It's Been a LONG Time!

I know it's been forever since I have posted. We all started getting the bugs that were going around at the beginning of February, and then life just got in the way too.

We're so excited that Erick is now an Ochoa! His adoption was finalized in court on March 12th. Woo hoo! It was so nice to have family and friends there to witness the whole thing. It was pretty cool that he got to sit in the judge's chair and pound the gavel too. The judge also let Caleb pound the gavel.

Here are some pictures from the day...in the opposite order from how they actually happened.

Who's who from left to right: Susan Payne (our first caseworker), Eric Larson (Uncle Eric), Rosalie Ochoa (Auntie Rose), Baby Rachel (cousin), Daddy, Erick Ochoa, Mommy, Emilio (cousin), Caleb Ochoa, Grandma Ochoa, Poppaw Ochoa, Debbie White (our adoption caseworker), Sam Shin (our pastor from Wellspring Church), "Grandma" Sheila Souza (a GOOD friend), and Judge Lois Haight.

Sir E Is Learning to Feed Himself

I can only allow him to feed himself when the food is thick, but Sir E is now learning to feed himself! If the food is thinner, it just gets flung everywhere, and I don't really have the patience for that! As it is, he is exploring what it is like to have both hands in the food, and holding the spoon in both hands! I guess for now, he is ambidextrous. Here are some pictures from this morning's breakfast time...yogurt, baby oatmeal, and fruit dessert mixed together.

Such an Accomplishment!!!

Last week, Sir E had an amazing week of accomplishments!!! This is a boy who only eats baby food, who won't touch Cheerios, crackers, that sort of thing. He'll sit forever with something on his tongue because he has texture issues. Well, last Sunday, we all went out and got Slurpees from the local 7-11. I had a Wild Cherry Slurpee, and while I was waiting for The Archer and Sir C to come out of the 2nd 7-11 (they didn't have The Archer's favorite flavor at the first one), I decided to try giving some Slurpee to Sir E. He liked it!!!! He had about 9 bites, and then he decided he was done, but not before Daddy (The Archer) and big brother (Sir C) saw him eating it! Too bad I didn't have the camera for that one!

Ok, now I know that this isn't going to be the best thing for any nutritionists to hear, so if you are one, close your ears or eyes, or whatever. Monday, after Sir C's golf lessons, we got Slurpees again, and then we went to McDonald's for dinner. His lessons are from 6-7, so it's too early to eat before the lessons, and then by the time we get home, I don't feel like cooking dinner. Sorry. So we got our McDonald's dinner, and went home. We set everything out, and I got Sir E's dinner (not McDonald's). We all sat down to eat together, and I thought I'd see how Sir E liked french fries....with ketchup. I squirted a little ketchup on his high chair tray, and gave him a french fry. I showed him how to dip it in the ketchup and eat it. So he dipped the fry in the ketchup and ate the ketchup off of the end of the fry! Again...and again....and again. He continued to do this until a softened bit of french fry came off in his mouth. He did not like that, so that was the end of that. We will be trying that again though!!! And I DID have the camera for that one!






Lastly, on Wednesday evening, I had decided to try something that someone mentioned to me. (Sorry, but I don't remember who gave this advice. I think it was my sister-in-law, or my mother-in-law.) I decided to try giving Sir E a graham cracker, because they had mentioned about how quickly graham crackers will dissolve once they meet up with saliva (well, they didn't exactly put it that way!). We had some chocolate graham crackers in the cupboard, and I thought he'd probably like that, so I gave him a small rectangle of graham cracker. He licked it for awhile, and eventually I was able to talk him into taking a bite. He took a bit of the softened graham cracker, and yes, kept it on his tongue for a bit. When he does this sort of thing, he tends to produce a LOT of drool, so that softened the graham cracker even more. He started to try his "chew, chew, chew" method, and eventually swallowed the graham cracker! He ended up eating the whole little rectangle of graham cracker, biting and licking, and all! WOO HOO!!! We're getting somewhere in all of this. No, I didn't think to grab the camera on this one. But we're finally getting somewhere.

