Merry Christmas!

Josie had a great first Christmas! Josie and I flew back from Minnesota on Christmas Eve. She wasn’t feeling so great when she woke up on Christmas morning so we lounged around the house for a couple hours before going anywhere. We did make it out for our annual Christmas Breakfast at Waffle House. The only time I really feel like a southerner is when I’m at the good ole Waffle House ordering some scattered hash browns!
We went over to Andrew’s parent’s house around 12:30 and spent the day there. It was fun, but a little hard since Josie was at the worst part of her cold. Not the best first Christmas ever, but still fun! She racked up some nice gifts from all her grandparents! We went home around 7 so that we could get Josie in bed. It was an easy going day!
We hope everyone had an amazing Christmas! We can’t wait to see what God has in store for us all in 2008!
P.S. Pardon Josie’s slimy face in these pictures! Like I said, she had a nasty cold! But most of it is Vaseline for her sore little cheeks!

First Trip to Minnesota~

Well, the trip was a huge success! My mom managed to keep us coming home a secret from everyone in the family! The party was SO much fun! Every time someone in the family would show up, we would poke Josie's head around the corner and they would all freak out! Their reaction was hilarious! I'll post pictures from the party as soon as Emma sends them to me. We had about 40 people show up so it was a great party. I loved getting so see friends from high school and catch up. My nephew, Cash, wasn't quite sure about the new little person intruding on his domain. He now has to share the refrigerator and toys. The first thing he said when he saw her was, "She needs to get bigger." He then proceeded to tell me that I would have to leave Josie in the car when we came to his house for Christmas Eve. But all was well when she showed up with a brand new airplane for him. Suddenly she was welcome to come in...As long as she didn't touch the new airplane! The plan was to spend the rest of the weekend visiting with family, but Mother Nature had other plans. It snowed every day! It was beautiful, but not good travel weather, so we stayed at my parents house the whole weekend. Well, we did venture out on Saturday afternoon to go get my hair done. I love it and am so glad we did it. Even if my nose did almost freeze off walking into the mall.
Josie had her first experience being a northern girl like her mama. We took her out on the sled on Saturday morning. We had fun, she however, was not too excited about the cold! We took her on a little sleigh ride around the yard and she did not smile once! She seemed to like it OK, but she was cold and I had her so bundled up she couldn't put her arms down! She also picked up her first cold. It's a pretty nasty cough, complete with snotty nose and fever. I'm sure she'll be fine in a couple days, but she is so pitiful right now!
Our house is covered with stuff that needs to be put away and laundry so I'm a bit overwhelmed since I know I have to hold Josie all night tonight. Oh well, I guess that's what being a mom is all about!

Ready for take off!

Dear Auntie Erika, Uncle Pauly, and Cousin Cash Man,
Thank you SO much for my new airplane! I love the flashing lights and the spinning propeller! I can dance to all the music too! Mommy says I'll be flying like Opa in no time! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Josie Girl

A Christmassy Weekend!

Well, I turned 25 on Saturday! I guess I'm a real adult now. Andrew and I went on our first date since Miss Thing came home. It was a little strange at first to not have to carry a 20 lbs diaper bag, but we managed to get used to it! We had an awesome dinner and some much needed adult conversation! It was a great night, well, minus the 2 hours it took to get out of Atlanta. Who closes 4 lanes of traffic on a Friday night on the only road out of Atlanta? On Saturday we met up with the Glovers to have the kids see Santa. It's so cute to me that Josie and Everett get to spend holidays together. It will be neat to see them grow up together. As you can see, they have pretty deep conversations. Just like their daddies!Josie was not as trilled with this Santa as she was last weekend. Maybe she's catching on that they aren't the same man. Or maybe she is starting to wonder why we keep making her sit on old hairy mens laps! Either way, she is adorable and the sweetest elf I've ever seen!
It is finally winter in Atlanta. We actually had frost this morning! Quite the change from the 80 degree high we hit last Monday. At least we can bundle up in our wonderful Christmas sweaters!
Only 4 days of work this week and then the holidays officially begin! I love this time of year.

This Is The Life!

Life Doesn't Get Any Better Then This!

10 Months Old!

Man, does time ever fly! I know that she already had 8 months under her belt when she came home, but these past 2 months have just been a blink! We are so proud of her! Happy 10 Months little girl!

