Happy 1st Birthday Peanut Butter Cup!

Exactly one year ago today, a loving mom gave birth to a beautiful angel. This little angel was taken to my husbands fire station at 28 days old...and our lives have never been the same.

I have always dreamed of adopting and knew I'd love our adopted baby. I just never realized how much I could possibly love until my beautiful Amina. People have often asked (in a very innocent way) if the  love you have for your foster baby is different than your biological baby. Honestly, I love Amina as if she were my own. Before getting married, I did wonder if it was possible to love someone else's child as much as your own but I now know without a doubt you can and do. The moment Amina was placed in my arms at the Social Workers office was one of the happiest moments of my life. The love I felt and the feeling I had was the exact same feeling and love that overwhelmed me when I held Drew for the first time. My heart and soul knew them and they were mine to love, cherish, & nurture.

We were blessed to foster Amina for 4 months and beyond thankful that Amina's family allowed us to remain in her life. I couldn't possibly imagine my life without her in it. Amina is our little sunshine! She came into our home and touched our hearts, changing us for the better. She has brought so much love to our family. So today, we celebrate the gift of Amina Sharay!!!

Little Amina is a crack up. She has the most mellow personality with a sassy flair! She is the biggest love bug! Amina loves being held and cuddled. She gives the best hugs and will give kisses for days...especially to her brother, Drew! And he can't get enough of her (or her hair...naughty boy)! Our little miss is the best big sister ever. And man oh man does she love her puppy sister and puppy kisses! Lol. She has the raspiest bluesy voice I have ever heard and love the sound of her giggles. She doesn't laugh easily which makes it so much sweeter when you earn that scratchy giggle! I could listen to her laugh all day.

Amina is a connoisseur of music and enjoys everything from Aretha Franklin to Toby Keith! Yup...it's true! But her all time favorite song is one her cousins made up,"Go 'Mina!" She loves to dance. Start singing "Go 'Mina" and she moves to the beat! Our little tiny dancer. It's pretty darn cute. Amina likes to make us laugh...especially by blowing raspberries! She rolls, crawls, stands, and is getting into everything! Little sassy pants. She has a rascal side that comes out every now and then...like when she snatches toys from her brother and cousins. lol. Or when she pretends she's going to touch my face then snatches my glasses. You can't help but laugh. She is getting so big and becoming her own little person with a BIG personality.

Amina, you were just an itty bitty and in the blink of an eye, you are 1! How did that happen?! I have loved every second of watching you grow and change. You make us so happy and proud. As much as I'd love to keep you little, I can't wait to see what you do next! You truly are our sunshine. Happy 1st Birthday my beautiful peanut.

All photos are from Amina's first birthday party, courtesy of Kristen Saldana Photography. Birthday Party Post and details coming soon...

Happy Half Birthday My Sweet Boy

Today my sweet little Drew turns 6 months old! Wow. I cannot believe how fast these past 6 months have flown by. I literally blinked and it's been half of a year. It makes me so incredibly sad but at the same time...so very happy and thankful for all the love, laughter, and straight up craziness this baby boy has brought to our little family.

Being Drew's momma is truly an adventure. He is a wild one! Never a dull moment in the Vidovich household now that Mr. Drew is here. He is all boy. Drew is a mover and a groover. There is no down time with this little guy. He is hilarious, loving, snuggly, feisty, and most of the time the happiest baby boy.

Over the past month, Drew began sleeping in his crib in his OWN room (mom cried her eyes out for the first two nights), started eating solids (see homemade baby food post here), became an expert roller (front to back & back to front), an awesome pivoter, and has started scooting! Mind you, the scoot is a bit of a face hop...his feet move like crazy but his arms tend to get stuck making him look like a cartoon character scootin face first. Lol. He has started shaking his head whenever we say, "No, no, no, no, no." And he loves singing Old McDonald.

Drew is a total love bug. He loves his sisters, Amina & Coobie! Amina is the sweetest sister and gives her brother loads of kisses which cracks him up and he loves her toes as much as his own. LOL. So weird. He also loves his pup and literally can't wait to chase Coobie Daisy around the house! He has started diving for Coobie girl! Boys. Coobs has no clue what she's in for! Our little man adores his daddy and loves playing rough with that guy. It's so cute hearing him squeal as his Daddy tickles him! And my favorite...he loves his momma. There is nothing sweeter than cuddling and kissing my baby boy. He thinks his momma is hilarious and the BEST singer. I fall more in love with him every single day.

Baby boy, I love you more than you will ever know. I am the luckiest momma in the world. Happy 1/2 Birthday Pumpkin.

Rice Cereal, Sweet Potatoes, & Avocado...Oh my!

About a week before Drew turned 5 months old, I freaked, "Oh no...time to start solids and I have no clue what I am doing!" I remember thinking I had plenty of time to figure out whether I'd make my own or buy baby food...where the heck did that time go?! I swear there were months left to decide! Welp...with a week to figure it out, I did what any mom would do...I googled it!