Scrapblog is My New Addiction!

Awhile back, I happened to "Stumble Upon" a website called Scrapblog.com. It's a site where you can do "digital scrapbooking" for FREE! It is really very cool, because they have LOADS of backgrounds, stickers, fonts, and more, that you can choose from. You can upload your photos, and insert them in premade templates or build your own page from "scratch".

Here's an example of some Scrapblogs that I have created:

WARNING: You WILL get addicted!

Family Camping Trip 2008

Sir E Comes to the Castle for a Visit

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and we were delighted to be able to bring Sir E to our little castle. We let him run around and explore, and learn some boundaries. He wanted to touch and see everything. He loved the ceiling fan in our dining area. He kept wanting to touch the movies we have on the shelves of the entertainment center, and we would tell him no. So then he would move to touching the DVD and VCR players, and we would tell him no. So he decided to test us by knocking on the entertainment center, in between the movies and the players. It was kind of like he was saying "Can I touch this? Let's see how much I can get away with.". He'll learn, and he will feel safe.

We knew that Sir E would need to take a nap while in our little castle. We knew that putting him down like we would a child we babysit, would not work. The pack and play and the bedroom were just all too new. So we put on a Praise Baby DVD, and I held him while sitting in The Archer's "comfy chair" (the recliner). He started to relax a little, but was still in full upright position. Then, as I sang to him the songs that were being played on the TV, he would look at my mouth, and then look at the TV, and look at my mouth, and at the TV. He seemed to be fascinated. I know that The Archer was praying, and so was I, that Sir E would be able to relax enough to fall asleep. Gradually he allowed me to position him to where he was leaning against me. Then we turned down the volume on the tv, and he laid there in my arms and relaxed some more. I rubbed his face gently, and I could feel his breathing even out more, even to the point of a gentle snore, even though he was still wide-eyed. Eventually, after about 45 minutes, he was able to fall asleep in my arms. He was twitching a bit, so I think he wasn't totally relaxed, but he slept, and stayed asleep in my arms, or lying on my chest and tummy for about and hour and 15 minutes. The Archer was able to capture this time in a photo. I'm not thrilled with how I look in the photo, but I sure do love how Sir E was snuggled up and cozy, as we napped together.

We were to have dinner over at our friends' house that evening, so we took Sir E with us. We realized that it was a little overwhelming for him, because they have 3 young boys (one who is Sir E's age), and because it was a new place again. So The Archer and I took him back to his foster mom, while Sir C stayed at our friends' house and played. Sir E did SO well, considering he had a LONG, new day. He was pretty fussy at the end, but it's definitely to be expected. I would be fussy too! But it was a good learning experience for The Archer and I. We know that the transition is not going to be an easy one, so we ask for your prayers that Sir E will be able to transition into our home without too much fear and anxiety. Thank you so much for all of your prayers! We appreciate and love you!

The Archer, the Fair Queen, and the Two Knights

Sir C Met His Little Brother Yesterday

Yesterday was Sir C's first time to meet Sir E. The visit went really well. When we first got there, I sat down on the floor, as did The Archer and Sir C. Sir E seemed to recognize and remember us. It wasn't long until Sir E had come over to me and laid his head on my shoulder and snuggled up to me. If that doesn't get to a mommy's heart, I don't know what does!

It wasn't long before Sir E warmed up to Sir C. He just loves to climb all over us and just lie down and be close to us. How amazing is this after just one visit!
Sir E played with The Archer too. He thought it was fun to touch The Archer's beard. We took so many pictures and also took video, which we hope to upload here soon, if I can figure it out.
I got to feed Sir E his lunch, and change his diaper. Sir C laid down and played with Sir E. Look at how Sir E looks at Sir C. Isn't it sweet?

Here are some more pictures from our visit yesterday: