Road Trippin'

This weekend we made a rather spontaneous trip to our favorite local destination: San Diego! It was our first family overnight road trip since we came home 3 months ago. Let's call it a first trimester celebration...

We headed to SD with our good friends, Daniel, Cassidy, Cohen and Cami for the Padres baseball home opener. The game was set to start at 7pm, which was a bit crazy considering our kiddos have been on a consistent 6:30pm bedtime. But it was time to party! We hoped for the best, and though our kiddos did GREAT the standard gorgeous San Diego weather did NOT. The game was postponed 30 minute due to a rain delay [it wasn't even raining... SoCal wimps] and after the first inning the rain started coming. Pouring! After 30 minutes hovering under umbrellas, hoping for the skies to open up, we called it quits. Plus it was a chilly 50-something degrees, and as bundled as we all were, we started feeling damp and cold. Judah was fascinated with the rain, after all, he hasn't really seen rain that we know of in his young life. Addise laid contentedly Ergo'd to my chest and eventually fell asleep.

Though our first major league baseball game wasn't a raging success, our first overnight getaway was! We had a stupendous 24-hours away as a family with our friends. Here are a few pics to commemorate this event.

Can I just also say that I'm LOVING our "firsts" as a family!?!?! We love creating these memories together. In the words of my husband, "I LOVE what we're building together."

On the 75 minute drive down. Lovin' the drool.
This blanket and smaller companion were knitted [crocheted?] by one of my mentors, Diane.

I will not be exaggerating when I say she talked and screamed the ENTIRE way down.
Brian and I were hoping for a great conversation, but were drowned by a 1-year old's voice.

"Wassup?" Judah's latest phrase. And his first time in the Joovy Sit 'n Stand. I'm a fan!

Straws make great toys.

Daddy and son at their first baseball game. Judah's asking a poignant questions about baseball.
Daddy's explaining the rules of the game. I'm sure of it.
Dream come true.
*We didn't plan their matching outfits.

A family picture. Addise was fascinated with the jumbo-tron above our heads.

The best is yet to come...

Packing Travel Tips

I've had a lot of requests about what to pack for bringing your kids home. Here's what we packed for the kids - along with some adjustments and lessons learned. This list was in light of bringing home a 2 1/2 year old and 11 month old. Hope it helps!! :)

Kids

□ Travel First Aid Kit

□ Pedialyte – 3-4/day, individually packed

□ Medicine – Neosporin, Benadryl, Ibuprofen, Triaminic

□ Diaper bag – diapers, wipes, changing pad, Tide-To-Go, Band-Aids, hand sanitizer, baby Tylenol, mommy Tylenol, floss, teething gel, butt paste, bibs, formula, change of clothes and socks

□ Burt’s Bees Shampoo + Conditioner and Shea Butter Moisturizing Hair Lotion

□ Diapers + Wipes: Addise: 8-10/day; Judah: 5/day = 75 Diapers

□ Clothes – 1 outfit/day + 2 extras

□ 4 pairs of PJs

□ 1 pair Shoes

□ 4 Bibs

□ 2 Blankets

□ Stroller

□ Ergo

□ 5-6 Toys – stackable, stuffed animal, nothing that rolls

□ 3-4 Books

□ Blank paper – Washable markers and Stickers

□ Communication Photo Album

□ Portable DVD player + 1-2 Baby Einstein DVDs

□ Food

o Cheerios

o Crackers

o Snack foods

o 4-6 jars of baby food – fruit & veggies [Addise didn’t eat any of it!]

o 2 plastic bowls & spoons

o 4 bottles

o Formula: 32 oz/day

Pack for Airplane

We ended up bringing on the plane the diaper bag, roller suitcase with changes of clothes, and 2 backpacks

□ Diaper Bag stuff [see above]

o 8-10 diapers/kid

o Snacks – cheerios, crackers

o Pedialyte

o 2-3 Toys

□ Ergo and Stroller

□ 2-3 changes of clothes for parents and kids [in case of diaper blowouts, vomit, or whatever!]

Final Travel Tip: If you fly Ethiopian airlines, your first flight will be 17 1/2 hours! We learned the VERY hard way that it's a L-O-N-G flight for little ones who've never flown before [much less for adults!!]. We ended up postponing our 2nd flight to LA and spending the night in DC to give everyone a breather, rest, and get out of airplanes with recycled oxygen. It was one of the best parenting decisions we've made to date. I'd HIGHLY recommend taking an extra day to fly to your final destination, especially if it still entails several hours of flight time.

Here we come, Judah and Addise!

I can hardly contain the fact that we are leaving on Friday morning to be re-united with our children [one of our friends is house sitting for us in case you're thinking of robbing us...ha]! This past week has been a blur of activity as we've prepared to travel to Ethiopia [it's crazy how quick you can plan a trip to Africa!], worked myself into 10-week maternity leave [for the 2nd time], and celebrated our last days as just "Brian and April" [some days have been better than others].

[another picture where we aren't all looking in the same direction!]

If you'd like to pray us through the next 10 days, here are some things to guide your prayers...

PRAYER REQUESTS ::

• Bonding with Judah & Addise :: Pray that God would melt our hearts together so it would feel like we've always been a family. Pray that they would immediately sense deep in their little beings that we will always love them and care for them!
  
• The Basics :: Health, sleep, and eating for J&A.
  
• Mercy Traveling :: We are more than a little terrified about traveling 30+ hours with 2 little people who've just become ours. Pray that we'd acquire an airplane bassinet for Addise, they'd both sleep well, they wouldn't have any medical issues - including flight pressure/ ear pain, they'd eat well.
  
• Co-Parenting :: I'll write more about this in the future, but pray in our first days co-parenting that we'd be simpatico with each other. Pray that we'd be gentle with each other, sense how we can serve each other, anticipate each other's needs, and give each other grace. We're new to this, but we're head long into it, too!
  
• Financial Hiccups :: Canceling our first trip actually gave us cheaper flights, but not finalizing our adoption in 2010 is a HUGE financial set back. Pray that God maneuvers a change for us.
  

CELEBRATING :

• Ethiopian Christmas :: Who would've guessed that we'd still experience a Christmas miracle on January 7th when we leave to get our babies?!?! We are so grateful that God's promises are true and that he always comes through.
  
• Time Off Together :: God has provided abundantly through both Brian and my jobs to allow us some paid-time off together. It's not fully what we normally earn, but we are crazy grateful for this gift from our workplaces. We are so grateful for the 4 weeks off we'll have as a full family and the financial provision to make it possible. We love that we work for organizations that support what we do theologically and practically!!!!
• Mummert's and Mitchell's :: The other 2 families who were a part of our travel group were informed TODAY that they got the 11th Embassy date, too!!! We will meet in DC for our flights together. So grateful that God's moved MOUNTAINS to allow them to be with their kids this week!
• January 14th :: The day that we will enter our home as a family of 4. I've wondered if this day would ever come.

See ya on the flip side. Can't wait to share this next season of life with you!