My Favorite Time of Day

I have always been more of an evening person than a morning person (much to David's dismay). But morning is now my favorite time of day.

Baylie always wakes up in a good mood. Sometimes I can hear her cooing (or grunting which is a big mode of communication for her) from the other room. Sometimes it's before I want to get up, so I get her and tuck her in between me and David (somehow David never hears her...). She loves to sleep in our bed. She immediately spreads out her arms and falls fast asleep (she definitely hogs the space.)

After we do wake up, I give her a bottle while I read my scriptures - this is a new process since I'm tired of feeling guilty for never reading my scriptures. Then we read one of her books. Baylie LOVES books.  Then we usually sing a few songs. She always sings along which is so fun to hear. Unfortunately, so far she seems to sing more like me than David. Hopefully that improves with time.

After that is cereal time, which is always an adventure. Her latest eating habit is to dive bomb towards the spoon. I have to be careful so she doesn't choke, and I try to get the food down her instead of have it fall all over her stomach and legs. She also likes to stuff as much of her bib as possible in her mouth. 

We usually go straight from the cereal to the tub. Baylie is really starting to like bath time. She plays with her toys and splashes.  She's also likes looking in the mirror and trying to figure out where that little girl is.

I am so grateful that I get to spend so much time with her every day and don't have to work until evening. I feel guilty at night because someone else has to put her to bed and she always cries for everyone but me. (She's pretty much a momma's girl.) But every morning as we lay in bed and read books and sing, I'm so grateful for her and for our time together. My life has changed so much in the last year. It's amazing when I stop and think about it.

It's Official!

Baylie Anne Batchelor is officially our daughter!

We arrived at the courthouse at about 8:10 this morning for our court time of 8:30. Baylie looked adorable in her brand new pink outfit. My mom and dad were already there and I was very relieved to see them. It gave me great comfort for some reason.

We went inside and waited. Next our social worker Morgan (we love her) arrived. We started reviewing paperwork and it was nice to take my mind off of waiting. Next the attorney Bill arrived. And then my brother Scott and his wife Bethany came. I was so grateful for the loving familiy support.

Morgan and Bill were discussing whether or not some of our paperwork had to be original instead of copies and I was getting a little nervous that maybe we wouldn't be able to finish everything, but I just hoped for the best.

We were invited to enter the courtroom. I've never been to anything but traffic court before. We were invited to sit in front of the microphones at the Plaintiff's table. It felt kind of strange to be considered a "plaintiff," but the chairs were very comfy.

I'm not sure at what point I started to get emotional, but before long I was fighting back the tears. The judge may have taken pity on me because he didn't ask for any originals and was satisfied with copies. When the attorney asked David if we were willing to accept responsibility for Baylie and be her parents and if we were ready to love her and be there for her financially and emotionally, I couldn't hold back the tears any more. I just cried my eyes out. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to do that in court, but I couldn't help it. Then the attorney asked me if I felt the same and I could barely answer.

The judge was so sweet and told me it was okay to cry. He said three of his grandchildren were adopted as well. He said that from this time forward, Baylie would only be known as Baylie Anne Batchelor and we would be her only parents. The court documents are sealed unless someone gets a court order to open them. He let us take pictures and it was all official.

Now Morgan will send away for her birth certificates and after that we'll get her a passport and go on a trip somewhere! (Whoops, for a moment there I forgot David lost his job, so maybe we'll just go to Idaho or something.)

I'm so grateful to Baylie's mom. My Father in Heaven has blessed me so greatly. She is such a sweet little girl and I love her so much.

Stressful Day

Tomorrow morning is our court date. I've been stressed out for several days, imagining myself walking into the courtroom only to see a well-dressed black man sitting calmly at the front of the room. I instantly know he's Baylie's birth father who has come to claim his rights. I'll be so relieved if I walk in tomorrow and he's not there.

I thought that would be the extent of my stress, but I got a call from David this morning telling me he no longer has a job. The Music School called him to say the school is closing effective today, so he is out of work. I was surprisingly calm until I found out that they also don't plan on paying him for the past two weeks that he's worked. I knew that kind of thing happened in Argentina (because it happened when I lived there), but I didn't realize it happened here in good old Happy Valley.  This couldn't have come as a big surprise to them and I think the whole thing smacks of a serious lack of ethics.

