Adoption Day!!!

Today is the day I have waited on for many years. Today is Adoption Day! At 9am this morning the judge declared us a family. When the attorney was asking us questions the tears began to build. I managed somehow to keep it together because I was about to ball big 'ole HAPPY tears.

fair trade give away

check out this give away on my friend's blog
Giveaway! $75 Gift Certificate From NOVICA |Thoughts on Life and Dirty Diapers
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Petition Signed

Today we finally signed our Petition to Adopt!!!! Yay!!!! It's been a long day coming. Now we have to wait 60 days for a court day but we know it will be finalized within 90 days! This is our final step before appearing before a judge. Then Katie will be legally ours.

Katie's Kitchen

Check out what I bought for Katie at a yard sale for $10. The cheapest I found one on line was around $160. I busted the back leg a little while loading it into the truck but Mike added and additional support. It is a little worn but still looks great! You can tell it was loved and I know Katie is going to love it as well.

One year together!

One Year Ago

One year ago today my life was changed forever. It was a day that I had waited for for so long. It was a day that I thought would never happen. It was the day that you came into my life.
Your first year of life, you endured more than anyone should ever have to deal with. Due to circumstances beyond all of our control you were taken from your mother's arms and eventually placed into mine. First of all let me say that she loved you and had a part in choosing me to me your "mommy". Even back then you were a happy baby, but I saw the sadness in your eyes, sadness of not knowing what was going on. You have grown so much since that first day you were home. You were crawling around and enjoyed playing but you didn't want to be held for to long and now more often than not, I hear you say "down" with your arms held up for me to pick you up. You are learning to say "up please". A year ago you could not talk yet, but soon your first words came "Key Cat" oh how you loved that kitty cat, but she wasn't so sure about this little thing crawling around. You still love that cat and yes she loves you too. Soon there after you took your first steps.
Those first few months were hard for us all but all I know is that I loved you. I felt so helpless sometimes not knowing what I should do. I have loved you from the start but somewhere along the way I fell helplessly in LOVE with you and I think you you love me too. I was no longer a strange person who just took care of you, I was your "mama". You are still a beautiful and happy baby girl. You love life, you love being outdoors and exploring. You also love books and like for us to read to you, and sometimes will try and keep us from putting you to bed by asking for "book".
I love watching you enjoy life and watching you grow and learn. I have never been happier to sit back and watch someone do something. It is amazing to watch you do things that you once could not do. You love your babies and you love to push them around in the stroller. I even hear them say "down" so that they can get out of the stroller. You have always liked peek a boo and you still do, I love to watch your face light up brighter than the brightest star when I "find" you.
As your mommy, I promise to always love you and to help you learn and grow. I pray that you always have a passion for life and that you keep your love of others. You are always smiling and blowing kisses to everyone you meet. I also promise to help you the best way I know how to heal the wounds of your past because they were not caused by you. I will always be here for you to hold your hand, to kiss you good night, to wipe "tear balls" from your eyes, to give you zerberts as long as I am alive.
I love you my sweet and beautiful daughter.

waiting to cross the finish line

It seems that sometimes this journey will never come to an end. We finally have our attorney working on the adoption petition, Which we thought we would have signed already. That doesn't seem to bother me as much as it did before. There are a few glitches in some of the papers that were given to the attorney but hopefully they are minor and will not increase the wait time. I know that she worked on it today so hopefully we will be able to sign in a few days. Once we sign then our attorney will file the papers and we will wait for a court date. Once again we are so close but so far away (or at least that's how it feels).
I do know that I am ready for us to be able to live our life without having permission to do something, or having an approved baby sitter, etc. But I do know one thing is for sure, that tiny tot of mine is worth it all.

Glossy Bands Giveaway!!!!

Over at The Momtage they are giving away Glossy Bands. Check them out at http://www.themomtage.com/2010/07/glossy-bands-giveaway-and-review.html for your chance to win.

Placement

Yesterday we signed our official papers for placement of Katie into our home for adoption. If she hadn't already been in our home as foster care this would have be the day we would have receive her (at least that is what I think not 100% sure). It was a long and tiring day. We were at the office for about 3 hours, no it didn't take that entire time, we got off to a late start, took turns chasing Katie around the office and I do mean around the office, there was no need to go to the gym because it was a workout all by itself. We now have the paperwork and permission to meet with our attorney so that it can be filed with the courts. Once we get the court date and go to court everything will be final. It can still be up to six months before the finalization but we are praying that it will go quicker than that.

Getting Closer

well we have a tentative date for signing our placement paperwork placing Katie in our home for adoption even though she has been in our home for almost a year. Once we sign the paperwork we will be able to have our attorney file papers with the courts so that we can get on the docket for finalizing our adoption. Getting closer and closer. This journey has been a long one but a journey worth it.

The Safe Sippy

I have spent tons of money trying to find a sippy cup that my daughter would use. She did't like any of them. After starting speech therapy for feeding issues I found out that I shouldn't be using them anyway because they can affect speech development. The SLP gave us a training cup with a straw. She learned how to use the straw but still refused to drink no more than an once from it and then get mad when it wouldn't work when she turned it up like a bottle. Then I found the Safe Sippy and The Safe Sippy 2. The spout was shaped like a straw and she could turn it up like a bottle and it had a spill proof valve. The Safe Sippy 2 is even better it comes with an extra valve and a straw so that it can be used like a straw sippy and did I mention that it is "green". It it made of stainless still and has no bad chemicals in it and they come in blue, green and pink. The only drawback is that they are on the expensive side of $14 each but the way I figure it is if I had bought those in the first place I wouldn't have wasted the money on all of the other sippy cups.

1 year ago

It was this last week of April last year when I first met the sweet little baby girl who was going to be our daughter. At the time she was 4 months old, she wasn't able to sit up on her own but she sure knew how to smile and capture my heart. It took another 3 months before she was finally in my arms. A year later she can definitely sit up on her own, she can run and climb, and she still knows how to capture my heart with a smile. I love you Katie baby. My hasn't she changed. The first photo is the day I first met my daughter, the second photo is the day my daughter came home, and the 3rd photo is 1 year later.