18 weeks

May 18th marks 18 weeks on the waitlist! I said I wouldn't count, but as more time passess I can't help myself. It's hard to believe it's been that long..boy is time flying! It seems we were just celebrating New Year's, and now we are almost half way through the year. As I see referrals coming in (BTW, Congrats to Catrina, and the Early's on their recent referrals. Yeah!!) , and court dates being given, I can't help but get a little excited. It hasn't really felt real until recently.

I've been thinking about our impending new babe and think to myself..hey, am I ready to start all over again? What if I can't remember what to do? What about the sleep deprivation (but I suppose that is really not a big deal for me because I am so used to being up all night on call. I have learned to function just a tad bit sleep deprived over the years.) What is one to do with an infant/toddler? My son is almost 9, so I feel like a fish out of water. I can't really remember what having a baby is like, and having a semi-independent kid around is kind of nice! He can feed himself, poop on his own, and even entertain himself for long periods. While this is great, it's moments like this when I recollect and begin to miss the baby that he was. Then I start to get excited as we wait for the latest addition to our family.

Kids seem to breathe life into a family. I can't wait to add to the joy we already have. Mr. B is getting really excited as well. He's keeping track of our waiting months, and has told his ENTIRE class, as well as his teachers, that his baby sister is coming home from Ethiopia in August. (How funny. I wish. I've had to clarify things just a bit). He picked Ethiopia to write about in his social studies class, and has been telling me all about the history, land, people, and animals. It is quite remarkable how excited he is.

I am sure the remaining months will fly, but I'm in no hurry because summer is my FAVORITE time of year. I have so many plans, I can recite my schedule until September. (Fun in the Sun..Whoo Hoo!!) I've also restarted weight watchers. It's only been 2 days, but so far so good. If I can get 25 lbs off before traveling to Ethiopia, I'd be a happy camper. That gives me a goal before the baby comes home. (I must admit, this is one of the many advantages of adoption...you can keep your figure or at least improve it during the paper pregnancy!) Over the next few months, I plan to start clearing out baby's room, and I hope to start considering baby names. I definitely love Ethiopian names, so we may use one as the babies first name. I'm not quite sure yet. My cousin's name is T'sega, so I guess that's out even though I like the name.

Lately, I have been trying to curb my appettite for the internet, so I have drastically decreased my on-line time. But hopefully I'll be able to post some photos soon. I hope all is well for each of you!