Holiday Cheer

Merry Christmas Bloggy Friends! A few pics from vacation.

Miss Kayla in her first set of pigtails. Can you believe she left them in all day?!?





Here are a few of my favorite shots from Christmas, Christmas Eve, and Great Grandma Lorena's 92nd Birthday.

Getting cousins Kayla, Logan, and Bryce to pose together was no easy task.

For anyone wondering how the 5 hour drive went in the carseat...we found the magic pill. Actually turns out it is a magic pillow (aka known as old couch pillows I should have thrown out about two years ago). Kayla adores these pillows, so Bobby had the brilliant idea of putting it next to her in the car for the trip. Voila! No more screaming. Now we can drive in peace as she plays with her toys in the back. Whew!

Happy Holidays!

Kayla's 1st Christmas Portraits
And Daddy's so proud of Kayla's performance he's threatened to make us do this every year

The calendar says we've been home from China almost a month now and have been a family for over 6 weeks--someone must have made a mistake. It's amazing how life speeds by when times are good. I'm soaking up the holiday season and trying to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of this one.

I can't help but think about all the Christmases that went by before we had a child. Now I feel so very lucky that out of all the people in the world, God chose us to parent this beautiful baby girl. I'll never understand His timing; instead I'll just focus on the gift we've received and be HAPPY.

Okay, okay-- enough mush. It's something about the holidays and that darn Oprah TV show.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone out there in bloggyland!

Confessions from the sleep deprived...

Okay, if you wondering where all the posts have gone...they're only in my dreams. That is if I was able to catch a wink long enough to have a dream. Until LAST NIGHT!!! Before I confess, let me preface this with I do not believe in the Cry-It-Out method for the newly adopted, but I have become a fan of defining what CRY really means. After 2 1/2 weeks of (can you believe we've been home that long? but I digress.)... one of us hopping out of bed and racing down the hall to her crib with every...WHIMPER we heard on the monitor, while the other listens over the monitor to see if everything is okay (actually this is just me...Bobby sleeps blissfully when it's my turn)...which she's usually is fine unless it's a REAL CRY. Usually she's not even awake and is just rearranging herself or kicking off the mounds of blankets.

LAST NIGHT....here's the confession...

I turned DOWN the monitor so low I could only hear a true CRY which did not happen until.... 5 AM!!!! Hallelujah!!! Hark--I think I heard Angels sing. I AM A NEW WOMAN! I even had enough energy this morning to rid my closet of clothes from the 90s. And that my friends, is why I have the momentum to blog during her nap instead of napping along with her. We may even head to Kohl's 50% Off Sale this afternoon.

Meanwhile...here are some pictures of everyday life from the last couple of weeks.

Bobby and Kayla on Thanksgiving Day in the country.

My favorite thing in the box of toys at Great Grandmas is the fake burger.

Seriously Mom, I'm NOT wearing this bow out of the house.

Kayla meets Grover.

Hey, I kind of like this swing afterall!

Miss Kitty doesn't understand why the snack dispensing machine is not working.

Tigger doesn't understand why there's something else in my lap.

Kayla's a tired baby.

Quit taking pictures--I want my bottle now!

Look how far we've come. The last of the baby wipes from China were used today.

My hope is to keep updating the blog about once a week for her first year home and then publish it as part of her baby/life book. Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment...Kayla loves to hear what you have to say.