Visitors!

These two weeks many important people traveled near and far to see our sweet Anna Zane. And those wonderful visitors were too kind to help mommy sleep, clean, and cook.

Mia did an EXCELLENT job holding Anna and helping me feed her. However, she was a bit disappointed that it took so long for Anna to eat her "white milk" and that the baby wasn't interested in watching a movie.

Jackson holding Anna here. I was amused by his horror when Anna passed a little gas during her feeding--hysterical!

"I like to sit up."

Aunt Jennifer and Anna. The baby was a fan of Jen's bright shirt.

Cousin Kullen and Anna--fast friends from the get-go.

Cousin Kristen and Anna . . . . already good babysitting material, this gal here! Come stay the summer!!!!

Aunt Natalie and big girl Anna! Thanks for helping us sort the loot from her baby shower!

Our Girl's Growing!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting Anna's pediatrician for the first time at her one-month appointment. I must say, we were both really impressed . . . and thankful he shares similar parenting philosophies as we do.

She is very healthy and growing, growing quickly. We were shocked, but happy, to discover she is nearly 10 pounds now! Anna is in the 50-75 percentile for her weight and in the 85 percentile for her length. She's grown 2.5 inches since birth. How blessed we are that she is so healthy--music to a mama's ear.

Bryan was a trooper at the doctor's office, standing by Anna's side while she got her shot. Um, the mama bear bailed to the waiting room. She did well, though. Anna only screamed for about three seconds until Bryan picked her up. Then, it was business as usual. She's a star. :-)

Tomorrow we will also start giving her more ounces in that bottle. We've been doing so at her nighttime feeding, but she's seeming more and more hungry as the day goes. Six ounces--here we come!

Anna Zane Videos!

This I Know

Here's what I've learned this week:

• Anna Zane looks so cute in light shades of green and blue, especially aqua tones.
• I can survive and function quite nicely on a handful of hours of sleep.
• Bryan will win the Father of the Year Award. He's so wonderful.
• Rectal thermometers double as life savers. Not the candy.
• A church family is really a family. We were blown away by the kindness and generosity of a sip-'n-see thrown in honor of Anna . . . put together in only five days!
• Two a.m. is becoming a favorite of mine.
• I'm becoming more of a mother every day.
• "Sure, that tile looks good."
• Normalcy and routine will again come my way.
• I love brownies . . . a lot.
• Poop happens. Ahem.
• It's easier to sacrifice when it's for someone you love.
• I'm addicted to hovering . . . a.k.a. watching Anna every moment of the day.
• We can do this.

Back by Popular Demand

Family and friends say we can't post pictures fast enough. I'm trying! I'm trying!

Anna fell asleep during her playtime.

Meeting her friends for playtime.

Um, she was a little fussy today. :-)

Morning cuddle time with daddy.

Mmm . . . prune juice and formula. Surprisingly, she gobbled it up!

Checking for poop. She mostly likes to have her diaper changes. Sometimes when she's really hungry, it doesn't go so well.

Her first day home.

Oh yeah, we are remodeling a bathroom this week too! The tile's been laid, and is looking so good. We are beyond blessed that our contractors are working so hard to get it wrapped up.

What's in a Name?

Many folks are asking what we need and what not. So, tonight I wrapped up our registries at Babies 'R Us and Target. Tomorrow, if our sweet Anna is cooperative, we will visit Zoe and Jack to register there.

Also, lots of people are asking about her name--Anna Zane. Anna means "grace, favor, merciful." My mother's name is Deanna, and my middle name is DeAnn. Also, my sister's name is Tina, so she shares the same ending with Anna. Zane means "God is gracious." Bryan's maternal grandmother is named Betty Zane. She was very influential in his life. And ta-dah, we have our Anna Zane.

More Pictures of Our Sweet Girl

Anna Zane LOVES to eat. This was the bit of bottle I got to feed her when we first met. Precious.

These are the Rutledges, who cared for her the first two weeks. They did a wonderful job, and I am eternally grateful to them.

The Rutledges gave us a CD of pics. This was taken at their house the morning she was to meet us. They bought this outfit as a gift to her.

This is the first picture I ever saw of Anna. It is the most precious to me. I cry when I see it. Happy sigh.

These two are pics Bryan took on his phone.

The 24-Hour Review

As I type this update, our sweet, wonderful treasure is nestled on a pillow beside me snoozing away. What a beauty she is!

Of course, you know these last 24 hours have been a doozie! Here's a bit of a recap . . . .

Tuesday morning Bryan bravely worked to see his clinic patients. I scurried around the house trying to get two articles submitted, and trying to get a diaper bag packed, baby laundry finished, and answering multiple phone calls. Oh, did I mention the TILE guy showed up? :-) Right . . . the bathroom remodel. . . . oh yeah.

We made it to the adoption agency 30 minutes early--the easiest Dallas traffic I've ever seen. We spent 30 minutes or so completing paperwork with a case worker. We learned some more about Anna's birth parents and family.

Then, the big moment came! We were going to be ushered into see her. Jennifer, the case worker was gone for an eternity. When she came back, we learned that Anna needed to eat. So they wanted her to finish before we came in. She's a little piggy and doesn't like to be interrupted when she's munching on her lunch. :-)

Just a few more minutes and we followed Jennifer into the room where she was waiting, along with three case workers and the couple whose been caring for her these two weeks. I can't really describe to you what it was like--surreal, emotionally choking, paralyzing, exciting . . . . . Amazingly, Bryan and I stayed really calm and was able to hold her. I got to finish feeding the last fourth of her bottle. We stayed and visited for about 45 minutes with the Rutledges, her caregivers. They explained her schedule--feeding 5 oz every four hours, and napping a lot.

