12 Weeks

It's not so bad to start the day when this is the face that greets you in the morning!

Her temperment is so sweet.

We like to talk and smile together in the mirror. This was my attempt to catch that! She is incredibly gorgeous and we can't get enough of her.

So Many Pictures

Our Joy!

She is two months, weighs 8 lbs. 13 oz., and is 21.5 inches tall.

Our date while Grandma has been here helping us transition.

Her new trick. Oh...how we love it!

What she thinks of us while we do crazy things to get her to smile.

The baby shower with the family.

The lovely table. We had grilled chicken salad, eclairs, mini cheesecakes, and yummy candy. It was a lovely pink tea party!

The first week of her smiling.

Her first photo shoot. We had her picture taken with the blanket that matches the one we gave to her birth parents.

She is more beautiful...perfect...fun...good...etc. than we could have ever imagined. She sleeps through the night a couple of times a week-which is incredible. The doctor says she is perfect. We know that already.

Tears of Joy

The weekend after we had been chosen by our birth family, Shawn and I went to Park City to go shopping at the Carters' Outlet. For along time, I have walked past those baby stores and ached for the opportunity to one day walk in there and shop for my babies. In March, I finally had that opportunity-and we spent a lot of money! The one thing that I knew I wanted to get was a newborn dress-a risky idea when you don't know how much the baby will be born weighing. I bought this one. It was the most pink and frilly thing I could find that day. On Sunday she wore it and she looked gorgeous.

I was asked on that shopping trip what I was doing in Park City and I responded, with tears in my eyes, "We are shopping for a baby girl who we will adopt in July!" I can't believe she is here. I have teared up often as I've rocked her and stared at her in awe of the miracle that she is!

Perhaps one of the most rewarding things about having Bella is that she recognizes me and my voice. She calms down to listen to me-it is incredible. The other amazing thing about her is watching Shawn be her dad. He is so good with her and she loves to snuggle up in his arms and fall asleep.

Grandma and Grandpa F. were here for a week.

Isabella enjoyed her first game night and, specifically, her first nertz game. She'll get the hang of it all!

Some Photos of Her Sweetness

These photos range through weeks one and two!

Her first morning home















My favorite bug on her cute bottom

My sisters came out for the day.

Her first Rockies game.

Friends

Eye contact with Grandma F

Her very cute cherry dress from Aunt Krissy

She's Here! She's Here!

We have been given an incredible gift this weekend.

On July 3rd we were staying at my dad's house when we received a phone call at 3:30 saying that K had been admitted to the hospital because she was in labor. We got to the hospital at 5:00 and our baby girl was born 2 hours and 58 minutes later.

Isabella Harmony was born weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 19 inches. She is tiny but she is healthy and GORGEOUS!

(Here is a little size comparison example-big dad vs. little baby girl)

There aren't words to describe how we feel. It is incredible how your heart can just love this little one so much. She truly is an angel and we feel so blessed to be able to have her in our family. We are excited for this journey!

Isabella means "consecrated to God" and is a derivitive of Elizabeth which means "a gift from God." Bella means "beautiful" in Italian. We felt that her name explains exactly what she is! Harmony is the name her birth parents had chosen to name her. We want her to remember how very loved she is by both families.

We feel so blessed. Miracles happen!

I think I'm nesting...

I actually think I've been nesting for a year!

This week we have cleaned walls, vents, cupboards, and windows! We finally put together the nursery, washed all of the clothing and bedding we bought or have been given, and sterilized all of the toys and bottles that we have. It feels pretty great to know that we are ready!

I'm not normally a purple or butterfly fan, but for some reason, I love this nursery set.

It just seems so sweet.

Shawn has turned into a Tigger fan ever since we went to Disneyland and bought a stuffed Tigger for little miss.

I hope she likes it and comes to enjoy it soon!

As we've had the opportunity to put this all together, I can't help but be so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this opportunity. I just walk around thinking, Thank you! Thank you so much! I daydream about hearing her and smell the lotion and the clean clothes and imagine her here. We pray for her and K and D every day. They are amazing and strong. We are so blessed!

"Celebrate Today!"

We decided to go to Disneyland to CELEBRATE!

We have many things to celebrate so we decided to give each day a different focus. No matter how much we tried to celebrate our 4 year marriage, the end of school, and adoption. Each day we came back to celebrating our baby girl and the gift of adoption-we couldn't help it. We bought her a prize nearly every day of our 5 day stay and we made a family plan to return in a couple of years with her. Is it possible to love her already?

We found $49 plane tickets and a discounted rental car. We got a smoking deal on a room right across the street from the entrance to the park with a 5 day pass for the price of a three day pass and a military discount. Stars aligned!

Of course, we traveled the six minutes to an Angels game where, while in line to buy our tickets, some lady gave us her tickets because she wasn't going to use them. That is right...FREE!

The free tickets made it easier to leave and go back to Disneyland because the game was lame!

We learned how to draw Piglet. For a man who always freaks out whenever I ask him to cut or draw anything-he did a pretty great job! (Right pic)

We cheered with the Disney cast as they yelled out things to celebrate!

We played our (perhaps it is just mine) FAVORITE game-wherein I walloped Shawn every time! (It's called Midway Mania and I challenge anyone to compete with me...he he he!)

We rode a whole bunch of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...

...and as much Indiana Jones as was possible!

We also perfected our self-picture taking abilities. Our students do them all of the time, but I never tried until this trip. It took us a while to get it right.

We had an amazing trip together. We didn't have any responsibilities or pressure and we just unabashedly laughed, joked, snuggled and teased. It was magical!!!