No end of June blues this year!

Normally, the end of June comes with the depression that my first month of summer break is over. The realization that summer is going too fast and it will soon be August 22nd, oh no! But there's no depression today, because we got a new picture of Jaxson! I was so excited to open that email.  It had already been a great day.  I got a pedicure, shopped, and had lunch with my sister, then I got home and there it is was the email from LL with photo in the subject line.  I couldn't open that email fast enough!!!

His picture was taken with some of the things that we had sent him in his first care package.  I love that he is playing with the ball that Steve and I picked out for him.  He also got a couple outfits, a photo book with pictures of us, an audio book that Steve and I recorded, a couple toys, a blanket. He also got his first Hawkeye shirt....it says, "Born to be a Hawkeye." We got his foster family some chocolates, bath wash, and lotions.

We also got his June well baby check a few days ago.  He is weighing in at a whopping 23 pounds and is a little over 20 inches tall.  He has two teeth on top and two teeth on the bottom.  He is pulling himself up to furniture and walking around it.  My favorite part of the WBC is that he is playing peek-a-boo!  Love it! As part of his physical one part is general appearance and Jax's says cute and fine!  Yes, he is!!!  

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

I think that Tom Petty definitely said it best, all though then it went something like "The wai-ai-ting is the hardest part."  Either way you say it or sing it, it doesn't change the fact that waiting for something that you've wanted for years is never easy or quick!  This is definitely the lesson that Steve and I are learning this summer!

Last week, I constructed a list, a list of all the things that I want us to get done before we bring Jax home. Some are easy things like hanging new curtains in his room or cleaning out the hall closet (both of which Steve and I got done this weekend) to more difficult things like painting the toy room or cleaning our non-self cleaning oven (the task I'm probably dreading the most). Then there are the things that I can't do at all like put in our new front door and storm door, but each thing that gets done is one thing that I can do to take my mind of the waiting.

We have done our last two requirements on our side of the adoption.  We applied for our I-600, which is permission to bring Jax into the United States, and we finished our Parents in Process class.  We finished the class a couple of weekends ago in Des Moines.  Steve and I love to get away for a night or two and we definitely had a great weekend.

We went to class on Saturday and it was a small class, only 3 couples, but we met another couple that is adopting from Korea and whose timeline is similar to ours.  It has been great to become friends with them and help each other through this crazy process.  Courtney pretty much talked me off a ledge when filling out our USCIS paperwork, well, maybe not a ledge, but she did help me find the answers to all my questions!

After the class we went to the movie, Hangover 2, and then for supper at Famous Dave's.  Steve loves BBQ and we don't go out for it often, so he was pretty excited about that. So excited that he took pictures of our meals :-)!

Another highlight of the weekend was when we went and registered at Target for all the things that Jax is going to need.  Steve loved using the gun and I loved picking out everything for him!

So this summer is going to be spent waiting...waiting for emails, waiting for time to pass, waiting for Jax to come home.  Each night before I go to sleep I thank God for the day, the day that is over and makes me one day closer to having our little man home!