First County Fair

Ahhhhh, the county fair -- a symbol of summer around these parts. Every August, kids around the county bring out their animals they spent all year raising and show them. Last year when Wren and I went, the boys were still in utero and were still only affectionately known as Baby A (who we were convinced was a GIRL) and Baby B. So this year, we headed out to give the boys their first fair experience and to see the animals.

Oliver introducing himself to Mr. Ed the Horse

Jack

Oliver and Jack debate which came first -- the egg or these laying hens

Wren explaining to the boys this is also where milk comes from :)

Oliver and Finch

Baa, baa, shaved sheep -- what happened to your wool?

Hanging out with the Jersey cows

All in all I think they had a good time checking everything out. Next year will be a different story with them wanting to touch everything I'm sure.

In other news, we will be taking our first official family vacation the end of this week. We are packing up and heading to Va Beach. Wren and I are very much looking forward to getting away and relaxing. As well as seeing how the boys react to their first beach experience.

Also, I haven't even gotten to write about our adoption process..... Oddly enough, WV is one of the few states that allows second parent adoption for same-sex couples. We have several friends in the immediate area that have all gone through the process without a glitch. And of course, that's not how the dice rolled for us, but it all seems to be working out. Luck of the draw, we ended up with a judge who requested either an in-home study or a letter from our minister. Now mind you, none of our other friends had either of those requests. There is apparently no exact protocol or guideline to follow, it is all the judges' discretion. So, thank goodness, we have a church we occasionally attend and our minister wrote a letter of recommendation -- along with about 5 other members of the church and a very large letter campaign from friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. We handed our attorney about 50 letters (over-kill?? Maybe, but it got the point across to the judge) for the judge, all in favor of our adoption. That was almost a month ago and we have been on pins and needles ever since...waiting to see if the judge accepted them or will now still require the home study. Well...we just got new yesterday of our court date for September 17th!!!!! So it looks like it's all a goooooooo!!!!!

Leaving you on that positive note! Hope you're all having a great week.

Xoxo,

Finch, Wren, Oliver and Jack

7 Months of Bliss

I know, I know -- we have become terrible bloggers. It's just sooooo hard to find the time. Several of you have been on my mind lately and I miss the "blog-family", even though several of you follow along on FB. We would like to share some updates on the boys.

Oliver and Jack are growing so fast, it's hard to imagine how very small they were at birth. They are both amost 20 lbs, eating like horses and Wren has still been able to keep up with breastfeeding. They are happy, giggling, squealing,  babbling, jumping, so loving and almost crawling little beings of emense energy. So here are the past 7 months in pictures:

Newborn: December

Sweet, sweet snuggling boys

One Month: January

Mommy with her handsome men

Hanging out with Mama

2 Months: Feburary

Oliver grinning because he loves his Mommy

Our Valentine's

Little owls that have blessed our nest!

Getting stronger with tummy time

3 Months: March

St Patty's Day pics -- Yes we REALLY did dress them like leprachans!

Oliver

Me wee little lad, Jack

This is one of my favorite earlier pics of Oliver

Jack with his flirty smile

4 Months: April

Oliver getting some snuggle time with Mama

Play time in the play yard that has taken over the living room :)

The boys in their Easter suites, looking very dapper

Snuggle bunny Oliver

Cuddle bunny Jack

5 Months: May

Celebrating our first Mother's Day with a picnic in the park

Jack

Oliver and "sophie"

Memorial day -- first time at the pool

Mama and Oliver

Mommy and Jack

Aunt Julie with the boys

Mama and Jack

Mommy and Oliver

6 Months: June

AKA -- DC Pride

Big boys sitting in their high chairs

First time staying in a hotel -- living up the luxuries. Room service in bed!

Mommy and boys at Dupont Circle

Getting ready for the Pride parade -- Oliver and Jack made some shiney new friends

Mommy and Oliver sharing a moment

Our beautiful family

Proud Mama

We marched in the DC parade this year with Rainbow Families. The boys were a big hit -- here Wren is marching and waving to the crowd.

After the parade, the boys were so happy and proud

I love this pic!

Back home in WV. We took a small hike one afternoon.

7 Months: July

Oliver and Jack love playing with each other

Oliver, a budding pianist!

Jack's dashing smile

Oliver and Jack -- best buds

Mama and Oliver

Mama and Jack

Oliver with the flowers

Jack with the flowers

Brothers -- "I always got your back, bro."

Mommy and her boys

My world :)

Oliver loves the grass

Oliver (left) Jack (right)

Love his potato face smile!

Mommy and Jack

Mommy playing with Oliver

the boys knocked out from great-grandma's house. She wore them out!

The boys make their first field appearence!

Oliver

Jack

Mama and Oliver in game day gear

7 months has seemed to just fly by. We are so smitten by our little guys. Now that you are all caught up, here's hoping we can get back into blogging and keep you up to date with all the joy filling our lives.

 You may ask -- how do they do it with twins?? It's simple really.....COFFEE! Some days are rough, but we can't imagine our life any different. Every day is a joy, even if it starts at 6am --- at least they have smiling faces that early. Wren and I's relationship is stronger than ever. It has to be, otherwise everything would collapse. We work very well as a team.

Thank you to all who have emailed, commented, given your support etc during our blog absence. We hope you are all doing well and hope to hear from you soon again!

xoxo,

Finch, Wren, Oliver and Jack