Spring forward.

So is this neglect or just decreased expectations?

Life has been plugging away as usual at our house. What that means is...we have been busy as ever! Jonathan became a real estate agent and actually got a job with a local broker this week. If that wasn't enough...We received the acceptance of our formal adoption application, which means we are now moving into the home study part. Jonathan and I both had to answer an extensive number of questions about everything you can think of pertaining to our pasts, marriage, family, children, work, etc. We somehow made it through all of that and a mountain of paperwork this week, so now we are back into a wait mode for a while. We are continuing our education classes and hope to meet with our social worker for a least one of our 3 required visits during the month of April. One thing we have learned about this process is how variable it can be. We have loose goals for a timeline, but we have fully surrendered that it doesn't always go as planned. We are hoping (though we don't know how realistic) to be "ready" for a baby by the end of June. Once again, "ready" means an average wait time of 9 more months with the possibility of only two weeks. I mean, for a planner like me, this in and of itself is crazy. Crazy in the best way possible, of course. We feel very fortunate to already have all the baby "stuff" that we can whip out on a day's notice...but if we end up moving to another house soon I will most definitely entertain myself with setting up a nursery as soon as possible:) There are so many unknowns, and it can be frustrating or exciting...and sometimes a mixture. "Should we plan this vacation? Will we have another family member in time for the major holidays? We could have a baby before the summer is out! Will it be a boy or girl? I wonder what season clothes to have prepared..." These are only a few of the questions that linger through our minds as we prepare ourselves for the wait.

In other news...we have a parrot living in our house. Unfortunately, you might hear him say "oh my gosh" a lot, because somehow the one thing I wish he didn't pick up is now his favorite phrase. I am the guilty party, I admit. Who knew that something I perceived as "fine" would sound so profane from the mouth of a two year old. Apparently, I need to stop saying it--and quick. There are a few other things I have noticed that I say and he shouldn't (thank goodness none of them are truly profanity). I am in overdrive for personal behavior modification before he highlights those for me, too. He is truly talking about anything and everything. He talks all day long, too. It is so entertaining to listen to him form his own ideas or use a new phrase appropriately. We honestly hear multiple new words or ideas each day. Today he told me to "hold on a minute" for "just a minute, Mommy." Then he said we had to "wait our turn" for something. When he was acting up in the store he actually volunteered, "need time out." Now try to look back with a straight face at that one.

He is talking about the new baby as factual now, which makes me smile. We have a name chosen for each gender, so he references them by name. I ask him who is coming home between the two "babies" to see if his prophetic gifts are in full gear at 2 years old (I don't confidently know the answer myself, so I'm not really sure how to grade his answer). He thinks there is a baby sister on her way, but that opinion is liable to change as frequently as the weather.

We went to the local Easter Egg Hunt today. Sadly, there weren't really "eggs." There were egg shaped candies instead. Easier, cheaper, and kinder to the environment I suppose. Josiah had a great time "egg hunting." I plan on doing a true hunt in our backyard with eggs I purchased. Without hesitation, I put the already-hunted candy in those eggs.