Cinnamon rolls, Santa, and our family of 3

As I write this, we are having a lazy day as a family of 3. Weather did not permit us to see my parents today but hopefully soon. We started with cinnamon rolls and a visit from Santa and just enjoying our little family. I am listening to my gift from Santa right now--the Glee soundtracks :) See pictures below for Kiya enjoying her gift from Santa.

Spaghetti sauce is on the stove and cookies may even be baked from scratch today as we start our own family traditions. Wow--it has been a long time coming and while I am bummed the weather has prevented us from travelling, I take one look at this little girl and it all becomes okay.

We went to church on Christmas Eve. Wow, first time at the children's Mass and I think we had to have been over capacity by a hundreds of people. We were told it would be packed but I never imagined it would be that busy. Kiya did great minus the one rather loud, tired scream. Good thing we were sitting near a bunch of little ones her age and everyone understood. I was proud of myself for making it through Mass without crying. I got really close once or twice but I held off. I just couldn't believe this was all really happening. We were at Christmas Mass with our daughter.

After church we headed to the in-laws for dinner and presents. Kiya loves Egg noodles :) And here she is opening her very first Christmas present. We figured she loves the dogs so let's get her a stuffed pug. It was great night spent with family.
Christmas morning we woke up and Kiya got to open her gift from Santa.


She really liked the wrapping paper :)

And better yet, she LOVES her new toy.


So as we have a relaxing day ahead, we just think back to just how amazing this year has been. Last year we were anxiously wondering if our phone would ever ring to bring us the news of our long awaited child. Now here we are a year later living our dreams. And while I could do without the icky weather, I am here with my family and that is all I could ever ask for. Kiya is the greatest gift. Sure I am enjoying my new CD's but nothing will ever top having Kiya as a daughter and maybe if we are lucky 2012 will be just as magical as 2009 has been for us.

Merry Christmas to my family, friends (both online and in person). May you be blessed to be spending your holiday in the company of the ones that you love. I know I am.

Giving thanks

Today we are so blessed to be able to spend the day with our daughter and our family.

We have so very much to be thankful for. First and for most, we are so thankful to Zinash for wanting more for her daughter and loving her enough to let her go. We are thankful for Kiya. She is such a blessing and so amazing. We are thankful for our family and friends who have stood by us through the years and were so supportive during the tough times.

We have so much to be thankful for. 2009 has been and will continue to be a wonderful year for our family.

Wishing all of you out in blog land a Happy Thanksgiving.

PS--Stay tuned for adorable pictures from Kiya's birthday party :)

My daughter

These two words have found their way into my every day vocabulary and I must say I like the sound of them. My daughter. I still have a hard time believing it and sometimes pinch myself to make sure this is all real. My daughter. I love it and I sure do love her.

She is sweet and funny and a gift far greater than I could have ever imagined. She has profoundly changed my life in ways I didn't even know a baby could. My thoughts are different, my conversations are different, everything is just different and different is good. Very good.

I know sounds weird but here are some examples.

1-I never dreamed I would talk about poop and how much, how often and what it looked like as much as we do.

2-I love my sleep, yet if my little one is sick or doesn't sleep well than neither do I and I am more than okay with that.

3-I miss her when I am away from her and sometimes that really stinks. I didn't really know it was possible to miss someone so much yet when I am away from her it is hard for me to not think about her often. This has gotten oh so much worse now that I am back to work full time and see her less.

4-I dream of more hours in the day and more quality time with her. There are just too many things on our schedule right now and I need to learn to say no. Always a problem for me but I have to. It isn't about me anymore. She needs us.

I know again all over the place blog post but I am in a funk. I am feeling over scheduled and I hate that and I read some sad news on facebook that some college friends lost their little girl 2 months before she was set to be born. It has all got me thinking about how fast kids grow up and I don't want to miss it and how truly grateful and blessed we are to be parents.

We have this amazing little girl and before we know it she is going to be running up the stairs, chasing the dogs and talking more than she already does. I really feel we need to stop and enjoy these moments and get some things off that schedule. Easier said than done. But it is a must. An activity here and there for just mom and dad is great but we have at least one such activity scheduled every weekend from now until Halloween. I hate it therefore I must change it.

Stay tuned for a happier post. Kiya is 10 months old tomorrow :)

Peanut is 7 months old!

I can't even believe it. Peanut is 7 months old and the joy of my life. Here are 7 of the 100's of things I love about Peanut.

1) The way she smiles up at me in the mornings when I go to get her out of her crib.

2) The way she will spontaneously start laughing and at what we have no idea.

3) The way she tries to shove all of her fingers in her mouth.

4) The way she snuggled in and fell asleep while I was wearing her in the Ergo.

