Friday and Saturday - First Family of Four Days

Thursday night Noah did not sleep nearly as well as he did Wednesday night. Whether true or not, I like to think of it as his way of mourning. I imagine his birthmother didn't sleep very well that night either, and maybe there is some sort of connection there. The only way he would be consoled was to be held, and we were happy to oblige. After all, you can't spoil a child in their first week, can you?

Friday morning we took Noah to his pediatrician for his 48 hour checkup. Noah is still under 6 pounds, which looks sooooo tiny next to Caleb, but the Dr said that everything looked just fine. The most entertaining part of the visit was when Noah decided to make the Dr change his diaper 3 times in less than a minute. I've heard people say that their baby likes to do his/her business in a fresh diaper, well Noah prefers it just as soon as the fresh diaper (or wipe, or....air) touches him. We will have one more Dr visit prior to heading home, probably on Monday.

The excellent PA attorney worked hard and got the ICPC (Interstate Compact to prevent child trafficking) paperwork completed and submitted by about lunchtime on Friday. He also went ahead and submitted a copy to Utah to try to get things moving. This was extremely important to us since it gives us our best chance of coming home next week. Ideally, PA would have approved the paperwork on Friday, but realistically not until Tuesday (Monday being Columbus Day) or worst case Wednesday. When we were in Florida, Utah ICPC did an amazing job and got the paperwork approved the same day they received it, but we can't count on that...but we can still hope :o)

It has been fun taking a couple boys around when we go out. Carrie usually takes the baby and I usually the take the boy, who is just a ton a fun to play with and take places.

On Saturday we officially began our vacation. Not all families decide to go on vacation when they have a 5 day old, but we don't have too much of a choice in the matter, so we want to make the most of it. We want to get to know the state where our son was born! We have plans to visit the Liberty Bell, Valley Forge, and maybe swing over to Hershey PA. We'd head north to some popular church history sites if they weren't on the other side of the border, and therefore illegal for us. If any you have any suggestions for good places to visit, let us know!

So Saturday we decided to go to Longwood Gardens, and we think it was an excellent choice.

Longwood Gardens is several acres of horticultural fantasy world. They have a bunch of cool sculptures in the topiary garden, amazing flowers in the flower walk, all types of cool plants in the gigantic observatory, and some areas we didn't even have time to go see, like the children's play areas, birdhouse, and the fountain garden.

Flower Walk

Topiary Garden

Squirrel!

Observatory

Outside the Observatory

Taking a feeding break inside the Observatory.

Noah loved all of the gorgeous gardens...

Our favorite section though, was the Forest Walk. It was just a simple loop, maybe 1/2 mile or so, of natural raw Pennsylvania, and it was gorgeous. I've never been to the sacred grove, but Carrie confirmed that this is a lot like the look of the sacred grove. A beautiful canopy of Tulip Trees along with a lot of other vegetation and animals.

We even saw some deer!

We did the same thing when we were in Florida. It was cool see in both places, and both times it was nice to get out and go for a walk. The boys did really well. Several people were in awe of our adorable boy and our sweet little 5 day old, but they were even more amazed at how Carrie had recovered so quickly! Imagine their surprise when they found out that she just found out she was pregnant with him 5 days ago ;o) Don't worry, we recognize that adoption has its perks :o)

I'm a tad embarrassed to say this, but on Saturday we also decided to play some McDonald's Monopoly again. (Carrie interrupting here. I'm not ashamed. We are totally going to WIN!!!)Actually, it has been kind of fun, and the thought of winning something, when we have to eat something anyway, adds an element of fun. We're one short on several areas (gasp with surprise with me everyone!) so if any of you have Mediterranean, Vermont, Virginia, Kentucky, Short Line Railroad, or Boardwalk, well you be sure to let us know :o)