And Then, There Were Two...

I call her "Honey B" 

So, you are probably wondering where the heck this second child suddenly came from. I don't blame you. Who randomly starts posting pictures of a four-year old girl with captions like "Siblings" and "Two kids"? Me. Because if there's one thing I've learned in life it's that you can't control everything.

Case in point: sometimes a four-year-old girl shows up on your mother-in-law's doorstep with one of your husband's exes claiming that he's the father, and a DNA test confirms it to be true. Then, she comes to live with you.

Totally common, right? No? Oh, well it's just me, then.

That's really the long and the short of it. We found out about her when she was practically abandoned by her mother at my Mother in Law's house in NM at the beginning of October. There's a local peace-of-mind DNA testing service that sent a collection kit to my MIL, which she mailed back, and C went to get swabbed. The test results came back within days: 99.95% chance of relationship.

Good enough for me. Congratulations, C! It's a girl. So we headed to NM the week of Halloween to bring her home.

The poor thing has been through a lot in her short life, most of which we will probably never even know. What do we know? She probably lived in a car for some extended period of time with her mother and maternal grandmother. She has watched at least a dozen of their pets die or be discarded (including a cat that "jumped" out of the window of their car while it was moving). She is always concerned about how much money we have. She can't read yet but recognizes places like Walgreens (go potty!), various different motel chains, Walmart, McDonalds, and talks about helping pitch a tent at the KOA. On our drive home from NM, she asked several times about having to sleep in the car. We bought her the first bed she's ever had.

Doc McStuffins, because obvs.

My lovely Aunt T was gracious enough to help with assembly on our first night home.

B promptly claimed all of the stuffed animals that her brother mostly ignores.

She eats like a champ. She has very little muscle on her arms and legs, and has gained 10 to 15 pounds in the couple of months that she's been in our care. At least you can't see her ribs anymore. She weighs the same as Baby Boy, but she is a good few inches taller than him. We've been told that she's allergic to nuts and apples, but we've yet to confirm that. Mostly, she's a normal, inquisitive, helpful and chatty four-year old girl who is happy to be in a stable environment with two parents that love her and a brother to play with.

Family cuddles in NM

Fun at the Valley Fair Mall

They took to each other really quickly.

Gotta play in the same bed.

Siblings.

We're hoping that a judge in Utah will agree that she's better off with us. Considering the circumstances of her arrival at my MIL's house last month, it shouldn't be hard to convince anyone that that's the case. I guess we'll see, though. Family court is always scary, and we're currently in the midst of deciding which state will take the case; cross your fingers that since she's here and we're residents, the Utah court will accept jurisdiction.

In the mean time, we're trying to make her life with us as normal as possible. We've already established a pretty good routine; C & I are so proud of ourselves for getting both kids bathed and in bed before 8:30 pm on most nights! Having two kids has definitely been an adjustment, but the facts that B can talk and is potty trained make things a lot easier. She calls her brother "Lil Baby," though they're only 10 months apart. Yup, Irish Twins. B gets the pleasure of meeting my entire family next week when we see them for Thanksgiving. I think she'll like us--we're pretty awesome.

So, there you have it: the story of how and why I have two kids now.