No More Numbers

This is the day that everyone seems to be getting new numbers.

And this is our first month without numbers.   *Sigh*

Its so weird to be done with that stage of our adoption.  So instead of imagining who my little ones might be, I actually get to swoon over cute pictures, and amazing little faces, and tiny bouncy seats and twinsy sets of cribs and sheets and pack-n-plays and teeny tiny socks.

Our cribs and changing table get her next week.  But I can't put them up until the mural is done :)  Which is looking WONDERFUL by the way!!  Here are some photos for your enjoyment…

Can't WAIT for it to be done so I can set up the cribs!!

Our June Numbers

Yes, yes.  June numbers are here.  Not a ton of movement this month, which is super disappointing of course.   We are quickly approaching our 1 year anniversary of getting on the waitlist, and we just want to be in single digits!  (Okay - to be fair, we don't "just" want that.  We also want a referral. And a court date. And an embassy date.  And a baby home with us. But you know what I mean... )

So here are our June numbers…

For Girls we didn't move… we're still…

For boys we went from 13 to…

For siblings we also didn't move.  Still…

One of the reasons there was no movement for girls and siblings this month is that some people changed their age requirements or the lists they were on.  For example, they may have decided to jump on the siblings list now that they have been waiting awhile.  Or change their age parameters.  So if they jump on a new list, and they were technically 'ahead' of us on the other lists, then they are ahead of us on their new list too.  Which is super for those families - that they don't have to start from scratch.  Not so super for us when we are trying with all our might to get closer to our referral :)

Our caseworker likened our wait to a marathon race (hence the race numbers above).  In the beginning, you are all excited and have energy and are looking forward to the race ahead.  Then in the end (which is where I feel like we are) you feel like you can't go on, and you're so tired, and the last miles stretch and stretch and you just want to be done SO BAD.  Well, I've never run a marathon.  And I can say with confidence that I probably never will.  But this adoption marathon is a real bugger.  And I'm ready to be done waiting.

I've got baby fever in a real way.  And now that I'm on summer break and not distracted by my job each day, my marathon is going to feel like its slowing way down.  And I'm not thrilled.

So I'll try to blog about some happy, flowery, keep my mind busy, kinds of things.  

Starting tomorrow.

So come back then for a sneak peak of something wonderful...

May Numbers...

Yes… that is correct.  We have May numbers.  And we are SO close to single digits I could SCREAM.  Like skin crawling excited.  And really it means nothing.  It will take however long it takes no matter what our numbers are.  We have no way of knowing if we'll have to wait until we are number 1 for a referral, or if it will happen sooner than that.  But I'm insanely excited.

At this point every little piece of movement there is in the numbers sends me reeling.  I'm thinking about pack and plays and jogging strollers and cute little onesies.  All things we are NOT purchasing until after we get a referral.

Mom and Dad Stefanich bought me this AMAZING 'room spray' that is supposed to be calming and wonderful for Mother's Day.  She read about it in a magazine, and some A-list celebrity swears by it.  Its for the baby - you know to help the baby feel calm in our house.  Maybe we could take it to Ethiopia on our first trip, and the baby can connect the smell with us, and all things peaceful.  And then feel all that peace and love wrapped up in a room spray when he/she/they get home.

But it really does smell great, and I've been using it to calm my own crazy self :)  I know there is still a wait ahead of us, but my mind is reeling with lists, and I need some serenity sprays every now and again.  Hopefully I can make this stuff last!!

At this point, I'm sure most people have skipped my blah, blah, blah and jumped ahead to the numbers.  But if you waited and read in order, I commend and thank you for listening to my ramblings :)

Here are our May numbers…

For Girls… we went from 21 to

For boys we went from 14 to...

And for siblings we went from 14 to...

Hopefully in June we'll have some single digits.  MAYBE a couple single digits.  If that is the case, you can pretty much count on an impromptu party at my house.

April Numbers

 Okay - so I promised to be on the ball with this.  So I am.

We just got our April numbers today, and here I am blogging about it already.  AND on the first work day after spring break.  Go me!

We are pretty excited about these numbers.  We hadn't been hearing of any referrals lately, so these numbers were a bit lower than we expected.  Definitely worthy of a fist pump in the air, if I do say so myself.

Our girl number went from 26 to…

Our boy number went from 19 to….

And our sibling number went from 17 to…

Yep.  Double fist pump for the number 14!

Makes me even more excited for May numbers now….

March Numbers in April

 I'm a little behind.

I haven't written since my birthday.  So apparently I'm not very inspired at the age of 29.   I have plenty to say and write - just no time to do it.  But now its my spring break, and David and I are happily at home with nothing but time on our hands.  At least for a few more days.  So my blogging habits will hopefully get back to normal.

On to our MARCH numbers.  I'm thrilled that I'm posting these before we get April numbers.  Thrilled… and incredibly hopeful that when I post April numbers this month they will be WAY different.  Hoping, hoping, hoping….


For girls we are currently….

For boys we are….

For siblings we are….

Seriously.  My tardiness in posting numbers will NOT happen again :)  Happy April!

Confession (AND NUMBERS!)

There is something you should know about my husband.  He is amazing, and handsome, and wonderful.  AND he loves superheroes.  Superheroes of all kinds.  He loves the movies, and t-shirts and the comic books.  The websites that tell about movies coming up, and who's playing who, and the break off shows like Smallville that tell the tale of Superman before he was super.

It's a love he shares with his brother and dad.  It's endearing, unless you are the one walking with them from one end of Chicago to another to get to the best comic book stores.  And then waiting in a sketchy store with nowhere to sit or stand without touching somebody else while they peruse the shelves for a great superhero adventure.

And I'm quite confident it's a love he is dying to share with our child as well.  So when I asked him how to "share" our November numbers with the world wide web, he suggested I look up issue numbers from Superman comics.   It's not the clearest way to share the numbers, because its not a super huge number for you to view... you have to look in the top left hand corner to find out...  But I suppose our new numbers are hidden on the cover much like a superhero often must hide his powers.  (Yeah - that was a weak stretch... sorry.)

So here they are... November numbers :)  Note the HUGE jumps... and celebrate with us!

For Girls we are number:

For Boys we are number:

For Siblings we are number: