Man, showers are the best! Baby showers, that is… Jeremy took the day off today and we went to the mall (I’ve been telling him that all errands are MUCH more enjoyable with him along!). We used a gift certificate at Dillards to buy a few outfits Livia can wear now. We also figured out how to negotiate the stroller on an escalator. I can tell you that I will never attempt to go DOWN by myself—doing so would result in me, Livia and the Graco stroller in a messy pile at the bottom of the moving stairs… not good.

I can’t express how grateful I am for these baby showers. New baby clothes, especially ones from department stores and specialty shops, are expensive!! If it were up to our budget, Livia would only wear garage sale deals (which are lovely and very worthwhile when you can get nice stuff).

All in all, we’ve been really really spoiled by our friends and family. One great big humongous Zion shower and another hosted by Jeremy’s co-workers at iUniverse were enjoyed last week. Tonight is the final bit o’ fun given by my great friends Sarah and Charity. Livia will be one very blessed, well-dressed little girl for the next year, thanks to lots of generous friends.

Yesterday we had Livia baptized and it all went really smoothly! It was a special day and we were thrilled Adam & Kris and Jeremy’s folks joined us at Zion Church. Pastors Stu and Tobey did the baptism (Livia slept peacefully until the water was placed on her little noggin, but even then, no tears!). Thanks to Jason for the video. Afterward we had dinner at Lazlo’s, home to the best french fries, and apparently salmon-avocado salad, money can buy. Thanks to Charity for the picture of Jeremy and myself… I’m used to being behind the camera, so I always appreciate a nice picture of the two of us! You can tell by the beams on our faces that we are the proudest parents in the world. Livia has filled our hearts to bursting with joy. We just can’t get enough of her. This is a measure of how crazy parent-love is: last night I actually felt sad that she was asleep in her crib in a dark room because then I couldn’t watch her anymore. Crazy, but good. We sure love this little babe.

IT’S FINAL!

Our adoption was finalized this morning—praise the Lord!! Do a little jig, crack a smile, or laugh out loud with joy! Get your happy face on and thank the good Lord with us. May God grant us the grace to raise Livia with wisdom and lots of love.

In preparation for the weekly weekend blog drought, I wanted to leave something new on View from the Prairie Box. The question is: what to write? Doesn’t matter, says my opinionated internal blogger, just leave something! Everyday I have a ritual of websites to visit, most of which are blogs. And everyday I’m just a little bummed out when a blogger hasn’t posted for days. So this particular post doesn’t have to be interesting or funny, fascinating or poignant… It just has to BE.

Upon digging through my iPhoto stash, I found something to share—so I actually do have something to write about. Sometime last week Sarah brought Calvin over and the kiddos both napped and lunched while us mamas also lunched (the nap would’ve been nice, but no). Livia, in her happiest of positions, stretched out on my legs, was being poked and prodded for the camera: “Smile for Mama, Livia! Come on, babe! Smile for Mama!” No smile. Not for Mama and certainly not for the camera two inches from her face. Someone was smiling, however. Calvin, in all his carrot-faced glory, gave multitudes of golden beams in my direction. Didn’t matter at all that I was asking a different little person for a grin!

Someday these little feet will be used for walking, jumping, dancing, running, swimming, kicking and jump-roping. But for now these new toes, only nine weeks in this world, are just kissed a lot by mom and dad.

A baby’s feet, like sea-shells pink,
Might tempt, should Heaven see meet,
An angel’s lips to kiss, we think,
A baby’s feet.

No flower-bells that expand and shrink
Gleam half so heavenly sweet
As shine on life’s untrodden brink
A baby’s feet.

– Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909)

I like to read directions. I cannot do complex tasks late at night. Come Tuesday I’m reading directions to this new camera when? Late at night. Oh yes… All the knowledge I’ve garnered about the way I operate disappeared in my zeal for camera usage — thus my first photos. I now have nicer shots with crisp, clean edges, photos with flash used only when necessary, etc, which will be shared shortly. But for now, my fellow bloggers, you can share in my learning process as I share my darling child.

I love the first picture because it shows how Livia sleeps — flat on her back, arms and legs spread out, not a care in the world. She sleeps the way adults would kill to — ah, to sleep like a baby! Picture #2 was a great revelation to Mama Tredway: Livia loves mobiles! She coos at them and, quite opposite to her relaxation in sleep, kicks and punches furiously at the spinning toys. Super cute. Finally, the last pic is Livia and Halle Cutler, roughly three weeks apart in age. Halle’s mom and I are thrilled to have baby girls so close in age. I’m already anticipating sleepovers in coming years.

