Four Years Without a Father

Today marks four years since my father died. Perhaps, this is old news to you, but it is still fresh to my heart.

Whether one had a close relationship with her father or not, living without a dad feels strange. Birthdays that were always celebrated are now just days. My Christmas list keeps getting shorter because death keeps stealing my loved ones. And milestones--happy and sad--contain a small sting. My dad never knew Anna Zane, and he certainly won't know about our new addition.

Brain cancer took my father, but I am reminded that sin is the main culprit. Sin is why we have death. And our lives after the death of a loved one will always carry a hint (or a huge helping) of loss because death isn't what God intended. It isn't natural, not really.

Yet, my verse-of-the-day calendar reminded me today: "God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). And that's what I call comfort.

Adoption Day in Pictures

While this pic below isn't of the adoption day, it is her photo shoot from the day before . . . thanks to Daddypa. Mimi informed us that Anna was not a fan of sitting on the grass.

Bath time the night before the big day!

Lotions with Daddy!

Good morning--I'm ready to meet the judge!

Mimi and Anna just before we left before court.

Um, Anna decided to do a little trick in her diaper while we were on the way to the courthouse. Thankfully, we arrived with enough time to changer-roo.

Standing before the judge!

The adoption is final!!!!

The "official" Youree clan.

With our caseworker, Amy.

Yay--she's our baby!

Finally, Forever Family

September 30, 2011--Adoption Day!

Yesterday we woke up two hours earlier than usual; well, I should say, I woke up two hours earlier. Anna woke up one hour earlier, and Bryan slept in nearly two hours. :-) But we were all getting ready for a very important day.

At 7:30 a.m. we caravan-ed to Dallas with grandparents in tow. (I warned Anna this better be the ONLY time we go to juvenile/family court with her--ha.) Up to the third floor to find a hallway full of people. Apparently, we were not the only one on the docket. :-) Our lawyer informed us we were #20 on the list--yikes. Thankfully, though, for whatever reason, we were moved to #2.

We all waited in the galley until our name was called. "Youree, please come forward." The whole gang--me, Bryan, Anna, Mimi, Daddypa, the lawyer, and Amy, our caseworker--came forward to stand before the judge.

After permission from the judge, the lawyer began his "presentation," and then asked Bryan some questions under oath. I was doing great the whole time--all smiles and hugs--until the lawyer asked Bryan something to the effect of "Do you love this little girl and want to take care of her?" Lawd, lawd, I started to sniffle. Mimi was crying. Bryan's voice cracked when he answered, "yes."

And then it was my turn. Praise God, I was only asked if I would answer the same as Bryan. But I wasn't out of the woods. The lawyer ended by asking, "Do you love this girl and want to provide for her education and well-being?" Tears. Tears. Tears. But "YES!" And then there was no stopping the stream. I cried when the caseworker stated Hope Cottage deemed us acceptable parents and supported the adoption. And then, the words I will NEVER forget:

"The Court finds that all prerequisites and requirements for adoption have been met and that the adoption is in the best interest of this child.

"It is further decreed that the child, the subject of this suit, shall henceforth have the legal name of Anna Zane Youree.

"It is decreed that the adoption of the above described child, the subject of this suit, by Petitioners, be and is hereby granted and that the parent-child relationship shall henceforth exist between the child and the Petitioners."

Hallelujah!

The judge gave Anna a little stuffed teddy-bear. Cute.

In retrospect, the whole event--from how I felt in the morning to the giddiness that followed me the rest of the day--can only be compared in emotion and excitement to my wedding day. The morning of I was nervous and focused, trying to be patient until the time of the event. Standing in the courtroom before an official, stating our desire to love and care for Anna . . . and the pure joy that cascaded once those wonderful words were said . . . . The judge might as well said, "I now pronounce you parents and child." Family. Forever. Amen.

Yay! Happy Adoption Day!

