Visitors

Ryan, Leah, and I--I love how happy she was to be sitting by her buddy Ryan. :)

Great Aunt Darla & Jacobi--a very young great aunt! :)

Great Uncle Kerry & Jacobi--again, a young great uncle--feels funny to even call them that.

Jenna, Kelsey, & Leah with Jacobi

We had visitors this week! Ryan's uncle, aunt, and cousins came for a few days--Kerry & Darla Magsam and their family. They got here Saturday evening and left Tuesday morning so it was quick, but great to spend some time with them! Of course Jacobi didn't get a bit of attention while they were here (haha). In reality I had lots of help, both with Jacobi and in the kitchen.

Christmas Day

Jacobi and I made a quick trip to MO to spend a couple of days with my family. We left on Wed. and came back Fri. On Thursday, Christmas day, we were together with my dad's side of the family at Grandpa & Grandma's. It was fun to have most everyone there, although we missed a few people including Ryan who had to work. We celebrated Zaden's birthday that afternoon since everyone was together and he was excited about his 3rd birthday party. He had said that he wanted "Baby Jacobi" at his birthday party, so I was glad we could be there. :) Sonya had planned some games for the kids (and bribed our youngest cousins into playing I think) and made a cool race car cake. Today is Zaden's actual birthday--Dec. 31st! I can't believe he's already 3 years old.

All 4 of the cousins--Zaden (3), Jacobi (2 mo), Kingston (1 1/2), Xander (1) Had trouble getting everyone to smile and sit still at the same time, but the pictures we did get have character anyway! :)

My cousins with Jacobi--Latisha, Kalene, Colleen, Gabriela, Carmen

Monday Morning Cheer

I hope he always enjoys Monday mornings like this!

Jacobi's First Trip to MO!

We got to my mom & dad's in MO about 7:30 Saturday evening and left around 5:00 Tuesday evening. We hadn't been there since July, which I can hardly believe, but I guess we've been extra busy the last few months. We had a wonderful visit and thoroughly enjoyed our time there! Jacobi did wonderful, both on the trip to and from as well as while we were there. On Sunday afternoon, they had a little open house for us so that friends could come meet Jacobi and see us; it was very nice! Then that evening we celebrated Xander's 1st birthday with our extended family. Monday Jacobi and I spent time with Aunt Sonya, Zaden, Xander, and her daycare kiddos while Ryan volunteered to do some work on mom & dad's house. He enjoyed it and they were glad to have it done, so that was a win-win for everyone! Mom is off work on Tuesdays, so we spent time with her and also Tasha, Chava, and Kingston when Tash got off work in the afternoon. The last couple of days we've been getting caught up back at home...on sleep, laundry, putting new gifts away, etc. Jacobi has been extra smily and "talkative" lately, which is a lot of fun!

Now for what you really came here to see...the pictures! :)

Xander, the birthday boy enjoying his cake.
Jacobi with his Great Grandpa & Grandma Spinar

Aunt Sonya with Jacobi

Grammy & Jacobi

Grandpa with 2 of his boys (Kingston & Jacobi)

Additional Pictures

I'm going to add a few more pictures from our trip to MO--hopefully doing it in this order won't be confusing since both blog entries will basically show up at the same time. :)

Grammy & Jacobi chatting after his bath

Bath time in Grammy's kitchen sink.

Grammy's gingerbread house builders--there was more eating going on of both candy and icing than building by the boys, but Zaden at least was happy with the "gingerman house" when they were finished...despite the fact that the gingerman ended up headless due to him deciding to see how he tasted. :P Grammy decided that it was fun, but next year maybe they will be more into it. Jacobi should enjoy "helping" by next year, too!

Aunt Tash & Jacobi--she is the best baby wrapper I've seen since we left the hospital, hands down! Here's a picture of what he looked like all wrapped up tight; reminds me of a caterpillar in a cacoon!

You Know You're an Adoptive Parent...

A friend sent the following to me in an email and I thought it was too good not to share. Of course, some of these are regarding international adoption and didn't apply to our domestic adoption--but it's definitely an accurate picture of some of the things adoptive families face. I also want to say that IT'S ALL TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! :) This is only posted to provide insight, not evoke sympathy!!!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT WHEN:

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents.

7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.(2 years!)

8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you He will provide.

9. You have ever taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met.

10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You know what the word "Dossier" means, and you can actually pronounce it!

13. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

14. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

-Author unknown

Faces of Jacobi

Okay, this post is simply to show some of the funny, cute, expressions and faces Jacobi can make. We could sit and watch him all day when he really gets going. You've seen the smiles--here are some worried/scared expressions, some outright unhappy ones, a wink, and some that you can interpret yourself. Just thought his fans might want to see some of the different faces he can make. :)

Busy Boy

I know this blog entry is long overdue--and most of you have been coming here to see if there are any new pictures, right?! Jacobi has been a busy boy the last couple of weeks. I will try to post some of the highlights.

Grandpa Del & Grandma Becky came for a visit and to meet Jacobi over Thanksgiving. He got lots of cuddle time in!

We got a new carseat/stroller set from the special education dept. and adminstrators at the school where I used to work. Here he is cheering about it. :) They also gave us a shower on Tuesday, but I don't have any pictures of that yet. Let's just say there was lots of "loot." :P

Jacobi enjoyed some tummy time.

And we can't forget playing legos with Daddy for the first time--now that about wore them both out! :P Grandma Becky brought the legos Daddy used to play with as a boy, so he had to check and see what all was there.

The last couple of days he's been going on "adventures" with mommy--at least it's been adventurous for me! Getting out and about just isn't as carefree as it used to be. The scheduling of feedings is the hardest part--of course he's usually ready to eat when it's least convenient, but he's worth it so oh well! :)

I should also add that he's been busy GROWING! As of last Friday, he weighed about 11 pounds if putting him on the scale with me is accurate enough. This week he's going longer between feedings and sleeping lots. I think that means lots of brain growth is happening now. :)

They say it's only gas...

"A smile is a language that even a baby understands." -unkown

Mr. Chubby Cheeks

Here is Mr. Chubby Cheeks after we got home from his 2 week check-up on Wednesday afternoon. I say "Mr. Chubby Cheeks" very lovingly, of course. I think it's so cute that he's filling out and has some little neck rolls, etc. now. The first picture is purely to show off his cool new lizard blanket--he may not love it yet, but I have a feeling he will--and I already do! Jacobi weighed 8lb. 5 oz., which is 13 oz. above his birth weight! The Dr. was very happy. He said, "he's perfect, but I don't have to tell you that, do I?" I told him that we already knew he was perfect, but it's still nice to hear so keep telling me!

He's doing great--still thinks he needs to eat every 3 to 31/2 hours, even at night--which means I get 2 or 2 1/2 hours of sleep at a time, but I shouldn't complain because I usually get a nap in with him at some point during the day and that helps a lot! I should probably be doing that now since he's sleeping...but anyway! He's drinking 4 oz. at each feeding, or sometimes a little less, I guess that's all the "stats" I have right now. Just wanted to post a quick update! Of course, now I have nothing else to talk about besides Jacobi so that's probably about it as far as blog topics for awhile. :)

Forever Family

Us with Lara, our wonderful social worker who has been there for us in every sense throughout the process.

Us with Judge Duncan.

Picture of our family taken after meeting yesterday.

We are now a "forever family"! This morning at 8:00 a.m. (ugh) we went to the courthouse and finalized Jacobi's adoption. It was just us, our social worker, attorney, and the judge in the judge's private chambers. Very small, comfortable, quick, and effective! The attorney asked each of us some basic questions about us and some about our adoption journey, then if we wanted to adopt Jacobi, the judge signed the papers, we took some pictures, went downstairs and filed with the court clerk, and left! We were back in the car by 8:40 and that was after visiting for a little bit...so it really was quick! We celebrated with breakfast at Java on the Square, where Ryan used to work, which is right near the courthouse then Ryan headed to work since he's got a class every day this week.

Jacobi is doing great! He is still eating great and seems to have his days and nights figured out. His awake times are during the day (usually) and he sleeps 3-4 hours at a time at night between feedings. Ryan and I are still trying to adjust to the broken-up sleep of new parenthood, but other than that we're doing great also! When I think back, it's really been a very busy last 2 weeks. I enjoyed a nap on the couch with Jacobi laying on my chest this afternoon--he loves to be cuddled and I love doing it, so we were both happy and slept great with the rain coming down outside. It's true when they say you should "sleep when the baby sleeps." Things have been so busy with visitors, etc. that I haven't done that near as often as I should have. Some evenings I'm ready to just crash...so I'm going to get better at the nap thing during the day. :)

It's wierd to think that the adoption procer--we've lived and breathed it the last few months and now the formal part is finished. Of course, we continue to stay in touch with Aries, Jacobi's birthmom, but that doesn't seem like part of the process anymore. She's a friend and one who has made and amazing and unselfish sacrifice that allowed us to build our family and live our dream. We now know with clarity why things have happened the way they have the past few years for us; we were meant to meet Aries and have Jacobi as our son! Amazing and Wonderful! :)

6 Days Old

Here are a few pictures daddy took this morning of Jacobi at 6 days old.

