details of this perfect baby girl.

 Grandma and David join us to watch the bath.

 The cutest little footprints!

 At first she didn't like getting her head washed.

 But then she figured out it wasn't so bad after all.

 David is still asking why Baby Alina cried during her bath--it will be good to get these two together so David can get used to some of the newborn ways of our newest family member..

 Thoroughly enjoying (and missing!) our four year old. We look forward to being together as a family!

 Squeaky clean with a fancy mohawk hairdo.

Sweet dreams, little one!