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| Devin in 1989- age 4 |
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| Me in 1988- age 3 |
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| Hallie 2012- age 4 |
And, just so you know-- that mushroom cut was a staple of my childhood. So classy. Thanks, mom.
Showing posts with label comparisons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comparisons. Show all posts
November 27, 2012
Flashback-- 1988/89
I was looking through Devin's scrapbook from when he was a child and thought it would be fun to see what each of us looked like when we were about Hallie's age. I am starting to see a little bit more of myself in her, but overall, I still really don't think that she looks like either of us. You can be the judge:
The bright blue eyes? Yeah, still a mystery.
And, just so you know-- that mushroom cut was a staple of my childhood. So classy. Thanks, mom.
And, just so you know-- that mushroom cut was a staple of my childhood. So classy. Thanks, mom.
November 17, 2011
Pregnancy and Adoption
I know you thought I was done talking about adoption for a while. Sorry. I have more thoughts running around in my head that I want to share. I hope this makes some semblance of sense.
Another thing that really bothers me is when people tell potential adoptive couples, "Oh, you are doing it the easy way!" As if mountains of paperwork, months of preparation, invasive interviews, agonizing waits, and uncertainty upon uncertainty are easy. While I know pregnancy can be hard, it is not a fair statement to say that adopting is easier than carrying a child. Sure, there aren't any stretch marks (usually) nor is there an agonizing labor process to get the child here, but there are other things that are unique and difficult to adoption.
My thoughts center more on how the two processes are similar.
I was thinking about my pregnancy with Jace the other day and remembering some of the things I went through with him, and while doing so, it occurred to me that some of the same things have happened as we anticipate the arrival of our next child, despite my not being pregnant with her.
Some commonalities:
1) Sickness:
Pregnancy story: When I was early in my pregnancy with Jace, Hallie and I traveled to Nauvoo for our Strobel family reunion (poor Dev couldn't come.) Some of you may remember this trip as the Trip of Lots of Throw-Up. Yes...we endured a whole lot of barfing on that trip. Well, it was easy to pass my own sickness off to the fact that everyone else seemed to have something too, but in reality, it was morning sickness.
Our family had some time slots to do some ordinances at the Nauvoo Temple one morning. There were only five spots if I remember right due to the summer season and lots of people wanting to attend the Temple during their time there, but I was one of the lucky ones who got a spot. I woke up feeling deathly ill, but decided to fake it and go anyway since it was a pretty great opportunity. No one knew that I was pregnant at this point, so I didn't want to let on that anything was wrong. Well, I went to do some initiatory ordinances with my Aunt Angela. Part way through, I just knew that I wasn't going to make it. I kept willing myself to not throw up, just make it a little while longer, focus on something else....
Well, lucky for me, I did end up making it....that is right up until I got into my dressing room to change my clothes. I got in and immediately knew I needed some help. I called out the door to my aunt that I needed a garbage can or something because I was going to throw up, RIGHT NOW. A kind little temple worker rushed over to my side and instead of bringing the garbage can right next to the check-in desk with her, she instead brought a little, tiny hand towel. A towel? What? I still don't understand. I will spare you the details of what happened next, but suffice it to say that it was not pretty, nor did the towel do a great job. Angela and I hurried out of there to avoid further embarrassment, but not before the little old lady gave me another tiny towel to take with me in case I had any incidents on the way out the door.
Adoption Story: I can't count the number of times I have felt physically ill during this process. I have not thrown up, yet the sickness is still real. The worst days were when I was under the impression that we would be assigned to MF, yet nothing happened. The worst was not hearing anything. The entire day would go by with this huge anticipation that something was going to happen, and then we wouldn't hear anything. My stomach would be in knots, my head pounding. The best I could do is lay down and hope to feel better. Like morning sickness, there was no other option than to just wait it out. Like morning sickness, some days are better than others. Like morning sickness, no one can quite understand it unless they've been there, too.
Although I haven't had quite as great of a story as throwing up in the Nauvoo Temple, the sickness has nevertheless been just as real and just as "this-is-so-not-fun."
2) Under-eating:
At the beginning of my pregnancies particularly, I have a hard time eating a lot, because "nothing sounds good" or I develop an aversion to something after I get sick eating it. So, instead I just don't eat a lot during the first trimester or so.
Similarly, the craziness that is the adoption process has sometimes been so stressful and hard that I again find myself not eating. The same excuse can apply that, "nothing sounds good!" or that I don't feel well and eating isn't going to help.