5) The way she 'talks' to her toys.

6) Just how truly sweet, amazing, strong willed and independent she is.

7) Just how perfectly she fits in our family. Truly a gift from God.

Love you always and forever Peanut. Pictures will come maybe tomorrow, I think teething got the best of Peanut and her mood today...

Travel plans

Well I have spent the better part of the day on the phone but here is a list of things we can check off of the very long to do list.

1) Buy plane tickets--done :)
2) travel insurance--done:)
3) make reservations to have the dogs boarded--done
4) make Peanut's first doctor's appointment--done
5) schedule first post placement meeting with social worker--done
6)wait for travel approval letter from state of WI--got it
7) finish paperwork needed for embassy appointment--done
8) get Peanut on health insurance--done
9) pack--working on it
10) breathe--trying to
11) eat--oh yeah should probably do that

These next few weeks are going to be a whirlwind of activity. We have to pack, go to Rocketfest (4 yr olds birthday party), go to a wedding and make sure we spend extra time with the pugs since we will be boarding them for 10 days.

TGIF

I am for once in a long while so glad that it is Friday and what a great Friday it has been.

1) First off a HUGE congratulations to my former Secret Pal, Sara. She and her lovely family just accepted a referral for a beautiful little girl that is probably hanging out with Peanut right now. I am over the moon happy for them.

2) A former co-worker, who I haven't seen in a long time, stopped by today and brought me 12 boxes of gloves. I was shocked and elated. In the last 2 days I have received over 16 boxes of gloves. I am on my way to filling a suitcase.

3) One of my adoption buddies is in Ethiopia right now and she had the opportunity to see Peanut. She said Peanut seems to be doing well. She was laying on the floor and babbling away :) This email made my day. She also said she made sure to tell Peanut that we will be there soon.

4) I don't have to work this weekend!!! It has been a long time since I haven't had to work on Saturday.

5) We are going to visit our dear friends Kerry and Matt and their gorgeous children. We went to college with them and truly enjoy spending time with them. I can't wait to hop in the car.

6) I opened my mailbox today and inside were these beautiful bracelets that I ordered from the Habesha house boutique. LOVE THEM!

After the way this week started, I thought for sure it was going to be a rough one but once I gained a little perspective things seemed to flow a little better. I am so very blessed.

Oh yeah 14 days and counting!!! Peanut we are hoping and praying we pass court. Hang in there baby girl, your Mom and Dad will get there as soon as we can. We love you little one.

Serious Attitude Adjustment

Okay--I have had some time to breath. Did a little yoga and ate a fabulous piece of cake. I apologize for how ridiculously selfish my last post was. I needed to vent and vent I did.

I need to spend some more time reflecting on and being grateful for the blessings in my life. I am very blessed with a wonderful husband, amazing family, 2 really cute pugs and an beautiful little girl who just happens to be in Ethiopia. I have my health, a home, a job, a car and can type this on my laptop. My life ain't that bad and I need to appreciate that and stop complaining.

Things are what they are. I can't control everything as much as I would want to anyway and I just need to deal with it. If I do get delayed there is a reason and I will be with my baby girl when I am supposed to. I have been ye of little faith which is unlike me.

Faith has gotten me this far and now more than ever I shouldn't turn my back on that.

So very blessed

I feel really blessed. Not only do I have a beautiful baby girl waiting for me in Ethiopia but I have the wonderful support of friends and family as well. To top that off I have met some truly amazing people that have touched my lives along this journey to peanut. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would not only gain a family member but some amazing friends.

I was fortunate enough to have coffee with this person this morning. It is great to have a local Mom to chat with about ethics, adoption, babies and yes sometimes our husbands. It was a great way to start the day. I look forward to many more such occasions in the future.

I also received a special email from this person today. She is in Ethiopia right now and her email touched my heart. I am so grateful to her and can't wait to hear all about her trip and her little girl.

This weekend I will be meeting in person my Secret Pal. We are getting together for coffee and to chat.

Then there is this person. She has been my wait list buddy. We received our referrals days apart and accepted them on the same day. We both have an April 3rd court date and are hoping to be travel buddies. I have been so blessed to have her to complain to, freak out with and celebrate with. We haven't met in person yet but hopefully we will soon.

And to the rest of my blogging buddies listed to the right, THANKS! You all have been so supportive and insightful. I couldn't imagine going through this alone and it is nice to share this journey with people that get it. If you are ever in my neck of the words, I would love to have coffee with you as well. Notice a theme here....I think I have a problem. I love me some good coffee :) and some good company.

UPDATE: We just got baby girl's new measurements. She now weighs 7.2 lbs and is 20.6 inches long. She has gained over a pound and grown over an inch since last month. :)