Eleven Months of Henry

My tiny survivor,

“You made the merge!” Today was a huge day, and my heart sighed with relief. It was adoption day officially! Our hearts and home already knew you were a Parker, but after eleven months, legally you are too. Dad and I sat in front of a judge and promised to love you and care for you forever and always, and we’ll spend every single day making sure you know how much we love you! The day was really great for it! You were sick yesterday and the day before, but you woke up this morning a little perkier and even more so after your nap. After you slept, we headed to downtown Opelika for some Mexican food and then to the courthouse. We were a little early, so we all hung out and then it was time! We answered lots of questions about you and our lives, and then it was declared you are a Parker! Afterwards, we dipped into the comic book store and headed over to OTown for some Italian ice. I think we may make it a family tradition to celebrate you this time each year with a tasty frozen treat. Mom and Dad are always really careful to take time to soak in and celebrate all the moments in our lives as grown ups, so tomorrow night, we’re going to grab some yummy food and drinks and watch the Survivor finale and think about everything that’s led us to our favorite baby boy. It's been a journey, but we'd do it all every day to get to you!

Favorite Moments:

-Finalization Day! It's been eleven months coming with some hurdles and bumps along the way as far as paperwork goes, but it doesn't even matter because today, forever officially began!

-Brittany and Alex’s wedding: Brittany and Alex got married, and we had the best time celebrating! Sully and Eloise were a part of the day, so we spent two nights in Andalusia. Everyone did well in the hotel, and despite the longest wake window ever, you still slept at night. We danced and ate and smiled the whole night!

-Mother’s Day: last Mother’s Day, I had no idea that you would be part of our lives so soon! This year, I was tickled that you were here! We had two days of Mom: one for me to have time alone and one family day. On our family day, we went to church, enjoyed playing at home, took a leisurely stroll down Angel’s, and ended at Cracker Barrel.

Food/Milk:

As of today, you are thirteen foods shy of trying 100 different foods before you turn one. We’ll definitely get there before next month. Your favorite food is any kind of meat and blueberries. On your own, you are slowly dropping bottles. Because you drink six ounces at once, you aren’t drinking as many times a day which makes leaving the house much simpler. As much as I’ll miss you being a baby, I don’t think I’ll miss the washing and fixing of bottles too much.

Sleep:

My textbook baby! You are so consistent with sleep now, and we are thankful! We wake you up from each nap after an hour and a half; it’s so rare that you wake up on your own. And you haven’t woken up in the middle of the night in weeks!

Growth:

Your little smile is precious! You have five teeth! I’ve never seen a baby grow their fangs first, but in true spooky form like Sully and Dad like, you look like a vampire. Your little personality is shining bright these days: easy going, love to be around people but mostly your family, and full of giggles. You can clap, wave, hang me things, throw things on purpose, and move all around. Crawling isn’t what I’d classify how you move but you sure can get what you want from the floor: it’s a combo of a roll, a scoot, and a spin. The thing that makes you laugh the most is when people drop something; Sully gets the best giggles out of you! “Dada” is your first official word, and we’re working on “mama.”