Darn that stress stuff. It's weird, because it causes under-eating sometimes, but more often (darn it!), it seems to cause over-eating. Rough. See below.
3) Over-eating:
On the flip side, pregnancy (after the first trimester or so) is a time when I find that I throw caution to the wind when it comes to eating healthy and maintaining a balanced diet. You are supposed to gain weight, after all. You rationalize every treat, every extra serving, those 3 desserts....because after all "I'm pregnant! I'm supposed to be gaining weight!"
Well- I have found that I sometimes use this same logic with the adoption process. Faulty thinking, I know, but I rationalize unhealthy choices still with, "I am stressed. This has been such a hard day. Everything is so uncertain. I deserve it!"
4) Emotional instability: (This is probably the number one common denominator, right here!)
Pregnancy story: Okay, this is really a post-pregnancy story, but it still applies. It illustrates exactly how I was/could be during any given time during pregnancy. After I had Jace, Devin went home to spend the night with Hallie. I woke up many a time during the night (let's just say those hospital beds could surely be made more comfortable!) and by morning, I was a wreck. The nurse for the day came in to make her morning rounds at 7 or so, and with her she brought a student who was shadowing her. All fine and dandy, except that he was male, and I was sitting in the bed bawling my eyes out. He was supposed to be doing the check on me, but as he came in and saw my condition, he promptly halted in his tracks and turned with a look of bewilderment toward the nurse. I am sure he was wracking his brain for which class taught him how to deal with emotionally crazy, unstable, hormonal women. Eeeek. I feel bad for him now, just thinking about it. The other nurse promptly took over and asked what me how I was doing, what was going on, etc. I could only manage through my sobs to say that I wasn't really even sure why I was crying. Nevertheless, I was crying and I really wanted to do nothing but cry.
Adoption story: There have been times just like I described above in this process. More than I can count, in fact. I remember one night just laying in bed, sobbing uncontrollably. My poor husband is akin to the male nurse, except that he is a little more accustomed to the craziness that we call female emotions. He is just as often confused as to why I am crying, but then again, so am I. I can't really pin point it sometimes. It's just the whole situation, if that even makes sense. I know it doesn't...but just work with me here. It might be because I miss MF. It might be because I have no control over this process. It might be because she will be spending another Christmas without us. It might be because we might miss her birthday. It might be because she is mine, and yet right now, she is not mine.
There are times in this process, just like during pregnancy, that the only solution I have is to cry, even though I can't even pinpoint exactly why I am crying. Devin can't quite grasp it. Neither can I. Chalk it up to pregnancy hormones...or in this case adoption hormones.
Another thing that really bothers me is when people tell potential adoptive couples, "Oh, you are doing it the easy way!" As if mountains of paperwork, months of preparation, invasive interviews, agonizing waits, and uncertainty upon uncertainty are easy. While I know pregnancy can be hard, it is not a fair statement to say that adopting is easier than carrying a child. Sure, there aren't any stretch marks (usually) nor is there an agonizing labor process to get the child here, but there are other things that are unique and difficult to adoption.
My thoughts center more on how the two processes are similar.
I was thinking about my pregnancy with Jace the other day and remembering some of the things I went through with him, and while doing so, it occurred to me that some of the same things have happened as we anticipate the arrival of our next child, despite my not being pregnant with her.
Some commonalities:
1) Sickness:
Pregnancy story: When I was early in my pregnancy with Jace, Hallie and I traveled to Nauvoo for our Strobel family reunion (poor Dev couldn't come.) Some of you may remember this trip as the Trip of Lots of Throw-Up. Yes...we endured a whole lot of barfing on that trip. Well, it was easy to pass my own sickness off to the fact that everyone else seemed to have something too, but in reality, it was morning sickness.
Our family had some time slots to do some ordinances at the Nauvoo Temple one morning. There were only five spots if I remember right due to the summer season and lots of people wanting to attend the Temple during their time there, but I was one of the lucky ones who got a spot. I woke up feeling deathly ill, but decided to fake it and go anyway since it was a pretty great opportunity. No one knew that I was pregnant at this point, so I didn't want to let on that anything was wrong. Well, I went to do some initiatory ordinances with my Aunt Angela. Part way through, I just knew that I wasn't going to make it. I kept willing myself to not throw up, just make it a little while longer, focus on something else....