This Week's a Wash

It's only Saturday night, and I'm already dreaming of Friday. This time it's not because of the lure of another weekend. Bright and early on Friday morning, the Youree three will gather at a court house in Dallas for Anna Zane's finalization hearing; and the adoption process will be final and complete. Our sweet, sweet girl will be legally ours forever and ever.

So, Sunday-Thursday, who cares? Friday, come quick!

Hotter than . . . .

When you turn on the local news, what's the top story? This horribly hot summer we are having. Today marks the 40th straight day of triple digit weather. On Saturday, we will break the record for the longest streak of consecutive triple digit temps. And the 7-day forecast is showing no relief. And did I mention the drought? I can't remember when we last had rain, but I know it was at least 60 days ago. At least. The garden is fried. Most of our plants are looking rough, if not already crispy. If it wasn't for the sprinkler system, we'd be up in flames.

In other--and more pleasant--news . . . .

Monday marked our last post-placement visit, meaning we are only a court hearing away from Anna Zane becoming "officially" ours. Whoo-hoo. Come on, September 8th!

We also had the pleasure of hosting our niece Baylee for a week. I'm proud to report I tested her shopping stamina. She's 14, which is saying a lot. Good to know I've still got it. (Teehee.)

Rangers game with Baylee! (I'm not quite sure why this photo is so small.) We lost 3-0, but it was fun nonetheless. We got the bright idea to eat ice cream in 100-degree weather. Can we say "melted-by-the-time-we-got-to-our-seats"?

Ah yes, the cousins in a photo shoot. Such pretty girls, right?

And just a side note: Baby clothes with ruffles look really cute on the hanger at the store. But when you wash, and then have to iron . . . ugh, no.

The Epitome of Cuteness

July = busy Youree bees. Thus, the lack of blog posts. Please forgive me. I will make up for it with this mega, super, duper update. Hold onto your chairs . . . .

This is what a five-month-old looks like. And she's sporting her new separates. We are becoming fans of the whole shirt/pant option. It is a life-saver when poop and/or vomit enters the picture. It is also interesting to note, this outfit falls in the 6-9 month range. So, for those of you who cannot resist buying clothes for Anna Zane, we are golden when it comes to summer clothes. However, in the winter 9-12 months area, we are lacking.

Maybe she should be Minnie Pearl for Halloween . . . a cuter Minnie Pearl for sure.

She's talking here. Her range of sounds and expressions has expanded so much in the recent weeks.

What can I say? ADORABLE.

As you can tell, the mama and the daddy thought Anna's hat-wearing was exceptionally cute.

The Youree Three!

Daddy Pa took this picture while Anna was in the crib. Love those fingers in her mouth. She drools and drools and chews and chews, but still no teeth!

Four generations of Yourees.

Mama loves those toes.

She is still a super, super good sleeper, averaging 11-12 hours a night. She wakes up sometime between 8-9 in the morning. And of course, she usually starts off the day right with a poopie diaper. Next, comes the bottle, but what a battle that’s been recently! She is so energetic in the mornings; she will hardly take her bottle. It takes nearly 30-40 minutes to get the whole thing eaten. We have to stop to play with the burp cloth, the bottle, her toes, my hair, and on and on. When we lotion up and get dressed. Most often she plays on her back for a few minutes to help with digestion and spitting up. But she LOVES her excersaucer and can now touch the floor. So that added umph makes it extra fun. She can play for around two hours before she’s ready for a nap. I'm so proud to report she loves books. We read three or four before her afternoon nap. Anna is starting to help me turn the pages—too cute. Of course, there are new tricks! Anna’s hand-eye coordination gets better every day. She’s really able to grasp and hold toys well. Her favorite toy is Sophie the Giraffe. When she gnaws on that, she talks and talks and talks. She is also really close to sitting up by herself. Even now she doesn’t fall to one side of the other. Her issue is she wants to lean forward to grab those toes; and then she doesn’t know how to lift back up. Aside from her morning bottle, she eats 7-8 ounces at every feeding. And at those feedings she does just fine. Also, she seems to be cutting two teeth. As you can imagine, drool. Drool. Drool. I call her Niagara Falls. Anna likes riding in the car. More often than not, she ends up drifting off to sleep--which is what I am about to do now! Goodnight!

