Adoption Finalized

Just wanted to post a few pictures from the courhouse, where the adoption was finalized yesterday December 17, 2009. It was short and sweet. Cameron fell asleep while we were waiting to go in, but awoke as soon as the judge started talking. It was really cute. We feel so ecstatic! We were even able to do live video stream from Marty's cell phone so his parent's could be "with us" in Oregon. Love technology!

Making up for lost time!

I think its been about 2 months since I last blogged, wow! That's the longest I've ever gone! A lot has happened and at the same time nothing has changed. Just to clear up the record on Bea. I knew Bea from caring for her for her aunt whom she was living with. When her aunt could no longer care for her, Bea's social worker asked if I knew anyone on the island willing to take her. I eagerly volunteered. The social worker really wanted her to stay on the island, so she could have her weekend visits with her dad. So we were able to be her guardians without being licensed as foster parents. However, after 2 months with us, she's now returning home to live with her dad, tomorrow.

Cameron changes everyday, and as he does we fall more and more in love with him. I love motherhood more than anything in this whole world. I love to wake up and see Cameron smiling at me as he lays next to me in our bed. I love how he tries to talk to me with his ahhh gaaa, oooo, and fake coughs. I love that he lets me dress him up in cute outfits, hats, and shoes, then take a thousand pictures of him. I love that Marty is such a great daddy--changing poopy diapers, using the cloth diapers even though he thinks its gross, taking Cameron for all or 1/2 the night every other night so we both can be rested. I love the way he stares up at me with his big blue, blueberry eyes when I feed him. I love that I can bring him to work with me and that he gets plenty of auntie Manda time, as well as gets to watch and learn from all the children. I love watching him learn new things- pulling his bottle towards and away from him, lifting up his head from his tummy, holding his head up, etc. He's making his milestones before I have time to read up on them. I love that he has soo many family members that love him! I don't think there's anything about being a new mommy that I don't love. I don't even mind getting up with him in the middle of the night to feed him. It's amazing how waiting your whole life for something changes how you feel about things. :o)


He's gotten to see many members of his birth family, as well as taken a road trip down to Oregon to see Marty's family. Marty's mom loved having him, and held him any chance she got. When they came up a week after he was born, she didn't get to hold him nearly as much :o) Shirley made the best Thanksgiving dinner, and Cameron looked adorable in his My Little Turkey outfit. Incidently, Cameron's birth dad's family live 30 minutes away from Marty's parent's, so they were all able to come have lunch with us over the weekend. A couple week's before that we had Cameron's birth mom's dad and step mom over for dinner, which they loved, and a month before that Cameron's birth mom's mom and sisters were up visiting from Spokane for her sister's baby shower and they got to meet Cam for the first time.

Now its back to just us, my mom who he sees him regularly (being that she lives right next door), and my sister of course, who works with me at the preschool. I really feel like the more people that Cameron has to love him, the better it will be for him. I think it makes things easier for his birth family as well, to know and to see how blessed Cameron is to be with us, how happy and content he is, and to know of our grattitude for giving us this sweet, sweet boy. I know Cameron's securely attached to us his mommy and daddy. If Manda is holding him, and he hears my voice, he stops what he's doing, and turns towards my voice. When he sees Marty giving him one of his big silly smiles, he almost always breaks into a grin. I can tell by the way he looks at me that he knows I'm his forever mommy. The other night, I decided to take a bath as Cameron had fallen asleep for what I thought was the night. Marty still had Bea, but they were all doing fine, so I brought the lap top in with me to catch an episode of Law and Order while I soaked. After 45 minutes I heard the loudest cry Cameron's ever made. I hopped out, and found that Marty had been doing everything he could to calm him--bottle, diaper change, bouncing, etc. (turns out it was most likely due to trying to give him breast milk we'd just gotten, after a month on formula, poor baby's tummy just wasn't happy). But, I just held him against my chest and sat with him in the glider, and he instantly stopped crying and feel back asleep. I thought back to when he was born and the doctor placed him on my chest, and how I sang to him and he stopped crying. He must know I'm his mommy, and I will comfort and love him whenever he needs it.

Speaking of forever... we have a court hearing on December 17th to finalize the adoption!! Yay! Then on the 22nd we will go to the temple to have Cameron sealed to us for all eternity, and finally, he'll be blessed at church by his daddy, and grandpa's on the 27th. December will be a special month for the Mickelson's! Not to mention it's Cameron's first Christmas, and to celebrate we went out and cut down a 10' tall Christmas tree! Its really sweet to celebrate all the first's with Cameron, his first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas. These holidays always remind me of family, and now we have our own little family, can build traditions, and celebrate together. I think I'm the happiest I've ever been. God has truly blessed us. Ok, sorry this has been such a long post, I'll try to post more regularly, so they won't be so long :o) I do add pictures to our picasa web album regularly, but don't always get to the writing of the blog :o(

We love you all, and if we don't tell you before then, have a Merry Chirstmas! We'll sure miss our little Bea, but are excited that she gets to live with her daddy whom she loves and misses.

If Bea learned anything from us, its how to multi-task--look at how she can feed one baby, while holding the other!