Well, lucky for me, I did end up making it....that is right up until I got into my dressing room to change my clothes. I got in and immediately knew I needed some help. I called out the door to my aunt that I needed a garbage can or something because I was going to throw up, RIGHT NOW. A kind little temple worker rushed over to my side and instead of bringing the garbage can right next to the check-in desk with her, she instead brought a little, tiny hand towel. A towel? What? I still don't understand. I will spare you the details of what happened next, but suffice it to say that it was not pretty, nor did the towel do a great job. Angela and I hurried out of there to avoid further embarrassment, but not before the little old lady gave me another tiny towel to take with me in case I had any incidents on the way out the door.
Adoption Story: I can't count the number of times I have felt physically ill during this process. I have not thrown up, yet the sickness is still real. The worst days were when I was under the impression that we would be assigned to MF, yet nothing happened. The worst was not hearing anything. The entire day would go by with this huge anticipation that something was going to happen, and then we wouldn't hear anything. My stomach would be in knots, my head pounding. The best I could do is lay down and hope to feel better. Like morning sickness, there was no other option than to just wait it out. Like morning sickness, some days are better than others. Like morning sickness, no one can quite understand it unless they've been there, too.
Although I haven't had quite as great of a story as throwing up in the Nauvoo Temple, the sickness has nevertheless been just as real and just as "this-is-so-not-fun."
2) Under-eating:
At the beginning of my pregnancies particularly, I have a hard time eating a lot, because "nothing sounds good" or I develop an aversion to something after I get sick eating it. So, instead I just don't eat a lot during the first trimester or so.
Similarly, the craziness that is the adoption process has sometimes been so stressful and hard that I again find myself not eating. The same excuse can apply that, "nothing sounds good!" or that I don't feel well and eating isn't going to help.
Darn that stress stuff. It's weird, because it causes under-eating sometimes, but more often (darn it!), it seems to cause over-eating. Rough. See below.
3) Over-eating:
On the flip side, pregnancy (after the first trimester or so) is a time when I find that I throw caution to the wind when it comes to eating healthy and maintaining a balanced diet. You are supposed to gain weight, after all. You rationalize every treat, every extra serving, those 3 desserts....because after all "I'm pregnant! I'm supposed to be gaining weight!"
Well- I have found that I sometimes use this same logic with the adoption process. Faulty thinking, I know, but I rationalize unhealthy choices still with, "I am stressed. This has been such a hard day. Everything is so uncertain. I deserve it!"
4) Emotional instability: (This is probably the number one common denominator, right here!)
Pregnancy story: Okay, this is really a post-pregnancy story, but it still applies. It illustrates exactly how I was/could be during any given time during pregnancy. After I had Jace, Devin went home to spend the night with Hallie. I woke up many a time during the night (let's just say those hospital beds could surely be made more comfortable!) and by morning, I was a wreck. The nurse for the day came in to make her morning rounds at 7 or so, and with her she brought a student who was shadowing her. All fine and dandy, except that he was male, and I was sitting in the bed bawling my eyes out. He was supposed to be doing the check on me, but as he came in and saw my condition, he promptly halted in his tracks and turned with a look of bewilderment toward the nurse. I am sure he was wracking his brain for which class taught him how to deal with emotionally crazy, unstable, hormonal women. Eeeek. I feel bad for him now, just thinking about it. The other nurse promptly took over and asked what me how I was doing, what was going on, etc. I could only manage through my sobs to say that I wasn't really even sure why I was crying. Nevertheless, I was crying and I really wanted to do nothing but cry.
Adoption story: There have been times just like I described above in this process. More than I can count, in fact. I remember one night just laying in bed, sobbing uncontrollably. My poor husband is akin to the male nurse, except that he is a little more accustomed to the craziness that we call female emotions. He is just as often confused as to why I am crying, but then again, so am I. I can't really pin point it sometimes. It's just the whole situation, if that even makes sense. I know it doesn't...but just work with me here. It might be because I miss MF. It might be because I have no control over this process. It might be because she will be spending another Christmas without us. It might be because we might miss her birthday. It might be because she is mine, and yet right now, she is not mine.
There are times in this process, just like during pregnancy, that the only solution I have is to cry, even though I can't even pinpoint exactly why I am crying. Devin can't quite grasp it. Neither can I. Chalk it up to pregnancy hormones...or in this case adoption hormones.
November 2, 2011
Jace-- 8 months
Jace, aka our "cuteness" (Hals' pet name for him), is now 8 months old! What? How did that happen!? It's crazy to me. Here are a few pictures and some updates on our handsome little man.
*Jace is a Mama's boy. He fusses and squawks when he sees me until I hold him. This is a recent development. He loves Devin too, but he seems to want me when I am around. Awwwww. I love it. It makes me feel special that he knows me and that he wants me. Makes every mama happy.