Video-rama

I've been videoing, but I haven't been posting. Enjoy this mega-video post!

Swimming in Uncle Lanny's pool:

Anna is a big girl now in her excersaucer. I tried to sneak up on her because if she spies any electronics she immediately stops what she's doing.

Luci's birthday party was the bash of the year, complete with a petting zoo for the kiddos. I was all about Anna's first experience with cute critters. What's funny is that Bryan wasn't so keen on the idea of her touching them. Notice how he jerks back after she pets the bird. Hysterical. I quickly learned how many infectious diseases these animals can carry. :-)

Oh the bunny . . . .

Anna and her Granny Youree!

And her Papa Youree!

She can't decide if she wants to play or sleep:

Anna's New Obsession--Her Daddy

Anna has always reacted well to Bryan, but in the last week, she has become a big fan of daddy. When he's home, she wants him to hold her, play with her, rock her, feed her. A few days ago after she blessed mommy with the poopie of the century, I placed her in the walker so I could clean up the mess (I'll spare you the details). It took me a good 10-15 minutes to get everything poop free. And she cried the entire time. She was so mad it was almost funny. About that time Bryan came home from work, she reached for him . . . and leaned on his chest. So funny and sweet. She was so "telling" on mama.

The Father's Day photo shoot

This sketch was Bryan's Father's Day gift. My good friend, Mary Ann Martin, created this for us from a photo I gave her. She is a superb artist not only creating wonderful sketches, but paintings as well. If you are interested in commissioning her for a project (which I'd highly recommend), you can contact her at marycassatti@gmail.com.

Anna loves to sit her daddy's lap. She will just lay back and relax. Of course, she'd NEVER do that with mama. :-)

Create a Monster

No, I'm not talking about Anna, silly. She is as far away from a monster as anyone I know.

But I AM talking about a super fun new app created by none other than my own cousin! (Gushing with pride.) The Create A Monster HD app recently launched and is already generating buzz. This oh-so-fun app allows kids of all ages (meaning kids my age too) to create silly monsters all their own, promoting creativity, trial-and-error problem-solving, and ingenuity.

The Create A Monster app is now nominated as one of the 2011 best apps for kids. And they need votes to boost them to the top spot. You can read Babble.com's review and vote for the Create A Monster HD app here.

My cousin and her husband started a new company called "justfun." In a nutshell, they are passionate about championing creativity--in kids and adults alike. Their website, justfun.com says, "Our goal is to provide high quality educational and entertainment apps that kids and adults will enjoy engaging with again and again." Check out the website; it has more info, tutorials, and even a monster idea gallery.

So visit. Vote. And cheer "yay" for my fam!

Water Baby

Bath time is usually a relaxing moment in the day for Anna Zane; so we thought it's time for the swimming pool experience. Uncle Lanny volunteered his pool for the experiment. While we only splashed about for 15 minutes, it was a hit. She was curious about the whole ordeal, but kicked those legs. Oh, and her bathing suit was to-die-for.

Cousin Colton was a big help.

Anna wishes she could move around like Colton.

Um, putting on the bathing suit was touch-and-go.

Colton showed Uncle Bryan all his pool tricks!

Not only did we enjoy the pool at Uncle Lan's, more important we also celebrated the Pfahl's exciting news with a baby shower! It was a fun time to visit with family. Cousin Alyssa toted Anna around.

In other news, we finally got furniture for Anna's nursery. (The nursery decor is almost complete.) Anna wasn't fond of the changing table at first, but she loves it now. (I'm realizing there's a lot of pics of her crying in this post. Really--she's a happy baby.)