We saw Cookie right before we went on vacation. Long story, but we met in a bookstore. Cookie wasn't feeling well--teething; but mom came anyway. It was a LITTLE weird, but not horrible. It was just a few days after her first birthday.

She looked SO DIFFERENT.

When I went to hold her, she studied me. She clearly didn't remember who I was and immediately looked to her mom as if to ask if it was alright. In her discomfort, she clearly took comfort in her mother. It was good... for all of us. I think it helped us to really cement that she was not ours and wasn't aching for us like we ached for her. She didn't miss us--and it was such a good thing. By the same token, I think her mom needed the reassurance that there was no lingering thought in Cookie's mind about "another mommy".

Cookie looked good. Really good. Even the back of her ears were cleared up. She had curls now and the entire shape of her face was different. Three months... who would've thought.

We went to Baltimore, NC and then VA Beach on the return trip. I attended a Homeschooling Special Needs conference in Cary, NC that was really wonderful. And CHEAP! We got to meet another foster parent that is on the message boards with me; and we got to check the area out for relocation. We finally settled on one town and a backup town. We also decided to try to sell the house word-of-mouth first. We'll give word-of-mouth until October 1st and then actually list it.

Once we're under contract, we can go down and buy a home in NC. Special ed there sucks for sure, but for the difference in property taxes alone we can hire private therapists for Graham. We should get him re-evaluated just to be sure we know what we need and to update his diagnosis (or remove it).

That's the direction we're moving in anyway...

We notified CPS that we would open up next Friday (the Friday going into Labor Day weekend) but they already called us with a placement. Of course, they called at 2pm and I didn't return the call until 5:15pm--so they were placed. That's fine. We need to stick to one infant and not get caught up in helping them out vs. handling what we decided was best for US. But it's hard...