Project: First Birthday

Baby girl had not one, two, but three birthday parties to celebrate her first year of life. Lots of family and friends to celebrate this very special girl. It was a long weekend, but one we will remember for a long time.

Baby's first birthday party was with Matt's family who live near us. Little girl's cousins were eager to help party and have a good time.

Below is  a photo of our baby girl eating a cupcake for the very first time. She did not know what to think of it at first. We had never given her sugary food before this point.

Below is a very special lady holding baby's own birthday cake. That is our birth mom's older sister. She was amazing and put together an extravagant birthday party for our little family. She heard we were driving to see baby's birth mom for the birthday weekend and she put together an amazing get-together. My siblings and best friends were in attendance as well. It was a very thoughtful gift she gave our daughter and our family.

Daddy loves those chubby cheeks.

Below: opening presents!

Little baby enjoying a moment with her birth mom in the picture below. Miss C (birth mom) made that blanket for our daughter for her birthday.

We are grateful for Miss C and were sooooo happy to enjoy this special time with her.

Baby's birth grandparents below. They are the BEST! 

Some of my siblings below.

When we got back into town, Matt and I had to dash to get all things ready for baby's third and final birthday party. I hurried and rented a bounce house for the back yard and scrambled to decorate the house and make cakes, cupcakes, and all the food. Matt was so helpful and ran a billion errands to help ensure that the party would go well. We had 40 people come over to the house and it did not look so tidy afterward. But it was worth it. The best birthday parties.....EVER.

One Year of Miracles

Baby girl's birthday is almost here. We are excited. We paid to get some "One Year" pics taken of our sweet little bug. 

Baby girl has been one of the greatest miracles of our lives. We are grateful for her and her constant happiness and sweet nature. 

Adoption is a subject that warms our heart and gives us passion in this life. We are so thankful for baby's Birth Mom and the selfless gift of love she gave us. We think of and pray for her every day. There is a picture of this sweet woman in our daughter's room. We speak kindly of her. We want baby girl to always know that a FANTASTIC woman gave birth to her. This woman loves her, cares for and thinks of her everyday. So here's to adoption......and first birthdays!

Running with Tinkerbell

This last weekend our little family drove to southern California so I could run in another half marathon. It was a super fun race because it took place in Disneyland. My amazing Mom came with us so she could babysit our little daughter while Matt and I went to the race. 

Below: Baby girl greeting me after the long run. Maybe next year she can hang out at the finish line with her Daddy.

After the race, we packed up and went to the beach for a few hours. I love the ocean. Little girl had fun there too. At first the loud sound from the waves made her nervous. By the end of the afternoon, she was playing in the water and didn't want to get out.

Winter Wonderland Christmas

This was the first Christmas with our sweet little girl. It was a great day. We flew north to be with my family and play in the snow. Christmas is always more fun when we are in the woods and snow. Baby girl was happy and everyone was healthy. We feel so blessed. This time last year we had no idea we would have a little baby to add to our family. We are grateful for the blessing of adoption and for this Christmas season. God has truly enriched our lives with so much. 

Baby's first Thanksgiving

Directly behind our house is a large portion of BLM land that offers some fun hiking trails through a canyon and some mountains. There are big horn sheep, coyotes and some creepy crawly things back there. 

For our pre-Thanksgiving celebration, we went on a family hike on one of those trails. This "little" tarantula is one of the critters we saw. 

Baby girl had lots of fun on our hike. She was chatty the whole time. I'm grateful she loves the outdoors like her Ma and Pa. 

Baby girl being silly on the trail.

After our hike we headed to my Father-in-Law's fire station. He is a fire captain at one of the bigger stations in town. The firemen cooked Thanksgiving dinner for all their families who came that day. It was fun.

Matt's parents, his youngest brother, and us.

Made a Forever Family

"We didn't give you the gift of life,

but in our hearts we know,

The love we feel is deep and real,

as if it had been so.

For us to have each other 

is like a dream come true.

No, we didn't give you the gift of life,

Life gave us the gift of you."

On October 26th, 2013 we were sealed for time and all eternity to our little girl in the Temple of the Lord. It was a warm fall day with a big bright sun. Family and friends had come from all over the country to celebrate this day! (One of my best friends came all the way from Calgary, Canada.)

We feel grateful to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. Because of this sweet gift, we have the ability to be a forever family. 

Below is a photo of Little Peanut in her Halloween costume just a few days after our sealing. She did not like the costume at all but I had her wear it for a night and snapped a photo for us to remember. She has a look of great disdain on her face. She will thank us one day.

ABOVE: A photo of our family dressed in white just before we were to be sealed together. There was such a great feeling of peace and joy that day. I don't know that I have had a greater feeling of peace in my heart. 

BELOW: A picture of some family and friends who attended our sealing. There were a lot more but they were unable to stay for the pictures.

BELOW: A sweet memory of our birth mom and us after the sealing. We are so glad she came with her parents to be a part of this amazing day! She truly is our angel. Because of her, we are a family.

Our birth mom and her wonderful parents with us just before the sealing (below). They were so excited for us and we love having three sets of grandparents for our daughter. 

The GORGEOUS dress Baby Girl is wearing was made by her birth grandmother. Isn't it stunning? She looked so beautiful in that dress. 

My parents and Grandfather, Matt's parents,  his grandmother and youngest brother in this photo below. Having family together on this day only made it better.

BELOW: Baby Girl and her beautiful birth mom.