Week 2

We had another great week with Karis. My mom stayed with us for most of this week. And my dad came down on wednesday to spend some time with us and then to take my mom home. On wednesday afternoon when my dad got here we packed a lunch and headed to the "train park". Raegan has been asking and asking for Pop Pop to come to the "train park" with her to ride the train. Since it was a nice day we decided to all go to the park. Raegan was thrilled to be able to take Pop Pop for a ride on the train ride that goes around the park. And after she was done riding the train with Grandma and Pop Pop I took her on the carusel. After that we ate our picnic lunch and then topped it off with ice cream from the ice cream shop at the park. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to be able to get Karis outside and for us to all get some fresh air after being somewhat cooped up in the house. Raegan also got a chance to show Pop Pop her new tricycle riding skills. We got her a tricycle for her birthday but she was to short to ride it at first, plus her birthday is in the winter. She tried riding a couple of times in the spring but still was kind of small but a couple of weeks ago Josh took her out with it and she picked it up immediately. She looks so cute riding it around and she can ride with almost no help now! She was so proud to show Pop Pop! My dad stayed the night and then took my mom home on thursday morning. We were all sad to see my mom go. She was such a big help to us. But I also think Raegan was really wanting it to be just mommy and daddy at home. She has been acting up some and I think she wants things to be back to normal. Raegan is still doing really well with Karis though. So I think it will only be a matter of time before she is adjusted to our new family dynamics.

On friday Josh took off of work so we could take Karis to her two week check up at the doctor's. She did really well ( aside from pooping all over the nurse after she took her temperature!). Her weight has gone up to 9 lbs 6oz so she is gaining weight just fine! The doctor said she looks great and she is doing and growing well. So we will take her back at 2 months unless we have any concerns that come up before then.

It's hard to believe 2 weeks have passed already!

Grandma

My mom left this morning after staying with us for 2 weeks to help out. My dad and her came down the thursday that I went into the hospital to be induced. My dad brought my mom to the hospital so that she could be there for the delivery. Unfortunately when I had to have a C section my mom wasn't able to be there or in the recovery room so she had to wait in the lobby. But it was special to have her there while I was in labor all day on friday even if she wasn't able to be there for the delivery. And she was able to come see Karis once I was moved to a regular room. She was planning on staying to help me out for a week but when I ended up needing a C section she immediately called my dad and asked told him that she thought she should stay 2 weeks. My mom knew that if she didn't come and stay and make me sit still that I would overdo it after having a C section. And we were so thankful for my mom staying with us. I really do not know what we would have done without her! She took care of Raegan, helped with the baby, cleaned our house, bought us groceries, did our laundry and she did it all without even being asked. She really made the adjustment home with a newborn so much easier and I was able to take care of myself as well.

More than my mom just being a tremendous help to us, I am thankful for the time I was able to spend with her and the time she was able to spend with Raegan and Karis. When Raegan was born we had to stay in Las Vegas for 3 weeks before we could bring her home so no one even got to meet her until she was 3 weeks old. So I was really thankful that my mom was able to be here to meet Karis when she was born and to get to spend the first days with her. I was also so thankful that my parents were here with Raegan while Josh and I were in the hospital. I know it made what could have been an upsetting time for Raegan into a fun time spent with her grandparents.

So thank you again Mom/Grandma ( and Dad/Pop Pop too)! We all love you and are so thankful for you!

Meaning

Josh and I have a hard time coming up with names that we both agree on. When I was pregnant with Karis we were convinced she was a boy in the beginning so we had pretty much agreed on a boy's name. When we went to have the "official" ultrasound and they told us that she was a girl we laughed because we knew we had a lot more work to do in the name department. With both Raegan and Karis we knew that the first name that we both actually agreed on was going to be the name. With Karis' name we had discussed other names but didn't really agree on anything. We thought we were going to name her Gabriella but it is more popular than we wanted and we also were afraid that she would get called nicknames that we didn't really like although it is a beautiful name and we love it's meaning. So we kept it on the drawing board but kept looking at other names. We both wanted our children's names to not only be names that sound nice but also have special meaning. We began to look at the meanings of names and we came across Karis which means "grace" in Greek. We both knew that it was perfect.What better word to describe what his child means to us than "grace". We decided to use Gabriella as her middle name which means " God is my strength". We liked this meaning as well because Raegan's name means " spiritual strength". To me both of my girls are a source of a spiritual strength. Our journey through adoption with both of them has been difficult but it was also been a source of spiritual growth that I wouldn't trade for anything. I wouldn't be the person that I am today if it wasn't for the journey that God has taken us on to receive these 2 precious gifts.

