Seeing as howI did nothing else for Adoption Awareness Month, I figured now would be a good time for the second installment of the most common adoption-related questions and comments we've received.

In case you missed it, Part One can be found here.

Since we now have our sweet baby, I'll be listing the questions and comments that relate specifically to our adoption rather than the general process. Keep in mind that just because something is addressed here doesn't necessarily mean I found it ridiculous, it just means it's something we hear often. In some cases, however, it's on here just because it's ridiculous.

• Did you know about her for awhile before she was born?

Nope. We found out when she was three days old. You can read more about that here.

• How much did you pay for her? For buying a baby you sure got a good one.

You don't buy babies. It's sort of illegal.

We paid fees to our agency, just like we would pay fees to a hospital had I given birth to her.

As for how much- That's kind of a rude question, don't you think?

• She's such a pretty baby.

I know, right?

I mean, thank you. That's such a nice compliment.

• Did you name her?

Yes.

• I didn't even know you were pregnant.

Apparently "Neither did I" is not the right answer to give should you want the person asking to think you're the least bit competent.

I know this from experience.

• What agency did you use? Do you recommend them? Is it hard to get approved?

We used a private, church run agency. If you're interested in adoption and want recommendations or have specific questions I would love to answer them. You're welcome to email me.

• Is there anything wrong with her?

No. But clearly there's something wrong with you.

• Do you have an open adoption?

Yes and we are so happy we do. Not just for our daughter but for us as well. We're quite fond of her birthparents and would hate not having contact with them.

• Did you meet the birthparents? What are they like?

We did meet her birthparents and were able to see them a few times while we were there. I cannot talk about them to others without tearing up and I struggle to write much of anything about them here that would do them justice. When someone writes the reasons they love their spouse or child, people relate. Even if they don't share the same reasons for loving their family, they understand the relationship.

I'm not necessarily saying others aren't capable of understanding the way I feel about our daughter's birthparents; I'm just not capable of adequately expressing my overwhelming feelings towards them.

So I simply say they're incredible. I say I care about them so much. I say I feel like they're part of our family, hoping you'll understand there's so much more behind these meager sentiments.

• So what's her birthmother's story?

Her "story" is just that: hers. 

It's not for us to tell and so we don't- no matter who it is that wants to know. This is out of respect for both her and for our daughter.

There seems to be a sense of entitlement surrounding information about children who have been adopted. It's as if the fact that she didn't come from my body negates any privacy she would have otherwise been given.

I know people are curious but really- is our daughter any less adorable because you don't know her birthmother's age, religion, marital or socio-economic status?

Nope. I didn't think so.

• What happens if they try to take her back in a few years?

I believe the correct term for that is kidnapping.

• Now you'll get pregnant. 

Oh good, I'm glad you think so.

You know, since the goal of our adoption was just for us to fill my vacant uterus for nine months, not become parents.

• Does she feel like yours yet?

She has felt like ours since the day we found out we'd been chosen to be her parents. Both Jason and I had separate, profound experiences that left us knowing she was ours.

This feeling was confirmed a hundredfold the first time we held her in our arms.

She is ours. She may not have our DNA but she is, and always has been, very much a part of us.

As always, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

With Regis gone and the search for the new co-host on- I'm tuning in to Live! With Kelly this week mainly out of curiosity as to who the new co-host will be.

And to see her ripped arms. I'm slightly obsessed.

Also- by tuning in I mean not taking my morning nap with my baby.

Anyway.

Jerry Seinfeld was the guest co-host today but I really have no idea what happened on the show because, uh, what's the deal with his hair?

I probably watched five minutes of the show without really processing what was being said until I figured out just what had happened to make him look so different.

Would you like to know what happened?

Twenty years happened.

I guess I honestly expected him to look the same way, white sneakers and all. 

Now that I'm past the initial shock I might be able to enjoy him on the show tomorrow.

This morning marked the fifth consecutive year of confirming that, indeed, we had zero trick or treaters come to our house the night before.

Why do we wait until the morning to confirm? Well because sometimes there's kids that like to stop by after you've turned out your porch light.

Not that we would know, we've never had anyone drop by after we've given up hope.

I feel the need to mention that, thankfully, we've never had anyone ring our doorbell wielding a knife, either. Hello, real life Lifetime movie.

And yes, it really is a Lifetime movie. I've already seen it.

In years past we've woken up to a large bowl full of candy and tried to figure out how to best get rid of it before we ate it all ourselves. We usually ended up eating it ourselves.

