Yesterday afternoon I got to meet Boo for the first time, at the airport as Oronzo was picking us up.

I watched as Oronzo walked up to us, holding a little girl with a full head of silky brown hair. Her face was somber and inquisitive.

Snuggle Bug looked up and said, "Daddy has another baby!" I had to laugh at that! He didn't seem to phased at this additional baby, he was just stating the obvious.

Before I barely got the words, "Hi!" out of my mouth, Oronzo handed Boo over to me so that he could sweep Snuggle Bug up for a big bear hug. Boo didn't fuss at being passed over to me, she just looked me over intently and I did the same to her.

Boo is a beautiful little girl. She has shoulder length hair that is thick, soft, and wavy. Her bangs are a bit long over her dark brown eyes. Her skin is creamy and fair. She has a pretty bow shaped mouth and a delicate nose. It's obvious that she's been well taken care of because she's a solid 12-month old.

I got to spend the rest of the day yesterday getting to know Boo. She's certainly quiet and clingy but I don't blame her. She was removed from the only family she's known for the last 7 months. I'm surprised she wasn't more agitated. She doesn't like to be set down on the floor, it makes her cry, but if we set her on our bed or on the couch, she's okay with that. She just wants to keep one of us within eye-sight.

Despite her shyness, we had a few happy moments with Boo yesterday. She smiled and laughed out loud as she watched Oronzo and Snuggle Bug tickling each other and giggling together. She pretty much laughed each time she heard Snuggle Bug laugh. She also chattered away to Baby Bug when we had the three kids strapped in their car seats in the back seat. Oronzo said that's the most he's heard her laugh or chatter since she arrived at our house. Apparently having other little ones around her is good for her.

Boo is a good little eater. She doesn't appear to be picky about what she eats and Oronzo says she can eat more than Snuggle Bug at times! She ate quite a bit at dinner last night.

Bath time last night was interesting. Juggling 3 kids' bath, storytime, cuddling, and bedtime was a bit of a challenge but between the two of us Oronzo and I got it done. At one point, while Oronzo was finishing Snuggle Bug's bath, I was holding Boo and Baby Bug at the same time in our leather rocker recliner. They both snuggled up to me and let me rock and sing to them. It was very sweet.

Boo went to bed last night with no objections. Oronzo said she's the easiest baby in that respect. If you put her in her crib with a blankie for a nap or bedtime, she'll not fuss a bit. She just goes to sleep. I don't think I've ever had a child that doesn't fuss at least a bit at having to go to bed, so I'm not sure what to think of that. I checked on her a few times throughout the night and she appeared to be doing fine.

I found out yesterday that there's a chance we may have to send Boo back to her most current foster family. We weren't supposed to get her this soon, she came earlier because the foster mom requested respite care for her. That respite care was only approved by CPS through Monday and Oronzo got a call from our agency social worker telling us that she'd have to go back to the foster family until her CPS case worker could get a transfer approved.

Oronzo told our agency worker that Boo is doing fairly well at our house and he thought it might be more confusing to go back her previous foster family, only to be sent back to us within a few days. Oronzo asked if she could just be transferred directly to us. Our agency worker said that wasn't up to her and since Monday was a government holiday, the CPS case worker wasn't in to discuss it with. Oronzo got off the phone with the our agency worker believing that he'd have to return Boo that day.

10 minutes later, Oronzo got a call from Boo's previous foster mom. She sounded quite distraught at hearing Boo would be coming back when she thought we'd get to keep her. She said she wasn't feeling well and didn't think she could handle taking her back. Oronzo told her it was out of his hands and suggested that she call our agency worker to discuss it with her, since Boo's CPS worker wasn't available. Apparently she did just that because our agency worker called back and told Oronzo she was going to extend the respite care through Wednesday in the hopes that she could get a hold of Boo's CPS worker before then.

Apparently Boo's CPS worker is okay with her staying with us, but she has to get Boo's lawyer to approve of this immediate transition and she's not 100% convinced that the lawyer will buy off on it. So, there's still a chance that Boo will be sent back to her previous foster family, despite the fact that the foster mom seems to be under a lot of emotional stress right now (at least that's what Oronzo can tell from the few conversations he's had with her) and would rather not get her back.

I hope Boo isn't sent back, she's been traumatized enough without being bounced back and forth even further. She's had 4 moves in her 12 months of life. I just want her to be able to settle in to our family so that we can love her and help her to trust those around her. She's very timid and scared right now.

Today Oronzo will have three small kids to care for while I'm at work (a 3 year old, a 12 month old, and a 3 1/2 month old). This is the most he's ever had at one time and he's wondering how it'll go. It won't be easy, but I'm confident he'll handle it with patience and love as he always does. He's so wonderful with children!

Wish us luck today as we wait to hear back from Boo's lawyer as to whether or not her case can be immediately transferred to us so she can stay.

Labels: adoption #2, Baby Bug, Boo, expanding our family, family, foster children, foster-to-adopt, fostering, Oronzo, Snuggle Bug, stay-at-home daddy