Reid and Stefani Adopt

When the judge finalized Esther's adoption, he gave Isaac this certificate: I thought this was so cute and heart-warming.  Although Isaac has been known to push and get jealous of his little sister, there are also many times that he is so caring and careful around her.  He always gives her a kiss goodnight, he made sure to get candy for her when we went trick-or-treating, he makes sure to mention her in our family prayers, and he likes to sit by her at meals.  I also have two videos of times when I thought he was fulfilling the court mandate to "always love her." I was so impressed at how carefully Isaac pushed Esther around.  I loved how he moved the garbage can out of the way so he wouldn't accidentally run her into it.  It was so cute. Usually, when we go out to swing, Isaac insists on pushing Esther himself.  He's barely tall enough to reach, and it's so funny to watch him push his little sister on the swing.

Halloween has come and gone again this year.  We did our usual meal, and even Esther got to enjoy the monster mash.  Isaac was excited to be Elmo, which is one of his favorite things.  Esther was a cute little fairy, complete with wings, which she couldn't even wear on Halloween because she had to sit in the stroller, which isn't conducive to wearing wings on your back.  She did get to wear them at the TOTs Halloween party though.  The video below is the "Show off your costume parade," which Isaac got to lead with Miss Laurie.     Monster Mash, complete with a face, and a pumpkin roll.  We also had "bug juice" although it's not pictured. Esther loved the monster mash. Isaac was actually pretty excited this year.  He is getting old enough to appreciate holidays now. The Archibald family right before Trick-or-Treating this year. Isaac made sure to get 2 pieces of candy at every house...one for himself, and one for his sister. 

Sundays are always a little wild with the kids.  Church starts at 11:30 AM.  This means we usually make it on time, but it totally messes up the regular daily routine.  We are constantly pulling out new toys or treats to keep them occupied, and often have to take them out of the meeting because of crying or a diaper change.  I know that it's worth it though, when they both fall asleep on the way home, and I get to carry them to their cribs.  The house is will be quiet for at least an hour, and usually longer.  Then it's my time to contemplate spiritual things, and appreciate the opportunity I have been given of being a mother to 2 little angels.

Esther just started to crawl this week.  Isaac is very excited because now he can at least crawl around with her.  He is seriously wanting a playmate.  He is possibly more excited about her making this milestone than his parents are, simply because now she able to get into more trouble than ever before.  But we are excited. Congratulations, Esther, for making this milestone.

Isaac loves us to sing him the same song every night before bed.  We have sung it so many times that he sings along sometimes.  So here is Isaac singing "Moon, Moon, Moon" by Laurie Berkner and her band.  I will write the words he says versus how the song actually goes. Isaac:                                                   Actual Song: Moon, Moon, Moon                         Moon, Moon, Moon My Night Light                                Shining Bright Moon, Moon, Moon                         Moon, Moon, Moon My Night Light                                My Night Light Moon, Moon, Moon                         Moon, Moon, Moon I can see                                            I can see                                                         Moon, Moon, Moon    takin' care of me                              you're taking care of me Look up, it's the moon                      Look up, it's the moon Look up, it's the moon    

The past two weeks have been very busy.  After the crazy week of mishaps, we got to go to court and finalize Esther's adoption.  Isaac also got a "certificate of brotherhood" signed by the judge that stated, "This is to certify that on this 2nd day of July, 2014 ISAAC REID ARCHIBALD officially became the brother of ESTHER LYNNE ARCHIBALD.  It is hereby acknowledged and ordered that Isaac will always and forever be a brother to Esther and will always love her."   It was a good day.   The day after the adoption, we drove 10 1/2 hours (including stoppage time) to Minnesota to the Archibald family reunion.  The pictures below are from that reunion. The two pictures above are Esther and Isaac as we waited for fireworks to start on the 4th of July.  We had to wait a long time and entertain ourselves. This is a picture of our family after Esther was given a name and a blessing in church.  The white dress was provided by Grandma Archibald.

This week has been crazy.  Reid, Isaac and Esther have all been sick with a cold.  Esther felt it the worst and has been coughing almost non-stop every morning.  We are down 1 car (car repairs), and the internet went out on us and the camera had stopped working. Getting Esther to the doctor was tricky; Reid had to come home from work so I could drive her to see the doctor.  Reid was going to go biking after work that day, so his bike was on top of the car.  When I got home from the doctor's office, I drove it right into the garage.  So the bike was knocked off of the car since our garage doors are not high enough to compensate for the bike on top of the car.  This is the 2nd time this has happened--both my fault.  Luckily, there wasn't any damage to the bike or the house, and only minimal damage to the car and car racks.  We are now talking about getting a different kind of bike rack for the car... Anyway, I hit a low point this week.  I was trying to be grateful this wee

We got to celebrate Isaac's 2nd birthday today. He has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. He was very excited about the tool set he got from his Grandma and Grandpa Archibald. Esther got a little bored though.

I just wanted to say, on behalf of our kids who can't really express this yet, Happy Mother's Day to the 2 wonderful mothers who gave our children life.  You were in our prayers this past Sunday. Thank you, Thank you.

The week before Easter was a crazy and special week for my family.  My Grandma, Kristy Carroll, passed away on April 10th, 2014.  She was 93.  We knew she wasn't doing well and was going to pass soon, and so we decided we'd do what it takes to go to Utah for her funeral.  It was quite the trip.  This was the first time we have flown with Esther, and the last time we would fly with Isaac as a lap child.  Even though we had chosen seats together on each flight, we discovered that you are not allowed to have 2 lap children right next to each other, so we had to sit across the aisle from each other.  While there in Blanding, which is my home town, Esther got to meet most of my family members for the first time.  My parents, who are currently serving a mission in California, got to come home for just over a week to attend the funeral and help sort out Grandma's house.  This was their first time to meet Esther in person.  I cried a lot at the funeral, but I was so happy to have t

We are a happy family. Christmas 2013. Lately, I've been teaching Isaac that he is an Archibald, and I (Stefani) am an Archibald, and Daddy is an Archibald, and Esther is an Archibald.  I sing " We are a Happy Family " to him regularly, trying to help him understand the concept of family.  Right now he answers "no" every time you ask him a question, even if he really does want the treat you're offering him.  Esther is starting to smile and coo, and is generally pretty cute.  I can't wait for warm weather to truly arrive to get these kids outside.  I am particularly looking forward to a day at the zoo, and the Archibald Family Reunion.  The snow is still in piles, but is finally starting to melt.  I also really look forward to the day when we can finalize Esther's adoption.  That will be happening sometime in June or July.  I can't wait!  It will be nice to sing "We are a Happy Family" and know that all of us are, by law, Archibalds.

Just a note:  If any of you adoptive families are finding that you can't claim a baby or child yet because you don't have their social security number yet, you can file to get an adoption taxpayer identification number.  The form is called W-7A, "Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions."  You need to do it with plenty of time before April 15, because it may take 4 to 8 weeks to get a number.  With our first child, we had a social security number in time to file because he was born in June.  However, since Esther was born in November, we have not had time to get through the system yet.  Hope this helps any adoptive families looking to claim their children on their taxes.