Except for the year that we decided to take a risk and not even buy candy. I was convinced that we would have dozens of kids wearing costumes lined up at our door but I needn't have worried.

You would think I'd have figured out that the odds of trick or treaters stopping by this year were not something to bet on but I figured that we were going to be home anyway so we should have something ready. You know, just in case any of the kids that told us they were going to come by actually showed up.

How is it, then, that we didn't wake up to a bowl full of candy today?

We decided that since I don't eat sugar, and Jason eats very little sugar and neither of us eat artificial coloring, we would rather not pass it out.

Instead, we decided to give out glowsticks because really, who doesn't like them? They're fun, increase safety and are a helluva lot nicer to get than a toothbrush when it comes to non-candy Halloween treats.

So we may not have a bowl of candy that won't get touched, but we do have about 100 glowstick all to ourselves.

Anyone up for a rave?

I've heard stories from other women about what happens when their husbands dress their babies- the result usually being too small, mismatched clothes with no shoes and messy hair.

That doesn't happen when Jason dresses our baby.

When Jason dresses our baby he puts her in an outfit that matches and makes sure she has a bow, shoes and ruffled socks.

And if it just happens to be a Saturday that Jason dresses our baby?

During the Utah/Pittsburgh game today, Jason set the baby down next to him on the floor and explained to her that "We need to get more turnovers," obviously referring to our team.

She must have taken him literally, though, because as soon as he said it she promptly turned over- well, rolled over- for the first time ever.

I can't help but wonder what she would have done had he said we needed to gain more yards.

While the title of this post is Model Behavior, this is not about the desirable behavior of myself, or anyone I know.

Although, I am awake and writing at 5:00 a.m.. That's excellent behavior; ideal, even. Maybe I'm capable of model behavior after all.

Or maybe I just wanted to document that I'm awake and being productive at 5:00 a.m. because that rarely happens; it less than rarely happens, actually.

But enough of me writing about how this post isn't about me.

It's about Model Behavior- literally.

I came across this a couple weeks ago and saved it because I thought it was funny. Notice anything that should have been rethought?

I'll help you out.

Um, yes. It would appear the little girl model is getting her grind on while the little boy model just stands and smiles, clearly enjoying himself.

And all this time we've been teaching kids to be critical of advertisements that over-sexualize products and show drinking alcohol as the ultimate care-free, fun-loving lifestyle that makes all your dreams come true.

Turns out, it's the ads for toddler's clothing that we really need to worry about.

Either this company's marketing department is a step ahead, or someone really needs to pay more attention to their job.

Now, where can I get some clothes that will give my baby girl moves like that?

Welcome to Blogtober.

Bienvenidos a- ok, not Miami.

But speaking of Miami, it doesn't seem like too bad of a place to be right now because seriously, it's October.

While I love October, it means fall.

And fall?

Fall means winter is going to be here soon and I would much rather be someplace warm when that happens, even if it is full of shuffleboard and old men in gold chains. Although, Will Smith does like it enough to sing about it. If it's good enough for the Fresh Prince, it's good enough for me.

Do you know what else is good for me?

Blogtober.

See how I brought that back around? And here you probably thought I was off on a tangent.

This year marks the third annual Blogtober and it has the potential to be the best one yet. There's going to be some big changes around here and what better way to get them started than through Blogtober.

Have I said Blogtober enough times yet?

In case you missed them, you can find Blogtober the First here and Blogtober the Second here.

Thanks for reading. And just in case you can't get the song out of your head, you might as well listen to it the right way. 

You're welcome.

A little over a month and a half ago ago we received a call.

To be cliche- we received the call.

You know, that life-altering call that we knew would come one day but didn't expect anytime soon. The one that would let us know we'd been chosen to adopt a baby and we had oh, say five months to prepare. Or maybe three weeks to prepare. Or one day to prepare- we were aware of all possible scenarios.

To be honest, we weren't terribly surprised when our agency called us that day. We had been contacted through our online profile two days prior by a young girl in Utah who was expecting a baby boy in a few months and was considering placing him with us. Naturally, we thought the agency was calling to let us know she had selected us. We were surprised, then, when the caseworker told us that it was a "unique situation."

Sure, it was a quick decision if indeed it was that girl, but there wasn't anything very unique about it.

The caseworker continued, "She was born three days ago in Detroit."

She. 

Three days ago. 

Detroit.

