We Love Springtime!

It's finally starting to get warm around our neck of the woods. Emme is definitely not accustomed to the outside elements because she has been bundled up inside her whole life. So it's nice to be able to put her in short sleeves and bask in the sun. Well, shade. Thanks to my cousin in North Dakota for the hat. It has been put to good use already.

Check out those teeth! She worked hard for them.

I had to add this pic because of the rolls on her arm. Can you say SQUEEZE?

Gregg got home from work and joined us outside. This is Emme's face when she noticed him. She loves her daddy.

Mother's Day

It's a well known fact Mother's Day has always been hard for me.  I will admit this year was much easier.  I would still get anxiety every time someone would bring up Mother's Day, then I would remember I was a mom now.  I think it's hard to throw away feelings you've had for years and years.  I thought this year would be tear free, but it wasn't.  I was pretty much a blubbering mess through all of sacrament and then again during my lesson. I thought the bishop was going to call me in to see if I was okay.  He didn't for the record.

But man....

I cried...

I cried for Em's birth mom and the extreme love I have for her.  She made me a mom.  Words just can't explain.
I cried for Em's birth family.  They made so many sacrifices for our little girl.
I cried for all those who are still waiting to be moms.  
I cried appreciation to our Heavenly Father that I am a mom.   

So there's always next year to try again for a dry faced Mother's Day, right?

and, What's a Mom Post without thanking my mom and mother in law..  I know they have cried many tears for me over the years.

Easter eleven

 We had a great Easter this year.  We forced our seven month old to enjoy it too.  Holidays usually mean little or no sleep for babies, but once again our Emmers was a champ.  The Easter Bunny came after church due to a nine o'clock meeting time and the fact that I had to speak in church.  He even waited until Emme had her only nap that day so she would be excited.

How nice of the Easter Bunny to leave a trail.

YUM!

The goods.  Yes, that is candy in her basket and no she does not eat candy yet so yes that would mean her parents are big Easter candy fans.

Playing with her new toy.

Showing us she can clap.

We couldn't resist.

It lasted about one second.

Easter egg hunt.  I just had to add this pic because of her squishy thighs.  Don't worry she's not really eating the plastic bag.

Sealing Day

Gregg and I believe that families can be together forever. In order to achieve this, we believe you need to be sealed in the temple. Gregg and I were sealed on our wedding day. If we had conceived Emme she would have been born in the covenant, but because she was brought to us through adoption we had the opportunity to have a live sealing in the temple.

We were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. It was an absolutely beautiful event. We were treated like royalty. I even made the comment I felt like VIP to a temple worker. She said "That's because you are!" Emme got to hang out in the nursery for most of the time. The ladies taking care of her loved her. One even said she wished all the babies could be like Emme. Gregg and I were able to spend some time alone in the Celestial Room. The Spirit was very strong as we sat and contemplated all that we had been through to get our little girl. I felt the overwhelming love our Heavenly Father has for me and our family. The time in the temple made everything worth it. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had.

When they brought Emme into the sealing room it was the first time we had seen her in her dress, because I had never had a chance to try it on her. {Things were pretty busy} She looked beautiful. She had a bowel movement seconds before the sealing, but she didn't seem to mind. She gave big smiles all around and loved the big chandelier at the center of the room.

If I can say anything about what I felt that day it would be that our Heavenly Father loves us. We all have a plan. One that will make us grow and learn beyond anything we thought possible. Hang in there... the rewards are endless.

One happy eternal family.

So lucky to have grandmas.

Alexander side.

Emme loves my hair.

Jackson side.

One tired girl.

Too cute for words.

Together we have it all.

Finalization

After placement of a child it takes six months to actually finalize an adoption. It's sort of a trial period where the agency has custody so they can make sure the baby has gone into a good home. You have three interviews during the six months one of which is a home visit. It's not too complicated, but MAN is it a relief when you are FINALLY able to take your baby to court and legally adopt them.

Our court time was bright and early on St. Patrick's Day.  We had to wake Emme up a good hour earlier than normal so by the time we actually made it to the court house she was exhausted.  She fell asleep in Gregg's arms right before we saw the judge and woke up right after it was all done just in time for pictures.  The judge said it was the first time that had ever happened to her.  She was suffering from ear infections at the time, but  was a champ the whole day.  Gregg's sister Staci was able to come with us and it was so nice to have her there.  Our judge did everything back in her chambers so there wasn't a lot of room to invite a ton of people. 

