Holiday Greeting

Merry Christmas. Can you believe it is just 3 days away. Emma's first Christmas, and so much still to do. We must wrap the rest of the presents (about half of them), and make more fudge (giving it all away, we need some for us) deliver goody's, clean house, and prepare for Christmas Eve dinner with Glenn's family and Christmas day with mine. So what am I doing? Playing on the computer. Oh well, Christmas will happen even if I don't have everything done that I want done.

So, Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! I hope you all have a wonderful time with your loved ones.

Visit to Santa

Today was Emma's first visit to Santa. She was such a good little girl as we waited in line. By the time she met Santa, she was so tired. We got a few photos, and then she was crying and trying to get me to pick her up.

After our Santa visit, we went searching for a tree. Hard to believe, but Glenn and I decided to go for an artificial tree this year. We decided with Emma putting everything into her mouth, we didn't need to have a tree dropping pine needles in the house. We were going to get a small 4' tree, but it was so small. We ended up with a 6' tree. We will miss the fresh smell, but will enjoy not having to water. It was a good price, so in a few years, when we feel it is safe again, we will go live again!

Halloween

Emma's first Halloween was a full day of family and fun. Our family had been so busy this past month, that we were not able to get together to celebrate birthdays until the 31st. We gathered at my brother Joe's for a family lunch and to just visit. Both Joe and Glenn had birthday's this month, and it was time to celebrate, even if both of them would rather forget that they were a year older.

When we purchased Emma's costume, Glenn had called it the Super Secret Halloween costume, just trying to be funny. We had not shared what it was with anyone. My brother Joe took this personally, so he did not share his son's costumes either. After eating lunch, we had the big reveal. Emma was Snow White, Jacob a ninja, and Alex an army man. They all looked adorable.

After leaving my family, we dropped by Glenn's mom's to let Grandma Sharen see Snow White. We had a good visit, and got to share the holiday with everyone.

A Forever Family

We had a very big weekend in our family. On Saturday October 17th, Emma was sealed to us in the Portland, Oregon Temple. We were blessed to be joined by many of our family and friends for this great day. Emma was adorable in her white dress, and was very good. The only tears were in the child center when they changed her clothes. She was done, and ready to not change her clothes any more.

It only took 6 months, but today Emma was blessed. I had feared that she would cause a fuss in the circle, but the reports back from Glenn and my dad are that she was a perfect little angel. I understand that she stared up at Bishop Ellis as her head was up against his chest. We had wonderful family and friends come to join us for this special event. I was thrilled that Kristen was also able to come, and brought her Grandparents with her. Her Poppa Bob sure is a character, and Emma really loves to watch and play with him. We have been blessed by such a wonderful support system, and loved having them all there.
After church, some of our family and friends joined us for lunch at home. It was a nice visit, and helped to make a good day even better. I love Sunday's where you can visit family and your home is all filled with love. There is little better then that.

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens

What a beautiful day! We knew we needed to be outside enjoying the lovely weather while it lasted. We decided to take a trip to the Japanese Gardens up in Washington park. We loaded the stroller, Emma and camera equipment into the car, and headed out. Once we arrived at Washington Park, it was obvious that all of Portland had the same idea, and we could not find a parking spot. We decided to change our startigy, and headed to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens in Westmoreland, over by the Reed College campus. We were pleased to find that there was hardly anyone there, and we had a lovely walk.

If you have never been to Crystal Springs, we highly recommend it. The flowers were no longer in bloom this lovely October day, however the ducks were fun to watch, and the marshes are beautiful. It is a lovely little piece of paradise in the middle of town. We got lots of wonderful photos of Emma and us, and had a blast together.

Emma on the Move

Emma is still working out her crawling techniques, however, she did learn how to chase a cat today. I was sitting at the computer, and she was a few feet away playing with her toys. All of a sudden, she saw Gingersnap on a floor pillow, and started moving forward. When Emma was about 2 feet away, Gingersnap moved a few feet away and turned to watch her. Once again, when Emma was close, Gingersnap moved, this time across the room and up onto a chair. Emma succeeded in crossing to the chair, and laid there staring up at the cat. She was very proud of herself!

THE ADOPTION IS FINAL!!!

It is final! Our precious little angle is legally ours. We had our day in court and the adoption decree was signed just before noon today. Judge Cobb loved our little Emma, and was very gracious. We had fun going up to her bench so that she could sign the paperwork and let Emma play with her gavel. She then posed with us for photos.

We have been so blessed in our lives, with wonderful parents who were there to support us, and a little angle who will soon be forever ours!

It is so wonderful to have the adoption done. We are so grateful for the blessings Emma has brought to our lives. We are amazed by her on a daily basis, and look forward to watching her grow up. Next up --- the baby blessing and temple sealing!

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!

Finally, a day we have been waiting for has arrived. We found out yesterday that our Adoption Finalization court date has been set! Emma will officially be our daughter next Wednesday, September 30th. We just found out yesterday, and were so excited that is it is finally here!

