The Holiday Season = Craziness!

Life around here has sure gotten even crazier! Emma is growing like a weed, and she is ALL over the place! She crawls faster every day, which has gotten us all into some pretty big pickles! She has discovered the dog dishes (and has dumped the water on more than one occasion), the cupboards, and the tops of the tables. She pulls herself up super fast and is quick to pull things off the end table, coffee table, etc... We are learning to be faster, but she still beats us more times than we care to admit!

Her adoption was finalized on November 8th! It was such a happy day, and we had lots of friends and family there to help us celebrate! The judge was great, and we were able to get lots of pictures. They even gave us a video on CD of the hearing. That will be a wonderful way to show Emma just how much we all love her!

Emma loved her first Thanksgiving, and we loved sharing it with our family. She got her first taste of real mashed potatoes, squash, and applesauce salad. I don't think she was a huge fan of any of them, but at least she tried them!

Life is crazy, busy, and wonderful! I can't wait for Christmas and her first experience at opening presents! I'm sure she'll love the bows and wrapping paper more than the actual gift, but it will be fun for everyone!

Growing Up Faster Than We Like!

So, as you can see from the title, Emma is growing up way too fast! So much has happened in the last month! She's crawling all over the place, getting into everything of course! She's pulling herself up ALL the time too! She was standing up at her musical toy by the TV today, reaching for whatever she can get her hands on! Then she crawled over and stood up at the coffee table for a while. Sunday night she started bear crawling--pushing up on her arms and straightening her legs and walking. She has a great desire to go everywhere, which tells me we are in BIG trouble! LOL! My prediction is that she'll be walking by Christmas, but I hope I'm very wrong about that! She continues to surprise us, so who knows! She has two teeth on the bottom, and I'm fairly certain she's working on some more given her stuffy nose, rashy face, and sleepless nights. We shall see!

We had our last meeting with Bethany before requesting finalization on the adoption. The paperwork was turned in for that, and we're set to finalize on November 8th! We are so excited to celebrate Emma's "Gotcha Day!" It still seems surreal that she's ours. She has changed our lives so drastically, and we love every moment! We can't imagine life without her!

We got to see her birth grandparents and sister last night for Halloween. They brought her a very nice bag full of treats, a book, and a new bib with wrist rattle. She loved it all, though I think we'll be enjoying her treats this year! Yum!

Life is good, though very busy. We are blessed and thankful for what God has given us. I hope that my delay in posting on here just means I'm enjoying every single moment with our baby girl. Our daughter. Our Emma!

This Girl Keeps Growing!

So, I'm going to keep this short because I'm supposed to be in bed right now. It's way past my bedtime, but so much has happened with our little Emma in the past month! She's now 6 months old, and she can do a TON of things! She can sit up all on her own with great confidence. She's taking her baths in the big tub now and loving everything about it--even the splashing water in her face! Emma can rock on her knees, propel herself toward a toy, and started crawling yesterday! She's really figuring out how to get around, and she's not happy being "tied down" in her activity center anymore! This makes getting dinner ready quite interesting! She's very close to being able to get into a seated position from laying down. She just has to figure out how to move her arm and lift herself up. She's SO close!

As of her 6 month check-up she's 18 pounds (hello chunky monkey!) and 25 1/2 inches long. She's very healthy and has her two bottom teeth coming in right now. We are amazed every day at the things she can do and all she's figuring out. We love her to pieces and can't wait to see what she'll do for us tomorrow!

Changes, Changes!

Well, I go back to school tomorrow. I am incredibly sad. I knew it was coming. I was preparing for it. It has hit me like a brick in the face. I know it will be fine, but I'm sad to know that my time with Emma won't be as long as I would like it to be. I know she's in wonderful hands, and I know she will love her time with her Grandmas and daycare provider. It still makes me sad.

On a happier note, here are a few things that have happened since I blogged last!

• Emma was baptized on August 28th! She looked beautiful, and Kim and Tino were proud sponsors. It was a lovely day, and she did great! I think she knew it was her very special day!
• She is sitting up pretty much on her own. She can right herself as long as she doesn't tip too far. Today, she sat up while I played through a piano song. She "talked" to Eddie the entire time!
• She also started getting up on her knees and rocking back and forth. She wants to move so badly! In fact, she gets a bit impatient when she can't get to where she wants to go. And she isn't always happy laying down and rolling around. She wants to sit up and take it all in! I think we're in trouble!
• Her hair is growing back in finally! She has adorable peach-fuzz that tickles my nose!
• She has a pretty large cowlick right in the front that will showcase my lack of hairstyling abilities very soon! Right now, though, it's adorable!

I think that's it for now! I have to get to bed if I don't want to be a zombie for the kiddos tomorrow! Wish me luck!

First Danish Festival

Emma attended her first Danish Festival weekend! Despite messing up her nap schedule, she did very well. She seemed to like all the activities, and it was great to introduce her to friends and family who hadn't met her yet. Friday was so busy! We walked downtown, looking at the arts of crafts, watched the kiddie parade, and finally made it home for a bath and bedtime. She didn't sleep great that night; either it was too much sun and excitement or something else was bothering her. Saturday we watched the big parade! She hated the sirens and hot air balloon float. She screamed during the sirens and gave the "stinky-eye" to the balloons. Grammie got her calmed down, though, and she even managed to squeak in a nap! Finally we hung out with family and enjoyed a nice lunch. She was pooped out by the time we made it home, but we relaxed on Sunday!

I do enjoy the festival. It's busy and crowded, but it's another tradition I love and want to share with Emma. It's a time for family and friends, and I want her to cherish the times we have together. I know she'll be sitting on the curb next year with all her little cousins, chasing after candy! It should be fun!