Thank you, Nicole!

I'm writing this post to share/document the birthday package that Noah recently received from Nicole. First of all though, can I just say that we have the best birthmother in the entire world? As I've said before, we refer to Nicole as "our" birthmother (even though she's obviously Noah's birthmother) because of the sweet relationship that Mark & I have with her also. There is a special bond that we feel with this beautiful girl that brought our son into the world, and so selflessly placed him into our arms...filling a hole in our hearts & making us parents. There will never be anything that we can say which could appropriately convey the love, gratitude and admiration that we have for Nicole, and yet when we communicate she so often expresses gratitude for us and the parents that we are to Noah. She is always thoughtful and considerate in our communications, and although she has never asked anything of us that has made us feel the slightest bit uncomfortable - the sweet way that she is so respectful of us and our feelings (and what we're comfortable with) only makes us love her that much more.

So! Those are some of the reasons that I feel so horrible that it's taken me so long to get this (and the previous post) up for her to see! Right after Noah's party I got horribly sick, and I was on the tail end of that as I left for a conference in Washington D.C. (blog post on that is pending). Soon after I left, her package arrived for Noah's birthday (and Mark set it aside for Noah to open after I got home). So, not only had I still not emailed Nicole from Noah's birthday and his party, but she was still waiting to see if we'd received her package! So, I felt so badly when I got an email from her following up on the package and seeing if we were all ok. She didn't say anything at all to make us feel bad - I just feel so regretful for leaving her hanging, and not sending a thorough email & pictures sooner to the person that made our little miracle (Noah!) possible - especially during a time when we were celebrating his birth.

So, there is a little background on the way that I'm feeling as I put this post together. I did email Nicole after I finally finished the last ginormous post (on his party), and let her know that I'd be posting this entry soon. So here we go!

I'm going to include several short clips, here is one as he anxiously gets started on opening the package...


And pulling out the fun balls that she sent...




Opening the beautiful shadowbox that Nicole made...


Looking at the adorable scrapbook that Nicole sent (so cute!)...


He couldn't have loved any birthday card more than this one (it was perfect for him)...


Thanks, "Cole"!

And, as I'm sure one could anticipate, the packaging was about as fun for him as the gifts! Here is Noah exploring the joy of bubble wrap. A tiny bit reserved at first, but not for long...


Both Noah & Lincoln loved playing in the box with the styrofoam peanuts (and throwing them, of course)! And, as one could expect from Noah, it reminded him of Toy Story (he can relate everything in his life right now to one of the Pixar films) . If you're familiar with Toy Story and aren't sure why a box of styrofoam was a fun "prop" for Noah, then just ask him & he'll tell you all about it!

Here's a clip of Noah enjoying his Toy Story bliss...


Even the clean-up was fun for him. After the excitement of the styrofoam began to wind down, we began to sweep and vacuum the little pieces from every corner of the house! Being 3 years old, Noah still thinks helping with that kind of stuff is lots of fun - especially when he can use the vacuum hose...and particularly when he's allowed to use that vacuum hose to suck little pieces of static-styrofoam off his little brother...

Thank you again, Nicole for the wonderful package. Noah has been having lots of fun with the card, as well as playing with all of the balls - he and Lincoln have actually been throwing and chasing them together. It's been lots of fun to watch them interact like that. Also, the scrapbook and shadowbox are beautiful...and even more of a treasure since they were made by you. I know as the years go on that it will mean so much to Noah to have those from you, so thank you for that.

Last night when Noah said his prayers he said (all on his own), "Thank you for Nicole and that she knows I like balls..." so that was his sweet way of sharing his gratitude right now for your package! We're thankful for you too, Nicole. Obviously for what you have done for us...but also for the person that you are. We love you, and are so proud that you are our birthmother.