14 months!

Delaney Jane, you are 14 months old! I truly cannot believe I just typed that!!! You are a busy little toddler now, and I am loving every day together :) You learn something new and amaze us daily..you are so smart!!

You weigh 19 lbs 6 oz and we aren't sure about your length, but based on just looking at you and how you all of a sudden reach things you couldn't before, we know you have grown!! You are wearing 12-18 month clothing, a size 3 shoe, and size 3 diaper.

You are an official walker/runner now! You really have taken off in the past 3 weeks. You are walking everywhere and are into everything. We rarely sit down at home ;)

Some of your favorite foods are avocado, any kind of pasta, chicken, and strawberries. You take 2 good naps and go to bed around 7:30-8. Over Spring Break you slept until 8:30 so I'm hoping you will stick with that habit this summer!!!

You are going to a trial class at The Little Gym this Saturday and I am SOOOO excited! It's a dream come true for me :) I taught you how to do a forward roll the other day and now you can get in position when you want to do one! You also start swim lessons twice a week at the end of April. I am loving this age where we can get involved in things! We will have so much fun this summer.

You really enjoy being outdoors. You like to ride your 4 wheeler & roller coaster, go for walks, and just soak up the sun. We took our first trip to the zoo last week, and you loved it! We will definitely go back :) We are so glad its finally warmed up!

You are still a little chatter box and love saying hi to people! You also love animals and scream with delight when they are around. You love to dance to music, and are always so happy. You do have a stubborn side, but are a really good listener. We have to pop your hand occasionally, but you usually obey quickly!

I feel like you have grown up so much this month and I love watching you learn new things and grow into a sweet little girl! Your daddy and I love you so much, sweet thing!!

13 months!

So, I'm a little behind on the posts :( Delaney turned 1 last month, she's had the stomach bug twice, been on a cruise, and been to Children's Hospital! Shew!!! Anyway, I'm hoping to do a cruise post, but since I missed her 1 year post I thought I'd at least attempt to document 13 months... so here we go!!!

Delaney Jane, you are 13 months old! It's so hard to believe that it's been a whole year since your 1 month pic:(

 We had your first birthday party last month and it was super!! You were so cute!!!

Today you are 13 months old and are a busy little girl! You are eating pretty much all table foods now. You really like pasta :)

  We think you weigh close to 19 lbs are are 28 1/2 inches long. You are wearing 12 month clothing and a size 3 shoe and diaper.


You really took off walking this month! You are all over the house and standing up on your own too. It's so crazy to see your sweet little face walking around...hard to believe you are big enough to do that!!!

You have started having a little separation anxiety at church and when we are around others. You do go willingly to Miss Cindy though, so that makes my life so much easier!!! You are still such a fun baby! You smile at everyone and love to say "Hi" to perfect strangers ;) You also ask constantly, "What's that" and "Who's that??" We love telling you things and watch your little mind at work!

You are still a great sleeper. You go down between 7:30-8 every night and take 2 naps during the day. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't a good sleeper..that has been a HUGE blessing!

You are really into pushing things around the house, and you enjoy carrying things in your hands while you walk. Maybe it helps you balance?? ha!

You took your first plane ride this month and did fairly well. We had a great time on our cruise and loved having you there with us! I know Pop loved having the whole family there for his birthday!

 You love being outside, so we are so glad that it is finally warming up. We went to the park yesterday and you loved swinging and sliding. Today we took a walk around the neighborhood and also pulled you behind a bike in a carrier. You thought it was so much fun! You love going fast :)

We are still amazed at how precious you are and thank God every day for the beautiful gift he gave us a year ago. We love you so much sweet girl!!

11 months

Delaney Jane, you are 11 months old!

How in the world are we about to celebrate your first birthday?? It literally seems like yesterday that I was holding you in my arms for the first time :)

Now you are a spunky little bundle of fun! You are into everything and are so chatty!

We think you weigh about 18 lbs and are 27 1/2 inches. You are in size 9-12 month clothing and a size 3 diaper.

This month you really started talking. You can now say a handful of words: Mama, Dada, Hank, baby, no, hi, hey, play, tree and a few other things. You also wave ALL the time and like to blow kisses! You got your 2 bottom teeth too!!

We had so much fun celebrating your first Christmas! You were very interested in the paper, but we sort of got you to open presents.

You still take 5 oz bottles a few times a day and eat lots of solid foods. We have introduced several table foods also. Pretty much anything we are eating, you think you have to have whether you'd like it or not!! Your favorite food is still avocado. You are a champ at drinking from a sippy cup!

