Going private again....

I decided to change my blog to private again since I don't have to advertise Ron and myself to birthmoms anymore:) Whew! Glad we are done doing that! If you would like an invite to my blog, please send me your email to darceekiyomi@gmail.com. Thanks!

Please stop growing baby Reese...

Everyone has told me how fast their little ones grow, but I didn't realize they grow this fast. When I first got to the hospital in Detroit, Reese had barely passed the 3lb mark and I was so excited! One of my favorite parts of the day was when they would weigh her at night so I could see how much she had gained. She is now growing like a weed and I just want her to slow down. Reese is now almost 8 weeks old and about 5lbs. Her cheeks are really filling out and her little thighs are getting a little bit more chunky. I posted some videos below from when we were in the hospital. One of the videos is when I first saw Reese. I start to cry when I think about what a fighter she is. Not a lot of people have seen her yet because she has not been able to get her shots, but it's interesting to me how some will see her now and she looks just like a healthy little newborn. When actually she is almost 2 months old and has gone through so much! She is a trooper and I love her so much! She is such a good baby! Our new favorite thing to do is to go to the track with Reese and the dogs and go walking. I just look at my little family as we walk and am so grateful.

just some pics

Our sweet friend Lindee gave Reese this cute blanket and bracelet! Reese looked so cute wrapped in the blanket. Then I decided to just wrap the bow around her for fun! When I said we play dress up like 5 times a day, I wasn't kidding:) I just had to post some of these pictures!




Her bracelet that doesn't quite fit, but it still looks cute!

Amazing friends.....

Last night, I walked up to our new house with Reese to see how it was coming along. I have to admit that I have only been up to the house a few times since they started building. I have a difficult time visualizing where walls should go and I don't have a clue if they are doing what I want or not. So I will be pleasantly surprised when the house is done:)

We were planning on just walking to the house and then hurrying and walk home, but I guess Reese is a little famous around here and we were stopped about every 4 houses because friends saw me walking with the stroller and car seat. We have the greatest neighbors, friends, and ward members. As I have said before that Reese is a prayed for baby.....she truly is. I know many of our friends and their kids who have prayed for Reese and they are truly so excited for our new baby. It has been overwhelming the support and love we have felt from all of our friends. I cannot wait for Reese to get a little bigger and have her shots so that everybody can see her. I know that I have not been able to express my gratitude to everybody that has supported us through this adoption, but I just want you to know that we love you and have felt every prayer. Thank you for all the phone calls, meals, and celebrating with us! We love you!

Our house! It's coming along pretty quickly!

The greatest Mother's Day

This was definitely the most amazing Mother's Day I have ever had. It is incredible how much joy our little baby brings into our life. I was so excited to celebrate Mother's Day with my little family. I woke up early in the morning to find Reese awake with a card on her stomach that said, " Mommy" on it. The funny part was that the card covered her whole body. She is so cute in the morning. She is alert as can be and is just looking around at the ceilings and chewing on her hand. I started bawling as I read the card which said.......

"Mommy, thank you for waking up every night to feed me and staying up with me when you're really tired.

Thank you for flying across the country to a place that is kind of scary to be with me.

Thank you for spending two weeks away from home- I really needed you.

Thank you for being brave and sticking it out when Daddy couldn't be there.

Thank you for bringing me home with you, and making this my home too.

Thank you for loving me and for reminding me of the place I just came from. I left my Heavenly parents to come to earth and when you hold me in your arms, it reminds me of the love I knew before.

I love you Mommy!

Reese"

I started bawling as I read this card and realizing again and again, what an amazing blessing Reese is and how much she has changed me already. Before we adopted Reese, it was our desire for this precious baby and trials that humbled and changed us. Now once again, it is the love that we have for our little girl that helps us to do things that we never thought we could do, and become what we need to become. I remember having dreams that we had adopted a baby girl and then waking up to find that it was not real and then crying myself to sleep. Now, I find myself being reminded that she is ours several times a day and I just have to go pick her up from her sleep to hold her. I think all the time about how pure she is. I just want her to know how much we love her and how much she is loved by our Father in Heaven and that she will never question that love. It is amazing how much love you can feel for this little baby so quickly. As Reese has had to have quite a few medical procedures done, I have wanted to cry with her. The cutest thing is that when the procedures are being done, she starts to cry, but she always grabs on to one of my fingers and I start to talk to her and she calms right down. I remember when I was little and sick, my Mom would stroke my forehead and I calmed right down and fell asleep. I just cannot believe that I am that comfort for Reese now. It is such an amazing feeling to know exactly what Reese needs when she is crying. I am so grateful for Reese and for being so loving, trusting, and forgiving.
This mothers day, I am also very grateful for all of the wonderful mothers in my life. I am even more grateful for all that my mom has done for me over the years. It was such an amazing experience to be able to have my Mom with me when I met my little girl in Detroit. The first night after meeting Reese, I was lying in bed and had tears streaming down my cheeks as I thought about all that my Mom had done for me throughout my life and just how much she loved me. She was still teaching me about what it means to be a mother as she came to Detroit with me. She was training for the Ogden marathon and was busy with many other things, but she did not want me travel to Detroit alone so she sacrificed her time to come with me. The first few days in the hospital with my Mom and my daughter will be special memories that I will never forget.
I am also very grateful for Ron's mom. She is such as amazing example to me and has taught me so much about serving and loving. Ron's mom is always very willing to help in any way possible. I am always in awe as I watch her help plan baby showers, bridal showers, and parties for people she barely even knows. I am grateful for the things she has taught Ron that has blessed our family so much. I am also grateful for the examples of my sister and sisters-in-law. They all love being mothers and/or will be amazing mothers when that day comes. They never complain about their kids, but love doing things with their kids. It has been such an amazing Mother's Day and I am very grateful for this opportunity to be Reese's mother.