I began reading mom blogs, articles, and asking my mom friends. After a couple of nights of staying up way too late, reading every chance I got (which was usually while I was nursing, on the toilet, or in bed when I should have been sleeping) and obsessing about what I'd do, I came across a post that didn't preach about the health benefits but rather pointed out the financial benefit of making your own baby food (see post here) and it sold me. Not that I don't care about the health benefits of homemade baby food, I just honestly figured there are organic store bought options! I never realized how expensive store bought organic baby food is. So I began my mission...HOMEMADE ORGANIC BABY FOOD MOMMA!

After much research, I purchased a Baby Brezza and Sage Spoonfuls Glass Jars. Best investment ever! I was definitely very excited about making Drew's baby food but truth be told, I worried it'd be a hassle and I'd end up quitting.

The Baby Brezza made it soooooo easy. Seriously. The Brezza not only steams the veggies/fruits but puree's them so in 15 minutes, I have homemade organic baby food.

My schedule for the first 20 days:
Days 1-4: Earth's Best Organic Oatmeal Cereal (mixed 1oz breast milk with 2tbs of cereal)
Days 5-8: Organic Sweet Potato (2 Medium sized Sweet Potatos + 3oz of breast milk)
Days 9-12: Organic Avocado (2 Avocados + 3oz of breast milk)
Days 13-16: Bananas (2 Bananas + 3oz of breast milk)
Days 17-20: Organic Carrots (3 Carrots + 4oz breast milk)

Here's how I do it (Carrots):
Step 1:  Peel and cut carrots into 1/3
Step 2: Place it in the Baby Brezza, press "Steam & Blend" for 15 minutes, add in 4oz of breast milk, blend until milk is mixed in (can totally be done without a Baby Brezza...regular old blender or food processor works just fine)!
Step 3: Pour Puree into Sage Spoonful Glass jars, label, and put in the freezer. Voila!
*For serving, I usually take out what I need at night for the following day and by morning they are ready to go! To heat them before serving, I usually boil water and let the jar sit in the water until it's warmed.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Drew has loved everything I've made so far and I'm not gonna lie...I have tasted every single one and can't complain! Delicious!

So much to be thankful for in 2014

I can't believe today is the first day of 2015! As Junie B. Jones has eloquently stated, "Wowie Wow Wow!" This year has flown by and has been our best year yet! It was the most incredible year filled with the most beautiful adventures.

I have been reminiscing on our most memorable moments and since Drew is actually napping (Drew is not much of a napper...but that's a whole other post!) I decided to blog about it!

 Here is a recap of 2014...

On January 2nd, after trying to get pregnant for 2 1/2 years, we finally got pregnant through IVF (full story here). We were beyond happy. We had prayed for this baby for so long and were finally going to be parents. We couldn't believe it. God is great!

Then on April 26th, God blew our minds again...Amina Sharay was brought into our lives (original post here). This sweet baby girl filled our home with so much love, joy, and endless laughter for 3 1/2 months. Although we were unable to adopt her and our sweet babe moved in with her aunt and 5 cousins, she is and always will be our baby girl. We were heartbroken to lose her but were once again shown God's love...Tamara (Amina's aunt) knew how much we loved Amina and allowed us to visit her once a week. It started off as just a few hours each visit then slowly increased to all day and eventually overnights. Over the past 4 months, we have formed a beautiful relationship with Amina's family. We pick her up once a week, she spends the night, and we take her home. Amina has two families that love her to the moon and back! That's pretty incredible. And we now have an even bigger family to love! Through Amina, Drew inherited 5 more cousins and another auntie too. Pretty lucky if you ask me!

 

On September 21st, after pushing for three very long hours, our little guy FINALLY decided to enter the world. Andrew Frank Vidovich III weighed in at 8lbs 5oz and 20in long. Our Drew was definitely worth the wait (original post here). He was absolutely perfect.

This year, I became what I was always meant to be...a momma. Here are a few things I've learned along the way...

1. I learned the true meaning of love at first sight. Before I had these babies I never knew I could love two little people so much that I'd give my my life for them.
2. I learned that I love my husband more now that I see him as a Daddy to our babies. He is pretty amazing with them.
3. I learned to be grateful and appreciative of every moment with my babies (fussy times and all) because let's face it, time is already going way too fast and they won't be this little for long.
4. I learned that being a momma is truly magical and even better than I ever imagined it would be.
5. I learned life will never be the same...it's soooo much better.

Thank you 2014 for the wondrous adventures...Can't wait to see what adventures 2015 has in store for us!

Wishing everyone love, laughter, peace, & a year as adventurous as ours has been. xo

Welcome to the World Little Man...Definitely worth the wait!

Well...to say I have dropped off the face of blogger world is an understatement! But, in my defense I have been blissfully busy.

The past 3 months have been very exciting for our little family.

On September 21st, after pushing for three very long hours, our little guy FINALLY decided to enter the world. Andrew Frank Vidovich III weighed in at 8lbs 5oz and 20in long! Holy moly! This little booger was supposed to weigh 6lbs! lol.