You usually take 2 naps a day, both around an hour-hour and a half each. You go to bed around 7:30 or 8 and we wake you up at 6 during the week. Sometimes you sleep later on the weekends.
You are still Hank's biggest fan! You laugh hysterically when he comes into the room!

We cannot imagine our lives without you precious girl. We got your official birth certificate with the name change on it last week, so everything is officially done! We are so excited that this process took under a year :)

We are blessed beyond belief and are looking forward to celebrating your first birthday with lots of family and friends next month!

                                                  We love you so much sweet girl!

A look back at 2012...

For those of you who are new to my blog, I started it in October 2010 to blog about our journey with infertility. We "started" trying to get pregnant in June of 2008. After more than 2 years of trying with no luck, I decided a blog would help me express my feelings and document our journey. So, that is pretty much what this blog became, a way to vent and "write"down my thoughts, as well as a place to post pictures of our "exciting"life!!

In June of 2011 we began our adoption process, so I began blogging our every step. I knew I would want to look back one day at all that we had been through, and boy am I glad that I did! This past year it became a place for me to document Delaney's milestones :) We didn't want to post a lot of stuff on Facebook at first because of the uncertainty of the situation. I really enjoyed doing monthly posts about all she had accomplished! And I really did a great job keeping it up, until I went back to work in August. After spending hours one night uploading pictures and typing out an entire blog, only for it to get lost in cyber space.."POOF" just like that, gone, I decided it wasn't worth it! I just didn't have the time to devote anymore:( I have been making monthly books from Shutterfly that contain all of our pictures and document all of Delaney's milestones, so I don't feel too bad. But, I do sort of miss blogging. So, I decided to "officially" share my blog on Facebook for any of you who care to look! :) HA! I can't promise I will update it often, but it's here nonetheless. Also, if you are curious about our journey, you can search back to the years past and read all about it! I know most of you probably don't have the time to do that, but I enjoy looking back and seeing how God was faithful through it all!

In honor of a new year I decided to do a blog today about the best of 2012! I have seen several people do this already, so yes, I am copying them :) I just thought it was a neat idea and a great reason to write a post. I know 2012 was an exciting year for us and I hope it was for you as well! If you are currently going through a "journey" of any kind, I pray for peace and hope that God will see you through it this year!!

Here we go......

January 2012: Allen and I were patiently waiting to hear news of a possible adoption. It was a LONG, I mean LOOOOONGGG month!! I still don't know how I made it through:) We visited my sweet sister in Nashville for her birthday and got to "foster" 2 adorable puppies that weekend!

 We also "prepared" for an adoption by painting our nursery. Our sweet friends Matt & Amanda came by and helped!

Finished and waiting on a baby!!

February 2012

One of the most amazing moments of my life was seeing this ultrasound. Although this child was not in my womb, I knew when I saw her she was meant to be ours. This day was so special to us :)

 Obviously the best part of February was when our sweet Delaney Jane was born! There are lots of pics that I love of her, but I chose these 2 because they are the first picture we ever took of her, and our first picture as a family of 3 :) Such sweet memories!!!

 

March 2012

Celebrating Delaney's 1 month Birthday :)

I was so excited to finally have a sweet baby I could take monthly pics of!

Hannah Kate meeting Delaney for the first time :)

April 2012

Delaney's first Easter

First trip to the Aquarium :)

First Professional pictures :)

May 2012

Celebrating cousin Grace's first birthday :)

My first Mother's Day!

First trip to the beach with Rachel, Stephen, & Diane :)

June 2012

First pool day with the girls!!

Father's Day weekend :)

Portrait Innovation pictures!

July 2012
4th of July!!

Family Beach Trip to Isle of Palms

 August 2012

Hannah Kate's 2nd birthday Party

September 2012

GO VOLS and Gigi came to visit

7 months old!!!

Visiting Pop ;)

Uncle Nick

October 2012

Delaney's Baby Dedication

Fall Pictures

 First Halloween :)

November 2012

9 months old!

 Delaney's first Thanksgiving!

December 2012

Visiting with Santa!

 Adoption finalized: December 7, 2012

Getting our Christmas tree!

Sunday School Christmas Party

Delaney's very first Christmas!!!

Meeting new friends!

First kiss :)

Wow! What a year!! I cannot believe Delaney will be a year old in just over a month. 2012 was full of blessings and surprises...what about you?? Cannot wait to see what God has in store for 2013!