Loving being home

I am absolutely loving being home! Everything is becoming more real to me that Reese is ours. When I was out in Detroit with her, although I knew that the papers were signed and she was ours, I still was scared that she would get taken away. I think part of the feelings I had were because of similar circumstances that happened with our failed placement that happened about a year ago. Although, I knew that Reese was our daughter and she was meant to come to our family, it felt a little weird just her and I in the apartment by ourselves and not being able to have Ron around for a part of the time and not being home, feeling like I could not show my beautiful baby girl to our family and friends. As soon as Ron came to us, those feelings went away a little more and as I was able to come home, those feeling disappeared. I cannot believe we have been so blessed with this beautiful baby girl. When we were in Michigan, I just thought of how content Reese was and all the family she knew was Ron, my mom, and myself. She was just so happy all the time. I started to think about all the people that love her, have prayed for her, and awaited her arrival and she did not have a clue. She was so happy with a mom, dad, and grandma. It has been overwhelming the love and support we have received from family, friends, co-workers, patients, clients, our ward, neighbors, etc. Truly, Reese is a prayed for baby and is loved so much! Everyday, I see more and more ways that help me see that Reese truly was meant for our family. I have always felt that our children will come to us in different ways and the first time I saw Reese, I knew she was my daughter and that she knew me. Her eyes are the purest things I have ever seen and I knew that she knew me. It amazes me everyday as I look at Reese's tiny hands, feet, ears, fingers, etc. and am in awe how Heavenly Father can create someone so tiny and yet so perfect. Reese is very alert and is aware of her surroundings. I took her outside for the first time a couple days ago and it was neat to see her turn her head toward the sound of a bird and just look at everything.

I love just being home with Reese and Ron and do the little things as a famiy. I love it when Ron and I give Reese a bath and if she starts to cry, we sing to her and she gets very happy. I love playing dress up about 5 times a day and then Ron and I have our photo shoot time with her. I love it when she is sleeping and just starts smiling away(she is probably farting, but its still cute), I love that she calms right down when I start to sing ( I cannot carry a tune, but Reese likes it), I love it when she grabs my pinky when she drinks her bottle, when she sleeps with her hands up by her face, I love praying with Reese and feeling just how much our Heavenly Father loves our baby girl.

I love how excited Reese gets when she sees Ron and that she knows I am her Mom. I cannot thank our Heavenly Father enough for blessing us with our sweet baby girl. I start to cry when I think about all the blessings he has blessed us with. Eternal families have a whole new meaning and I cannot wait to go to the temple and have Reese sealed to us. I am so grateful for the trials that we went through over the past few years that have strengthened and humbled us. Truly "dispute not because ye see not. For ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith". The amazing thing was that Reese was not the witness, she was above and beyond the witnesses we had already received. Thanks everyone for all your love and support!

WOW! that was a close one!

