Guest Blogger for Adoption

I was asked to be a guest blogger for an adoption blog called "My Angels from Heaven."
I wrote about my experience of growing up knowing I was adopted, reuniting with my birthparents and their families, and how it has affected me as an adult and as a mommy.

If you want to check out my post, you can find it HERE!

Adoption is amazing, people!!

Baby's First Thanksgiving

We celebrated Sadie's first Thanksgiving with Logan's family this year.  Alicia's family had dinner with us, and it was so great spending a whole afternoon with them and their silly kids.
Sadie basically thought the food was totally uneventful, and slept through the whole dinner.  However, she sure does love going to Grandma Deana's because she gets passed around the whole time.  She's a social butterfly and loves to snuggle, smile, and talk to everyone around her.  The food was great, but the company was even better!

We had a game and pie night at Grandma Belnap's later that evening, which was super fun.  As long as I can remember, PIE has been the big to do at Thanksgiving with the Belnaps...not turkey...it's all about the pie, and there are always close to a dozen varieties to choose from.  It was fun to be able to see both sides of our family on that day.  I LOVE OUR FAMILY!!!

As we sat down for dinner, I leaned over to Logan and asked him if last year at Thanksgiving dinner he thought we would be parents by the next year.  We thought maybe we might be pregnant, or still even trying to get pregnant by the next holiday season, but we didn't think that she would already be here!  I am so glad she came when she did, because she is the best thing in our lives.

I am so grateful for my sweet husband and for the wonderful job he has to provide for us.  I am grateful for the opportunities we have had to get us through school almost debt free.  I am grateful for our apartment we live in, for the shelter it provides, and the loving landlords we have upstairs.  I am grateful for our neighborhood and the friendships we have made since living there.  I am grateful that we have a running car that has good gas mileage, and has been so great for our little family.  I am grateful that I have been able to continue teaching dance after having Sadie, my boss is amazing and so supportive of me.  I am so grateful that we have all of our family so close so we can visit them often.  I am grateful that Sadie will grow up knowing her family and being close to her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  Most of all, I am grateful that I have the gospel in my life, for the joy and peace it brings, and the knowledge that I can be sealed to my family forever.  I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the love he has for me, individually.  I know he knows who I am, and that he loves me, and I love him.

We are so incredibly blessed, and I am so grateful for the life I am living, and all of the wonderful things in it.

Blessing Day

November 6, 2011 Sadie had her baby blessing.  Her daddy gave a wonderful blessing, and Sadie was so well behaved during the blessing.  It was a sweet day, especially for me, because ALL of my family was there to support her--my family, my birthmom and her family, my birthdad and his family, and all of my in laws.  I am still just blown away at how many people love and spoil this little girl of mine.  She is so blessed!!

My super talented mommy made her gorgeous blessing dress, hair bow, and blanket for her big day.  The dress is so beautiful, with beading to add "bling" around the bottom, and lace, ribbons, and flowers galore.  Super girly, and I LOVE it. (We couldn't get a good picture of the details of the dress...when we put her in it, she just kick-kick-kicks away at the skirt and all the pictures are super blurry! Haha!)  She was so beautiful in the dress, it made me a little emotional--I will blink and she will be in her white baptism dress--then I will blink again and she will be in her white wedding dress.

She is just so sweet, we are just soaking in every moment.  I am so incredibly blessed to be this baby girl's mommy.  I am so grateful she chose to come to our family!

To My Sweet 2 Month Old Baby Girl

My Sweet Sadiebug,

You are two months old.  When did this happen?  Half of me feels like we've had you forever and ever, and half of me feels like just ten minutes ago I was feeling you move around in my tummy.

This month you started to smile real, honest to goodness smiles, and you talk to us a little.  You are starting to get more on a schedule, which I am loving because I can predict your day a bit better than I could at the beginning.  You wake up around 7:30, eat, get a diaper change, and then we play.  You usually take 2 shorter naps in the morning, and then one longer and one shorter nap in the afternoon.  We pick up Daddy from work at 7, and you are so nice to stay awake and play with him until around 8:30, and then you go to sleep for the night.  You usually sleep until about 2 or 3, which means I am getting more sleep too (thank you), but I am still just awaiting the day you decide to sleep through the night.

