ARTHUR = MANBEAR

Aaron and I LOVE talking about names we like. We've had the name Arthur picked out for this little guy for a while and more recently we've found out just how perfect it is.

First, Aaron is a huge fan of Maurice Sendak and "Little Bear" is a special character to him. He even calls our dog, Wonder, "Little Bear" from time to time.

Second, Aaron is an incredible doodler. Doodler? Anyway he comes up with the most amazing little characters and the one that has become most dear to us is Manbear. Basically just a little guy in a bear costume.

As we were talking about the name Arthur, I decided to look up it's meaning. You ready for this?

Arthur is a name that probably dates back as far as pre-Roman times in Britain. It is possibly derived from the Celtic "artos" (bear), or the Welsh term "arth gwyr," or "bear man."

His name is Arthur.

AARON

Aaron is SO EXCITED to be a dad! I love this picture of him. It just shows his heart so much. He's a natural with kids. Yesterday we talked a lot about the reality that we are going to be parents. It's starting to sink in. We're ready to start making a space for this little one and we just want to buy all sorts of things for him. I got home from work yesterday and Aaron had bought a little blanket with african animals on it. He took it out of it's packaging and cradled it like a baby. So stinkin' sweet! Earlier in the day he asked, "Should I be Dad, Poppa, or Pop?" I said "what feels the most natural?" he said "none of them do. ha!" Maybe we'll just let our son decide.

TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY

I just found out this morning that we've been approved by Children's Hope! I knew that we would probably hear something this week, but getting the call first thing Monday morning was definitely a treat! Aaron and I are so excited to officially get this thing started!

MEET OUR DOGS

If you already know us, you know that these little guys are VERY special to us. They're our "kids". We have learned so much about taking care of "someone" other than yourself. Potty training, cleaning up throw up, taking them to the doctor... you know what I mean. Aaron and I had a conversation the other day about what it's going to be like for our dogs when we add a baby to our household. We've seen dogs get brushed to the side so many times when babies arrive. This early on, we can't know what we're going to feel or how things will play out, but we made a pledge to each other that we're NOT going to forget about these guys. I mean look at them! How could we?

CROSS YOUR FINGERS...

After considering a few different agencies we decided to send in an application to Children's Hope International. This thing has officially started! Now we wait. In just a couple weeks we should know if we've been accepted and we'll go from there.

TWO IMPORTANT BOOKS

The first is important because it's the first book we bought especially for our little guy. We found it in a really cool shop in Chicago, Rudy's Roundup. It's about a little bear who travels the world and experiences different cultures. We also got a really fun elephant that would be the perfect bathtub toy, but Peabody ate it :( Guess we're gonna have to a little chat with our dogs about the new addition to the family and about how they can't chew up his toys! especially vintage toys!

The second? I'll just say Aaron cried through the entire first chapter and I'll admit I had a few tears too. It explains how the Gospel itself is an adoption story. I'm excited about what this journey is going to teach us about God's love for us as his "adopted" children.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

Aaron and I went to Chicago this past weekend to celebrate our two year anniversary. It was great being in Chicago and getting to explore a new city, but more than that it was great to just be together for 3 days straight without life's distractions back home. I kept thinking about how far we've come in two years. We've really learned how to love each other well. We're starting paperwork next week! We're so ready for this journey to begin.