Dear Livia,

Yesterday you turned two months old. When you’ve only lived eight and a half weeks, each month is a big deal! We brought you home to Lincoln on July 2nd and you arrived at the Prairie Box to a host of family and friends. They were all terribly excited to finally meet you and hold you and cuddle you and kiss you! You took all the attention in stride and managed to look quite adorable in the process.

Mama and Daddy were especially happy to be home for the 4th of July. Your Grand aunties hosted a barbecue in your honor and we had lots of fun on the back deck. There were several backyard parties on our block—lots of fireworks, too—and the noise didn’t bother you one bit. That night we walked over to Miss Dena’s apartment to capture a fantastic view of the Lincoln skyline. The night breeze gently cooled us as we watched the brilliant colorful explosions in the sky. We marveled at God’s blessings on our family and our country as we took turns gazing at you and the fireworks. It was a great evening. (Thanks again, Dena, for the party and the photograph!)

In the past few weeks you’ve learned how to suck on your fingers and how to smile great big happy smiles at friendly faces. The finger-sucking is quite important… You haven’t perfected it yet—your hand still tends to move away from your desperate mouth—but your technique has improved greatly in a matter of days. We simply LIVE for your smiles. I’ve seen five grown-ups standing around your small body, making all sorts of crazy expressions just to catch a glimpse of this grin. You have the power to make us act really silly! Uncle Adam believes you are one of the most interactive two months old ever and, of course, your daddy and I think you’re just fabulous.

We love you. We are amazed by you. We praise God for bringing you into our lives.

Much love,
Mama

PS. I forgot to mention that your first 4th of July weekend was all about FAMILY! You met lots of family members within a few short days. First, the Tredways… Great Uncle Bob and Great Aunt Laurie and their children and grandchildren, Great Uncle Kurt and Great Aunt Diane and their boys as well. Then Great Uncle Steve and Great Aunt Cathy Lawton stopped by after Ben Shannon’s wedding in North Dakota. We have Uncle Steve to thank for the beautiful flag photo! He takes amazing pictures. Finally, your dad’s cousins came by… Keri and her little boy Brian, and Michael. You are so blessed to be a part of such a huge, loving group of people!

When adopting a child from a different state, you have to abide under certain laws—one being the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). ICPC paperwork must be filed, first within the state the child resides in, then within your home state. Apparently there is ONE person within each state department who looks through the papers and then gives the big thumbs-up to the adoption. If you attempt to cross state lines before receiving approval you are partaking in criminal activity.

Though I’m certain Jeremy and I have both engaged in some degree of criminal activity over the years, we’d rather not attempt to parent Livia from behind bars. So we’re stuck in Kansas. That is, we’re stuck until the ICPC folks say otherwise.

Yet we have so much to be thankful for in this period of waiting… We are in a baby honeymoon, so to speak; away from the cares and pressures of normal home routines. My current home gets cleaned once a day by a delightful housekeeper, we eat a hot breakfast (when we get up early enough) in the hotel’s breakfast nook, there’s also the reception/dinner hour (the last two nights they’ve had wine with appetizers—yum!)… And all the while we get to literally stare at this wondrous piece of creation and marvel at every coo, hiccup, grunt and smile.

So thank you, ICPC, for a lovely start for our new family.

Huh. We came to the land of Dorothy and Toto last Saturday as two people in love, a married couple with many hopes, fears and anxieties. We leave (this week hopefully) as a little Tredway family, parents with many hopes, fears and anxieties. Amazing stuff, really.

Right now I’ve got this incredibly wonderful babe on my knees. She’s a bit fussy—perhaps she’s going through a growth spurt or something—so I keep my legs swaying, back and forth, back and forth. We’ve achieved a grand total of four days as parents and yet we feel like we’ve loved Livia forever. There is so much for me to write… about the adoption process and how we’ve fared over the last week, about this absolutely adorable pookie, and about our foray in parenthood. Hopefully I’ll have time to write in the next few days. For now we’re praying that we’ll get “the call” to go home to Nebraska and finally get to share this little one with a myriad of friends and family. Thanks to all who’ve hoped and prayed with us.

“The pink bundle flies at midnight!”

I’ve been quite cryptic about the pink bundle on the blog. There are no Adoption Blogging for Dummies guidelines that I am aware of, so we’re making up the rules as we go. The truth is, the world has access to this page… There are some things I share here, other things I don’t want to share, and things that I want to share but discernment says not to. So….

The pink bundle indeed flies at midnight.

All praise and honor and glory to God for orchestrating such an amazing change in our lives. We are approximately two days from meeting our daughter for the first time. We are joyous, anxious, excited, grateful and a myriad of other emotions in the quiet moments of the day.

Soon the pink bundle will be a daily reality. At that point, we’ll introduce her to Blogland with great pride.