Christmas tree picking

we went to pick out our Christmas tree last saturday night. this is stella and daddy walking around to pick out the perfect one.

here we are with our tree! stella was fascinated with it and wanted to feel the needles!

we decorated on sunday morning. i WISH i would've gotten a video of stella's face the first time we plugged in the tree lights. it was so funny! her eyes opened up really big and she got a huge grin on her face and started running over saying "aaaahhhhhhhh" in a really high pitched screech and laughing. she is doing really well with the tree so far! she helped us decorate - daddy would unwrap the ornament and give it to stella, then she would bring it to me to hang on the tree. she was so excited to be helping! she knows she isn't supposed to touch it, but will go over and get really close and just stare into it every night. this is such a special Christmas. our first one as a family. we are having so much fun already!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to me. yesterday was my 30th birthday. i have to say, i was totally dreading it. for those of you who know me, know that i am a TOTAL planner. always have been. THANKFULLY i actually didn't have a full list of things i wanted to accomplish by the time i was 30. if that had happened i would for sure be in some serious therapy. however, even though i didn't have a complete map to my 30th birthday, this place i'm at in my life is not where i thought i'd be. like i said before, i don't know where that is, but i do know this is not it. i'm not sure why i was so upset about though, because i honestly have SO much to be thankful for :
* i have the best husband EVER.
* i have the best, best friend EVER.
* i have the daughter i have always wanted and the exact one i was meant to have. it is amazing that she came from a place so far away, yet was made just for us.
* i have the best parents EVER.
* i am surrounded by people who genuinely care for me and love me for who i am. (which is a good thing, because trying to be someone/something i am not is just not in my dna.)
* i have a roof over my head and food on my table every single night.
* i have a job that pays our bills.
i could go on and on, but you get the idea. so mid-day yesterday i decided that turning 30 suits me. i figure my 20's i was a mess - well, because you're SUPPOSED to be a mess in your 20's. my 30's are when i will get my s*it together. so, by the time i hit 40 i should be good to go. not that i'm wanting to rush through it all, because this is my LIFE. i only get one. so, i've decided to enjoy the ride, whatever it may be. and since the ride entails turning 30, here i am!

Thanksgiving Trip to Indiana.

we always go to indiana to michael's parents for thanksgiving. this was our first thanksgiving as a family and it was crazy - i know SHOCKER. we waited until 3pm for lunch so that the little kids could have their nap. that was good for their moods, but stella wanted nothing to do with food, so we spent all of lunch-time chasing her around to make sure she wasn't getting into trouble!

this is stella and noah coloring after lunch.

we took stella to the park to play the day after thanksgiving. it was a little chilly, but the sun was shining and it felt good to get some fresh air!

that night we went to kyle and jessica's so the kids could play and we could catch up. their daughter, jaelyn, is my god-daughter and their son kaiden was named after michael. they are fabulous friends and we SO wished they lived closer and that we got to see them more often!

stella and her god-sister watching cartoons together.

most of the brood.

stella and her god-sister again. stella was getting sleepy in this one.

stella and kaiden. they are going to have crushes on each other when they get older!

this is a random photo of stella and her daddy that i took the saturday after thanksgiving. she had just got up from her nap and was extra cuddly with her daddy. i love this picture!

randomness

i have had 2 encounters in the last week or so when people have made comments about how strong a bond is with a birth child. i find comments such as this odd.

michael and i have had a rough road to parenthood. it was hard and trying and exhausting and all of the above. but we made it. and we plan to have more children. i only bring all of this up because, since bringing stella home, this is the first time a baby comment has really 'gotten to me'.

did these people mean to suggest that we don't have a stong bond with our child because she is adopted? i actually just got up and left the room on both occasions. i haven't been able to shake these thoughts since then.

it makes me want to scream at them and lash out "YES WE DO YOU MORON" . . . but the truth is, i don't know. unfortunately, we won't ever really know. i read lots of blogs of people who have both biological children and adopted children and it never appears that there is a difference. however, the people who make these comments are always the ones who ONLY have biological children. at least in my experience so far. i actually don't ever really think about the fact that stella is adopted anymore. she is just ours. period.

she is perfect and beautiful and ALL OURS.

i feel better now. thanks for listening.

welcome to america!

The Friday night after Stella's final adoption hearing, we had a WELCOME TO AMERICA party for her with just a very few close friends. We ate, drank and were merry., so thankful to have made it through this very significant step.

We had a toast to Stella Lu.


She played with Uncle Jason and Mater before bedtime.


Michael built a big, roaring fire outside.

We sat around the fire (in the FREEZING cold) and drank lots and LOTS.

We ended the night feeling reflective over what we have been through and how far we have come as a family (and by family, I am including our close friends - old and new).

Thank you to all who have shared in our journey. You each mean so much to us . . . even those of you we have never met.

sweet nothings . . .

november has seemed to fly by. it's less than a week until our first thanksgiving as a family. thought it was time for a post of our november so far.


this was michael's birthday : nov 4. stella was giving daddy his present before work.
when we picked up stella from daycare on nov 11, she had a fever of 104. YIKES! i got medicine down her and she didn't want to do anything but sit with momma on the couch. i hate when she's sick, but she is so cuddly then. it's the only time she actually WANTS to cuddle.

daddy stayed home with stella on nov 12. she was feeling MUCH better late that afternoon and daddy was getting a little restless being in the house, so he took her out to play in the leaves for a bit.
we went to my parents house in arkansas over the past weekend. this picture was taken nov 16. my mom and i got stella some new crayons and she LOVED them. she made her first picture for nonna and poppa d's fridge!this was taken nov 17. jon, becky, cooper and gabe sent stella this A-DORABLE bib that becky made! stella was SO excited to get it in the mail! thanks guys! mommy and daddy went to college with jon and becky way back when.

later that night, stella was lounging on the floor with mommy . . .
and with daddy . . .
she was totally comfy!
and almost fell asleep . . .

until she discovered that she loved the way daddy's beard feels on her piggies!
and in our BIG news : stella's final adoption hearing was yesterday, nov 20. the judge was SO sweet and the whole thing was painless.
afterwards, the judge gave stella this bear - which she couldn't WAIT to get her hands on!
and FINALLY, she's legit (as uncle jason says).
we are celebrating tonight - a little "Stella's Legit" gathering with just a few of our closest friends. it's been a really good november so far for our little family. more to come later . . .

Our Weekend.

we had a very busy, FUN weekend! we were sad for it to end.

it started with stella's "first" halloween - first one at HOME with US anyways.

this is stella getting ready Friday night - Oct 31 :



all ready to go!

gotta show off my stinger!

wanting MORE candy!

our family of three.
playing with uncle jason.

having smores at josh and emily's after trick-or-treating!

my saturday started like this. our10k race was saturday morning! this is courtney & i almost to the finish line!


our training group after the race.
and this is how our saturday ended . . . our halloween party. good friends, good food, good drinks.stella wondering why she is dressed up AGAIN the day AFTER halloween and why reese is stuck in that weird seat . . .
hannah graced us with her presence.