And by the way, how am I supposed to get all in the Christmas Spirit when it's 80 degrees outside?!? I love this weather, but not right before Christmas! I actually sent my child to school in short sleeves...On December 11th?!? That's weird, even for Georgia! I am in desperate need of a little snow!

Visit with Santa!

On Saturday we went to a Christmas Party for the foster and adopted children of our county. It was a lot of fun for all the kids. I think that this is the first real Christmas that the boys have had. When they saw our tree they kept asking why that was in the house. And when we asked what they wanted for Christmas, they said that they wanted to take the boxes out of the closet and put them out (I had caught them in the closet going through my Christmas decorations a few weeks ago and told them we didn't take those out until Christmas time). They are so sweet and innocent. It's very cool to see the holiday season through their eyes. To me, their lack of Christmas is another glimpse into the life they could have ended up with and a reminder of what a blessing they are.
Josie did great with Santa! When we got to the front of the line, I told Santa that I wasn't sure how this was going to go, but she didn't make a peep! She wouldn't look at us for us to get a picture of her face. She kept her eyes on him the whole time he had her! She was the cutest baby there in her little Santa outfit! The party was put on my a local motorcycle group. They do it every year and I think they did a great job! They had a ton of activities for the kids to do and those big blow up jumpy things. They also gave a gift to every child and had free food. I was very impressed. The only weird thing was being in a room with Josie where everyone knew she wasn't my biological child. I don't think I'll ever get used hearing people ask me if, "I am going to keep her." Of course I am, she's my baby. I'm sure they mean well, it just sounds very strange to talk about a child like she's a pair of shoes. Anyways, who could give back a little elf like this?She is so cute! Tomorrow she will be 10 months old. I wish I could freeze time and just hold her little self the way she is! Each day is so fun with her! She is learning so much. She LOVES to stand now, which makes it very difficult to change her diaper! She still isn't crawling, but she is getting pretty frustrated with being stuck in one spot, so she is close to getting it down. For now, she just rolls across the room or scoots backwards.The Christmas party pooped her out! She slept through the last 1/2 hour, even with the music at full blast. This is going to be such a great holiday season with lots of surprises and smiles!

Prima Ballerina

Santa Baby!

We had another awesome weekend!

Andrew went to North Florida with some of his guy friends to do manly things like canoe and chase alligators.

So while he was gone Missy and I had a Mother Daughter weekend. I can't tell you how warm and fuzzy it feels that I can be involved in a Mother Daughter weekend and actually have a daughter there! I love being a mom.Missy and I took the 3 girls out for our birthday on Friday night. We laughed as we packed all the kids in the car that this is our new Girls Night! We went to the Japanese Steakhouse which was SO yummy! Josie loved watching our chef and the fire! We had a really good chef. Sometimes you get a dud, but we were lucky! If you know me and Missy, it's a sin to go anywhere and not stop at Target so that was our next stop. We spent a record 3 hours there! Saturday we baked cookies ALL day and then went to the McDonough Christmas parade. It was a very Christmassy day! My mom had a layover on Saturday night so Josie and I drove to the hotel early Sunday morning to have breakfast with her. We had so much fun! Josie loves her Mae Mae!Josie is doing amazing. She is learning so much! She still isn't quite crawling, but she is so close! She's going through some separation anxiety, but that's normal for her age. She had her 9 month check up last week and she is still healthy. She had to have some shots and Andrew said it was horrible! She was just sitting there, playing with her little feet and they gave her the shot and he said her whole face was like "WHAT WAS THAT!!?!?" She just looked at Andrew and cried! I think it broke his heart! She has gotten taller but hasn't gained any weight. So we are watching her diet to make sure she's getting all the calories she needs.

The boys are also doing great. They are so in to Andrew. We are expecting them to be moved to their adoptive home within the next week or so. They are so sweet, but we are ready to go back to just one baby for a while!

No updates on Josie's case. Just waiting out the 6 months. We're thinking about flying up to Minnesota for a weekend in December to let her see the snow and have that family meet her. Christmas parties start this weekend so I know we'll have pictures to share! I hope everyone is having a great start to the holidays. I know that we received the only gift we need a couple months early! This Christmas is going to be amazing!