So between the two of us, we've spent the day checking out unemployment benefits, school loans, Utah Labor Commission, job postings, etc., etc. At least now I know why I was prompted not to leave my job when I had the chance earlier this year.

I've checked with the attorney and they've said this won't have any negative effect in court tomorrow. I hope not.

Today has not been one of my favorite days...

Hurricane Ike

I loved living in Houston. It's a great city. I loved the diversity, the friendly southerners, the opera, ballet, symphony, Astros, Texans and more. I miss my friends and I miss my favorite restaurants.

BUT I DON'T MISS HURRICANE SEASON! I don't miss empty shelves at the grocery store and the panic in your heart when the wind and rains start. During Rita, David and I tried to evacuate and spent 17 hours driving to Austin - a drive that usually takes three hours.

Unfortunately, we still own our home in Houston. Fortunately, the damage is not too bad. We have trees down. There are limbs on our roof and we don't know if there are any leaks. Our fence will have to be completely replaced. There has been no power in our neighborhood since Saturday. I can't even imagine being in the Houston humidity with no air conditioning.

Here are some pictures.

Limbs on our roof:

Tree down in the back yard (fortunately it missed the house):

Neighbor's backyard (no more fence):

What's black, white and red all over?

Me and Baylie after she spits her prunes all over both of us! (Actually the prunes are more dark brown than red, but that would ruin the joke.)

In the picture, she's eating green beans, but you get the idea. She loves spitting while eating her cereal now. It's so much more fun than just swallowing!

One more week until court (Tuesday, Sept. 23).

To Mom and Dad

I hope I haven't already posted this one.

Love

Love is 

   taking your little girl

   to the circus 

   when her brother is born

   so she'll know she's still important.

Love is

   wanting to walk 

   to school with your daughter

   even though she thinks

   she's old enough to walk alone.

Love is

   telling your daughter

   about sex

   and answering the hard questions

   even when you feel uncomfortable.

Love is

   letting your daughter

   stand on the sidelines

   sit in the dugout

   and drive your car.

Love is

   getting up early

   in the freezing dawn

   to meet your daughter

   for a morning swim.

Love is

   driving down Baja

   and leaving your daughter

   to live and work

   in a foreign land.

Love is

   trusting your daughter

   to choose the right man

   even when her choice

   seems unusual.

Love is

   crying with your daughter 

   when she tries 

   to start her own family

   and fails.

Love is

   opening a financial path

   to adoption for your daughter

   so she too

   can love her daughter.

Thanks Mom and Dad. I love you back.

Sometimes It's Hard to Be a Woman

Advance warning - this blog post is not for men or women who don't like talking about "feminine stuff." 

Since the day before I started my first period (I warned you about the topic...) when I was about 13 years old, I have suffered from horrible cramps, heavy bleeding and other discomforts. My entire life, this monthly visit has been accompanied by discomfort, nausea, public humiliation, etc., etc. I'll spare you details, but you could ask my mother about one very memorable trip to Milan where I spent most of one day standing in the shower. I remember reading Anne Frank where she talks about how happy she is to have her period. Strange girl (no disrespect intended).

I remember drinking some raspberry concoction (disgusting), doing exercises and a variety of other things to try and diminish my pain and discomfort. I must send a thank you out to the makers of Aleve as that is the only thing that has ever helped. I originally took it under a different name in prescription form and was so grateful when it became available over the counter.

In my attempts to get pregnant, I have taken different medications, given myself shots and been subjected to a variety of uncomfortable and painful tests and treatments. It wasn't until I was 39 that a doctor finally told me that I should just quit trying; I had less than a 5% chance of getting pregnant. It was actually a relief to just know.

And now, after having my latest period last for approximately 71 days, I'm going to undergo a uterine ablation. This is a procedure that will burn away the endometrial lining of my uterus. It sounds kind of extreme, but it's either that or a historectomy. It will be nice to not have my period for awhile.

You may wonder why I am blogging about this. Well, it's because I feel one of the biggest injustices of my life is that I've had to go through this if I wasn't going to have biological children. I am thrilled to be Baylie's mom and have no regrets about not having biological children, but I think I could have been spared all the garbage under the circumstances.