My special bracelet

This is a long overdue post- I've been wanting to show you all the beautiful bracelet my awesome sister Betsy made for me, in honor of the adoption finalization. It is perfect:)

The past few days

Elizabeth doing some household chores at my parents' rental...I'm glad one of us enjoys sweeping!

Fun at the Playground:)

Today, Elizabeth, my mom and I went to the zoo. Elizabeth had a blast in the petting zoo!

At a Mexican restaurant, enjoying some nachos:) Sidenote: This kept her entertained for about 15-20 minutes, then she hit the wall, and (very loudly) refused to stay in her highchair, so I took her outside and walked around with her a little. Taking her to a restaurant these days is not exactly relaxing...

Elizabeth loves her Grandma (my mom). She is leaving to go back to Boston tomorrow. E and I are going to miss her so much:(

What happens when Elizabeth feeds herself Yogurt

Some more pictures

Relaxing

Right now, I am enjoying the quiet while Elizabeth is napping. We are at my mom's rental in Solana Beach again this weekend. My mom and my friend Julie are out shopping while I relax at "home." This morning they babysat Elizabeth while I went into the office for a while to try and catch up on paperwork. Life has been busy, but good. Elizabeth is doing great, and definitely in full toddler mode- mini tantrums and all! Her vocabulary is growing by the hour it seems.
Ooops, I hear Miss E waking up. I think we'll go to the playground. I'll try to get some new pictures up soon:)

Another weekend of fun

We are spending another weekend hanging out at my parents' rental. Elizabeth is in MUCH better spirits this weekend now that her cold and ear infection are gone:)

Snuggling with Aunt Betsy (my sister, who is out here this week visiting from Colorado)... My Aunt Frannie and Uncle Louis and friend Marie came to visit for the day. Elizabeth loved playing with Uncle Louis' walker:)

Having a snack with Grandpa:

A belated Thank You and a question

I just want to say thank you to everyone for all the nice comments and congratulations since Family Day. I am truly feeling the bloggy love:)
I love comments (of course!) and really appreciate everyone's well wishes.
Here is my question: Since the adoption is now final, I could make this blog public. Part of me is really tempted. I love getting new readers and lotsa bloggy love. Obviously, it's harder to build up a readership with a private blog. However...I just can't quite bring myself to make it public. Anyone have any opinions, thoughts, comments on the private vs public blog question? I'd love to hear what you all think.

A few more Family Day pictures

These are from my Dad's camera.

Outside of the courtroom, waiting for it to open. There were several other families there for their adoptions, too. They all thought they had the cutest kids. I didn't want to hurt their feelings by saying anything, but obviously, MY kid was the cutest...

Wth Carly, one of Elizabeth's Social Workers

With the Judge afterward.

And later that morning, out for a celebratory lunch:)

Leave us alone, county!!

Ok, so I'm totally irritated by something I got in the mail today. It was the from Health section of Child Protective services (Foster Care-which I adopted Elizabeth from), wanting all this information about E's immunizations etc. They used E's birth name and addressed me as a "substitute caregiver". Obviously the various departments don't communicate too well. Clearly, the Health dept. doesn't know that E is no longer in the Foster Care system and I am not her Foster Mother. This adoption is final, and I no longer have to deal with CPS. I know, y'all must think I'm nuts to be so annoyed by this. But I've been answering to the county for so long now, and I'm sick of it. I was willing to jump through all their hoops when I was going through the adoption process- anything to complete the adoption. But it's over and I'm DONE with CPS. At least for now, 'til it's time to get E a little brother or sister in a few years :)

Ok, enough of my rant. On a happy note, my mom, Julie and I are going out to dinner and a show tonight, while Grandpa stays with Elizabeth. A girl's night out- yay!!!

More weekend pics

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa...

and going up the steps at the park...

Fun at the beach

Just some pics from our weekend with Grandma and Grandpa at the beach and around their rental.

Also, there is a playground nearby, where Elizabeth enjoyed playing with some buckets and shovels. The fact that they did not belong to her didn't bother her in the least :)

Talking about adoption

Elizabeth is still very young, but I'm always thinking about how I will talk with her about her adoption. I plan to be very open about it with her, and give her whatever information is age appropriate at the time. Still, it gives me a lot of anxiety to think about these future conversations. M3, mom to the Salsa twins, wrote a great post today on this very topic. Check it out!

A long two days!

Let me just say- it feels GREAT that the adoption is final! Family Day was awesome, especially because my parents are here from the East Coast! They are staying in a rental just a little bit north of San Diego. Elizabeth and I are actually with them right now, we came up Fri. night and are staying until Sunday.

So, Elizabeth starting not feeling well on Thursday afternoon. In fact, from the time I picked her up from Day Care until I put her to bed, she was like a little dish rag, and just wanted to sleep in my arms, and refused to eat or drink anything. I slept with her in the little guest bed in her room all night, since I was so worried about her. She didn't have a fever or seem to be in any pain, though. Friday, I kept her home. Luckily, Auntie Julie was able to stay with her in the mornng, and Grandpa and Grandpa watched her all afternoon, so I could go to work. Mid day, I took her to the doctor. Turns out she had an ear infection. Her first one! Also, she was a little wheezy, so she got antibiotics for the ear, and another kind of medicine with an inhaler type thingy for her breathing. By last night, she was feeling a lot better, and we had a good night up at my parents'. This morning, she started out cheerful, but has been kind of clingy. Then, she fell and cut her lip a little on the hard floor, which made her super cranky! Right now, I am listening to her fight taking a desperately needed nap (by that I mean, I desperately need her to take a nap:). Hopefully she'll be in a better mood this afternoon!

It's official!!!

Family Day 3/4/09 Vista, CA:

In the Judge's chambers...

More details and pics coming soon. But I just wanted to do a quick initial post to let everyone know that THIS ADOPTION IS FINALLY FINAL!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!