Our Drew was definitely worth the wait. We couldn't possibly love this little boy more than we do.

Labor is no joke! We went in on Friday, September 19th at 5am to be induced. This little guy needed to be evicted...he was too cozy in momma's belly. At 11pm, my water finally broke! We were beyond excited and worried our families would miss the birth! Ha! Thankfully, the nurse made us wait to call our families in the morning! The minute we gave them the news, they eagerly took over the waiting room excitedly anticipating Drew's arrival! Unfortunately for them, our stubborn little man decided he was not ready. During the next 24 hours, I developed a fever and was totally delirious (like when you're drunk and everything is happy & oh so foggy). I spent the entire day sleeping, starving, and eating ice chips like they were going out of style! After 21 hours, I was finally dilated to 10! My fever remained so my OB told us that upon arrival, Drew would be taken to the NICU to be treated for infection. I was so sad but after wanting him for so long, waiting over 3 years to finally get pregnant, and after this long day, I figured what's a few days in the NICU! 

The minute Drew was born and was placed on my chest, I was filled with this amazing, indescribable love. It was the same feeling I had when Amina was placed in my arms for the first time. I was overwhelmed with love and devotion to this sweet baby. He was perfect (cone head and all)! 

He was quickly taken to the NICU with Daddy following close behind. On his way, he was greeted by his loving family. Everyone was so excited to see this little man. 

He was kept in the NICU for 4 days. Right before we were discharged, we realized Drew had a twitch  (which turned out to be nothing) and the NICU doctor decided to treat it as a seizure and run a panel of tests including MRI, EEG, and Lumbar test. Everything was clear except the lumbar...his levels were elevated which indicate he may have meningitis. It wasn't high enough to say for sure but it wasn't low enough to be in the clear so our doctors decided to treat him for it. He started 2 additional antibiotics and we were stuck at Torrance Memorial for a total of 21 days. They were so accommodating and although we remained NICU patients, moved us down to PEDS so we could have a private room and stay with our baby! Anyone who has ever had a child hospitalized knows the idea of leaving your baby is absolutely heartbreaking. We quickly settled in and made the room our home. 

Our baby girl even came to spend the day with us and meet her baby brother! My heart couldn't have been fuller or more joyful. Look at these sweet babes. We sure are blessed. Amina was so sweet with her baby brother! She was very curious and kissed him every chance she got!

The 21 days actually flew by and before we knew it, we were home. The days at the hospital seem like a blur. Drew is now a totally happy & healthy baby boy (slight colic episodes to start but thankfully that ended quickly)!

Maternity Pics

Last month, we decided to take maternity pictures. Best decision! This is a very special time in our lives and we want to capture every moment. We knew they would be perfect but are even more thankful that our sweet baby girl could be a part of them. She will always be Andrew's big sister and our peanut butter cup!

So thankful for our awesome and oh so talented friend and photographer, Erin Tukua! Thank you for capturing the most beautiful pictures of our growing family. We will treasure these forever.

Fun fact: We met Erin in January 2010 when I became obsessed with her website and hired her for our engagement pictures. Here we are over 4 years later and still turn to Erin for our pregnancy announcement photos, Amina's newborn pictures, and now our maternity pictures. Pretty cool to have someone that knows us and our story.

Here are some of our favorites…ENJOY!

Have you ever seen a sweeter little face?!

One of my all-time favorites of this little girl!

Daddy's Girl

This little love muffin!

I love my babies so much.

Our family...

A Beautiful Adventure

As we prepare to drop our sweet Amina off at her aunt's, we are filled with of course sadness but also the deepest love and gratitude.

The past 3 1/2 months have been the best times of our lives. It has been the greatest privilege and honor to foster this beautiful angel. 

God placed Amina in our lives for a reason. He has a plan...we may not understand it, it may not be our plan, but he is a tricky guy and works in the most mysterious and wondrous ways. I know Amina was given to us to teach us what true love is. She has strengthened us as a couple, made our families closer than ever, strengthened our faith, and taught us how to be parents. Wow! I am amazed by how this precious little baby has changed our lives. We are so blessed. 

In our hearts, she will always be a Vidovich.

Today, we woke up, loaded up the car with bottles, bath tubs, bouncers, bows, clothes, diapers, wipes, and oh so much more! We hugged our baby girl, loved her, watched Doc McStuffins, and let Coobie say not goodbye, but "See you later!" to her sister, our peanut butter cup.  

Amina is going to live with her aunt and 5 cousins. They truly love her and will take good care of her. The love they have for her offers us some comfort. Our families were brought together by this little angel and our lives are forever intertwined. Amina now has two families that love her and will be there for her.   

As we leave today, I reflect on the ending of my favorite childhood movie…The Little Mermaid. King Triton has to let Ariel go and so he turns to Sebastian and says, "I guess there is just one problem left Sebastian. [And what's that, your majesty?] How much I'm going to miss her." I am going to miss you with my entire being baby but know that we will be together soon.

Looking forward to our visits my sweet babe. Remember...wherever you are, my love will find you. I love you poopsie.