Q&A

Are you adopting again or are you pregnant?
This time around, I am with child.  And as a side note, getting pregnant has made me realize, with certainty, that adoption is every bit as amazing as growing a baby in your belly!  We just feel blessed to get to experience both!

When are you due?
In May some time, or maybe June if the baby gets too comfortable.  Due dates are overrated, and so much pressure.   

Were you surprised?
Shocked actually.  But the good kind of shock, you know. ;)

Will you find out the gender?
Nope.

Do B & C understand there is a baby in your belly?
Beckett doesn't have a clue at this point and Caysen gets it enough to poke around in my belly button looking for said baby.

How have you been feeling?
One word.  Bloat.  Well, and nausea, and exhaustion, and indigestion.  But really, I'm sure a lot of people have had it worse than me.

How did you find out?
A pregnancy test.  And I'm very in tune with my body.  That's all.

Do you have a baby bump yet?
No, just some really amazing bloat going on right now.  I look pregnant, especially by the end of the day, but I'm pretty certain the only baby that's showing right now is a food baby.

Have you had an ultrasound/heard the heart beat?
Yes!  And it was glorious!!  But also surreal.  Somebody pinch me!

Orphan Sunday

Adoption has changed us, made us better, not better than anyone else, just better than we were before.  We had no idea we would be so blessed! Thankful for our two less on this Orphan Sunday!

How to Parent. Ha!

Judgment...our world is full of it.  Smart or not so much?  Attractive or unattractive?  Rich or poor?  And the big one that everybody seems to be talking about these days, a good parent or a bad parent?

In a month's time, we have been told by one that we are too hard on our children, and by another that we are too soft- that if we get rid of "his trashy behaviors", everything else will fall into place.  We have been stared at for ignoring our son as he threw one heck of a tantrum in his car seat.  And we've been stared at for trying anything to appease our son to avoid a tantrum.  Somebody always has an opinion when it comes to parenting.

I've read several articles lately focused on moms judging other moms.  I don't know what it is about us, but we all seem to feel the need to force express our opinion about how our way is better.  In reality, we are all, for the most part, doing our very best to raise our children to be healthy, happy, and well adjusted adults who will reach their full potential down the road.  Some choose to co-sleep and some are adamantly opposed.  Some practice tough love and some gravitate toward a more sensitive approach.  Some would argue that sending your child to preschool is a must; others believe preschool is a waste of precious time.  But here's the thing.  Every child is different.  Every family is unique.  We all have our own values, personalities, priorities, and opportunities.  Parenting is far from "one size fits all"...and that's okay.

For those who have yet to experience the joys (and trials) of parenthood: I've been there.  I thought I knew the exact formula for perfect parenting.  Then I became a parent.  Hello humility.  I don't blame you for giving me unsolicited and inexperienced advice; after all, I offered up heaps of advice (and made many a snarky comment) before becoming a parent myself.  But if you're reading this, just trust me when I say that it's not as easy as it may appear.  ;)

For us moms.  Can we agree to stop beating ourselves up because we aren't perfect?  We will make mistakes in parenting...everyday, but let's give ourselves a little grace in our imperfection?  Some days are easy, some days are hard; our job is to keep going, praying, learning and improving along the way.       

    

HK Summer Camp 2013

 Just before all the "moving across the country" craziness started, we had our 3rd annual Hanna-Kirk Summer Camp!

 The boys didn't know what to think of the splash park at first, but I had to drag them to the car when it was time to leave.

 Sweet brothers.

 We visited a real live "tiny" town!  Everything was just their size!

 So fun!!

Movie and Popcorn!

 

Some other highlights of the week included the butterfly pavilion and a wildlife park where we got to watch them feed the bear!

 

HK Summer Camp just gets more and more fun each year!  It's so cute watching the cousins play together and develop a close relationship that I hope will continue throughout their lives. :)

Back to School

This boy started his 2nd year of preschool this week!

And this boy didn't know what to do with himself.  He follows Caysen around constantly and wants to do everything Caysen does so he was pretty bummed when Caysen stayed at school and he had to come home with me.

 He wouldn't give me a smile, just a nose scrunch.

Beckett on the other hand, he was hammin' it up!

Love these two!

 

 Caysen settled right in at school and there were no tears at all!

It wasn't easy prying Beckett away; maybe we need to find a mother's day out program so he can go to "school" too!



Where have I been?

I said I was going to start blogging regularly, and I did for a few weeks, and then I disappeared again.  Well, that's because our little family moved to big Texas!  We found out we were moving at the end of June and arrived at our new home apartment about five weeks later.  We've been "Texans" for a little over a week and are feeling more settled every day.

I'm still trying to get caught up after a whirlwind July, but will be back soon to share all about the fun we've had since my last post!  Until then, here's a small preview of one of our recent adventures: