A Long Overdue Update

Hi Friends! It has been quite some time since we've written--not because we don't have anything to share, but because we've been so busy. Miles is growing and changing every day. He gas gone from a little five-pound bundle to a fourteen pound chunk! He is always so alert and interactive when he's awake, and such a wonderful sleeper at night. His favorite things are being outdoors, riding forward-facing in the Baby Bjorn, batting at his toys, looking in the mirror, eating, and talking with us. He's not so fond of riding in the car, tummy time, and getting dressed. As you can see, the "favorite" list is much longer than the "un-favorite" list, and that describes Miles's personality well. He's such a happy, laid-back baby, and he brings us so much joy!

Many of you have asked how Grant has adjusted to being a big brother. He loves Miles so much, and is very kind and gentle with him. The main thing we have noticed is that he has all the sudden "lost" certain abilities--such as the ability to feed himself. Of course he hasn't actually forgotten how to eat, but when we sit down to dinner he pleads, "feed me, feed me!" Although this is quite humorous since he has been eating by himself for years, we do realize that he is needing some extra love and affection since his place as only child has been permanently lost. It's been good for him, though, and overall he is thrilled to have Miles as a part of our family.

I have to sign off for now, but I will try to update more frequently with pictures and news. Oh, one more thing. November 4th is the scheduled date for the termination of birthfather rights. We are extremely grateful that God has so far answered our prayers and yours, and everything has gone smoothly. Thank you all for praying.

Love,

Jill, Stephen, Grant, and Miles

A Picture is worth a thousand words...

In our home lately we haven't had too much time for blogging. (Hmmm...I wonder why? :) Miles is a wonderful baby, but of course caring for him is 24/7, and we couldn't be happier. We just wanted to share a recent picture...can you tell that Miles is now 11 pounds?

Happy Birthday, Miles!

On Sunday, Miles will be one month old. Even though we have not had him with us for all of his first month, our time with him has flown by.

As you all may have guessed, we are now home and in the full swing of 24/7 baby care. Miles seems to be as happy to be home as we are. He is doing really well on his feeding/sleeping schedule, and does well at night. He is such a blessing from the Lord, and we absolutely love having him in our family.

Miles is ready to eat again, so this is a very short post. We hope to be at church on Sunday, so those of you who are there will hopefully get to meet him then. I will try to post more soon...

Heading Home

This is just a quick post to thank you all for praying--our Interstate Compact went through really quickly, and we are headed home tomorrow (Friday)! We are driving and will be stopping over with some dear friends tomorrow evening, then returning to Virginia on Saturday.

Miles had his first big outing today at the Georgia Aquarium which he loved :) He seemed to get as much attention as many of the fish did.

Virginia, here we come!

First Week with Miles

Today, Miles has been with us a week. In some ways it has flown by, but in others it has seemed quite long (especially at night :). Miles is such a cute and happy baby, and we love every minute with him--even the 2 AM feedings. Recently he has had some minor tummy troubles with gassiness/burping, but we're hoping a change in formula and some other small adjustments will help him.

We heard from our adoption agency today that Georgia has given approval for us to leave the state, and now it's up to Virginia to let us return. We hope to hear something by Thursday, and then we will return home over the weekend.

This past weekend my parents drove down to visit their new grandson. It was so nice to have them here, and we all enjoyed Baby Miles together.

We have a specific prayer request for all of you who are so faithfully praying. We have recently learned that the termination of birthfather rights might not be as straightforward as we had originally thought. At this point this isn't a big cause for concern, but it could potentially make it so the birthfather rights aren't terminated for another month and a half. Please pray that there won't be any issues with this, and that it can be done quickly.

Thank you all so much! We can't wait to introduce you to our little man.

~Jill

Pics

We've been snapping pictures every chance we get, and here are some of the most recent. Enjoy!

After Bath

Thoughtful Miles

Mommy Time

Smiles

Winking Already!!??

Baby Miles

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's taken a little while to update. Our day yesterday was wonderful but very, very long. We logged a lot of miles on our rental car.

The doctor's appointment went great, and from there we signed placement papers at the caring home, and then headed to the family's home where we are staying. After dropping off Anna and Grant, we headed back to the other side of Atlanta to meet the birthmom. We ended up not doing dinner as she was tired and had a long day, but we talked for a few minutes in a parking lot. We are so grateful we had the opportunity to meet her and express our thankfulness for the precious gift we have received.

Miles is on a good eating schedule (thanks, Norry! :), and he did quite well last night. The only thing is that he thinks 3:00 AM is party time, but we have plenty of time to work on that. He has been awake a lot today, so maybe he'll be worn out tonight. We still can't believe he's here with us for good. Grant loves having a brother, and even shared his new train with him. If you know Grant at all you know that he loves diesel trains, and the fact that he shared on his own initiative is quite significant.

We are so grateful to be able to share our joy with all of you. God has been kind to us in so many ways, but today we are especially thankful for God answering our prayers and bringing us Miles. We will put more pictures up over the next few days.

~Stephen, Jill, Grant, Miles, (and Auntie Anna)