It's official!

And it's official! We have teeth!

It's official! You now have 2 bottom teeth! You're not a happy baby today, either, and i can't blame you. You're napping right now and i hope that you'll be able to get some sleep. You seem so very tired.

Here are photos of our Halloween Pumpkin in your honor! Notice that this pumpkin has two bottom teeth, just like you!

love you to the moon and back....

Mommy

Sleepy Mommy

Sleepy Mommy

Mommy needs to get her tush in gear....for some reason, i need a nap. And it is only 10 am. You, however, are bouncing happily right now, but i'm sure that you'll be ready for a nap shortly. We had a very fun play day yesterday....you crawled up the hallway, you crawled down the hallway, you pulled up on the wall, the bed, the cabinet. I put you on our bed and you had a blast crawling on all of the pillows. You are getting so very strong! It's cute to watch you gunt as you pull up....you are so determined! A good life trait to have, btw....

Yesterday i was reading the yahoo Guatemalan boards and found a timeline that was like our in one way but so different than ours in another. Timelines are very important to folks on the yahoo boards...that is how you can gear where you are in the adoption process. This time line that i saw started the day after ours; the birth date of the little one was the day after your birth date and the referral date was the day after ours. We have been home since July 13....and this family is just now getting ready to go on their pickup trip. It is at times like this, i realize how very, very lucky your Daddy and i were. Not all adoptions run as smoothly as ours did. In fact, ours was like a dream come true. We accepted you on March 3, 2007 and you were home with us in Nashville on July 13, 2007. Needless to say, we were very envied at our pickup trip! I remember often just stare at the posted timelines, dreaming of ours and when you would come home. I'm not sure if i've told you this story yet, but here it is:

Your Daddy recived a call from EAC on March 2 about a referral of a little girl. It seems that Mommy had gone to the garden show in Nashville and didn't bring her phone...on purpose. I was so very tired of waiting for the phone to ring, to hear from our agency about a referral that i decided i needed a "day" off. I had been computer watching for some news, ANY news and i knew that i had to stop. So, i went to Nashville and the garden show! Many hours later...i returned home to find 4 messages on our home machine and 7 messages on my cell phone. All of those messages had to do with YOU! Let's just say that Daddy wasn't too happy that i decided to leave my cell phone at home!

EAC had called to let us know that they were sending out a package to us that we would recieve the next day with photos, a video and medical information on a baby girl born on Febuary 16. We were very surprised that you were so young in age as we had basically told our agency that we would accept the first child that was available; that the child did not have to be a newborn. We expected maybe a year old child....but i don't think that you Daddy and i expected a newborn! We were to take an International Adoption Class at Vanderbilt the next day (which was a Saturday) and lucky for us, Russ, who is your Daddy's friend was coming to visit and would be able to sign for the referral package. We did attend that class....and then rushed home to look at our package!

We took the referral package to our favorite place to eat: Chef's. We go there every Friday night as it's our "date" night. (We do that even now, lol, but you now are a part of our "date" nights!) We had our lunch as the referral package sat on the table close by....so scared to open it, so excited to rip it open and see you. I opened the package....and there you were. Seeing you for the first time took my breath away as i studied every part of you. You were so tiny and cute! Delicate features, very fair skin and a mop of dark black hair....i knew instantly you were ours. We studied all the photos that were in the package, running our fingers over you as if trying to get to know you. As your Daddy and i huddled together, i think that we both realized that our lives would never be the same. Our lives would be richer, fuller and happier than we could ever imagine.....all because of a little girl who was named Yaneth.

Lonely Without Daddy

Lonely Without Daddy


Hi sweetie....

I have a whole new apprication for single Mommies! It's been very busy for us while your Daddy has been gone. We both fell asleep early last night; you around 8:30pm and me shortly after. I had plans to read for a bit, but that never happened! Today, we are going out...i haven't decided where just yet. Maybe to WalMart, maybe to the park.....you are in your jumpy chair and we are going to go get some breakfast for you. We've been having a fruit in the mornings.......you seem to truly like fruits! You aren't that picky of an eater so it's been easy to get you to try new things. Green beans seem to be the only veggie that you aren't too fond of.

Yesterday, you figured out how to beat on the drum! Of course, you've been trying, but yesterday, you figured out just where to hit it so it would sing a letter in the alaphbet. The drum speaks in Spanish and in English....i keep it in Spanish, lol, but your Dad keeps switching it back to English! Silly Daddy! :)

Off to do breakfast with you....these photos were taken yesterday. Pulling up and standing at the large endtable seems to be what you like doing best right now as i hold my breath and watch you! I'm so worried that you are going to knock your noggin on the table! But when you fall on your tush, you just get back up....i think that maybe i need to relax, eh?

Love you to the moon and back.....

Mommy

My beautiful daughter....

My beautiful daughter!

How beautiful of a child are you, Emma? You are growing up so very fast right before my eyes....your two little front bottom baby teeth are coming in, you're now able to crawl very fast and you are able to pull up on the couch, the end tables and the ottaman. I want you to learn things so you can stand on your own, but wow, did i not expect this to happen so very, very fast! I need to start doing a better job of video taping you but i'm so much more comfortable behind a camera. And as you can tell from looking at your photos, you are very photogenic!

We sent out Halloween cards with your Halloween photo in it to many friends and family. It is important to me that folks know you and see you grow up, Emma. I want you to be close to our friends and family....although at times, you may wish to trade some of our family members in for new ones! That's the great things about friends, you get to pick them! As i was mailing these cards out with your photo in them, i wished that i was able to mail one to your birth mother. I think about her a lot, Emma and i often pray that she knows in her heart how much you are loved and how we are doing our very best to take care of you. I'm sure that you'll have many questions about her as you grow up and i promise to do my best to answer them. Your Daddy and i differ a bit on the subject of us searching for your birth mother.....i think that i mentioned this before that he feels that it is your choice, your decision and your search to find her and that it's not our place to make that call for you. I guess i want to meet your birth mother for other reasons, like to assure her that we will do our best with you and to love and nurture you the best we can. I feel a bond with your birth mother; maybe all adopitve Moms feel this bond, i'm not sure. I do know that telling her 'thank you' for the gift of making us a family doesn't seem to be enough.

I somehow want to give you words of wisdom on life and how to 'do' things the right way and make the 'right' choices...but then i realize that life is about making your own choices and finding your own way thru life. The only thing that your Dad and i can do is give you the tools to help you to grow up into a woman and the rest is up to you. There will be so many challenges for you as you grow up and discover things about yourself. And while you hear "follow your heart" from many well meaning folks, please remember to use your head, too. Following your heart is one thing, but listening to your heart and head, well, it's your best bet to make the best decisions. Sometimes, if you just sit quitely in a corner, the answer to whatever bothers you will come to you. You just have to learn to listen to yourself, sweetie.

Your Daddy went to meet Uncle Don to play in a poker tournament so we are on our own till Sunday. I see a trip to the mall in our days alone, lol, and maybe a trip to Target and WalMart! :))

Off to check on you.......

Love you to the moon and back........

Mommy

Guess who is eight months old today??

Guess who is 8 months old today?


Wow! You are 8 months old today! You also have the beginings of baby teeth which is so neat to see! The teeth are on the bottom and are slowly coming out...i imagine in a week or so, well, they will be out. I sometimes have to stop myself from chuckling about the fact that i want you to stay little and need me just a little while longer, while your Daddy wants to show you things and help you learn as much as possible! A good example of this is how i love to hold your bottle when your cuddled in my lap....your Daddy, on the other hand, thought it a great idea to show me how you can now hold your bottle all by yourself. I have given you a spoon when we eat our fruits and veggies, so i like to think that i'm making progress! Still, though, i know that this time of your being little will fly by so very fast.....and i want to savor every moment of it. I guess that's why i mainly use this journal to tell you the latest and coolest things you do, but i think i'm going to be adding some other things. Your Daddy is a much better writer than i am, so i'll leave the 'life lessons' to him....but i'm going to start to chat with you more on things that you'll need and want to understand for later.

We've had a bit of an upheavel lately in our families; your Aunt Claudine and Uncle Troy are having some buisness finacial problems, your Aunt Debbie and Uncle Don are in the process of getting a divorce (which saddens your Dad and i great deal....) and your Aunt Adrienne and Uncle Duane are having some marriage problems. I wonder if some of the problems your Aunt Debbie and Aunt Adrienne are having aren't due to well, selfish reasons. Marriage is one of those things that you have to have the dedication to work at daily, Emma. You can never just let it sit on the back burner while you pursue "your" own agenda. And i think that's what happened with both of your aunts. When you have a family, well, that family is of upmost importance. Your children and your husband are for you to take care of, to love and to guide. That's why it's so very important to never take relationships and marriage lightly. Too many other livescan be hurt when marriages fail. And it's why you have to understand yourself and your heart before you commit to someone and decide to start a family, little one. Only when you understand your heart and soul and have God in your life do i think a decision as serious as marriage and children should be discussed. Know yourself well, travel, go to college, see the world, make your mark....and when the time is right, have a husband and a family.....but please be sure to know your heart first.

As for your Aunt Claudine and Uncle Troy, well, i believe that they will find a way together. The buisness that they are in (they build very expensive custom homes in FL) is not going well right now at all in the United States much less in FL. But they are both very strong and very smart people and will hopefully come out of all this stronger. Your Aunt Claudine is one of the smartest women that i've ever met, Emma. I love to watch her hold you.....you two seem to have a certain bond together. I know that she's trying to make up for my Mom not being here to be a Grandma to you....our Mother passing away has marked both myself and your Aunt Claudine to our very core. We both question God as to why and so far, well, neither one of us has come up with many reasons that make sense to either one of us. Perhaps we are to just trust in God and know that He has a plan......the jury is still out for your Aunt Claudine and i on that one.

You are still napping; i just went to check on you. You are sleeping so soundly with one little arm over your pink elephant and your tush in the air. We need to go shopping, but i won't wake you....

Off to do some chores, my little one....

love you, love you, love you.....


Mommy

Guess who has teeth?!?!

Guess who has teeth????

Yup, yup, yup! You! Can you believe it, Emma? You have baby teeth! Okay, they are just peeking out, but there are two of them on your bottom gum. Tomorrow you'll be 8 months old.....how did that happen so fast? Your Daddy mentioned this weekend that we've been home with you for 3 months already. It seems just like yesterday we were working on your bedroom!

I need to take some new photos of you with your new teeth, but i guess i should wait till they are noticeable! You are eating really well; today i mashed up half of a banana and you ate almost all of it and we are now trying Stage 3 foods. I have to tell you, Emma, you are not a fussy eater at all. You are willing to try everything and that's a good, good thing to try new things. Hopefully, you won't loose that neat trait: the willingness to try everything. You are trying to figure out spoons, but so far, you're just using them to suck on and beat on your high chair top. But you are holding it like you should, so it's only a matter of time before you figure out that you want to feed yourself. It's amamzing to watch you grow, Emma.....i know that you'll only understand this when you have a daughter of your own, but you fill my heart with love when i hold you close. I can feel your little body relax as if to say, "i know you'll take care of me".....and it is the most amazing feeling in the world. It is a feeling, too, that i don't think can be understood unless you have a child.

I think of your birth mother often, Emma. I hope that she knows in your heart how much i love you. I hope she knows that we are a family due to her unselfishness in wanting a family for you. Maybe one day, we will get the chance to tell her 'thank you' together for letting us become a family.

I can hear you stirring so i'll go check on you....

Love you to the moon and back.....

Mommy

Learning....and learning.

Learning....and Learning....

This is one of my favorite photos of you that i've taken. Are you just not the cutest thing?? You are now playing with your toys in the den and as i watch you tumble, you get right back up and sit up again. I've put your toys in a wicker basket and you love taking all of the toys out and putting them all over the floor. Some toys seem to be favorites: the drum that when you hit the top says letters in Spanish or English, the phone that rings, and the plush blocks. You also still love your bouncy chair; you are so funny to watch when you bounce!

Today is your Daddy's birthday. He isn't a lover of birthdays; well, i should say that he's not a lover of HIS birthday! We had dinner at Tod and Lori's house last night with their two sons to celebrate. You were facinated with William who is 18 months old! He also was facinated with you, lol, and stood staring at you and would sometimes hold your hand. We had cake and you had your sweet potatoes and corn....you were cute and funny and laughed at Lori and Todd repeatedly. I almost think that Lori was sad for not having a little girl! Of course, on the way home, you fell asleep! It was nice to have dinner with them.

You and i gave your Daddy a present that we made together.....we took an imprint of your hand in putty clay and took a photo of you and put both of those in a frame for his office. I think that he really liked it....you and i also mailed a card to his office that you "signed" with Mommy's help. I'm sure that it is on display in his office!

You are starting to nap.....i think i'll put you in your crib before you nap in your bouncy chair!

Love you to the moon and back....

Mommy

Beee Happpyyy!

Bee Happy!

Here's my little "Bee Happy Bee"! Okay, you don't look so happy, but you are a cute little bee. This is your first Halloween costume....i debated over your being a ladybug or a happy bee and the happy bee won because you love to hear us make the bzzzzzz noise. I wish that someone had a video camera of your Daddy and i laying out in the yard in front of you taking photos while making our bzzzzz noises! You were very cute but i'm not sure if you liked being a bee, lol....

You gave me quite a scare two days ago....you some how managed to get out of your crib. I had put you down for your morning nap and about an hour later i heard a thud! I went running upstairs to your room with Maddie on my heel, flung open your door and there you sat on the floor in front of your crib...smiling at me as if to say "What took you so long, Mommy?" Maddie made it to you first (i was too stunned to move!) and was licking and sniffing you making you giggle. After picking you up and checking every inch of you at least 10 times to make sure that you were okay, i had to smile at you. You were making the "mamamama" sound....but i could still feel my heart beating out of my chest. So, needless to say, the crib mattress is down at it's lowest setting and i will forever make sure that i have the crib rails all of the way up! I had no idea, Emma, that you would be able to get (okay, tumble!) out of your crib.....and i felt like the worst Mommy in the world for not knowing. :(

We went to our second MOPS meeting and you to your MOPPETT meeting and i had fun; i think that you did, too. You were very good...Ms. Elizabeth said you napped most of the morning and played in the swing and on the floor the rest of the morning. You were also the only baby not screaming their lungs out! Ms. Elizabeth said you were a joyous, beautiful baby....i, of course, already knew that, but it was nice to hear her say that! I think that she has a special spot for you, Emma....you loved her shiney gold earrings and i think are facinated with her glasses and white hair. You smiled when i gave you to her and that made me feel a little better about leaving you in the MOPPETTS room while i went to the meeting. I am surprised that i am enjoying the meetings so much....i'm so glad that i found other Mothers to become friends with. It seems that these other Mothers understand my being a first time Mommy....and all of the fears and joys that come with being a Mommy. We are reading the Mommy Manual at MOPS; i just recieved my copy today. It's a bit intimatadating when i read that the woman who wrote this book (her name is Barbara Curtis) has twelve children! But i'm anxious to read this book....

You are napping now, little one. You are crawling so well! You can also now hold your own bottles and are able to hold a spoon. You haven't quite mastered the sippy cup yet; i think that you prefer sucking the cup, though. We've moved up to Stage 2 foods.....lots of different flavors and textures! You aren't that much of a picky eater yet, you seem willing to try everything which is a good thing for Mommy!

Well, we need to go to the grocery store, so i better get ready so i'll be ready when you wake up!

Love you, love you, love you.....

Mommy

Really, Really, Really Crawling!

Really, Really, Really Crawling!

This is you and Maddie....she follows you everywhere that you crawl to! And you are now crawling fast.....you stumble every now and again and i don't think that you like our wooden floor but you still move very quickly. There is no leaving you alone anymore, little one!

You pull up every chance you get, Emma. Every morning, you are waiting for me, pulled up on the side of your crib, smiling, waiting for me. I love how you smile at me when you see me first thing in the mornings! I sometimes get your Daddy to come with me to get you in the mornings because i want him to see that beautiful smile of yours. You giggle when you see your Daddy and give him a huge toothless smile! I know that it so makes his day when you give him that smile.

I think that you'll have teeth very, very soon. You chew on everything from my fingers to your toys to your clothes! You love the butterfly teething ring, too. I've started putting teething buscuits in your handy-dandy chewing thing and you seem to really like that. Yesterday, i cut up a banana and put it in that chewy thing and you really had a very good time with that! It's the first time you've had a fruit.....

I sit in amazement as i watch you learning all of these things. You have changed so much since we've gotten you home, Emma. You aren't the tiny little baby who would just lay there and stare at us....your growing into a little girl. Your Daddy and i feel so blessed that you've come into our lives....the best day of both of our lives was the day we got you in our arms.

Love you to the moon and back....

Mommy

A Busy First Road Trip...

A Busy First Road Trip....


Our trip was a bit too much for you and Mommy, i'm afraid. The drive was way too long for me and you as it took almost 10 hours due to traffic between here and Warner Robins. There was an accident that required life flight to land in the road, there were two tractor trailors that collided, other fender benders and just plain heavy traffic. Needless to say, your Daddy and i have learned our lesson in driving! From now on, we will drive at night!

Actually, you did very good until we put you in the ugly hospital like crib in the hotel.....you were not happy at all. Friday night was very rough for us! You were fantastic while meeting your cousin Viktoria and Tia and Tio, though....you smiled and giggled and let everyone hold you. I have to say, it made my day when i saw you looking for me while being held by others. :) Yes, it doesn't take much to make Mommy happy, does it? You were very, very good, Emma and it was sad to me to see you meet Tia. It made me miss my Mom even more than usual. It was very hard to be back in my Mom's house and not have her there. I also went and visited her grave and put your photo up by the flowers. My heart was very sad the entire trip....

You also meet Mari Pili who was probably my Mom's best friend. She cried when she met you, Emma. I know that she was thinking and wishing that my Mom was there. I heard her whisper to you in Spanish "Maria Jesus would have loved you so much".....and i had to leave the room in tears. She's right, my Mom would have loved you so much, Emma. I guess that i am struggling as the "whys" of why my Mom got sick and died.....it doesn't seem fair. While i know that some of my job as a Mommy isto teach you that life isn't always fair, it just seems so very unfair that my Mom isn't here.

Your Daddy suggestested that we leave early; i was ready to go. I felt a little bad because your Aunt Claudine wanted us to stay, but i truly just wanted to get all of us home. Your Daddy drove us home at night...we left around 8 pm and got home around 1am or so. He truly took care of you and i!

You slept so soundly when i put you in your crib and slept till 9 am the next morning. You napped a lot the rest of Sunday....i could tell that you were glad to be home. Of course, not as happy as Mommy was to be home, but happy none the same!

The above photos are of you and Tia and my Mom's grave with your photo.....

Love you to the moon and back.....

Mommy