Home Study! Are we really the Goodlin's?

We had our first Home Study Interview (part of the adoption process for Norah) yesterday!  For this first interview it was just Brett and I, and we met the social worker at Starbucks.  It went well, it was pretty easy,  there were lots of questions,  questions about all 3 girls and their personalities (not like we could say a ton about Sarah at this point), what kinds of things we did as a family, our hobbies, how our marriage was, how Brett and I are alike/different, how we parent, if we are criminals or do drugs, you know usual questions.  Some of those questions sound easy, but when you have to verbalize them it's not quite the same, like how Brett and I are alike or diffferent (we just haven't thought about it in a while).  However, the most complicated part of the home study is our family and family history (parents, sibilings, medical history, etc)..... Sheesh, I mean most of you who read this blog know my family history is kind of crazy, but then there is Brett's...... Good thing we didn't have to go into the knitty gritty of Brett's family because, well, we would have been there for hours.

So I am going to give you a brief on Brett's family.  First off this may surprise many of you, but Goodlin has not always been Brett's last name.  This sounds normal if you are a girl, and got married, but Brett is not a girl...... 

Let's go way back to before Brett was born......................... is everyone there?

Brett's mom, Fran, was married to her 1st husband and had 2 boys, Tim & Travis.  Unfortunately this marriage did not last.  After this marriage Fran dated and became pregnant with Brett, but did not ever marry Brett's biological father.  So Brett took his half brothers (Tim & Travis) last name (which was still not Goodlin).  Confused yet?

Fran then finds Dan, who is a Goodlin.  Dan has 2 children already, Jacob & Anna.   Fran & Dan get married, and do an amazing job at bringing up a blended family!  

Brett has no full blooded siblings, just 2 half brothers, a step brother and step sister.  Brett did not meet his biological father until he was in Jr. High.  And I have never met his biological father. And somewhere in the mix is a half sister Brett has never met

let's continue....

Dan does such a wonderful job taking on the role of father for Brett, that in high school Brett decided to change his last name to Dan's last name.   So now Brett doesn't have his biological father's last name, or the one given to him at birth, he is now Brett Goodlin, which is his step dads last name (we refer to Dan as "Dad" in real life, I am just saying step-dad in the blog for the purpose of understanding).  Let's just add to the confusion that Brett now has his step brothers and sisters last name, and Brett looks like his step brother Jacob....... I mean I am pretty sure most people don't even know Brett and Jacob are step brothers, they look alike and they act alike and know each other as brothers.

see what I mean?

Sometimes it is weird to think about the last name (his biological fathers) we may have had, and that it is part of our family history.  But I do prefer Goodlin, not just because I like the last name, but because it does identify who our family really is.  I am proud to be a Goodlin.

Oh and not to mention, coming this June Brett will have yet another step brother :O)

Welcome to our crazy family Norah

Sarah- {1 month old}

seriously, don't you just want to squish her?

Can you believe she is already one month old?  Ahh I am trying to soak in the tiny baby-ness of Sarah as much as I can, but it is passing quickly! Sarah is a good baby, nurses well, sleeps well (sleeps almost anywhere) and is so adorable ( I am totally biased)!  

Some things I want to remember about Sarah during this time

-You have never really looked like a newborn (so mature for your age already)

 -

You love to be in a ball, sometimes I think you still want to be in my belly

-You love to cuddle, and I love this and wish I could cuddle more (I am a bit pre-occupied sometimes)

-You have already given a 7 hour stretch of sleep during the night

-You are very loud, your cry is loud, I think you feel the need to be heard

-You have the cutest coos and sounds, you squeak all the time

-You still have all of your hair, amazingly, but your roots are coming in blonde

-You are not a huge swaddler, (complete opposite of Maya) 

in fact you have fallen asleep laying flat on your back with nothing but a onesie on

-You aren't huge on using a pacifer, and occasionally I find you trying to find you thumb, 

but as your hygienist I highly recommend that you don't do that

You love wiggling in this thing

and looking at yourself

your sisters love you so much!

Maya loves to help with you

Norah loves to touch and squeeze you

I am pretty sure your eyes are going to be blue

Look how much you have already grown

I love you

"P" is for Pumpkin

Ok, so I am trying, trying to do fun things with the girls, activities and what not.  Actually, if I don't have a plan for each day it turns into a disaster.  By plan, I don't always mean going somewhere, sometimes plan is just different crafts or activities I have for the girls each day.  I feel so new at this, trying to be a stay at home mom and coming up with things for the girls to do and teaching them.... it feels a bit awkward for me, but I am learning.  And I am not the most creative person in the world so sometimes the girls just rip paper for an activity.

Last week though we had the theme 

"P" is for pumpkin.

On Monday we  discussed the letter P, the sound it makes and different things that start with the letter "P" We also did construction paper Jack-O-Laterns and red the book, " Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch"

On Monday's we also do "Muffin tin Monday."  Thanks to the great idea by my bff Sarah.  This past week we put food in the muffin tins that started with the letter "P" or were the color orange.  The girls love helping pick out the food and setting it up in the tins.   So for this week the girls got:

1. Peanut Butter and Jelly cubes

2. Cuties

3. Popcorn (orange popcorn of course)

4. Peanut Butter Cookies (nutter butters)

5. Carrots w/ranch

On Wednesday we went to the "Pumpkin Patch" to be honest it is a little bit of a ghetto pumpkin patch, but the girls had fun!  We went with a play group from church (my first time with a new play group), I always get so nervous when I am around new people I don't know, at least a few of my friends were there, and so many of the other moms were very nice!

