Ten Tiny Fingers and Ten Tiny Toes

How did I ever get such a beautiful little boy with expressions so sweet and a babbling voice so precious? He's the perfect gift, and I tell him all the time he came from Jesus. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17.) Just look at those toes and fingers! I pray even now that God would direct his feet into the right paths and that his hands would do God's work. Rocco was specifically designed by God for a specific purpose; I don't know what it is, but I know God has a plan for his life.

We had some more "firsts" tonight. He drank from a straw really well at Ryan's Restaurant. I was amazed. I should have know he could do it because he has really good suction going on with his bottle and sippy cup. He also went to his first band concert (Kennedy Middle School to see Rebekah ) and, yes, he did dance! I got tickled at him because for half of the concert he held tightly to the hand of a cute girl with bright red hair. He also went to his first softball game. That didn't seem to capture his attention as much. I do hope he will be interested in sports one day and not take after me on that part. Basketball, baseball, karate, art, gymnastics, music, wrestling, football, track, tennis, soccer. . . only time will tell what he will like. But you can bet whatever it is, I'll be the mom on the sidelines screaming her head off and taking pictures like crazy. I'll try not to embarrass him too much.

Fishin'

These photos were taken by the pond at our church. This was a cute little outfit that was given to him. I just had to take pictures with him wearing his hat and his bathtub fishing pole. Looks like he's trying to eat the "big fish"that he caught!

Rocco Rockin' To The Rhythm

If the last seven weeks are any indication of what Rocco will do when he grows up, music will definitely be a part of his life. If he'll sing, play the piano or guitar, or keep the beat with the drums, I don't know. As for now, our little fella LOVES music of any kind. At church he can get louder than the choir. When we watch American Idol, he'll dance and sing with Bon Jovi. One time a commercial using a rap song came on TV, and he immediately started shaking his head. Anytime someone's ring tone goes off on their cell phone he is just rocking back and forth to the beat. Rocco just loves to rock! So after our first post-placement visit with our new social worker, we celebrated with our own band. A Sesame Street saxophone, Fisher Price tambourine and bongo drums, and an alligator xylophone were our instruments of choice. And boy did we get down! After pretending, we took time to play on a real piano. I put my P-150 keyboard on the demo mode so that Rocco would have some music to play with. It is wonderful having a son so in love with music. Even when I read him books with rhythm, he'll dance to it. (Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum is his favorite!)

Rocco's last baby shower

This week was a very busy week with all of the traveling, but oh so worth it. This afternoon, from 1 - 4, was Rocco's final baby shower. One of the cool things about adopting is that you get to have your shower AND take your baby to it. Showing our little boy off to family and friends has been a great experience this week for a very proud mama! My cousin Jana put together the shower today. Everyone needs a cousin like her. She is so creative and attentive to details. The party theme was jungle animals. She and her neighbor, Christy, could not find this theme at the store so they made everything from scratch. From decorating and personalizing cute paint buckets with friendly animals and pinwheels to making homemade animal and palm tree candies, she had it covered! Aunt Susie pitched in to make sure that we had some great food, too. The colorful balloons put the final touch to a very cute shower. At Rocco's party, we were able to see old friends that have forever put an imprint on our hearts (Dave, Jaclyn, Heather, Katherine, and many others) not to mention my nana and papaw Billy's side of the family. They came with great anticipation to see our precious blessing, Rocco. The little rockstar himself could only hold up a little while before dozing off for a nap. After he woke up, he enjoyed swinging on cousin Garrett's swingset outside. Jana and I reverted back to our ol' crazy selves and played on the see saw. Everyone was so generous with their gift giving and well wishes (even some of the people who work with my mom came out!). Leaving was the hardest part. With so much love from family and friends the four hour drive home was somewhat hard. Emotionally and physically! I guess I've spoiled my little boy somewhat. He cries if I don't hold his hand constantly while he's in his carseat. So. . . with a breaking back, contorted arm that felt like it was about to fall off, and a muscle in my shoulder screaming at me to turn around, I couldn't help it. I sat in the front seat and held his hand like any good mama would do. Jason said we need to break him from this habit. "Maybe tomorrow," I always say. "Maybe tomorrow."