You are so friendly and love to be held, talked to, and played with.  Last week Grandma Deana gave you a toy rattle and you actually held on to it, and cooed with delight.  You love the bouncer seat with the toy bar above it, and you love to bat at the little toy animals that hang down.  You talk to them too, like they are your friends.  You have started to sit up in your Bumbo, and love to sit in that while I cook dinner, watching me walk all around the kitchen.  This month you also discovered the Minnie Mouse magnet on our fridge, and love to sit close to her and look at her.  This, sweet Sadie, makes me so happy.  You may look like your daddy, but perhaps you have my personality in there, and with it a deep love for all things Disney.

Speaking of Disney, you were dressed up as Tinkerbell for Halloween, and you were the darn cutest little fairy I have ever seen.  I wish I could have bottled up your cuteness that day, because it made me extra giddy seeing you in your little costume.

You are holding your head up so good.  I seriously can't believe how strong you are getting!!  You always like to look around, checking the place out, and already do not like being held laying down because I don't think you can see as much.  When you are tired, and I'm holding you over my shoulder, you love to lift your head up, look around the room, and then snuggle your little head on my shoulder for a little rest.  I melt every single time you do this.  It never gets old.

You had your baby blessing this past Sunday.  Grandma Ilene made your blessing dress, and you were so gorgeous in it.  You were so good for the blessing, didn't make a peep the whole time.  Your daddy was nervous to give you his first blessing, but he did a wonderful job, and the spirit was so strong.  All eight of your grandparents came for the blessing, along with all your aunts, uncles, and cousins.  You are so loved by so many people, you lucky duck baby girl.

You got your two month shots yesterday afternoon, and I cried in the doctor's office longer than you did.  You got poked, and did a very loud scream, and I started to bawl.  By the time I picked you up and snuggled you, you had stopped crying, but it wasn't until after I had fed you, gotten you dressed, and back in your car seat that I finally stopped crying myself.  Later that night, though, was a different story.  You broke out in a fever, and cried hysterically for two hours straight.  It was no fun to watch you not feel well, knowing there wasn't anything I could do to take the pain away from you.  I snuggled with you all evening, hoping that maybe it would make you more comfortable and help you not feel alone.  When I am sick, I still want my mommy, so I wanted to be there for you. Just so you know, I will always be there for you, no matter what.

You are the most perfect little girl I could have ever asked for to be my daughter.  You have such a strong, sweet, and loving spirit.  Your personality is starting to show, and I can't wait to get to know you better this month.  I love you one billion percent, my sweet angel!

Love,
Mommy

Halloween...first holiday with a baby!

Honestly, I'm not the most festive person when it comes to Halloween.  I love the idea of being festive, but I'm just not.  I have no big traditions for the holiday, but I would love to adopt a few.  I love dressing up in costumes, but I hate trying to figure out what to be, and then getting the costume together--yeah right.  I especially love the idea of forcing convincing Logan to do a cutesy couple-y costume with me, but I'm too lazy to put in the effort.


Logan did get in a bit of the spirit and dressed as a Pharmacy Tech who is a dad...complete with Smith-Rexall scrubs and spit up all down his chest, courteous of our most favorite baby.  Woo, party with the Spences', I know.

I think it will become more fun as Sadie gets older and gets excited about more than milk and fresh diapers.  When I have someone to be festive for, I think it will be more exciting to decorate the whole house, figure out her costumes, and go trick or treating, so I have not given up on the holiday quite yet.

My parents bought Sadie this adorable costume in Disneyland.  I love Disney, I love my baby, and I love having my baby dressed up as a Disney character.

I always think she is cute, but I literally squealed, giggled, and squished her little cheeks about one million times after dressing her in this.  I mean, come on, isn't she the cutest little Tinkerbell you have EVER seen?

The costume even came with wings that velcro on and off, you know, for car seat purposes.

We trick or treated to Grandmas' houses, then went home to watch "Young Frankenstein," a movie I had forgotten was so funny.  

A pretty boring holiday, but dang we had one cutie patootie baby to dress up.  I just love her to pieces.