Way Too Long!!!

I know it's been way too long since posting. We've just been so busy. Here are some pictures from our trip to Myrtle Beach.

This is Alexis and I, she loves the pool!!!

This is Alexis and Craig. She's watching the fish, he's watching her.

This is Alexis and I at the Ripley's Aquarium. We got season passes so we can go back.

We had a great time. She's growing up so fast and we want to enjoy every moment we have with her. I hope to post more often now, but who knows-life always gets in the way.

Daycare

This week I did what I swore I would never do-I put Alexis in daycare. Our plan-before the economy fell apart-was that I would only work part-time on weekends so I would be home during the week to care for Alexis. However, I am the only parent with employment at the moment, so we felt that Alexis needed to get started in daycare, so that if Craig got a job offer he could start right away.

I have hated having her away from me this week. I know that we all need an adjustment period, but mine will probably last longer then Alexis'. Her teachers are just wonderful. They seem to really enjoy what they do.

The best and worst thing is that they have a camera in every room. So while I'm at home I can see her in her room. I have enjoyed the fact that I can check-up on her, but I seem to be doing it all the time now. I guess this will get better with time.

Six Months and Vacation

Our baby girl is 6 months old. I can't believe how fast this time has flown. Six months ago, I didn't think that my dream to be a mom would ever come true and now I couldn't imagine doing anything else but being a mom. Alexis has changed so much, she can sit by herself, stand with assistance and can eat many veggies-starting fruits soon. I feel so blessed to have the best and most amazing family.

We are also finishing our vacation at the Outer Banks. We are here with Craig's parents, his brother and his wife. This is the fourth year we've had a big family vacation. (Craig and I are discussing NOT doing this again next year, I need a break) It's been great to show Alexis the beach, the pool and all the other wonderful things that come with vacation.

I was very proud of myself this week. I climbed 257 steps to the top of the Cape Hatteres Lighthouse. It took a while for me to make it to the top, but I was so glad I did. The view was just amazing.

Although vacation is fun, it will sure be nice to sleep in my own bed soon!!!

Mother's Day

For years this has been a very difficult day for me. Although very thankful for my own mother, I was constantly reminded of my own desire to be a mother. Every year on Mother's Day, I would cry just knowing that another year had past without me becoming a mother. I know this sounds like a pity party, but all those years without a child has made me appreciate how wonderful it is to finally be a mother.

For 5 wonderful months I have been the mother to a beautiful baby girl named Alexis. I feel so very blessed to have her in my life and I know that if God chooses for us not to have any more children I feel so complete with Alexis in my life.

As wonderful as this day is for me, I can't help but think of the wonderful young woman out there who is probably crying today. She is Alexis birthmother. This woman choose life for her pregnancy, gave birth to my daughter and placed her in my arms to care for her. I am so thankful to this woman and the sacrifices that she has made.

For now on, I will be thankful that I am a mother, but also so very thankful for the woman who gave her life.

Veggies!!!

I can't believe how well my little Alexis eats her veggies. We have been working for the last 3 weeks feeding her different veggies. She can now eat green beans, peas and squash. I'm so impressed with her ability to catch on to eating so well. She seems to be doing so well-it makes me so proud to be her mommy.

Daddy day care is going well. I know Craig loves staying home with Alexis. I had always thought that I would be the one who would stay home while Craig worked, but we've made adjustments in our life due to the bad economy. I know that it's unconventional, but it works for us. Maybe someday the tables will turn, and I'll get my chance to be a stay at home mommy.

Hendersonville

Craig, Alexis and I went back home to Hendersonville this past weekend. I had many days off in a row, and since Craig had lost his job, we decicded to spend the weekend with family.

We watched the NFL draft with PaPa, we couldn't wait to see who the Panther's would draft. Craig and I have watched the draft with my dad for years and it was fun to share this event with Alexis. Nana doesn't understand the draw of thousands of fans watching the draft, but she always stocks the house with plenty of goodies for those of us who want to spend the day in front of the TV for this great event.

We also got to see our nephew, Byrce play baseball. He just turned 5 this winter and is playing on a coach-pitch baseball team for 5-7 year olds. He hit the ball almost every time he was up to bat. Each member of the team gets to bat each inning, even after they have past the three outs. They have 3 innings each game. The don't post the score-this way it's just a fun game for all playing. It was great to see Bryce have such a great time.

Red and White.............and Pink?

This past weekend we took Alexis to her first NC State football game. NC State had it's annual spring game, known as the Red and White game. We decided that since it was such a beautiful day that we would take Alexis and show her one of her daddy's favorite places. She was so well behaved and seemed to enjoy seeing all the people. We only stayed for the first half, because we didn't want to wear Alexis out.

I have never been more proud of being a Wolfpacker as I was on Saturday. As most of you know our beloved women's basketball coach, Kay Yow lost her battle with breast cancer earlier this year. All of the coaches had on pink shirts and hats, they painted the 50 yard line pink and they renamed the red and white game, The Kay Yow Spring Game. We were also asked to bring a donation for the Kay Yow foundation. We raised over 28,000 dollars for cancer research. I was so proud of the support that Wolfpackers gave to such a wonderful cause.

We hope to attend this game annually with Alexis. We also hope to bring her to some regular season games when she is a bit older. You will see us there with our beautiful daughter dressed as a NC State cheerleader.

