Natalie didn't have to dream of a white Christmas.

Another Christmas has come and gone.  This one seemed a bit different for some reason. Also, our living room looks like someone set off a toy bomb.  That must be the work of a new child in the family.

Natalie dealt with all 5 Christmases like a trooper.  While it always took a her some time to figure out what was going on, she got into the unwrapping of gifts without difficulty.  Like any almost 2 yo, she was easily distracted by the toy in hand and didn't want to move on to the next gift.  We had to distract her for a minute and take the toy away so she would move on.  I felt kind of guilty about that because it was like "look at all these great things your are getting, now were are going to take them away."  It was all good when they resurfaced though. Now, on to the good stuff.

The picture below is Natalie walking down the "catwalk" in her new boots.  This was taken Christmas morning.  She got the boots from her Aunt Brandi and Uncle Landon the day before.  She insisted on putting them on first thing in the morning with her footed pajamas.  I think she looked like an astronaut for some reason.

Next is a video of Natalie not quite grasping what to do with her gifts just yet.

Once she figured it out, she loved the tea pot.  She got two tea sets and loves them both.  She walks around serving tea for several hours a day.  I see that as a sign that she is ready to start working and contributing some income to the household.

More shots of toys.  We are working on the concept that this stick is only for hitting the xylophone, not the cat, table, or whatever else is in sight.

She loves anything "Ni Hao Kai-Lan."  Just ask her cousin.  She tried her best to steal her Kai-Lan toy from her.  The picture below is her new ride along.  The poor dinosaur from previous videos has gone extinct like his brethren.

Finally, a video of some holiday cookie decorations.  Aunt Brandi baked some cookies for the kids to decorate and leave out for Santa.  You will see, they all did an excellent job.

It really was a wonderful Christmas as Amy and I finally had the "gift" we had been wanting for so long.  I have said it before, but it doesn't stop being true, this girl has changed our lives so dramatically and we wouldn't want it any other way.  She makes us smile, cry, and pull our hair out, but she is awesome beyond belief.

It is pretty special

last year i got Amy an ornament for Christmas. it read "i will hold you in my heart until i can hold you in my arms." we certainly had hope, but didn't really think it was possible that the next Christmas would be so much more special. we can hold her in our arms now and we couldn't be happier.

Natalie going to town on her first ever gift wrapped Christmas present.

i hope you can figure out who put this outfit together. those would be her pajamas, her tutu (a gift from her great aunt), and cat hat. she is also holding a gift bag that she likes to pretend is a shopping bag. if we are missing items around the house, it is a good idea to check there.

i promise to put up some Christmas pics very soon after the festivities. we have about 4 Christmases and they should all be very fun and a new adventure. Merry Christmas everyone. Have a safe and very happy holiday!

"No."

While Amy was holding Natalie last night I attempted to lean in and give Amy a kiss and Natalie would have no part of it. She actually put her hand to my face and pushed me away. Great, now I have two women rejecting my affection.

I will get some pictures up again at some point, but I just wanted to drop a note. Natalie is doing pretty well (just a few sleep issues really and that is all). She had a great Thanksgiving with her family. She seemed to really enjoy herself. She is a big fan of traditional Thanksgiving food.

The Christmas tree is up and she is doing a great job of being gentle with it. She really doesn't want to bother it much unless Ma Ma is "playing" with the ornaments too. No presents under it yet, so we will see how that goes.

November

So, November is Adoption Awareness Month. This is a fact I knew nothing about in years past, but for some reason I find myself acutely aware of now. I had not been exposed to adoption much in my lifetime until Amy and I decided to find the love of our lives through it. Everyone who has gone through the adoption process has their own reasons, but I would like to thank them for trying to make a difference in the life of a child or young person. Adoption or foster care touches the lives of so many people, not just the adoptive parents or child. I believe my family and friends can attest to that.

So, on a more personal note, please see the pic below of our Natalie playing with her BFF Lily. OK, we don't know that they are going to be besties for life, but I certainly hope they can become good friends. Lily is the daughter of Joe and Gina Saltsman and the little sister of Lauren. They went and returned from China about a week ahead of us. Lily is just a bit older than Natalie, but they are very close in size and, it seems to me, in personality. Amy and I are very happy to have met the Saltsmans and hope that we can watch our girls grow up together. It would be great for both girls to realize that even though a family is not based on looks, there are ones out there that like just like theirs.