*Jace swinging for the first time! He loved it. Don't worry about the high water pants- its a common problem around here. They aren't that bad, though, just slightly bad.
*Speaking of clothes, we are in 12 months and bigger. Ummm....yeah. No comment.
*Weight wise- He hasn't had any appointments lately, but I think he is between 22-23 lbs. according to our scale.
*Jace's favorites include: his best friend the binky, graham crackers, his sister, his exersaucer (he loves to jump up and down in that thing...), baths (he is quite the splasher), and his music toy in his crib.
*This music toy is a stuffed animal that plays music when you pull down on it (thank you Middleton 4th of July parade 2010!) It hangs in Jace's crib and he loooooves this thing. Nothing can soothe him quite like it. At bed time and nap time, he works his way over to his toy and secures his little hand on it so that when the music ends, he can just yank to start it up again. Sometimes Devin and I hear him early in the morning (before we care to be awake) playing his music over and over again. He is quite content just listening to his toy.
*Jace's least favorite things: being hungry......ummmm, that's about it. He is generally such a happy boy.
*Jace eats anything and everything we will offer him. He still eats baby food and rice cereal, but really prefers table food. He loves oatmeal, bread, crackers, fruit, avocados, noodles, etc. He didn't used to like bananas, but now he eats them just fine.
*Jace has his two bottom teeth and his two top teeth are about half way down. They are cute, cute, cute. It's amazing how little teeth can change their appearance!
*Jace got this Simba stuffed animal from Grandpa and Grandma Strobel and he loves to cuddle with it when he sleeps. Nevermind that it is larger than he is.
*Jace understands the command "clap!" and he is getting better at actually clapping (sometimes). He thinks it is very funny when he manages to do so.
*No crawling yet for this boy. It is funny how babies are so different. I remember Hallie at this age was rolling like crazy, clear across the floor in order to get where she wanted. Jace does not do this. He rolls once or twice, but doesn't use it as a transportation tool like Hallie did. He is much more content staying in the same place for a long time. He likes to roll onto his stomach and just stay there.
*Jace overall has a pretty calm temperament, but he will also let us know when he wants something. He is such a fun boy. I can't imagine life without this little man. He is everyone's best bud in the house. Life must have been much bleaker without him 8 months ago!
And just for comparison's sake, here is a picture of Hallie ( she's on the left and Sadie is on the right) at the same age. It is definitely apparent that these two are siblings. The genetics in it are strange to me, though. Most people agree with us that they do not look like Devin or I. However, they must have been cut from the same cloth as they really resemble each other! They both have such fair skin, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes (both Devin and I have brown eyes). Odd.
Happy 8 months to our cutest Jacer.
*Speaking of clothes, we are in 12 months and bigger. Ummm....yeah. No comment.
*Weight wise- He hasn't had any appointments lately, but I think he is between 22-23 lbs. according to our scale.
*This music toy is a stuffed animal that plays music when you pull down on it (thank you Middleton 4th of July parade 2010!) It hangs in Jace's crib and he loooooves this thing. Nothing can soothe him quite like it. At bed time and nap time, he works his way over to his toy and secures his little hand on it so that when the music ends, he can just yank to start it up again. Sometimes Devin and I hear him early in the morning (before we care to be awake) playing his music over and over again. He is quite content just listening to his toy.
*Jace has his two bottom teeth and his two top teeth are about half way down. They are cute, cute, cute. It's amazing how little teeth can change their appearance!
*No crawling yet for this boy. It is funny how babies are so different. I remember Hallie at this age was rolling like crazy, clear across the floor in order to get where she wanted. Jace does not do this. He rolls once or twice, but doesn't use it as a transportation tool like Hallie did. He is much more content staying in the same place for a long time. He likes to roll onto his stomach and just stay there.
*Jace overall has a pretty calm temperament, but he will also let us know when he wants something. He is such a fun boy. I can't imagine life without this little man. He is everyone's best bud in the house. Life must have been much bleaker without him 8 months ago!
And just for comparison's sake, here is a picture of Hallie ( she's on the left and Sadie is on the right) at the same age. It is definitely apparent that these two are siblings. The genetics in it are strange to me, though. Most people agree with us that they do not look like Devin or I. However, they must have been cut from the same cloth as they really resemble each other! They both have such fair skin, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes (both Devin and I have brown eyes). Odd.
