10 months old

**Sorry this is a day late. Yesterday slipped by us and date night was last night!

Our little girl is 10 months old. I feel like this has been a fun and interesting month. She had a pretty tough growth spurt and got a couple teeth and it made everything uncomfortable. Emsley isn't a fussy baby but it made eating new food hard and taking naps a challenge. But after it was all over, she is still a great eater and sleeper! We took Emsley to the zoo for the first time this past weekend with my family and it was so fun. I'm glad we waited 10 months because I think any earlier and she wouldn't have even been able to see where the animals were. But she saw them, pointed, and even waved at them. It was great. Again, another month of tons of fun and lots of love.

Here are some stats as she turns 10 months:

-Weighs approximately 23 pounds now
-Is approximately 29 1/2 inches tall
-Wears size 4 diapers still
-Is mainly in 18 month clothes (but she has some cute 12 month that she still wears too!)
-Eats 5 bottles a day still but we are hoping to get one of them gone soon
-East 3 meals a day and she now eats off our plates more, chicken, rice, pasta, lots of things!
-Still sleeping through the night (thank the Lord!)
-Takes a bath just in the tub now like a big girl and this is the highlight of her nights...daddy is the best bath giver and its a special time for the two of them!
-We are pretty sure Emsley is a crawl-aholic! She is always on the move!! So precious.
-Pulls up on anything and cruises around the house...walking is just around the corner
-Has been letting go of things when standing with no support but only for a second
-Makes friends everywhere...even the creepy people. We will teach her about strangers soon!
-Now has her two bottom teeth and 4 top teeth. She is SOOOO cute!
-She used to love to walk with us but now is focusing on talking and talks to everything and about everything. Nothings obvious yet...the cat is something like "ca-ca"

I'm sure we are biased but Emsley is the most beautiful and loving baby we have ever been around. She is so sweet and brings such joy to our lives. Sometimes we will go and check on her before we go to bed and just watch her for a minute because we feel so happy and blessed to be her parents. Our little girl is growing fast but it is a fun journey so far and we are so excited for each next stage!

Questions I will have to face...

I'm aware that Emsley is only almost 10 months old and can't talk but it recently occurred to me that eventually I will have to face the tough questions with her. And no, I'm not talking about the birds and the bees type questions, I mean the adoption questions.

"Why wasn't I inside mommy's tummy?"

"How come my birthmom gave me away?"

"Did she love me?"

"Why couldn't you have real children?"

"Am I your real child?"

"Do you love me as much as you would a biological child?"

Wow, these are some really deep questions and I have such a desire to answer them as honestly as possible. Adoption isn't something Mike and I just jumped into. We spent a lot of time praying and talking about what this life changing decision would mean for us. Do I have all the answers to these tough questions...no. But I'm pretty comfortable with that.

All Emsley needs to know is that she is loved by so many people and that Miss Amy knew she couldn't give Emsley the family she deserved and loved her so much that she found us to take care of her. My daughter will always understand that she was adopted but I know these questions will arise.

On one hand I'm excited to share the answers with her. To remind her of how much she is loved and about how God planned her life is such a beautiful, unique way. Each time we have to answer one of these questions, I truly believe that we will bond in such a special way. The idea of Emsley asking these questions also scares me and makes me so sad. I hate that I will have to face these and I hate that she may ask them because she is hurting or confused. I just have to continue to pray that God gives us the wisdom and strength to face this. He already knows what the answers are to these questions and if or when they will come up in our life. I pray that Emsley feels comfortable to ask and know that we will be honest with her.

These are the tough parts of adoption but it's also why God called us to it. He knows we can do this and that through these conversations we will give Him all the glory!!!

9 months old

It's so exciting to think that in 3 months our little girl will be a year old. She is now 9 months old and growing so fast. This has been a month of major learning for Emsley. We are constantly seeing the little wheels turning in her head of how things work, how she can do things, and what else she can do! The days are going so fast because she is moving around and I love just chasing her! We are having a blast together and just love when Mike comes home to spend time with his girls.

Here are some stats as she turns 9 months:

-Weighs 22.14lbs and is in the 95th percentile
-Is 29 1/4 inches tall and is also in the 95th percentile
-Wears size 4 diapers
-She still wears some 12 month clothes still but mainly 18 months
-Eats 5 bottles a day still but is not necessarily finishing all of them
-East 3 meals a day and we have started to give her table food (rice, bread, bananas, avocado)
-Sleeps through the night like a champ!
-Bath time is more playtime...daddy is the best bath giver!
-As of December 26th she is now a crawler! She gets better everyday!
-She can pull herself up on everything...crib, table, chairs, and is getting pretty steady
-Still the friendliest baby I have ever seen...even when she was teething she was a sweetie
-She just got her 4th tooth this past Sunday...2 bottom and her 2 front teeth
-Clapping and waving are her favorite but has started pointing at things now
-"Talks" regularly...mama, gaga, ada...so close to dada!

We love Emsley so much and everyday gets more and more fun. Everyone told us that things would be so hard once Emsley starts crawling and walking. But honestly, it has just made our days more fun and entertaining. The days go by a lot quicker and she is just happier. I love being Emsley's mommy...each day gets better and better!

On our way to finalization...

That is right...we are one step closer to finalizing Emsley's adoption. Although she is so our baby, we are excited to make it all final and legal. Today we had our last meeting with our state appointed social worker Eva and went over last questions and she checked out our new house to make sure it was safe. Emsley was a wonderful baby while Eva was over and showed Eva just how happy and healthy she is with us. It was cool because Eva asked us where we went to church and how involved we are there. I loved it because we were able to say how involved we are with Project Hope (our orphan care ministry) and what it really means. We told her that the group isn't just a support group for those who have adopted but for those who want to care for orphans. I hope she saw a little of Christ in us today.

So what does this mean in our process? Well, Eva said that she plans on finishing her report for the court in about a month. Then she will have it approved by her supervisor, then sends it off to the courts and our lawyer. Our lawyer will then request a court date. Depending on availability, that could take 1 month or up to 6 months to get a date. Then we and our family and friends are able to go to court to watch us promise to be good parents to Emsley and it will be an absolutely special day. Secretly, I am hoping that our court date is either before or right around Emsley's 1st birthday. This day will be such a celebration and if the 2 fell at the same time it will make it just that much sweeter.

But since it has been a while since I posted pictures, here are a few of our baby girl. She is getting so big. An update on what she has been up to will be up next week (her 9 month update!)

Our first Christmas as a family of three!

Disneyland

More Disneyland

The Christmas tree on Main Street at Disneyland (seriously, I love this picture!)

Showing off her 2 teeth!

Beautiful little girl!

Reading a book on Christmas morning

Love that smile!

That scrunchy face pretty much makes my day!

Time with daddy on his Christmas break was the best!

Happy New Year!

Seriously...best year ever! I feel like I can't say enough of what a great year 2011 was. We were talking about what all the amazing things that happened and what we are looking forward to and praying for in 2012.

1. Had a great vacation, last time just the 2 of us, to Hawaii in March.
2. We got to be at the ultrasound where we found out our baby would be a little girl.
3. Got to spend all kinds of time with Miss Amy before little Emsley was born.
4. We were able to be at the birth of our daughter, Emsley Breanne on April 17th.
5. I became a stay at home mom and have been loving it!
6. Celebrated our 6th anniversary by going to the aquarium with Emsley & a date afterwards alone.
7. Celebrated many first holidays with Emsley....she is so cute.
8. Watched Emsley learn so many new things: smiling, cooing, clapping, waving, laughing, crawling.
9. Spent plenty of time as a family of three with our friends and family.
10. Fell more in love with each other!

But I think this year will be even better. Emsley will be turning 1 and we have another great vacation planned to Hawaii with family. This will also be the year that Emsley's adoption will be finalized, which will be a pretty amazing time for our family. But my prayer is that God allows us to be not only good parents to Emsley but also that she will see Christ in us as she learns and grows more. We desire to see God at work in our family in extremely amazing ways. I'm looking forward to what God does in us...places we go, people we meet, or ways He uses us to further His kingdom.

So, here is to 2012!

Emsley's First Christmas

It's weird to think that it has been over a year since we knew about our little girl. On Dec. 15th of 2010, we met with Miss Amy and it was the first time we were that close to our baby. Then on Dec. 21st, we found out that we were chosen to be the parents of a sweet baby. And here we are just over 1 year later and we celebrated the day with our sweet pea. It was a great day full of precious memories. We have such a desire to make Christmas more than about gifts but about praising God for sending his son to be born into our world. So our morning started with a prayer from daddy thanking God for blessing us with Jesus and then we sang "Joy to the World" because today is a day we are especially joyful for the birth of our Savior. And even though we want Emsley to be joyful in this great news everyday, we want to be very intentional about this day especially. So the gifts waited while we focused of Jesus for a bit. It was a beautiful start to wonderful family tradition.

This week a friend did a post on our adoption groups blog about how thankful we should also be toward Joseph. So often he can get forgotten in this birth story but in truth he played such an important role. Joseph, after finding out Mary would be pregnant as a virgin, CHOSE to adopt Jesus as his own and love and raise him. He was the one who gave us an earthly example of adoption. Today as I was holding my own adopted child, I looked at her and told her that Jesus was adopted just like her. And I hope that it is that fact that she shares with joy and pride each Christmastime to her friends and family! I want her to know that Jesus loves her, loves adoption, and that He desires for her to share this amazing news with others.

I'm not sure what next Christmas will look like. But I know that this Christmas will hold a special place in my heart because of where God has brought us over the last few years. He has given us a daughter to raise to be a child of His and we do so willingly, lovingly, and with complete joy in our hearts. We are so grateful for the birth of our Savior and for getting to share this with our child.

We hope that this Christmas is a time that we all can be joyful in this amazing story!

8 months old

Seriously...has it really been 8 months already! Our little girl is just growing up and learning so much everyday. We absolutely love watching her learn and be a little more independent. And this month is also a big month for us...since it's Emsley's first Christmas! We are so excited to have this little blessing. We are really trying to already be very intentional with what she learns about Christmas. Gifts will not be the biggest part of the day but knowing that we celebrate Jesus being born and coming to this world to save us will be key. Anyways...this month Emsley has eaten real food. She first had pasta and then crackers, puffs, and some freeze dried fruit. She is such a great eater, sleeper, and is as sweet as can be!

Here are some stats as she turns 8 months:

-Weighs approximately 24 pounds (appt next month)
-Is approximately 28 or 29 inches now
-Wears size 4 diapers
-We just transitioned her to 12 and 18 month clothes
-Eats 5 bottles a day still
-Also eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner (fruits, yellow and green veggies, meat, & rice)
-Sleeping through the night but teething wakes her up and she wimpers a little (sad!)
-Seriously...this girl loves her baths!
-Wants to crawl but I think she will just get up and walk soon
-Is trying to pull up on everything and loves to just stand
-She makes friends everywhere we go because she is cute and friendly...I love it!
-She now has her 2 bottom teeth (they are so cute) and I'm sure she will have more soon!
-Loves to wave at people and claps all the time (especially when she is excited)
-Says mama, gaga, and papa. We hope she says dada very soon...we are working on it!

Love this little girl and we love how absolutely intelligent she is. She loves to observe her world and we love to observe her doing it! Family time is our favorite and we love just playing and talking together. There is nothing to complain about...with each stage and new thing she does, we love it. Being a parent is something we don't take for granted. God blessed us and we will never stop thanking him for her!

Happy Thanksgiving!

You might be asking, Kim, what are you thankful for this year? And if you do, you obviously don't read my blog!!! We have so much to be thankful for this year. I wish we celebrated Thanksgiving more because seriously, we should be always showing this much gratitude. God is so good and I am so thankful to be His child. Today I have much to be thankful for....

A great God who loves me no matter what. He has adopted me, a ridiculous sinner, and loves me as His own. He has led me through my life on paths which I never wanted to be on but now look back on with joy. He brought people into my life who would minister to my soul and has shown me what true, unconditional love looks like. I don't deserve to call him Father but He allows me to, and even longs to hear me call out for Him.

My husband. Sometimes I can't even begin to express how grateful I am for Mike. After 8 years together we still really like to be with each other and have fun. We have had a rough few years but have been blessed to have a marriage strengthened through it all. He is so hard working and provides for our family in ways I don't even understand (and that totally stress me out!) Watching him lead our family is a joy and privilege that I am glad no one else gets to see! I'm so blessed to be his wife and friend. God is so good to us!

Our daughter Emsley is the richest most beautiful blessing we have had this year (or in many years). She came to us when we thought we might not be parents after all. But not she is here and has made our lives complete. I am so thankful for all her laughs, smiles, messy diapers, but especially the joy she brings to our home. She is so amazing.

Family is always something we are thankful for. Our parents raised us, loved us, and then allowed us to grow into the adults we are. Our siblings challenged us, played with us, and became then became our friends. I'm so thankful for family's who love us and now love Emsley so much.

We probably have the most amazing small group and church ever. We have grown in our faith so much that it is amazing to think back just a few years ago. They have all walked though some tough times with us and been there to have the faith and hope we were lacking. They too love Emsley and have embraced her and her adoption story as a part of their lives.

Lastly, we are thankful for Miss Amy and for adoption. I know that Emsley is ours and I don't see her as anything but that, but I know that she has a greater story than just being our child. She was loved so much by Miss Amy that she made an adoption plan for her so she could come home to us. Her birthmom is so loving and selfless and has become someone so dear to our hearts and we love knowing she will be in our lives for a very long time. We are so thankful for her and what she did for us.

So yes, I have SOOOO much to be thankful for. This year has been so much fun looking back on everything God has given us. But now we look forward to see how this next year will look and how He will continue to grow, bless, and challenge us.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Thankful Tree

Some good friends of ours posted pictures on their family blog about a Thankful Tree. Their kids are a 5 and 6 so the idea is received to their girls WAY more than Emsley but we wanted to start the tradition sooner rather than later. We want Emsley to know that Thanksgiving isn't just about going to someone's house and eating turkey and pumpkin pie, or about pilgrims and indians but that it is really about remembering the blessings God has given us in the last year. Although we should be thankful everyday, this is a special time of year to do that. This year...we have so much to be thankful for. So here is a couple of pictures of our very own thankful tree.

It has been such a fun and special reminder of all God has given and blessed us with. This year, being parents pretty much tops our hearts but God has given us great family and friends, an amazing church, a loving marriage, and even rainy days like today. I'm so glad for our friends who, without even realizing it, helped us start a wonderful tradition for our family. One where it's about being thankful...not just full! =)

7 months old

Today our little Emsley is 7 months old. Every month just gets better and better. We fall more in love with her, with each other, and more in love with God who has blessed us with Emsley as our daughter. This month her personality is blossoming. She is babbling like crazy and just loves to stand, not sit or crawl. I think she is just gonna decide to stand up one day and walk around the house. And all I know is she will be the cutest little walker ever. Many say that life will get crazy once she walks and give me a "just wait" but honestly, we can't wait. We love this little girl and each step she takes is amazing and we sometimes we can't believe we finally have a daughter!

Here are some stats as she turns 7 months:

-Weighs approximately 23 lbs (no Dr's appt for a couple more months)
-Is approximately 28 inches now
-Is in size 3 diapers still but we will be moving to size 4 next time we buy diapers
-Wears 9 month clothes but we are going to buy her 12 month very, very soon (this girl is tall!)
-Eats 3 meals a day of baby food and loves everything!
-Still has 5 small bottles a day of formula
-Sleeping is the same, through the night!
-Bathtime just keeps getting better. She now LOVES to splash and it is a joy to watch
-Like I said, she loves to stand but is good just sitting and playing with toys, for a bit!
-Isn't a fan of tummy time, she will crawl when she is ready
-Loves to drink juice and water from her sippy cup (her favorite is white grape juice)
-Is the friendliest (& cutest) baby ever
-We are pretty sure she is gonna cut a tooth in the next couple weeks (we see white on her gums)
***Update: Emsley cut her first tooth on Saturday, November 19th
-Just this last weekend she learned to wave and it is the cutest thing ever
-Said mama and now says it constantly...we are pretty sure she knows its me when she says it!

All in all, we are loving being parents and have no complaints...then again, it's hard to complain when God has blessed us so much that joy is constantly flowing in our hearts!