Royal Wedding Preparations

Just about 30 years ago, I was excitedly awaiting the 29th of July and the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. I remember the night before the wedding so clearly. We had a horrible thunderstorm the night before. My mom was working the night shift in the ER. So my dad and my brother and I huddled in the family room with no electricity as the storm raged. I'm not exaggerating. The thunder and lightning were right over top of the house. With every strike, my dad would sink lower and lower into his chair. Until that night, I thought I was the only one in the family who hated thunderstorms.

It finally passed sometime after dark and then my dad and my brother went off to bed. The electricity was still off, so I refused to go to bed until it came back on. I did not have a battery powered alarm clock and the wedding was starting 11am GMT which is 6am in Virginia. I was gonna be up no matter what. So I sat alone in the candlelight and dreamed about the fireworks they were supposedly having in London that night and I waited. And waited.

I must have gone to bed at some point because the next thing I remembered was daylight. I ran downstairs to see it was after 7am. I had overslept and missed the whole thing! When I turned on the TV the new royal couple were leading the recessional down the aisle of St. Paul's. I was crushed. But back in 1981, 24 hour news stations and cable TV with hundreds of stations did not exist. So the networks, bless them, played the wedding footage all day and then had specials on all night. My mom and I laughed the other day about how I refused to let anyone change the channel all day!

So now, here I sit getting ready for Wills and Kate's big day. Deja Vu. The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for our area of the state. I have just heard the rumblings of thunder. And now the rain has begun. The storm has already screwed up the satellite signal. So I can't even watch the pre-wedding coverage on TV. But we still have electricity, so far. The storm is supposed to pass after midnight, so I will continue my Royal Wedding preparations.

Kensington Palace is lit up for the night.

My Princess Diana mug is ready for Earl Grey tea in the morning (along with Richard's bottles). I did not have the foresight to buy or bake scones, so we will have some Bisquick garlic and cheddar biscuits for brekkie instead.

And now Sir Richard is bathed and dressed especially for the 4am wake up call. One of my longtime friends was in London recently. She couldn't resist buying him this onesie and bib from Harrod's and I am glad she did. So adorable.
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And now I wait. Hopefully with electricity!

Cousins!

No explanation needed, really. Today, Richard met his first cousins, our niece and nephew. Happiness does not even begin to describe it. They fell head over heels with him!

On our way to becoming a forever family

We went to Children's Home Society of Virginia on Tuesday, April 12 to sign the official adoption agreement. This means that Baby Richard's status is no longer foster child. But, that we have agreed as his adoptive parents to take him into our home and be supervised for the next six months by the adoption agency. At the end of the six month period, the agency will make a recommendation to the courts for us to become his legal family.

We successfully had lunch out at a restaurant afterwards. Little Bubby slept through the whole thing. We never imagined that we would be able to go out to eat with a newborn. Then we stopped by Target to get a few things. Needless to say he was a tired boy by the end of the day.

In the meantime, he had his 2 week check up on Wednesday. He had gained a half pound bringing his weight to 9lbs 8oz. He is so strong. He already pulls upwards when I hold his little hands. And he has started pushing up with his feet and almost turned over at the doctor's office.

So, Hunter is back to work. I have a couple of more weeks before I go back. The time is flying. He's just two weeks old, but he is definitely the boss of this house!

You can call me anything you like, but my name is Richard

Naming this little guy has sparked much discussion. We are not unlike any other couple naming a child. Everybody has an opinion. But in the end, we (or should I say Hunter) decided that he would be named for his father. Hunter was named for his grandfather. He is officially Richard Hunter II. During the only time he and I discussed names, Hunter asked me if I thought it was appropriate to name the baby after him. I knew even before we married that it was Hunter's wish to have a son named after him, so our son would be an RHB III. I told Hunter that it was his name to give and I would stand behind his decision. And that, was that. No more discussion.

However, what to call him seems to be constantly up to the individual's interpretation. Since his father already goes by Hunter, we are left with Richard. I do not like shortening names. Rich, Richie, Rick, Dick, etc. are definitely out as far as I am concerned. Lord helps the person who calls him "Little Richard"!  So, he is Richard. I think we should call him RJ. Because, according to Miss Manners he is actually Richard Jr. not the III. (Hunter's grandfather passed away in 2002) 

Here is a list of the names that friends and family currently call him.

My mother - Jackson. That is the name she wanted for him and she secretly whispers it in his ear.

My father - Little Wooter. He secretly wants one of Richard's names to be Joseph, which is my Dad's first name. So the RJ thing works pretty well for my parents.

Our cousin Caryn - Butter Beane

Our cousin Lesly - Richie Rich (it's a long story)

Hunter - Stewpot (when he is crying)

Me - Junior (I'm so bad!)

The 10 day waiting period has ended. We will go to the agency this Tuesday to sign the official adoption agreement. We have had the most wonderful time this past week. Whatever we call this little boy, he is our miracle and we are loving every minute!

One Week Later

I'm up at one of those hours that only parents of newborns are up at and thought I would update what has been going on so far. We have had the little guy home with us for a week and it has been an amazing time.

The baby was born at 10pm, Wednesday, March 30 at VCU Medical Center in downtown Richmond, Virginia. During the next two days of visits to the hospital we experienced the Final Four frenzy that all of Richmond was under.

Friday, April 1st was spent at the hospital waiting for paperwork to be completed. It was very much a hurry up and wait kind of day.

The baby's discharge was complicated by paperwork between the hospital and the adoption agency, but eventually all was worked out. Hunter and I walked out with the baby along with R, her mother and Debra from the adoption agency. We had a brief, but heartfelt goodbye with R and her mom.

And then, we were on our way. I was so tired at that point and we still had 85 miles to go to get home. I was never so happy to make those last few miles home. Waiting for us in the driveway was my cousin, Lesly. She just edged out my parents to be followed by Hunter's parents. The baby slept the whole way home and didn't let out a peep as everyone held him and cooed at him.

I have to admit, Hunter and I were very bad parents the first 2 nights. The baby did not want to sleep on his own, so we took turns holding him while in the recliner, even at night. Of course, I took some criticism for this from my mom. Sunday night was the hardest. But I eventually, out of frustration, put him to bed on his own around 4am. I waited a whole hour to make sure he didn't wake up and then I went to bed. But not before announcing to Hunter that if he cried, Hunter was in charge. I laid in bed for another hour with eyes wide open and eventually got up around 6am to check on him. Hunter jumped out of bed from a sound sleep. "Is he crying?" he asked. No, I said. But how can you sleep, I cried, obviously delirious from exhaustion. Hunter just quietly got up and stood watch while I got some sleep.

I awoke later Monday morning with Hunter telling me he had fed the baby, changed his diaper and the baby had slept 2 additional hours in his sleeper on his own. This was a breakthrough and I was so relieved. We took him to his first pediatrician appointment later that day and stopped by my office so everybody could meet him.

The rest of the week has been filled with a mix of visitors and getting into a routine. We feel so lucky. He is such a good baby. He is just right for two middle-aged, first-time parents. Oh, and our cat, Sassafras, who is very shy of all who come to visit, she has given him 2 (or is it 4) paws up! Except for the crying parts, that is.

We are home!

No time to write. We are just enjoying being home.