Tractor Ride

Norah enjoying the maze

Maya enjoying the slides

Enjoying some time with friends

And on Thursday we made "Pumpkin Bread" I got a delicious recipe from Pinterest form this site! We made one loaf for ourselves and one loaf for someone else.

I tried to hop in a photo with the girls this past week, it is not always easy.....

and of course we enjoyed this little pumpkin

so anyone have ideas for what I can do this week?

A "Farm"

Last week we were invited to go over to Marta's house (she was one of Fran's closets friends).  She has mentioned several times that the girls were totally welcome to come over and visit her and see the horses.  Life gets busy and time goes by, but now that it is fall and I am home a lot more it seemed like the perfect opportunity to go and we were so thankful for her invitation!

When I told the girls where we were going the best way I could describe it was, "a Farm" even though it isn't, it just has a few horses, some chickens and dogs, but I knew it would be very special for the girls.  It was sentimental for me as well, picturing what it may have been like if Fran were still around.  Fran had 3 horses, several dogs & cats, and many birds (oh Beethoven), she just loved animals!  So it was special that Marta invited us over, it was a tiny glimpse of what the girls might have enjoyed if Fran were still around.  Fran would have obsessed over the girls loving horses, and although I don't mind horses or feeding them, my anxiety is high when it comes to ever allowing the girls to ride one.

We had a fun time, it was nice because it was just us, not a busy pumpkin patch with 200 other children trying to feed the animals.

Meeting the Dogs

Feeding the Horses

Feeding the Chickens

this reminded me of Charlotte's Web

Marta even let both of the girls take home a fresh egg

The girls were more obsessed with the tractor than the animals....... we spent most of our time hanging out here

and of course baby Sarah and her usual (she missed out on a lot!)

Thank you so much Marta, we enjoyed visiting so much, it was wonderful and sad to remember everything Fran loved.....

25 things

Everyone has their weird qwirks, here are some things you may not know about me

1.  I L.O.V.E Mexican Food, I could probably have it for every meal

2.  I am an overachiever.  In hygiene school I didn't just want an "A" I wanted the highest "A"

3.  I have an obsession with plucking hairs out of moles 

4.  Nursing is hard work, but I am glad I am doing it

5.  Pink is my favorite color (good thing I have 3 girls )

6.  I think celery does NOT enhance any recipe, just don't add it

7.  I am learning to embrace that I have curly hair, although I love my CHI

8.  I don't like things out on the counter

9.  My pinky toe looks like a tumor

10.  The 3 stores I visit the most; Target, Coscto, & Old Navy.  Is anyone really surprised?

11. My mom used to make us call a " Fart " a "Bun Burp"

12.  I really want a coke to drink right now

13.  Summer is my favorite, give me 100 degree/dry heat, love it!

14.  My most frequent nightmare: That my front teeth get knocked out

15.  My husband is really funny, it is one of the reasons I fell in love with him

16.  Favorite Musician right now is Colbie Caillat

17.  I miss California

 18.  I don't know that I will ever let any of my girls get on a horse

19.  I am REALLY bad at English ( I am sure you can tell by reading my blog)

20.  I used to be an aerobics instructor (that is where my husband fell in love with me)

21.  I am not a fan of Christmas Cards that only have a signature (send me a photo, write a note, or just save your stamp)

22.  I cannot sing

23.  I love getting pedicures

24.  I used to be really good at basketball

25.  I probably think about heaven more than the average person

Now it is  your turn, post some of your quirks on your blog and leave me a link in the comments section so I can check it out!

newborn photos

When baby Sarah was still in my belly, Bree, a wonderful photographer in Highlands Ranch, Colorado offered to do her newborn photos!  I was more than excited because I knew how talented she was, especially since she did Maya's 6 month photos.  So about a week after Sarah was born we had her first photo session.  There are people who are good photographers, and people who are good with children, Bree is definitely both!!  I was amazed at her patience, we spent about 4 hours taking photos so she could get baby Sarah comfortable and in the right position, keeping the room nice and warm (we even blew a fuse), and being very meticulous.   She was also amazing with Maya and Norah!  I mean she was singing Disney songs (it does help that she has a nice voice) and pulling all kinds of tricks out of her sleeve.  Norah was not in the best mood since she was sick, so I am amazed Bree got any photos with Norah smiling.  My mom and I were very impressed!  Beyond that Bree is so sweet and giving, it was such a pleasure to have her take Sarah's photos, I would highly recommend her!  Be sure to check out her website, Breeze Photography.

There are so many great photos, it was hard to pick a favorite.  Our favorite one is not going to be posted yet as it will be in our baby announcement.  Take a look at all of these amazing photos!

this one was our 2nd favorite

she is so tiny

this was another favorite!

as aunt Cynthia said, "she's like a little appetizer!"

Didn't Bree do great?! Which one is your favorite?