Yesterday was quite a day! We were pretty set that all of the paperwork from the Interstate Compact would go through and that we would get to go home with Ron. I thought that I might be able to go home on Friday, but the paperwork hadn't gone through yet. I was getting really homesick and asked Ron if he would fly out with us over the weekend and bring us home on Monday. Well, we checked out at 2:00pm and drove to these little stores that were close to the airport. 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00 roll around and we still have not heard anything. For Ron to make his flight, he would have to drop us off at the apt and leave by 5:30. So we waited in the apt parking lot hoping that we would get the call, which we didn't. I started to cry and just told Ron that I wanted to go home. We decided to drive to the airport and just in case we received the call, we would have a little bit more time to make our flight. So we sat outside the car rental place at 6:00, 6:15. I asked Ron at what time we give up. He said 6:30 is the absolute latest. So finally at 6:28, we make one last call to see if they had cleared us to fly home and they told us that the call had just came through. Are you kidding me!!! We hurried and turned in the rental car and got on the shuttle. I carried Reese in her car seat and base with 2 other bags while Ron carried all our luggage. We got to security and there was a LONG LONG line. Ron asked the security guy if we could go thru the priority entrance and he told us that with a baby we definitely could. So we jumped to the front of the line. Then as I went through security, I had to take Reese out of her car seat and walk through, which caused quite a response. "How old is she", "How much does she weigh", "Oh, look at that baby". The security lady went and got her boss so she could show her. I told them we were in a hurry and had to go. So then we ran to the boarding place and had to check in the car seat. The ladies told us that there was an extra seat and so we could take Reese in her car seat if we wanted to ( she was a lap child). I was so excited. So then we ran to the boarding lines and as soon as we got there, we hear, "Family boarding can now go thru". So we went right on thru and took our seats. Sat down out of breath and sweaty and gave a prayer of thanks. Ron and I both just looked at each other and couldn't believe what just happened. Heavenly Father truly helped us to get home and Reese did amazing on the flight. She didn't even cry on take off and then slept the whole way through. I wanted to cry that we were finally going home. It was a miracle that we were able to make our flight. I am so grateful that we were able to go home together with our little girl. I can't even tell you how much I love being home. As soon as i got home, the dogs started licking me and Sachi was running through my legs and running in circles around me. I missed my dogs and I'm glad they remembered me.

Sorry about misspellings and grammatical errors!

Reese and I at the apartment

Ron had to fly home late Monday night and so it was just Reese and I at the apartment for a few days. It was such a good bonding time with me and my little girl. All my family was calling me and making sure I was ok, but I can truly say that I was completely content. I have been blessed so much as I have been out here. My whole families knows just how much I dislike being away from home and I have not been homesick my whole time out here. Even taking care of Reese by myself has not been difficult. We have protected, comforted, and blessed so much! I couldn't wait for Ron to get back out here with us. Reese is a really good eater and sleeper. She is like clockwork every 3 hours so that makes it easy for us!

These little beds are the neatest things. We were trying to figure out whether Ron should bring our pack n play or just go buy one and the nurses went online and found us this little travel bed at Target. It is awesome and the new baby gift I am giving at baby showers.

Her little preemie Roxy outfit!

Discharge and car seat test

The doctors told us that Reese would be discharged on Tuesday so we were very excited, but she first had to pass her car seat test for an hour. She looked so tiny in her car seat, but she passed!!!

The nurses were so nice! When Reese was discharged, I think they sent me home with 2 cans of the really expensive formula, about 15 ready for use bottles, 10 binkies, a new pack of diapers and wipes, thermometers, and so many baby quilts, booties, and hats. I was just amazed at how much they gave us and loved our little girl. Some of the nurses really bonded with Reese and didn't have any boys so they got to spoil her for a while and dress her up:)

My mom made these burp rags and blanket for Reese

They actually gave us 2 more baby quilts as well. I am grateful for the hands that made and donated these beautiful quilts.

O yeah, our house!

While I have been out here, I totally forgot that we are building a house. It's kinda crazy because they had just started on it when I left and when I get back, they will probably be done with the framing. Exciting exciting!!

We are grateful for Ron's dad sending us pictures and updating us on changes. It's so nice to have family that lives close by. I would be so worried about our dogs without there help. Thank you thank you!!

Happy Easter baby Reese!!!

This year, Easter was especially wonderful! Ron and I went to an early sacrament and then went over to the hospital to spend Easter with Reese. We had made these cute little Easter baskets filled with Reeses peanut butter eggs for our favorite nurses. We had made Reese a little basket with a bunny, books, and sunglasses. She was so funny because shelved wearing the glasses. One of our favorite nurses, Kara, had made a little card for us from Reese. Kara had also put a little Easter bonnet on Reese. So cute!! I loved it! It was definitely a memorable Easter!

Her little footprints are so cute!

One of Reese's favorite nurses

Daddy meeting baby Reese!!

I was so grateful for my mom to come fly out to Michigan with me. With not knowing how many times Ron would have to come out, we kinda had to pick and choose. My mom flew out Saturday and Ron flew in on Saturday. They were laughing saying, "Darcee do you think you can survive those couple of hours in between by yourself." haha, real funny guys! I could fight off a mugger if they tried to attack me:) Anyway, I was so excited for Ron to meet his baby girl. It was so precious when he held her. She woke right up and started grinning from ear to ear. I will forever be grateful for all the nurses did before we were here with Reese. Not only did they take care of her and loved her, but they told her about us. She knew who we were. That might sound strange, but she did. She fought through so much on her own so that she could be with us. I cant even explain how I felt that first night as we sat there as a little family!

Look at Reese hold Ron's thumb! SO cute!!

The night Ron flew in, we stayed up really late with Reese and I think I was really tired because everything Reese did was so funny. We were laughing pretty hard. I think part of the reason we were laughing so hard was because the NICU was completely silent and we were belly laughing and trying to be quiet. ( oh yeah, Reese had went to a crib a couple days ago and kept her temp, so we were hoping for a discharge on Tuesday.)