Shower at Aunt Helen's

All the family gathered at Aunt Helen's house for a big party to celebrate Rocco! Aunt Helen is my Papaw Buddy's sister. He passed away when I was about 11. Although his time with us was short, we have been so blessed to have his mom (my great-grandmother) around for many years. She is the "Queen" that started this great big family and everyone LOVES mamaw! She is 90 years old now, and I'm so glad she was there to hold and sing the Choo Choo song to her great-great grandson, Rocco. We got this priceless moment on video. After she finished singing it, he clapped for her with his little hands.
Most of the family was able to make it out to welcome the newest member of the family as we ate subs, Jill's homemade candy, and cake. There were cousins, aunts, uncle Marty, my parents, and mamaw for Rocco to meet. I kept telling him, "This is your family!" Wow, this little guy has gone from having no one to having SO MANY relatives that love him. If we lived closer, cousin Kassidy would definitely be our babysitter. She is in 6th grade, and is unbelievable with children. She had Rocco laughing, playing, and having a good ol' time. He did so good to be surrounded by so many new faces. Once he warmed up to them, he was showing out winking, walking in his squeaky shoes, and clapping for them while saying, "Yeah!"

One family member that couldn't make it had a pretty good excuse. Jennifer had just had her baby on Monday and was at home recovering from that big event with Philip and baby Aiden. Even though it was late when we left the shower, I just had to go by her house and see him. He is so beautiful and sweet. . . all 8 pounds and 3 ounces of him! Jennifer and I are only 8 days apart; we went to school together and had so much fun together as "band buddies." It's amazing that God chose to bless us with children at the same time in our lives. I never thought we'd miss each other's baby showers, but when she had hers I was in Vietnam "giving birth" to my little boy. Boy am I glad those labor pains are over with!!
I truly believe that family is one of God's greatest blessings, and I am SO blessed to have such an extended family that loves and supports Jason, Rocco, and me.

First Haircut

Honestly, I never knew a haircut could be so painful! (Note to self: Do not schedule next hair appointment during nap time.)

Big Day in Cave Town

Rocco has come home to the big "Cave Town" and is enjoying spending time with Nana and Grandaddy. He took his first visit to see the farm today and loved it! Riding in the golf cart with daddy, nana, and mama, he saw cows up close and personal. Near the pond he watched some geese waddle by with their new babies. There were also horses, some big ol' catfish that daddy fed, and some beautiful butterflies fluttering about the springtime flowers. Rocco sat back and took it all in enjoying every minute of it. He and grandaddy sat next to the pond and watched daddy cut grass until he could stand it no longer. Being the first time he had seen a lawnmower, he wanted to get in on the action. . . so, he rode it with daddy. What a fun time!

After the farm experience, we took Rocco to the bank to see Aunt Betty Jean (whom he went to immediately with a smile). And then. . . it was to see Gloria for his first hair cut! What a big day with so many firsts! His appointment was at 1 pm (nap time) and he wasn't very happy. Still, he looked like a little man sitting in that booster seat with the hair cape around his neck. He screamed so much you would have thought he was at the doctor's office. Gloria loved on him and so did Vicki and Ms. Mickey (friends from our former church). It was so good to show him off to our close friends who had prayed so much for him and for us as we went through a LONG wait in becoming parents.

Later that night, we went to Papa's house to meet many of the family members for the first time. It wasn't the same without Papa there. His empty seat put a lump in my throat and a sad spot in my heart. Oh how we wish that Papa could have met and held Rocco. The rest of the family had a great time with him though. All of the little cousins huddled around him as he walked with his push toy. They were all about Rocco like he was a new baby doll. We had a wonderful time; it felt so good to be back home again.