Waiting in Washington, 11/24/10 - 12/1/10

After the placement documents were signed, we were discharged from the hospital with Jessie the day before Thanksgiving. We had a 48 hour checkup in Vancouver Friday morning so we decided to stay in our hotel for the holiday. Jessie had her first Thanksgiving feast at Hometown Buffet with perfect strangers. To get into the restaurant the line for groups of 4 or less was out the door and into the parking lot so we decided to join in with a nice family that was in line behind us to create a large group which moved us to a shorter line. We had a wonderful time and even made some new friends. Friday morning, after her check-up, we drove to Redmond Washington, where we spent the rest of our waiting period with Reid's family. We stayed at Aunt Debra and Uncle Pat's house and visited with Reid's sister Paige daily.

Although we were anxious to return home with our new baby girl, it was very nice to get to spend some quality time with Reid's family. This time turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it ended up being our last days with Reid's sister Paige. 4 days after we arrived home in Montana we received a phone call and immediately left to return to Washington to be with Paige. We are so grateful for the time we had to spend with Paige before she passed away. It is a true testimony to us that our Heavenly Father knows us and has a plan for us. If Jessie hadn't been born 4 weeks early we would not have been able to spend those precious moments with Paige.

Jessie's first check-up - 11/26/10. She weighed 6 lbs 1 oz.

Spending time with the Holman's. Everyone was very anxious to meet her and snuggle her.

Jessie's first experience with Sushi. The sushi was excellent in Washington and we ate there almost every day (the sushi restaurants were closed on Thanksgiving so we chose to do something a little more traditional).

Jessie's bed in our hotel was a drawer from the dresser. It was a perfect fit! At the Holman's she slept in a laundry basket.

Meeting Aunt Paige, Uncle James, and her cousin Esme. Esme is also adopted and is 11 months older than Jessie.

Tummy time with her daddy.

We were lucky enough to be able to introduce Jessie to part of her Alaska family in the airport on our way home. It was so great to see Russell, Leah, Kenzie, Carter, Alli, and Kate!