Adoption Buddies and Our Summer Bucket List

In the blink of eye it is already June 24th.  I’m not sure how that happened.  We have had so much going on this past month, and this is the first chance I have had to really write a blog post.  This weekend and last weekend were just as busy as the first part of June when Zoe’s birthmom was here to visit.  We had friends here from Boston; they arrived this past Friday night, and we were able to show them around our town a bit.  We spent a very hot but fun afternoon at the zoo and a very fun evening (just adults) at a baseball game.

Our friends, L and B, and trying to convert our little one into a Red Sox fan!  They brought her lots of gear to get her started.

The game was really fun to watch.  Our home team won, and they ended the night with an amazing fireworks display.  I have never been so close to fireworks before…exciting and yet a bit scary all at the same time.

Like I said, our weekends have been jam-packed.  Not only were our friends visiting, but I was helping host a bridal shower for my cousins on Sunday, so part of last week was spent helping my family get ready for that.  We also had a few get togethers with some of Zoe’s friends, and we even met up with a new group of friends through our adoption agency.  I had heard from our caseworker that some adoptive moms were starting a playgroup and were looking for others to join.  We spent part of Friday at a local park hanging out with them.  While the kids played, we parents were able to share our stories with each other.  It was a pretty neat day to meet other moms from our agency who have been through the process before.  We are planning on more trips and visits over the summer.

In addition to that, I got it in my head that I really wanted to take Zoe strawberry picking!  Yes, it’s actually on the summer bucket list I have posted on our refrigerator!   One of Zoe’s friends and her family had  just been, and I decided we had better do it before the berries were gone.   We went to one of our favorite orchards on Thursday and luckily they still had “lots ‘o’ berries.”

I loved how Zoe would step carefully over the rows and call, “Here’s a good one, Mommy!”  It was very sweet. 

I can remember picking berries with my parents, sisters, and grandparents; Zoe will have that memory, too. 

I am sort of writing in reverse…so I guess I’ll skip back to last weekend.  We celebrated Father’s Day by going to a local historical place that also had a car show.  It was right up my Dad’s alley. 

Zoe wanted to give Steve and my dad their gifts before we left…a handprint painting  and a photo collage for Zoe’s Daddy and a stepping stone for Grandpa’s garden and a pair of baseball tickets.  We made our own wrapping paper this year…pretty good likeness, I would say!

She looks like she’s grown so much when I look at that last picture…where has the time gone?

The day before Father’s Day was spent on a mini-road trip.  Zoe and I drove to our state’s capitol to meet up with our friends.  M met us there with her son C, and R met us there with her son M.  I am friends with M and R through an online adoption group.  I am beyond lucky and fortunate to know these two ladies and their little ones.  It’s amazing to me how even before we all met, we felt such a sense of connection to each other.  M and I and the kids had met a few times over the past couple of years.  The six of us got to meet each other for the first time last summer when we had a picnic and spent the afternoon at a splash park.

We had a picnic on the grounds of the Capitol building, and the kids had chased each other and checked everything out.  C  had a book about our state, and he knew all about our capitol!

We spent the rest of the day at a nearby zoo and explored the different exhibits…got to wander around, pet some goats, go for a pony ride, and see a white peacock, too!

We may have spied Spiderman nearby…the kids were slinging their “webs” at him! 

And at a few times throughout the day, the ended up hand in hand just like little buddies should.  I am so thankful for our friendship and the way adoption has brought us together.

A visit with her birth mom

We invited Zoe’s birth mom to come for a visit over the past few days.  We were so happy to see her, especially since the last time we saw her was September! 

We met her at the airport, and someone was super excited to greet her…

We had talked with Zoe about what she wanted to do with Z while she was here visiting us.  Her answers weren’t a shock to us:  play and eat ice cream.  I like the way she thinks!  We made sure that the trip included both.  We got caught up a bit the first day and visited.  Zoe probably could have used a nap because she got a bit tired/cranky in the afternoon, but she felt better after getting some rest that night.  We did get to talk about family, school, and how Zoe looks more like she’s in kindergarten and not a 3 year old! 

We met up the next day, and Z and her boyfriend got to see Zoe dance at her tap dance class.  She did a really great job!  (Only one more to go, too…I think we’ll be signing her up again.)  We met up with my parents and sister for lunch and then headed to a place called the Robot Garage.  Zoe loves it there – lots of Legos, Duplos, and other building toys for kids (and adults…we all played with them!)

We spent the next day at a local park and playground.  We had dinner together, and Zoe was thrilled to have a sleepover party with her birth mom.  She had it all planned out!  They painted little birdhouses for each other, ate ice cream (of course!), and watched her birth mom’s favorite cartoon movie. 

Zoe let Z sleep in her bed, and Zoe slept on her little mattress next to her.  She and Z listened to the story book that Z had recorded for her.

Z said Zoe was a chatterbox at bedtime.  She would think she was drifting off, and she would ask her a question.  And another.  And another.

We spent one day at a pool and indoor water park.  I know Zoe loved doing that, and  Z got to spend a lot of time with her there as she splashed around and tried to get everybody else wet, too.  We had fun outside with Zoe’s bike (which she really just started riding for the first time during this visit – Go Zoe!) and drawing with chalk on our driveway.

   

(please ignore the cracks in the driveway and the weeds…)

The last day of Z’s trip happened to fall on Zoe’s Adoption Day.  We felt pretty lucky to spend it with Zoe’s birth mom.  We took a trip to a local pottery studio where she and Z painted a little Hello Kitty figure and a Hello Kitty box.  I painted a little bowl.  Zoe had a very green kitty as you can see from the picture below. 

Every Adoption Day, we plan to do a couple things – let her pick out what we do for the day and to add a little charm to a bracelet for Zoe.  Her first year we bought the bracelet and the “Z” charm.  The 2nd year was the heart charm.  Last year Zoe chose the camera charm because I would take pictures of her and she would take pictures of me with her little pretend camera.  And this year she chose…drumroll please…an ice cream charm!  I know, you’re shocked, aren’t you?

The visit ended with a fun lunch at a Mexican restaurant, a trip to the bookstore, a piggy back ride, and lots of hugs and kisses at the airport.  We’re so glad we had this time with her.  She’s planning a move back to our state when she’s done with school, and we’re so happy – for her and for us.  We wish her all the best in everything she does, and we’re so proud of her.  I am so glad that we have an open adoption with Z.  <3