We know this is actually an adoption blog, but.....

WE'RE PREGNANT !!!!!

Obviously, this was not part of our original plan. When we first found out about it, our initial reaction was fear, anxiety, and a little bit of anger. Given our history, we assumed this pregnancy would end like all of the others and we would have to suffer through yet another miscarriage. We were so reluctant to even entertain the notion that we might have a successful pregnancy that Jenny went to her first ultrasound by herself to get the bad news. Of course, there was no bad news and I felt horrible that I missed hearing the heartbeat for the first time. Our second ultrasound was this morning and everything looks great! We heard the heartbeat and saw (as in the pictures above) the baby's head and little arms and legs. We are now ten weeks in (which is twice as far as we have ever gotten before) and they are guessing that the due date would be around July 27th. We are guardedly optimistic, but please keep us in your prayers!

Now on to news about Max....

We have been home now for just over three months and Max is doing great! We have had lots of firsts in the last three months: meeting our family and friends for the first time, his first birthday at home, his first Halloween, his first Thanksgiving, his first Christmas. He is going to be very disappointed in the new year that he won't be getting a new load of presents every four or five weeks.

He's growing a LOT (he actually looks like a different kid when you compare him to the first pictures we took of him back in May). His weight has jumped up into the 25th percentile and his head size is now in the 75th percentile. His height still has some catching up to do since he was still in the 10th percentile at our last doctor appointment. But he is getting taller since he has grown out of most of his 12-month pants. Now he's wearing mostly 18-month pants along with his 18-24 month shirts. He has even moved up one shoe size as well. His food issues are continuing to improve. He still eats a TON, but he's not nearly so obsessed about it.

His personality has really blossomed since we've been home. He has lots of fun with all of his new toys and he makes us laugh all the time. His language is also starting to explode. He has lots of single words and repeats many words that we say for him. He is often able to tell us what he wants instead of just grunting and pointing. Not that everything has been smooth sailing. He does exhibit many typical two-year-old behaviors. He will throw a tantrum and show some stubbornness occasionally when he doesn't get his way. He is very independent-minded and doesn't always want us to help him when he's having difficulty. Of course, we're not complaining. This is ALL good news and just means that he is developing normally!!

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Below is a copy of our Christmas card. We apologize if you did not receive one, but we did not order enough to send to everyone we would have liked to. Below the card, I have also posted a bunch of fun pictures of Max from the last few months. If you are on Facebook, you may have already seen most of these, but there are some new ones, too.

Still best buddies!

Max was a dragon for his first Halloween...

Falltime fun in the leaves...

On his birthday, Max learned the hard way that fire is HOT!

He loves to ride in the wagon...

Max's first visit with Santa (or as Max likes to call him, Ho Ho)...

Max likes to wear Jenny's headband and run around the house. When Krista and Rodg gave Max these pajamas on his birthday, we thought they were WAY too big, but just a month later, they fit him like a glove!

Let's get physical!