Everything went very smoothly and when our lawyer asked if I had bonded to Emme in the last six months I broke down crying with all the emotions of having our little joy.  Gregg also expressed his love for Emme and the blessing she is to us.  The judge even had Staci tell a few comments and she shared some sweet
things about Gregg and I and the parents we are. 

I know I've been a huge whiner on my last few posts, but I can honestly say I am so happy with life right now.  Yes, I have to be on a stupid medication, but I'm thankful there are stupid medications out there to help my body.  I believe one day we will all have perfect bodies without afflictions and boy do I look forward to that.  I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to be a mom and to see Gregg as a dad.  I'm especially grateful for the choice of Emme's birth mom.  No words can explain the love Emme's birth family has for her.  I pray we give Emme the life they want for her and sacrificed so much for.

Asleep just in time for court.

Bink Face

With our judge after it was final!

With Staci and our judge.

With our lawyer who has also adopted two children.

Celebratory breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Emme's aunt Stachi.  Yes, I call her Stachi.

Emme hanging out while we ate.

I love this picture of them.

Rough Week

I had every intention of getting my blogging on last week. That is until I started getting sick Friday night. I kept feeling worse and worse all night and decided I better call and cancel my Saturday appointments at work because I had the flu. Sunday I awoke to a little rash, but thought it was eczema and moved on with my day. My flu symptoms dissipated within a few hours and I no longer felt achy or chilled. How lucky to have such a fast flu, right? Sunday night I couldn't sleep due to my back killing and my little rash burning. In the morning I had a similar rash on my back where it had hurt really bad all night. I could tell something wasn't right. My arm had felt funny for days. Like I had been attacked by fiberglass or something.

Out of the blue a thought popped into my head. "SHINGLES"

I knew very little of Shingles, so I decided to look it up online. Sure enough all the symptoms fit. One thing stood out to me which was that I could spread Chickenpox to those who have never had them. UH OH. Emme had been with me that whole time.

An emotional phone call to my brother in law confirmed it sounded like Shingles. He made me feel better, by telling me it would be hard to pass to Emme. Not impossible, but she would actually have to touch the rash with her mouth.

I went to my doctor and sure enough...Shingles.

I found out you have to catch Shingles within 48 to 72hrs of getting the rash in order to be a candidate for the antiviral pills. The pills stop the virus in it's tracks. The doctor said he normally sees patients when it is too late and that I was lucky I found it so fast. PHEW! The rash did quadruple in size, but it could have been SO much worse. {I'll spare pictures.} He also told me it's pretty uncommon to happen at my age. Little does he know I'm living in body forty years my senior right now. I really think Lupron has a lot to do with it. Side effects are low immune system and anxiety which can bring out Shingles.

Last week was exhausting to say the least. Emme had her shots on Monday and didn't sleep well for three nights. I don't know why they affected her so bad this time, but they did. Good news is her ears were finally clear. We're still going to an ENT though. When she was sleeping I was awake due to the steroids they had me taking. Not to mention I worked a ton to make up for the Saturday I rescheduled. I can never say enough how lucky I am to have Gregg. Most humans would have threw in the towel.

I'm on the mend thanks to the divine inspiration to look up Shingles. It was a crummy situation, but one more opportunity to grow and rely on the spirit. Without that, I could have suffered a lot worse.

I wanted to add a picture of my daffodils. We have tons of these right now. They've had quite the beating with snow, but seem to be hanging in there.

6 Months

I hear everyone say this about their kids, but I SERIOUSLY can't believe Emme is 6 months old. B.E. {before emme} every day seemed like a million years. Now time is flying by.

Stats:
17lbs 14oz
26 1/2 in long {I think, um...I'm pretty sure that's what they said.}

Some things for me to remember, since I can't even positively remember her length are:

-she is mastering sitting
-she got her first tooth
-learned how to sleep without being swaddled
-can put her pacifier back in her mouth without help
-rolls
-learned the "pirate face"
-says momma and dadda {just seeing if anyone is really paying attention.}

Here's a photo shoot I did last week. Enjoy!

This is the pirate face. I think it's because she is teething.