So that is how we came up with Karis' name. As I was looking at birth announcements last night I came across a little quote that said " All of God's grace in one tiny face". I think I will use that. What a great description of our baby girl.

( I have included some pictures that I took of our precious girls outside when Karis was 6 days old)

Karis' First Week

It's hard to believe that it has already been 1 week since our sweet baby girl Karis was born. It's amazing how you live without someone for your whole life and then the minute you meet them you can't imagine your life without them. That is how it has been with Karis. Our whole family is completely in love with this little girl. And it is so evident that she was meant to be in our family.

Karis had a great first week. We spent the first couple of days in the hospital. Grandma and Pop Pop brought Raegan to the hospital to meet her little sister on saturday morning. Raegan brought her the kitty that she had picked out for her and she really enjoyed meeting her. We visited for a little while and took our first family picture and when it was time for them to leave Raegan cried because she wanted her baby sister to come home. Pop Pop got to meet his birthday present ( his birthday is August 13th as well) and I think he was pretty pleased. I am just not sure how to top that birthday present next year though!

I had to stay in the hospital until monday but monday afternoon we were able to bring Karis home. Raegan was really excited for us to be home and especially for her new sister to be home. She didn't act jealous at all which was kind of surprising. I think the hardest part for Raegan has been having me in the hospital and now that I am home it has been hard because I am still recovering from surgery so I am not able to do all of my usual "mommy duties" for her. But she really loves Karis. She calls her "my baby Karis" and she is always coming over and saying how cute she is and wanting to watch me take care of her. It is very sweet to watch her with her sister.

On tuesday morning we took Karis to her follow up doctor's appointment. Her weight had gone down in the hospital to 8lbs 3 oz but it was back up to 8lbs 7oz at the doctors so I guess I am feeding her well! On tuesday night we gave Karis her first bath which she seemed pretty content with. She has actually been content most of the time. When we washed her hair it was very curly which was funny since Raegan's hair is so curly. It will be interesting to see what her hair ends up looking like. We think she is going to be a red head!

On thursday my friend Desi came over to take some newborn pictures of Karis. She recently started a photography business and she was gracious enough to give us the gift of a photo shoot. She usually likes the babies to be very sleepy when she takes their pictures so she can put them in different positions for the pictures. Karis sleeps well but she has pretty much been an alert baby since she was born. The first 24 hours she was very sleepy but after that she was very alert for a newborn. She also is very strong, holding her head up since she was 2 days old and trying to push up and look around when you hold her on your shoulder. So I was not sure how well the photo shoot would go. And sure enough every time Desi tried to put Karis in a position on her belly she would try to push her head up and move around. Desi got some beautiful shots of Karis but Karis wasn't really very cooperative for her newborn photo shoot. Josh and I joke that we think Karis actually stayed in the womb an extra month because she looks and acts much more like a one month old baby than a newborn.

Karis has been a very easy baby so far. She usually gets one fussy period a day but overall she is doing really well. She has been sleeping well and she loves to be swaddled tightly just like her big sister did. She seems to have a very calm personality. She didn't even cry when they pricked her foot for the PKU test in the hospital. She is really cute when she is falling asleep because she always gets these huge smiles on her face as she is drifting off to sleep. It is so sweet just to have moments of being able to hold her and see her little baby smiles and hear her sweet baby sounds. It has been a great week of enjoying her and reflecting on how special her life is. She is our second miracle baby and we continue to be in awe of God's grace and blessing in giving us Karis and Raegan. God has again given us more than we could ever have asked for or imagined.

Welcome Karis Gabriella

At 5:20 pm on Friday, August 13th we welcomed our second beautiful daughter, Karis Gabriella into our family. After 8 hours of labor and 1 hour of pushing it became evident that a C section was going to be needed to bring our daughter into the world. It was the most beautiful sound when I heard her cry for the first time and then was able to look over and see my beautiful baby girl. She weighed 9 lbs, 0 ounces and was 22 1/4 inches long and has a full head of hair! After she was born via the C section the doctor told me that there was no way that I would have been able to have delivered her! We fell in love with her immediately just as we did with Raegan. And we are truly amazed at how God has chosen to bless us yet again.

We had to stay in the hospital until monday since I had a C section but we are glad to be home now. I am glad to finally be feeling up to updating the blogs and getting caught up with emails and phone calls. And we just feel so blessed to have our family together again. Raegan seems to enjoy being a big sister. She is always saying how cute Baby Karis is. And if people ask her about the baby she tells them she is "her Baby Karis".

We are so thankful for God's perfect plan for our lives and our family. He has once again truly given us our heart's desire and we are grateful.