Happy Birthday, Little One!

Sweet Adeline -- Happy First Birthday! You have filled our world with wonder since we first met you in the wee hours of the morning! You took my breath away the instant I saw you. God has truly blessed our whole family and all our friends by giving you to us. Everyone said we wouldn't remember life before you were here and that is true. It seems like you've been here for much longer than a year. You've done so much growing and I can hardly wait to see what you'll do next. Right now, you are working on standing up on your own so I bet you walk all by yourself very soon! You love to laugh, talk, blow kissess, wave, and hold your baby. You are an amazing little girl! You bring us much joy! TTAYLI (You'll learn what that means one day!)

Eventful...to say the least!

In my last post of videos, you might have noticed the cardboard boxes behind Adeline. Slowly, but surely, we have been preparing to sell our house. Over the last two years, we've updated bathrooms, painted rooms and the exterior, replaced the central heat/air, replaced the fence, and moved lots to storage...all so someone else can come live here! It was all worth it because our house sold in just over a week! Great, but we hadn't found a new one yet. Thankfully, that changed yesterday when we made an offer that was accepted in just over an hour! It a wonderful home with lots of space to share with family and friends. The plan is to be moving mid-October and continue in this incredible adventure. God has been so good to us and we give thanks for the ways He has moved in these last few weeks. Our prayers have been for all parties to be blessed and I am certain that is happening! Keep the prayers coming as the inspections get scheduled and more (and more and more and more) boxes get packed.

Adeline's first birthday is a few weeks away which seems impossible! What a tremendous time this has been. Lately, she has popped two more teeth on the top and continues to babble all the time. She's decided she doesn't like peas again, but I'm pretty sure she'd eat a whole can of green beans if I'd let her! She is a fast scooter, but takes the time to pull herslf up now, too. She tries walking when someone holds her hands. She signs the word "more" and we are working on the word "please" right now. She says "dada", "mama", "baby", and has a word that resembles "dog" when she is talking about Josie. I've always cuddled her tight, swaying and singing a little song (if you can call it that) with the words "my baby" over and over. Recently, she started moving back and forth doing it, too. It's delightful to hear her and watch her do this! Of course, I'll share it with you if I can get it on video.

Lately...

Adeline still isn't crawling, but is scooting like crazy! In the last two weeks, she's figured out how to go from her tummy to sitting which just adds to her unique style of getting WHERE she wants and WHAT she wants (well, most of the time)! I have FINALLY been able to load some video so you can see her in action!!

Adeline loves books! Of course, this makes her mommy glad. Here's another video of her reading! It's precious!

Ben's mom and dad were with her watching her one evening last week. They'd put her to bed, and all of a sudden, her mobile started playing. They walked in to find her standing up and punching the buttons!! So, my mom came over about 10:15 that evening to hold her so Ben and I could go ahead and lower the mattress. Since she's become more mobile, we were just waiting for this moment to arrive!

She's trying to cut two more teeth on the top and she said "mama" last week! That made me smile, for sure. She's said "dada" for a LONG time and now I get to be included, too!

It has been GREAT to spend more time with her over the summer! The change of routine has been nice and I dread the early alarm clock next week. We've scooted, been to camp, gone swimming, visited the library, gone shopping, been swinging and swinging, and taken care of daddy after his surgery. (LONG STORY short: Ben had his gallbladder out 2 weeks ago and is doing great!) In the midst of all that, we are preparing to put our house on the market! Always an adventure...

P.S. Aunt Julie had an ultrasound last week and it looks like Adeline's cousin will arrive mid-March! YAHOO!

One of the best prayers ever

So, last Sunday we went to Tulsa to see WICKED! It is an incredible musical that I could see over and over again! There was a large group of us, including my brother Chris, my sister-in-law Julie, her mom and aunts and cousins, and our friend, Wendy. After the show, we went to Julie's grandparents' home in Jenks to have pizza. We were asked to gather together so Chris could say the blessing for our meal. Now...you have to understand that we give Chris a REALLY hard time about blessing meals because he tends to get rather wordy! So, I prepared myself for more than just "thank you for the food and the family and friends all gathered together". True to form, he went on to specifically pray for various people in the family, including Adeline "who will be a cousin in March"!!!! Of course, my eyes were closed while praying but they popped open immediately to look at Chris and Julie, who were both beaming and grinning from ear to ear! We've been given permission to share the news and there's no better way than posting it in a blog, huh?!?! We ask your prayers for a healthy pregnancy for Julie and for this precious baby.

Pictures...enough said!

Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day, Benjamin! Adeline is blessed to have you for her daddy! It is a joy for me to watch you love her each and every day. Thank you for being who you are! I love you!

Today, I also remember my sweet daddy. He's been gone five years and we miss him still. I'm sad Adeline will never know him in person but I am certain she will learn of his sweet spirit as we share stories about him. Soon she will get her first taste of homemade ice cream -- no one makes it like he did (although my brother, Chris, is getting close!) I love you, daddy!

A little miracle

A little miracle happened on Friday afternoon! I picked Adeline up about 2:45 that afternoon and her teachers commented that she had been pushing on her ears most of the day. I called her pediatrician's office to find out that the dr. was out of the office, but I could call the dr. covering for her and hope to get an appointment for the Saturday morning hours she would have. Here's the miracle...we got an appointment at 3:15!! Indeed, Adeline's left ear was just infected, but we'd caught it early. I must add that we feel blessed that we've made it this long without one!! So, we started the pink meds that night and she is being a trooper in taking it morning and night. Ugh! The smell of that stuff makes me shudder a little!

Even in the midst of this, she is sleeping good at night, which is a blessing. The days are not so great as she fights taking her naps, esp. at the CDP. Whew! One day last week she slept only 15 minutes during the day! My heart hurts for her because she is fussy and cranky. It's hard to know if her ears are causing her to not sleep during the day or if she is just being stubborn. Hmm...which would you pick?

I know I need to add some pics, but it is going to have to wait! Our desktop hard drive is being replaced at this moment! Thankfully, we figured it out before it crashed completely. So, once it is back in working order, I will get some pictures up as soon as possible.