We have a court date......

for July 1st @ 9:30 for finalization!! YAY! We are soo excited to get everything finlalized and finished.

Samuel has been a little sick lately. Can't seem to kick his ear infection and chest congestion. We got a shot of antibiotic yesterday and we have to go back today and tomorrow for additional ones. They also ran some labs to check him out really good since we don't have his entire medical history. We will also see an allergy doctor and have him tested for food allergies. That day can't come soon enough!! Poor guy! I know he's sick of those breathing treatments.

A few pics..........

Playing in my exersaucer!

My first fishing trip!

Man that squash was good!

Amy came to see me!

Mother's Day....

Me and Mommy!

Mommy loves my smile!

has been great for me this year! Samuel had a big stinky present ready for me first thing this morning. He'd made it all by himself! (A stinky diaper!) I spent most of my day just hugging and kissing on him and not doing anything I just didn't have to. It was really nice! I can't believe he's five months old already and big enough to start baby food. Friday he had a check up and he was just under 18 lbs. We have no problem gaining weight.

Another huge step taken!

Court was last Wednesday the 9th to terminate Samuel's birthfather's rights. We have had several steps to take before we could file our petition for adoption of Samuel. The two major ones being that both parents parental rights have to be terminated. Samuel's birthfather didn't want any part in his life or the adoption process. By law a private investigator had to be hired to attempt to find him to obtain his consent to the adoption. The private investigator was NOT successful. Since he was not successful we had to run information in the local newspaper for four weeks notifying him of Samuel's adoption. He never stepped forward nor did he show for court so the judge automatically terminated his rights. We are another HUGE step closer!!!! Now all the documents just have to be sent from the agency to our attorney along with our post placement reports and our petition for adoption can be filed for us to obtain a court date to make everything final. Hopefully we won't have to wait forever for a court date. It's just according to how busy our court system is here where we live.

Our First Easter as a Family.....

Man that sun was bright!

His Easter outfit!

I got an Easter basket!

Enough already!

was great! Samuel even had a visit from the Easter bunny. We attended church with my Grammy which she really enjoyed. She ran around showing her great grandson off to everyone. We spent lunch with my mom and Dinner with Chad's parents. We really have to watch cousin Ethan. He just can't understand why he can't tackle and headbutt Samuel yet! It was a good but tiring day!!

3 months and 3 days......

March 1st - It was soo nice outside we went

for a walk through the neighborhood!

He was content when we returned so
we sat outside and played!

This is his 'Mommy don't you have enough pictures already' look!

old today! We had our check-up and got 5 shots last week. Poor thing! He done so good! He didn't cry until the 4rth shot and by then he was just like ok that's enough already. He weighed in at 14lbs 8oz and was 23 1/2 inches long. I still can't get over how fast he's growing!

11 weeks.......

(Taken by Meg Caton Photography)

old today! Where does time go? He's just growing so fast. His new thing lately is laughing out loud. We will pick him up from daycare in the afternoon and once we get home the laughing begins. I LOVE IT! He's such a good little guy and has the best personality. He weighed in last week at 13lbs 6oz. I was talking with another little boy's mom that's in the room with Samuel and he's two months older than him. She was telling me he weighed 13lbs 12oz. I thought that was nothing compared to our little guy who's two months younger and only 6oz behind him.

We would like to say THANK YOU.......

to everyone who has been with us on our journey to Samuel!! Without all the love, support, and kindness of each of you our journey would have been a struggle. People who didn't even know us stepped up to the plate to pray for us and make donations. Our co-workers and friends all stepped up to throw us a babyshower that provided us with tons of stuff for Samuel. We are grateful to ALL of those people as well! Last year proved to be a challenge and a blessing all in one. God has blessed us with wonderful family members, friends, and an awesome son! Hellelujah!

Happy Valentine's Day

Samuel says Happy Valentine's Day!! Thanks to Tonya he had the perfect outfit for the occassion. You can't even tell he's been sick all week. Poor guy has been sick since Saturday with RSV. We are doing the breathing treatments to help loosen up things and tylenol for the fever. I'm soo ready for him to get better. He's such a trooper and doesn't fuss much. You know he has to be feeling terrible. We sure hope this daycare thing gets better. These first two weeks have been no fun. I got the stomach virus the first week and now he has RSV. Maybe once we are over this hump we will be good for a while. We hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and an awesome weekend!

Happy Birthday to Chad!

Today is also Chad's birthday! He's a BIG 31 now! Poor thing had a sad birthday this year. Attached are a few pics. I couldn't resist adding those of just Samuel!