It's been a while...

Since we have updated everyone. Lillian is doing so wonderful. She is almost 8 months old, ALREADY!!! She has finally started holding her own bottle, that was awesome. She attempting to crawl, she does the belly crawl right now and gets up on her hands and knees and rocks. She is getting so big, I can't believe where how time flies. Where's it go???

Lillian's Halloween costume...

She's Lady, from Lady and the Tramp

We have great news!

Lillian had an appointment with the Cardiologist this past Wednesday to check on her heart murmur. They did the echo again and we found out that the murmur has shrunk to about half the size it was. Which is great, because now even if it never goes away she will be able to live with the size it is now. We are very happy that we have a happy and healthy baby.

WOW!

I can't believe how much Lillian is changing just since she has turned 6 months old. She sitting up and playing with her toys, she has a tooth, she said dada...Dave missed it, it was during the big game yesterday. Last night she took her first steps and now she is walking a lot...while holding our hands of course. It seems like she's going to walk before she crawls, she doesn't even attempt to crawl. Every day is so exciting I wanted to share it with everyone.

Our little girl is not so little!

Lillian had her 6 month check up today, she is 18 lbs. 5 oz. and 28" long. She is in the 100th percetile for her heigth and 90th for her weight. She also had shots again and she did great, she cried for maybe 1 minute and was laughing after that...so, our baby is getting so big!!!

FIRST TOOTH!!!!

Lillian got her first tooth today...that explains the explosion poops she's been having lately. Wow, I really hope those stop now!

She's 6 months!

Lillian turned 6 months old today. We don't go to the DR till the 3rd so I'm really not sure where she is right now with her weight and length, but I know she's heavy..I'll update after her appointment...

Lillian is sitting up now!!!

Today I laid Lillian down on the floor, I ran to grab the phone when I got back she was sitting up playing with her toys. I am so upset that I missed her pushing herself up. Oh well...here's a picture for all of you to see!

Remember???

More pictures!!

Lillian had pictures done yesterday, they are all so lovely. You can view them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilliangrace

Lillian's first time in a park swing...

Sunday (9/2)we had a wedding to go to in Sabetha, we had a couple of hours between the wedding and the reception so we found a park and Lillian had her first experience in a park swing...she didn't really enjoy it though.

5 MONTHS!!!

Lillian turned 5 months old yesterday. She is getting so big and she is getting such a wonderful personality. We don't have another DR. appt till Oct. 3rd so I'm really not sure how much she weighs right now, but I'm sure at least 16 lbs. She's a big girl, she is fitting in 6-9 month clothes already. Check back for more updates, she has two DR appts next month, Oct. 3rd with her pediatrician, then Oct. 24th with the cardiologist where she will get another ECG to check the size of the hole...please pray that it is at least a little smaller.

Momma's new tattoo!!!

I couldn't help it, I had to do it...What do you all think?

Cardiologist Appt.

Wednesday was Lillian's check up with the cardiologist for her heart murmer. We loaded up and went to KC to see the doc and have the echocardiogram done. I had the bright idea of leaving town at 6 a.m. because I am starting to walk in the mornings again and I thought I could find some new shoes at Cabelas. Well, like normal I was wrong (and not the most popular with the two ladies in my life). Long story short, we got to Children's Mercy about 45 minutes early and were poised to wait for our turn. By some stroke of luck (or genious on my part for being early) we got right in to see the doc. We did the length / weight with the nurse and all was good and more than last time. Lillian is in the 90th percentile on both! Then the dreaded blood pressure check. Suprisingly she did great this time and all was well there too. They took us to our room and we waited for the doctor to come see Lillian. A few short minutes later she was in the room and just bubbling over Lillian's growth and lack of symptoms. The doctor checked her over and asked us some questions and said everything looked great, the murmer is still there but no signs of heart failure at all. We were very happy to hear this news to say the least. She then told us that with the location of this murmer there is very little chance it will grow shut on its own and that something will have to be done down the road (in a couple of years). Once back in the car we were talking about how to the point the doc was this time, telling us about the hole not taking care of itself and some other things she hadn't told us before. We kind of wonder if the doctor was more concerned than she led on earlier and feels more at ease now. I guess it doesn't matter, she told us what to watch for a few months ago and we have so all is well at this point. We go back in October for another appointment and echocardiogram and they will measure the size of the hole then. Lillian is doing great, eating, sleeping and now rolling over! She is just getting to the point of becoming a handful for her folks and we are as ready as we can be for it. Well, time to get ready for work -blah- so thanks for all the love and prayers sent our way, we need all we can get!!

Can you believe she's 4 months old!!!