When we placed her in the car seat she fell asleep and remained asleep all the way home and for over an hour when we arrived. When she woke up, she was in a good mood, even smiled a couple times. (Of course, we LOVED that.) We feed her around six, and everything was all good for an hour. And then . . . . it went downhill.

What's that they say--baptism by fire? Right.

Anna would not lay down at all until two in the morning. She was very fitful and restless, dozing some when you'd hold her, and then screaming the second you laid her down. I rested from eleven-ish to nearly two, when I relieved Bryan, who was snoozing in the chair with Miss Anna. :-) I turned on our lamp so she could see me. We made eye contact; and I told her that we promised to take care of her, never to leave her, and that we were nice people. And that her bed was nice to. She'd like it if she gave it a try. :-) Praise God, within 20 minutes she was sleeping much easier in my arms and did not stir when I laid her in the crib. She slept until six on the dot, when it was exactly time for her bottle. She then slept until 8:30.

Today has gone SO MUCH BETTER. We are praying the night goes as well. She's stuck to her schedule perfectly. We are planning--fingers crossed--to give her a bath right before her ten o'clock feeding. No matter, we are delighted and fell more in love with her today.

I'd just like to say, though, for the record that I did have a minor breakdown during the night, thinking God had made a mistake choosing me for this role, and how in the world was I going to get her to sleep. But, with the morning and such a good day, He's reminding me to trust His good gifts and His sweet faithfulness to provide just what we need. And who could ask for more than that?

And I know that everyone is going to real upset that there are no pictures attached to this blog. Please, have grace, I'm a new mom. Teehee . . . .

Anna Zane's First Home Movies!

Please Meet Our Baby Girl . . .

The very beautiful and very sweet Anna Zane Youree!

We made it home!

The photos are from the adoption agency. We'd just met her. I will post a more thorough blog in a bit, complete with video, I hope!

Getting Ready for Baby

The last 24 hours have--by far--been the craziest, most wonderful we have ever experienced. Bryan valiantly worked through the day, keeping focused on the prize. And I hurried around trying to get organized--not very successfully. We've so blessed and excited by everyone's kind congratulations, prayers, and best wishes. I do believe my Facebook and e-mail will explode!

Last night, we started off attempting to register, but soon realized that was not going to happen. We will hopefully be able to wrap that up within a few days. Bryan found his "man" diaper bag, and that's what we'll be taking with us today.

One load of laundry is washed, and another is swishing now. We were so blown away when we arrived at the house at like ten o'clock to find several bags of baby clothes and goodies waiting on our doorstep! And this morning a dear friend brought by beautiful tulips! We are so loved!

On our bathroom counter sets a Bible-verse-of-the-day calendar. Today's verse is 2 Corinthians 9:15--"Thank God for his Son--a gift too wonderful for words!" Amen!

I've been humming all morning . . . .

"Yet saints their watch are keeping,

Their cry goes up 'How long?'

And soon the night of weeping,

Shall be the morn of song."

Only 45 minutes until we leave . . . .

It's a Girl!

It is with great excitement and overwhelming joy that I announce . . . . WE MATCHED WITH A BABY!

We will be bringing home our baby girl tomorrow afternoon!!!!! She was born on February 17, 2011, weighing in at a stellar 7lb and 1oz and 20 inches long. We are OVER the moon with happiness and praise to our Father, who gives all good gifts. How wonderful that we will bring her home on March 8, which will be the five-year anniversary of our first date!

After nine "almost" babies, we decided to start keeping potential baby info to ourselves. It had just become emotionally draining telling everyone when it didn't work out.

So, we found out about this baby--lucky number 10--on March 1st. It was the standard email informing us of the hospital referral. We had one day to respond if we wanted our profile shown. We agreed this was an ideal situation for us, and promptly informed our case worker that we did want our profile book shown. Due to the birth parents' schedules they could not review profiles until this morning.

When the phone rang, I knew we'd be chosen because it was only 30 minutes after they'd been shown our books. The case worker said, "Congratulations, mommy, you've been chosen!" I cried for five minutes; Logan, our case worker, was so kind to just let me weep on the phone with her. I asked her if she could call Bryan because I was so emotional. She was able to conference him in, and I got to hear her tell him! What fun!

The day has been filled with a flurry of activity. I had several articles due this week and next. Thankfully, all my employers have been so gracious to relieve me of those duties. And we have been able to get an appointment scheduled with a ped doc. Both of us have been so blessed with phone calls, texts, and emails of those sharing the joy of our news. Our church family has brought me to tears with their kindness and calls, volunteering baby items, help getting ready, bringing meals so quickly. Ah, "How deep the Father's love for us . . . ."

Since we are a bit bare when it comes to baby items, we are making a dash to Babies R' Us tonight to get a few necessities and to register for a few items. And heaven help us, we've GOT to figure out how to install the car seat.

Tomorrow we will post our sweet gal's name and pictures.

Lost in a whirlwind of joy and blessings,

The Yourees!

Let There Be Light!

Here's today's remodel recap . . . .

We now have lights in the bathroom. I should clarify--we've had lights for a few days now, but they weren't live. The electrician came this morning to set up the switches. So it turns on like a charm! Oh, and notice . . . no more holes in the floor! Yay!

New plumbing WITH the infamous scald guard!

Switches!

On a side note, our neighbors to the back are wanting their new fence to be on the official property lines. Thus, we must move two sprinkler heads, and at least one tree. They also took an ax to this tree, really sunning up my garden. My plants better enjoy this.

Here's the trail that fixed our water bib problem in the back yard. We now have access for our water hoses. Thank the Lord!