Ode to JT. He turned 2 today!

Two years ago today, our little boy was under the warmer like a batch of french fries, as Kevin likes to say. JT was born after 23 hours of labor (I only felt about the first 10 hours), having pooped inside of me (which is bad for the baby), the cord around his neck, some breathing and some temperature issues. He was in and out of NICU his first day but was just fine. I had watched many hours of emergency births on the Discovery Channel, so while Estelle was being nervous, I figured he was just fine and he was. After seeing all those shows (babies born at 26 weeks, multiple births and emergency C-sections) a little poop and some slight breathing issues were nothing.

JT was greeted by his dogs Mia, Zeus and Tzeli. They loved him right away. He loves them too! We had to put Miss Mia to sleep when he was 6 weeks old. But to this day, he walks around with her picture and will kiss her memorial stone every time he heads to the back yard. I will never let him forget her!

JT has spent the last two years learning how to swim, walk, talk, play soccer, going to the Little Gym, taking Yoga and most importantly making friends. His favorites so far are Gavin and Jack. He also spends a lot of time with Parker and Darden. He enjoys Lauren, Christopher, Evelyn, Grant, AnnMarie and Thomas in the neighborhood. He also loves our neighbors Lisa and Justin.

JT had his birthday party this past Saturday. He enjoyed his friends and while we were suppose to be getting ready to do the cake, all the kids decided it was pool time. So we took the cake outdoors. We sang quickly, he pretended to blow out the candle and then they were all back in the pool. He opened his gifts and then took a three hour nap. Whether or not he realized everyone was there for him, he had a great time.

We celebrated tonight with Nicole, Mike, Gavin and Jack with some pizza and Cold Stone ice cream. Gavin led us in a song of Happy Birthday, while JT stared at him and ate his ice cream!

JT has been a very good boy. We love being greeted each morning with a "Hi" as we enter his room each day. He dances and sings for us, kisses the dogs on command, he will even kiss them on the lips. It doesn't get any better than that!

Hopefully next year at this time, JT can celebrate his 3rd birthday with his new brother!

A Day With Thomas and Bubbe Joyce Comes to Visit

We spent the day today with Thomas the Train in Baltimore. We met Nicole, Mike, Heather, Bobby and of course their kids up there. We all had a good time. The kids enjoyed themselves and we ended the day with a real train ride. The kids also got to ride on a little train by themselves. I guess this could be considered JT's first amusement ride and he did it all by himself. He enjoyed looking back at Gavin and eating his snack. I think JT's favorite thing was getting a stamp on his hand. He looked at it all day and kept saying, "Thomas." He was a good boy in the car and came home and had a nice nap.

Last week Joyce came in for a visit. She got to spend some quality time with JT and Zeus. She joined us for a Yoga class that I have been taking with JT. If you are wondering.....No, JT never does the Yoga. He walks around or runs and stares at people. But it gives me something to do with him and Nicole and Gavin are there as well. Joyce also got to see first hand what a great dad JT will be. JT's friend Lauren gave him her baby doll and he loves it. He carries it around all the time. He will even share his waffles with her. Joyce and Zeus really bonded on this trip. She even kissed him on the lips before she left! We are so proud of her. We will be back to see Joyce at the end of May when we fly up to Rochester. It will be JT's second plane ride but the first he will actually be able to enjoy. We will see how he does!

No news with the adoption. We actually had to get another form sent in with a state seal on it. We did it and it's in. So.....we keep on waiting!