Wow, where has time gone? It's hard to believe that it has been 4 months already since we met our wonderful little girl. She is getting so big, a couple of weeks ago she was weighing in at 14 lbs 2 oz. When we brought her home everyone told us that you forget how small they ever were, well...at that time I couldn't believe that Lillian was going to ever be as big as our friends babies. We were wrong, LOL, now we can't remember when she was just a measly 6 lbs 8 oz. We have a visit with the cardiologist on Wednesday Aug. 1st so we'll update everyone about it. She has been growing just fine (too fast if you ask me) so we are hoping for good news there. We want to thank everyone for your prayers and support, and ask you again if you can pray for Lillian before and during her appointment on Wednesday.

Our little girl is 3 months old!!!

Lillian is 3 months old today, can you believe it???? We can't, it's amazing how fast time flies. She is getting so big, I had a lady at the post office guess her to be 5 months old the other day. Lillian's feelings were hurt, she thought the lady was calling her fat. Okay, maybe Lillian did care, but it was funny. We have a new website for her pictures, let me know if this link doesn't work. It's http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilliangrace Keep checking back, we'll keep everyone updated.

Lillian is growing!!!

So, Lillian has had a rough day. She hasn't been feeling well due to acid reflux...I hope that's what it's called. Well, I took her to the DR and he said there's not much we can do, just have her sit up for 30 mintues after she eats. That will be fun at 3 a.m. She is finally sleeping through the night, she goes to bed at 9 and wakes up to eat around 3 then goes right back to sleep till about 7, eats, then goes back to sleep till about 9:30. She weighs 12 lbs. 7 oz and she is 25 inches long...I can't believe how big she is...It's amazing.

Lillian's movie

I was just playing around on the computer today while Lillian was napping and I came up with this. I think it's cute.

Cardio appt.

So, I'm a little late getting this post up, but we went back to the cardiologist appt. on the 6th. The doctor looked her over, listened to her heart, lungs and belly and said that she is great and the heart murmur doesn't seem to be bothering her. So, that was GREAT news...she goes back to get an ECG on August 1st. Hopefully we get some good news then, that the hole is getting smaller anyway. So, keep checking back, we will keep you all updated. BTW, there's new pictures at http://photos.yahoo.com/lillian.grace

Well baby check up

Well, Lillian had her 2 month well baby check up today. She is doing great, she is 11 1/2 lbs and 23" long. So she has grown 4 inches and 5 lbs since we brought her home. She is very healthy, although the doctor could still hear her heart murmur, we go back to the cardiologist on June 6th. So please pray for her heart. She also go her shots today...4 shots, 2 in each leg. I couldn't be in the room, i don't think I could had handled it as well as Dave. I could hear her crying and that was hard enough. She has a very slight fever, but we have that under control with infants Tylenol. She has been sleep pretty much all day and all night. Well...we are very pleased with her progress, keep checking back for more updates.

2 months old!!!!!

Well, she is two months old already. She is sleeping good for the most part (except tonight, it's 12:45 am and she is crying herself to sleep right now...well hopefully anyway. She is so happy, she smiles all the time and she has rolled over by herself!!! We have her well baby check up today and she gets her first shots. Dave is going to have to help out with this appointment I don't know if Mom will be able to handle it. We started putting her in her crib a couple of weeks ago, that was a tough one for me. :) Well, after being able to sleep with my angel for 6 weeks I had a little bit of separation anxiety. I think Dave and I are finally having less middle of the night arguments since she only wakes up once a night for about 30-45 minutes...which is very good. It's amazing the stupid arguments you can get into at 3 am. Good thing I have my cafemom website to go vent...that helps with less arguments. There are news pictures of her all the time on her yahoo photos http://photos.yahoo.com/lillian.grace We just had a great weekend with all the Ekarts in town. It was so great that they could all meet Lillian at this time in her life. Well...she is getting to the age that she will be changing everyday so keep checking back to see her progress....

A month old...already!

Well, Lillian turned a month old yesterday. Where did the time go? I can't believe it's been a month already. We have had her longer now then it took us to find her. It's amazing how much our lives have changed. It is so wonderful having her. I never knew that parenthood was so great. Yes, even at 3 am. LOL Keep checking her pictures on yahoo, there are new ones almost every day.

More pictures

go here for more pictures

http://photos.yahoo.com/lillian.grace

Visitors welcome

Lillian says she is ready to start accepting visitors!! It isn't like she hasn't had any since we have been home or anything. Things are coming together with her room and we are settling in. The past couple of nights have helped us settle into reality, not quite as quiet as her first couple of nights but that is ok. I (Dave) am taking the week off work to try and get as much done around the house and in her room as I can. We will be around in the evenings if anyone wants to drop in and see this little bundle of joy. I decided to post a picture of her with her eyes open for those of you who haven't seen her eyes yet. We do want to let everyone know how much we appreciate the support, comments, thoughts and prayers that have been coming our way.

Dave & Shana

There's no place like home!

Well, we made it home, finally. Lillian is doing great, she in the cradle that her great uncle Ray made for Kaitlyn and Mariah. I am listen to her through the monitor right now and it's really hard to not put down the computer and go get her. Dave tells me that I just need to let her rest. I'm trying, but I don't think it will last long. Well, we just wanted to let you know that we made it home okay...Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Dave & Shana

Lillian and her Mommy!!

