Big week ahead!

In the lead up to my adoption leave I could think of nothing better than being home all day, all week, and being the best father I could to Little One.  For the last six weeks Daddy has been off work too, making caring for our new arrival an easier and enjoyable task  The fact that she's been a pre-school three mornings a week has also added to the illusion but tomorrow is Daddy's first day back at work and it is also half term so school is closed!! Eeeek!! That means that I'm left holding the baby!! My dream come true? I thought so, so why do I feel nervous to my core?  How the heck am I supposed to keep an active 3 year old constantly occupied?  Whilst being a very confident little girl Little One does like to have you around all the time and constantly wants to be engaged with you (unless of course she is watching Mr Tumble or the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!).

When I realised it was half term week I called everyone I could that I thought would be free and very quickly filled up my diary with lunches and play dates.  My social calendar has never been so active but hopefully Little One will enjoy all the activities and meets, I know I'll find it a lot easier.

I know it will be fine, I know we'll both have lots of fun.  Maybe it's just the fact that Little One is such an active little soul and (quite frankly) I'm still finding it hard to keep up with her that I enter the half term week with trepidation.  But this will be the first half term of many and I'm pretty sure I won't be feeling this way next half term.  Will I?

Come round here and say that!!!

My blog doesn't normally (well, never really) take a political stance but every now and then something happens or you hear something that just won't leave you alone.

Yesterday David Jones, the Conservative MP for Clwyd West went on ITV Wales defending his decision to vote against the Government's plans to introduce gay marriage.  Fine, if you don't agree with it, that's up to you.  I don't see why anyone should or would give a damn about two people they don't know getting married but fill your boots if it makes you happy.  What really stuck in my head (and throat) was his comment that same-sex couples can't provide a 'warm and safe environment'.  I'm not going to paraphrase, that wouldn't be fair.  If I did I'd probably make him sound more ignorant than he is.  What he actually said was......

"I was one of two cabinet ministers who did vote against it and it was for various reasons. Certainly in constituency terms, I felt that overwhelmingly the constituents of Clwyd West were opposed to the change. But also I regard marriage as an institution that has developed over many centuries, essentially for the provision of a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children, which is clearly something that two same-sex partners can’t do. Which is not to say that I'm in any sense opposed to stable and committed same-sex partnerships."

Well thanks for not being opposed to my relationship as well!

Funnily enough Andrew White, the director of Stonewalls, has commented that opinion polls show that 62% of people in Wales support the UK Government's proposals for same-sex marriage so either Mr Jones is lying or a large number of the 38% who were 'opposed to the change' must live in Clwyd West! (I'm not having a dig at residence of Clwyd West)

Following the backlash Mr Jones issued a statement saying the following....

"I did not say in the interview that same sex partners should not adopt children and that is not my view.
I simply sought to point out that, since same sex partners could not biologically procreate children, the institution of marriage was one that, in my opinion, should be reserved to opposite sex partners."

Sounds like a bit of back-peddling to me, but also a stupid thing to say  So, we should adopted but we can't provide a warm and safe environment?  Just because we can't biologically 'procreate' does that mean we shouldn't get married.  And what about 'opposite sex partners' that can't 'procreate'? Should they not be able to get married either or is it ok just because they are opposite sexes?

My message to Mr Jones is this.  Come round to my house and meet our family, speak to any of our friends, social workers and health visitors that have experienced our warm and safe environment and then tell me that we don't have the essentials to bring up our child!

I dare you!!!

One month in....

Four weeks ago today we collected Little One from her foster careers for the last time and brought her home.  Four weeks doesn't sound like a long time but in some ways it feels like Little One has been with us forever.  Of those that have already met her, most can't believe she has only been with us for such a short time.
We still have to pinch ourselves to believe how lucky we have been with our process.  Little has settled better than ever expected and is already a pre-school.  We had originally thought that we would have to be in quarantine until the dust settled but that seems to have happened almost over night.

Here are some of the occurrences that have made us feel like a family:
1) the first time someone looked at Little One and said "Is this your daddy".
2) the first set of freshly washed toddler clothing on the washing line.
3) the first day Little One woke up and said "Good morning daddy" with her beautiful smile.
4) the first tears that were wiped away and big dad hug given.
5) the first drop off at pre-school.  She cried, I cried.
6) our first trip to the swimming pool.
7) the first time we had to wake up in the middle of the night and try to soothe her back to sleep.
8) the first time we had guests over to witness our little family unit.
9) the first time I saw her sleeping after a very tiring day.
10) the first time Little One said 'I love you'

We had our first review with the social workers last week.  Thankfully everyone was in agreement that everything is going well and no-one has any concerns about the placement.  Phew!  We recently met the Health Visitor from the doctors surgery who also came to the meeting.  We'd only met her twice before the review so were unsure what/how much she'd have to input to the meeting.  Her comments about her observations almost made us cry, they were so unexpected but very welcomed.

I'm not going to lie, I'm tired half the time and any downtime is greatly received but Little One is a total joy and such a great personality.  She loves to sing and the other day we taught her a song which she now sings all the time.  It's our take on a disco classic. It goes like this....
"We are family, I got my two daddies with me!"