yes, they can

A lot of people have been asking me about the new baby, and whether the parents can keep her. And the sad answer is yes, they can. If the baby is born drug-free, they can keep her.

Enough Said

Why a picture of toy dart guns and handcuffs?

Why would you give these to a 2 and 3 year old at a visitation with the social worker? Logical decision making does not run in their family. These are the toys the boys grandparents brought for them. In addition to the fact that they are guns, the box is clearly marked as a choking hazard for children under three. Smart.

And we found out why the parents took the parenting classes (we think). Oh yeah - you won't beleive this one - bio mom is 5 months pregnant. I guess they want to see if they can keep this one.

Visitation

Well, the boys had a supervised visit with their granny today. The social worker took them, so we really only know what she told us. The visit was supposed to be granny, gracie and adell (the boys 2 female cousins that they lived with, along with granny) and uncle johnie (a 21 year old who has mental retardation and loves the boys to death). We're cool with all 4 of them. Granny's a little tricky though - she called the social worker Wednesday to tell her that the bio mom's parents were coming too. And then 1/2 way through the visit another aunt and 2 more cousins showed up. The social worker was really mad and told granny that if she did that again, she would stop any visits at all. On top of that, they brought the boys presents - toy guns and handcuffs. Right on.

The boys' aunt beth, who originally got us with the boys called tonight and said that the parents had gone to the parenting classes, but that the dad quit his job this week, and they are still living with the mom's grandmother, so they aren't in compliance with court orders even though they took the classes. The next court date is April 29th. I hope the judge doesn't extend things just bc they took those classes. It scares me to death sometimes.

Finally

I got the official 'get off your arse and post' message from a friend...so here I am! I did finally get a new camera and you won't beleive how much they've grown! Taylor can sit on his own...he still gets too excited and flaps his arms really hard which make him fall over, but he's got the hang of it! James has a great memory - he remembers every somg from daycare. He is a mama's boy, that is for sure. And Nathanael is doing so well. He's going through a really cute stage, and I don't want to speak too soon, but he has not been having fits at all. While at home and on thier regular schedule, James and Nathanael go to bed easily. We recently took 2 trips - both times bedtime was an issue - but it just goes to show how important the schedule is. First, we took the boys to the beach!

James watis patiently on the deck as we get Taylor and Nathanael ready for the trek down to the sand.

nathanael was hilarious! He was determined he was going to catch a bird - he chased them, squeeling and cracking himself up the whole time.

The water was ice cold - but they didn't care!

They were so cute, very excited to see the ocean and all the sand. They swam for hours in the indoor pool. By swimming, I mean jumping in to us. Ken was able to teach James to doggy paddle with his floaties on. James was so excited to be swimming without holding on. Our next trip was to WV to visit my mom and stepdad for Easter.

Lil' Nate under mom's piano finding eggs

James shows off his eggs too.

Everyday life is still overwhelming at times. But in general, I can hardly remember life without the boys. Taylor is the the most beautiful baby. He is full of smiles and giggles all the time. His daycare worker always says I cant take him at the end of the day bc he's the only one not crying. He rolls over both ways (his prefered mode of transportation). Not crawling, and no teeth, but his gummy smiles makes me weak in the knees. I practically suck off his fat cheeks everyday and I love to cuddle with him in bed. He does sleep in his crib until about 4 or 5 am. He wakes up and I put him in bed with us. I know a bad habit, but one I'm not ready to break.

Why buy expensive toys? The boys' favorite evening activity (after I make them come inside!) is to take apart the couch and build forts and tents.

Taylor hanging out in his Bumbo...the greatest baby seat!

Taylor loves playing his bongos!

As for the adoption process.Basically, there is nothing to report. The parents go back to court sometime in April. Usually there is 30 days between court dates, but this has been a 60 day lull - I'm not sure why. We don't really get told very much. Supposedly, the TPR (termination of parental rights) process is being put into effect, but our social worker says it gets turned over to the legal department of social services at that point. I don't have alot of faith that it will be a quick process. The boys have not seen their granny in 2 1/2 months - fine with us, but she called the social worker last week wanting a visit. So that is happening this friday. It is supervised, but it will be a setback for sure.