Lillian and her Daddy

He's a natural!!!!

New LIFE!!!!!!!

At approximately 1:15 am on March 30, 2007 Lillian Grace came into our lives. We are in the hospital room with our new baby as I type this and all is going well! Right now it is about 3:00 am and we are pretty wiped out. I can't imagine what the birth mother is feeling, she was in labor for 13 hours! Because of the late delivery we won't actually meet her until tomorrow sometime. The agency has been great as well as the hospital and the nurses. We did get to meet a couple of the birth mother's friends when we got to the hospital and they were very nice and were giving us updates on the labor and giving the birth mother updates on our excitement. When we arrived at the hospital they said everything was going at a normal rate and it wouldn't be too long until delivery, then everything seemed to stop. We did keep getting good news on the condition of the birth mother and the baby during the delivery. If all goes well we may have a chance to go home on Saturday, but we might not be able to do the paperwork with the agency until Monday. Either way we are now parents of a beautiful baby girl and will make it home some time. Again, just want to let you all know how much we appreciate the love and prayers sent our way, this all seems to good to be true. Please leave us comments if you get the chance, you just have to leave them as annonymous and sign your name at the bottom. I am sure with our new arrival that this little blog will be seeing a lot more action (at least on our part) so keep checking back to see what is going on with our family.

Dave & Shana

Here it is!!!!

The phone call came! The birth mother is in labor. Shana is on her way home and we are heading out to Wichita!! Keep praying for us please! More updates to follow, we are taking the laptop with us so I will see if we can use it there and post for everyone.

Are you kidding me? Bed rest?

So, we are painting the babies room and Shana tells me she needs bed rest? I thought you only needed that when you were pregnant! She says she is having sympathy pains. Actually not alot new going on, just trying to get everything as ready as we can. I should go back to painting now (actually Shana has done alot of it). Just a note to all of those who love me, I love you all too. You probably won't ever hear from me again, at least not after Shana sees this!

Our precious Lillian

Here's her first picture...Isn't she adorable!!!!

Cloud Nine!!!!

Well, here we are again. Monday night we wrote an additional letter to the birthmother and the agency gave it to her Tuesday. We got a call today and she read the new letter, looked over our book again and talked at length with the adoption agent. She has now choosen us to be the adoptive parent of her baby!!! I said on Monday there was still a chance and it came through! If everything else goes according to plan there shouldn't be any other glitches. Keep checking back for progress reports!!

Thanks to everyone for all of your support!!

Dave & Shana

the link to my cafemom website has been delete

Hopes dashed...temporarily

Well, we might have gotten our hopes up a little too much. Shana got the call this morning and the birthmother decided not to accept us as adoptive parents. Today has been a tough one for both of us but we are trying to find the silver lining. There is still a chance this case will work out for us and we are still holding out hope for that. We just want to let everyone know we do appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers coming our way. Keep checking back in on us for all the news, good or bad.

Dave & Shana

HOME STUDY!

Well today is the home part of the home study. I am nervous, but the social workers seems really nice, I like her alot so I'm pretty sure it will be okay....I'll post more when it's over and let you all know how it goes.....Well, the home study just got over, and it was GREAT!!! The social worker is awesome and she said that we have nothing to worry about. I am so excited...in just about a month we will have a beautiful baby girl...We got the sonogram pictures today of the baby so I'll post those at some point

Wow this is fast...

Last week we sent in an application to an adoption agency...well Thursday March 15th we found out that they had an unmatched situation. This woman is pregnant with a baby girl, and she is due........................APRIL 15TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One month away...so on Friday March 16th, we told the agency that we wanted to go through with the adoption. We will find out for sure on Monday March 19th if the birth mother likes us. The agent and social worker doesn't see that to be a problem. so the mother looked over all of our stuff on Friday, so on Monday...there will be a new post letting you all know her decision...So keep looking...

Update

Well, it's been a while....Just about a year actually. We really have not had much happen in the past year to write about. I (shana) have switched jobs AGAIN. I'm back at Cottonwood, where I worked before I moved to Manhattan, so yes, I am driving back and forth EVERYDAY. I LOVE that place. We finally got the house painted, inside and out, we got our shower finished...That was the best part of the year because we had been taking baths for almost a year. Tomorrow Dave and I are turning in our application for adoption. We are very excited about our decision to adopt and can't wait to have a new family member. If we get a boy his name is going to be Payton, but we can't decide on a middle name, what do you think? I like Lewis, or David...Dave doesn't know, but he doesn't like Lewis...I think Payton Lewis sounds great together. Now, we can't decide on a girls name. I like Emma Violet or Analise Ryan, or even Analise Violet. Dave doesn't really like the name Analise, Ryan, or Violet...What does he know though right...Any suggestions on the names? I wish naming your child was as easy as naming your dog. Well, we'll try to keep this updated so you all know what's going on in our life...(as if you even care) :)