The first thing I did when we found out was to call the Temple and set up our sealing date. Emma will be sealed to us on October 17th at 4:00 pm in the Portland Oregon Temple. This is the date we have been aiming for since I have family in town that weekend. I have to admit that we were worried we would miss this date.

We need to meet with our Bishop and set up Emma's Blessing date still. I am a little worried about the logistics of her being blessed. As a active, noisy six month old, it will be interesting to see how she behaves. When she sees all those men holding her, and she is not able to sit up, what kind of noises we will get. I will have to write this experience down. It could be amusing!

Emma's Six Month Doctor Appointment

Emma visited the Doctor today for her 6 month visit. She is growing like a weed, and is not 28 inches long and 17 pounds. We have one more inch on her car seat before we have to upgrade, and fear that we may have to start driving separately (our car is too small for both of us with the bigger car seat facing backwards).

Emma was a real trooper getting her shots, and only cried for a few minutes. After going out for lunch, Emma and I hurried home for a good long nap. After her nap, she turned understandably cranky, and all she wanted was her snuggly, blanket and swing. At least I finally found what she wanted. She was so cute in the swing that I had to take her picture. Sorry for the blurry!

Emma's progress

It is amazing just how fast a baby grows and changes. It seems like everyday there is something new that Emma has figured out or had happen to her. In the last 1-2 weeks, Emma has been learning to sit. She is doing really good now, and is up to about 15 minutes on her own without toppling over (unless she reaches for something out of her reach, and then she falls right over). We watched her start with just having a back rest, to now she corrects herself as she is falling, well, most of the time.

We have also discovered a new noise. Okay, I must admit that I am to blame for her learning this one, but it is so cute, who cares! I have always sent Emma air kisses by smacking my lips. This past week, Emma started smacking her lips. It is so cute, and she does it constantly. Glenn believes that she is communicating. It is one of the ways she uses to get our attention, and she answers back. We have to laugh as well, as she does the funniest things with her lips. I don't know how, but she manages to suck in her lower lip, and the sides of her upper lips, so that the top center becomes pointed, kind of like a beak! I have tried to imitate this, but have had no success. I really think that Emma has got Kristen's lips (her birth mother) and the expressiveness of them. She is constantly doing new things with them, and making us smile.

Emma has also been experiencing solid food over the past several weeks. She seems to have finally gotten the hang of how to use her tongue, and is doing great. Today while feeding her lunch, I discovered that Emma's first tooth had broken through. We have been watching for it over the past few weeks as we have been able to see the two front bottom teeth pushing up. We still are waiting for number two to pop through, but we have passed the first huddle. I have to admit that we have been blessed in the teething ordeal. I have been waiting for Emma to be in pain and be difficult with this, but other then a little grumpiness (that can be directed at her cold) she has been a real trooper. I think I have given her teething tablets only 4 times over the past three weeks.

We are also watching Emma learn to crawl. She has gotten very fast rolling around the house, and we have learned that we need to be careful what we leave out and in how we move around her, as she may be underfoot. We have seen her lift herself a few times and go forward a few pushes, but she seems to be able to scoot and roll so well that she is not working too hard on this. She also tends to do it when we are not watching. As soon as we turn around and discover her moving, she stops and holds her arms out to be picked up. I have to admit that I am hopeful that she takes several more weeks before she takes off on this new skill. I have baby proofing to do first!

So, as you can tell, Glenn and I love being parents, and Emma has become our favorite topic (as you can tell I have just gone on and on...). It is hard to believe we have had this wonderful spirit in our care for almost 6 months. We just keep falling more in love with her every day. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for meeting Kristen and David, and for the precious gift they have given us. Not only did we get Emma in our lives, but we have them to love too. Thank you both for your love and trust!

Family Visits

We had a great day visiting family. Emma and I are trying to get together with my Mom, Aunts Judy and Penny, and cousins Katy and Hanna, as well as their young children one afternoon a month. Many of us got together today at Katy's house, and enjoyed a nice lunch together. It is fun to watch the children (4 in all today) as they played. Katy's daughter Shaylee is only two weeks younger the Emma, so it is fun to watch them together and see what they are doing yet. 5-6 months is such a fun age for this.

I am going to give this a try, and see if I can keep up on this blogging thing. I feel as if I owe it to my Emma to do some kind of journal, and this way I can share it with family and friends.

Emma is now 5 1/2 months old. She is growing so quickly. This week we are working on teething (her two bottom front teeth are trying to make an appearance), eating solids, sitting and crawling. Emma is not too sure of food, but is willing to give it a try. So far, she seems to not like us adding any flavors, like apples or banana's. Seems boring to me, but we are sure that soon she will get the hang of different flavors.

The crawling is coming slowly, but she is really getting the hang of sitting up. She has even been correcting her balance every once in a while. I prefer to practice her sitting on the bed as it is a nice soft fall if she loses her balance, which she always does.