July 12, 2011
4 months (okay, more like 4 1/2 months)
Jacer bug has now passed the four month mark. Yay! Sorry for the delay in posting about him at four months, but things have been a bit crazy around here. We finally made it to the doctor and here are his stats:
Here are some tidbits about our cute bug:
*You can see how tall he is. While these pajamas fit nicely on his body, they sure aren't long enough, eh? Yes, he was mad. But that didn't stop me from getting his picture. He'll have to get used to that.
*While Hallie was starting to sit up at this age, Jace is not. He does however roll over both ways and Halllie did not at this age. Funny how kids are different.
Weight: 16 pounds 15 ounces (95%)
Height: 26 1/2 inches (95%)
This child is even bigger than the last! Is this even possible? Here is Hallie's 4 month post if you want to see what she looked like and what she was doing. She looks fatter...but Jace has her beat.
Here are some tidbits about our cute bug:
*You can see how tall he is. While these pajamas fit nicely on his body, they sure aren't long enough, eh? Yes, he was mad. But that didn't stop me from getting his picture. He'll have to get used to that.*While Hallie was starting to sit up at this age, Jace is not. He does however roll over both ways and Halllie did not at this age. Funny how kids are different.
*Here are Jace and Hudson. They have spent a lot of time together lately and quite like each other. Hudson likes to feel Jace's head and stick his hands in Jace's mouth, all in the name of "let's be friends." Jace has such a round face and Hudson has such a long face, but they do sort of look similar at times.
*Jace still LOOOOOOVES his binky. Cannot overstate that. Hallie never really was a binky baby, but Jace certainly is.
*Jace sleeps from 7 pm to about 8 am. He is such a good boy. He naps three times a day usually for an hour to three each time. He is routine oriented and likes things the same. For bed/nap time, we lay him in his crib with his binky in his mouth and his blankie on the side of his face. We also turn on his music for him and he goes right to sleep. Take away any one element of this routine and he has a much harder time.
*I was certain Jace was going to be a calm, cool, and collected boy at all times like his daddy. Not so. He has a high pitched girly scream to let you know when he is mad. And boy can he get mad!
*We have sort of started Jace on rice cereal. He doesn't like it, again in contrast to his sister who downed the stuff (and anything she was given). He hasn't quite mastered how to use the spoon, so maybe things will improve as he figures that out more.
*Jace is wearing 6 month clothes. He fits in some 3-6 month stuff, but not much.
*Jace has two teeth. The two bottom guys came in while we were in Idaho for the weekend. I didn't even know he was teething really, other than I had felt his gums and they felt a bit swollen a few days before. I was telling Che' that and then she felt his gums and proclaimed that he had two teeth! Sure enough. I thought it was kind of early to have teeth...I think Hallie was more like 9 months before she got her first.
*Jace, like Hallie, has a fake cough perfected. He uses this tool when he wants attention. Cough cough, laugh, cough cough, look at me! What a silly boy.
*Jace is well loved by his parents and his sister, as you can see here. He is a good sport about letting Hallie dress him up in her bows and such. However, let's hope that doesn't continue forever!
Let me be honest here for a minute-- when I found out Jace was a boy, I was a tad bit disappointed. I had only had a girl and loved having her (still do) so I thought another girl would be so much fun. However, I cannot tell you how much I have loved having a little boy. Jace is my little buddy and I love him so much. I could just eat him up. He makes me so happy and is the sweetest little guy. I know I will love all of my children, regardless of gender, but having him has been such a great experience and I am grateful to have him in my life.
March 7, 2011
Genetics
How about them genetics? I said right off the bat that Jace looked like Hallie. Well, I started looking through old pictures of the girl and here is what I have come up with:
Hallie brand new:
Jace brand new:
Hallie about a week old:
Jace about a week old:
OR...I have been thinking that Jace looks more and more like Devin.
Hallie brand new:
Jace brand new:
Hallie about a week old:
Jace about a week old:
OR...I have been thinking that Jace looks more and more like Devin.
Jace newborn:
Devin newborn:
November 9, 2009
Good to Know...
Apparently Hals looks more like her dad. I wonder what would happen if we used different pictures??? Also, I have never seen one of these where the kid is more than 10% like one parent. More often than not, they are equal or close. Anyone seen any big differences? I am curious.
November 20, 2008
What do you think?
Sometimes I think Hallie looks like me and sometimes I think she looks like Devin. What do you think?
Devin shortly after birth
Me-10 days old
Hallie 2 weeks old
Devin shortly after birth
Me-10 days old
Hallie 2 weeks old
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