He's already growing so much and we know it won't be long befrore there's meat on those long, skinny limbs. :) He's thriving on the donated breastmilk and although we don't know how long it will last, we figure any amount is better than none!

Notice the cute, cuddly cloth diaper (Kissaluv brand)--we started that last night and love them--no leaks since we began! Pampers and Huggies can't even compare and won't be getting much of our $!!!!! Also, the very alert look on his face and the way he's holding his head up--he's been doing that for a few days and loves to look around when you hold him on your chest. He also smiles--we have yet to catch it on camera, though. When mommy kissed his chin today, he smiled..two different times! I know they say it's gas, but we're not buying it. :) Do we sound like proud new parents or what?!

Pictures!

Here are a few pictures; I know you've all been waiting and sorry to keep you waiting so long. Our time is filled with feeding, changing, loving, and cuddling Jacobi now--and time on the internet just isn't as important any more. :) It's amazing!!!! Jacobi's first Sunday meeting, pot luck lunch, and gospel meeting went so well--he slept most of the time and ate when he needed to; no fussing at all! Ryan promises to take some new pictures tomorrow when he has sunlight to work with. :)

These have been taken since Friday, just to give you a reference point. The pictures are nice, but he's so much cuter in real life, trust me! :) And yes, those cheeks are every bit as kissable as they look! Sometimes he wrinkles up his forhead when I kiss him like "awww, come on mom, you're embarassing me"...but it doesn't stop me now and probably never will!

Home Sweet Home!

First, thanks for all of your very wonderful comments and emails.
We got home last night with our precious baby boy! We can hardly believe it's real, but it is--and it's wonderful! He is doing fantastic, saw the pediatrician today and he couldn't have been happier with how healthy he is. He weighed 7# 8oz at birth and 7# 4oz. today. He is 21 inches long--with very big hands and feet and loooong fingers and toes! He's going to be a big boy. :) My parents are here right now, which is so wonderful and helpful. Ryan went back to work today but after tomorrow he'll be off again for his 3 days off, which will be great. We are both very much attached and in love with Jacobi! He is a very sweet baby and is just so extremely cute, but of course I'm slightly biased.

I'm sorry there are no new pics in this post, dad and Ryan are already sleeping and I can't get to the camera card reader at the moment. Maybe tomorrow. :) I really haven't slept much since the night before he was born, but oh well--I got 3 hour nap today, which made me feel a lot better. I'm finally coming down off of the euphoria and adrenaline...amazing how far that can take a person. :)

Remember: more pics will come later! :)

Jacobi Magsam

Today we met our son, Jacobi Shawn Ryan Magsam!

He was born on October 28th at 10:20pm. We got the call from Aries at around 11:20pm. I was completely surprised that he came so early, that he was a boy instead of a girl, and by Dalene flipping the light on and yelling/crying me out of a dead sleep. I'll keep that memory for a long time.

We already had the perfect name picked out, the only problem it was a girl name. We left home at 12:30am this morning and talked most of the 5 hour trip about boy names. We arrived at the hospital with Jacobi Ryan as our favorite. Aries had already picked out Shawn Ryan, as Shawn was the delivering doctor that had also been extremely supportive during her pregnancy. Since all the names have meaning that will be a part of the baby's heritage, at the risk of him one day hating his extremely long name, we combined them to form Jacobi Shawn Ryan!

We are having a wonderful time here at the hospital with Aries and Jacobi. We know we won't be able to have as much contact with Aries after we go home with Jacobi, so are trying to spend as much time with her as we can. It will be difficult to leave her tomorrow with Jacobi knowing It will probably be awhile before we see her again. Words cannot describe how wonderful it has been to know her above simply being the mother of our son, but also as a friend. We've already begun talking about a barbecue sometime about a year from now so she can meet some of our family!

Coincidentally we ran into some of the Friends here at the hospital who just had a son two days ago! It was special to meet them, we've only seen them once or twice before at convention. They are in the room next door to us!

And at last, the pictures...