Also, it isn't just for the girls benefits. I know I enjoy talking to another family the gets the difficulties and joys that go along with raising a child of International Adoption.

That is Mr. Potato head they are "playing with." I think this picture was probably taken amidst a lesson of sharing for both girls. Lily was protective of her toys and Natalie wanted them to be hers. I think they worked it out by the end of the night. Lily did graciously share one of her tutus with Natalie.

As far as life with Natalie goes, everything is moving along without much difficulty. Well, change is always difficult, but we manage, right? We think Natalie is going through some attachment issues right now. While these might not be fun for the parents, they are essential for Natalie and ultimately healthy for our family. Also helpful is that Amy is no longer bombarded with work and we can spend more time together as a family. That may mean Amy and me watching TV while Natalie runs around pulling all of her toys out and drooling, but at least she sees that we are all there together. FYI, she is drooling because she has some more teeth coming in. We have been lucky in that department as she had most of them when we got her and has had no fever or, as far as we know, serious pain with these four coming in now.

Finally, below you see Amy and Carla with Natalie. Carla stopped by to visit for a while to remind me how scarily similar her and Amy really are. Thanks for stopping in Carla. Hopefully in December we will get a visit from Olivia Proulx Smith, if her parents can work us into their schedule that is. :)

Get Candy. Get Candy.

i guess i better put some Halloween pictures up, huh? it was a pretty interesting couple of days. i don't think she ever figured out why people were dressed up in costumes, but it didn't take her long to realize she was cute and people would give her lots of candy. candy that she wasn't really supposed to be eating, but Ma Ma apparently slipped her some today. i thought i was going to be the first to break.

on Saturday, a local church offered a trunk or treat for the area kids. it is pretty cool as it is just a condensed version of the Halloweens we all grew up with. it is car to car in a parking lot instead of house to house. she was nervous at first with all the people wearing "weird" outfits, but, as usual, it didn't take her long to warm up. you gotta love this outfit though.

Go Cats!

next came Sunday. we didn't do the typical door to door but wanted to make sure she got the spirit of the holiday and that family got to see her. she loved grabbing items and putting them in her basket. Saturday was my outfit and Sunday was Amy's.

finally, just some pictures of Natalie playing in the leaves. again, she wasn't real sure what to think about this. let's just say the pictures make it look like she enjoyed more than she actually did. thanks for checking out the blog, peeps.

It is amazing how such a little child...

You can pretty much finish that sentence with just about any statement.


Someone said that to me today with the ending something to the effect of "cause so much change." It really got me thinking. It is amazing how such a little child can change your life.


I didn't used to spend most of my day thinking about one person. Sorry, Amy, but you didn't get most of the day. I didn't use to look forward to stepping through my garage door into the house. That was just a mundane part of the coming home routine. Now, thanks to a little girl, it is a big event. I didn't use to care that much for hugs and kisses on the cheek. It is amazing how such a small child can change all those things.


However, it ain't all sunshine and roses either. It is amazing how such a small child can frustrate you to no end. It...can make you so mad. It...can make her parents so mad at each other without knowing she had any effect on that. It is amazing how such a small child can rip through the life you thought you were so comfortable with like a tornado (and make the house look like just that as well).


All in all though, it really is amazing how such a child could carry so much love with her. I can no longer imagine my life without her, nor do i care to.












































This last picture is from my friends Terrell and Amy's wedding. I think Natalie liked the reception more than anyone there. She had a blast. I was really hoping there were some pictures of her with Amy in their traditional dresses, but alas, I had none. I am sure my friend Tim can help me with that.

Lookin' pretty

not much to say, but wanted to post some new pictures. we absolutely love this dress sent to us by Marvin and Julia from China.

Natalie is doing very well with her walking. she rarely crawls these days. she dances a lot though.

enjoy the pictures. we certainly do like looking at our beautiful girl.