Nothing about that sentence was what we'd expected. We listened, albeit in a slight state of shock, as the caseworker told us more details. We were instructed to talk it over with each other and get back to the agency with our answer as soon as possible. As it turns out Jason was at work on a big project- we'd been on a conference call- and so discussing this major life event face-to-face was not exactly possible.

Even though we could only talk through texts and a few short phone calls, by the time Jason got home at midnight, there was no need for a long discussion. We both knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was ours.

We had a daughter.

Who was three days old.

In another state.

A kind caseworker in Michigan sent us pictures of her the next day and arranged for me to be able to call the hospital our baby was required to stay at for updates. Because Michigan's adoption laws are far more complicated than Utah's we were advised to wait a week to fly out. To say that week was long and emotionally exhausting would not be doing it justice. We did, however, have a lot to do to help pass the time. 

To anyone that thinks an entire nine months is necessary to prepare for a baby, know this: it's not.

We finally met our baby for the first time when she was 11 days old. Four days later we were able to sign our paperwork.

In order to return home to Utah we needed to clear ICPC- a process in which both states give us permission to cross state lines with her. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

Our plan was for Jason to return home to Utah while I stayed in Detroit until ICPC cleared. Our daughter had to remain in the hospital during this time and so naturally I stayed by her side as much as I possibly could. I left only to eat a quick dinner and to sleep three or four hours in the apartment we had behind the hospital. Jason was at home, working all day and then coming home and working all night getting things ready.

After three weeks of this, ICPC still had not cleared and Jason flew back to be with us. After several more days we found out that Michigan had never actually sent the paperwork that Utah needed to approve, despite their statement they had.

A few phone calls to the governor's office, a few strings pulled and a few hours later we were cleared to leave the state.

We could finally go home.

••••

That was three weeks ago.

We're settled in at home now and are, for the most part, back in our old routine with a few obvious adjustments.

Our daughter fits in perfectly. She is calm, laid-back and adds so much happiness. We never could have imagined how much we would enjoy being parents.

This is an amazing opportunity that we've been given and we're well aware of it.

There is not a diaper change, 4am feeding or toothless smile that goes by that doesn't remind us that we are beyond blessed to experience this.

There is not a diaper change, 4am feeding or toothless smile that goes by that doesn't remind us that we are beyond grateful to the two people who have, through an incredible act of love and pure selflessness, allowed us this experience.

We are so blessed.

We are so grateful.

We are so pleased to introduce our sweet daughter.

Surprised to find out? 

Yeah, we were, too.

We'll fill you in on all the details in the next few days.

Volunteering on Obama's 2012 campaign affords me a lot of new opportunities- some more interesting and some more exciting than others.

Last night I was in charge of one of the many house meetings set up across the country last night in honor of President Obama's 50th birthday. The purpose of these meetings was to inspire an increase in grassroots action- to recruit new volunteers, organize new events and strategize how to grow the campaign at a local level.

Also, there was that whole exclusive video chat with the president himself.

Hmm, yes. 

Happy Birthday, indeed.

I'm not a fan of flying. But it's not the actual terror-inducing act of moving through the air while wondering how the hell the plane is staying up that gets me. Although, thankfully, my memory serves me well and I never remember my fears until takeoff.

What I really hate about flying is all the little things leading up to takeoff:

• Booking the flight: Do I book now only to find a better deal tomorrow and wish I would have waited? Or do I wait for that better deal and risk missing out on the good deal I find today?

• Being bumped from flights: Not really sure why airlines think it's okay to overbook. Not really sure why they think it's okay to bump me from my flight when my ticket was purchased well in advance.

• Baggage: Checking bags. Weighing bags. Paying extra for bags. Debating whether it would be easier to just take a carry-on. Other passengers putting their carry-on bags in your overhead compartment.

• Delays: Especially when said delays aren't communicated properly and Jason is waiting at the airport for hours because there weren't proper updates informing him my flight would not be arriving on time.

Would you like to add your own airline woes? Because I know you all have them. They're pretty standard, no matter what airline you're flying.

At least I thought all airlines had issues until I received an email urging me to call Air New Zealand at my earliest convenience regarding a schedule change on our upcoming flight.

The schedule change? Our departure is now three minutes later than originally planned and an updated itinerary was promptly emailed to me. You know, just in case that extra three minutes throws us off.

Seriously. I was notified of a three minute change in schedule an entire three months in advance. 

This unprecedented airline service has me thinking that perhaps the 20+ hour flight won't be too terrible.

Way to go, Air New Zealand. You just might make me a fan of flying, yet.

Now will you please consider taking on a few flights within the United States?