Thank You

Today is a day where I say thank you to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today, some 2 thousand years ago, a man died on the cross for me. I know that to non-Christians this seems impossible. But I truly believe that he saw through time and heard my heart cry out for a Savior. He died a horrible death on the cross and was buried-but in 3 days he rose, body and all and joined His Father in Heaven.

I could never say thank you enough for this free and life changing gift.

This past year has been very difficult for me. I lost a very dear sister-in-law, and was struggling with infertility and trying to adopt. I could not have made it through any of these things without God. As I remember this Easter holiday, I feel so grateful for everything that God has done for me.

Growing up

I am just amazed on just how fast our little girl is growing up. She loves to stand-assisted of course. She loves to hold rattles and put anything into her mouth. I know this sounds trivial but just one month ago, she could do none of these things.

We have been feeding her cereal for about a week now. She is really starting to get the hang of eating with a spoon. She will open her mouth for the spoon and swallows most of what we are feeding her. I just love to watch her smile because she's doing just a great job.

She is also doing great at sleeping through the night. She will fall asleep about 8pm and doesn't wake till 5-5:30am. I know this sounds early, but her crazy daddy is always up this early so I guess she's taking after him.

I look forward to her growing and changing even more. I know that soon these days will be over, so I will cherish every moment of her precious life.

Tired, but Greatful

I have just finished a 5 day work stretch. It doesn't seem that much to most people, however, my days are 12 hour shifts. I'm tired, but very thankful to still have a job. I have the next 4 days off and then I work Easter weekend. I love having many days off in a row to spend with my wonderful hubby and daughter.

Our sister-in-law, Anna, came to visit this past weekend. We hadn't seen her since Christmas, but more importantly, she hadn't seen Alexis since Christmas. She was amazed how big she had gotten and what a great baby she is. Craig and I are so lucky to have amazing families that we love being with. This May will be the 4th year that we have taken our vacation with Craig's family. This year we are going to the Outer Banks. I have only been once-we had a weekend trip with our dear friends Will and Michelle before we both had kids. I'm looking forward to spending a week exploring our coast.

Well, I'm off to take the cat to the vet-pray for me!!!!

4 Month Check-up

Alexis had her 4 month check-up yesterday. She got 2 shots-it just kills me to see her get stuck, but I know it's better then getting these horrible diseases.

She was 23 3/4 inches long and weighed 12 lbs and 7 oz. She droped on the weight curve slightly. Her doctor was not overly concerned with the drop, but just wanted us to encourage her to eat as much formula as she could. He also stated that she was ready to start some rice cereal, but not in her bottle-just by a spoon.

We tried the cereal last night for the first time. She did pretty well. I think that more cereal ended up on her check and bib, then in her belly. It was so great to see my little girl try to be a big girl.

I had to return to work today. I wish that I could just stay home and play with her forever.

Harris Lake

We took Alexis to Harris lake today. This is one of her first trips outside into nature. It's just been so cold and rainy lately that we haven't wanted expose her to this. It is so great to share these wonderful things with her.

I carried her in my ring sling-I just love it. It makes carrying her so easy and she seems to love it too. Craig doesn't understand the sling and since it's pink he refuses to try it out. But he doesn't mind if I want to use it.

She had a hat and sunglasses on that her Nana gave her for Easter. She looked so cute-but I didn't get any pics because I forgot my camera-I know what a bad mom I am that I forget my camera. Hopefully we will get to take her out again soon and I will try to remember my camera.

Church Visit

We took Alexis to church for the first time today. She did so great!!! She didn't cry or make much noise. Everybody was so impressed with how quiet she was. We sat next to another 4 month old and he made lots of noise. We had previously been scared to take her to church, fearing that she would make lots of noise and disrupt everyone around us. But I guess our fears were releived today.

I'm so impressed with my little girl and how wonderful she truly is. We feel so blessed to have this beautiful girl in our lives.

Adoption

As most of you know Craig and I were blessed with a baby girl in December of 2008. We've been asked many times to share the story of how she came to our family--so here goes:

I got a call on december 1st, asking if we would like our profile shown to a birthmother who had a baby on November 28th. This baby would be bi-racial and the mother had no prenatal care. I immediatly stated that she could see our profile-since we were open to a bi-racial baby. I didn't think anything of this conversation, because we had recieved numerous calls just like this one, so we didn't get our hopes up too high.

I got a call back that afternoon stating that the birthmother really loved us. It took me quite a while to realize that this was the phone call we had waited so long for. I called Craig and told him the good news, and he rushed home immediatly. When Craig got home we worked for 2 hours putting the car seat in my car-good thing we had already bought our van. We then ran to Wal-mart to pick up some last minute things-like diapers, more clothes, etc...

On December 3rd we went to Charlotte to meet with the birthmother and her social worker. Meeting her was strange, but the connection couldn't have been more real. We all headed to the hospital. Our daughter had breathing problems at birth and had to be in the NICU for 5 days. But she was doing great and was able to be discharged that afternoon.

When we saw her for the first time, my heart melted. I had waited so long to be a mom and this was all happening so fast. She was so beautiful. I got to feed her and Craig changed his first wet diaper.

We named her Alexis Jo. Alexis was the middle name her birthmother had picked for her and we wanted to honor that relationship and we thought Alexis was perfect. Jo was Craig's sister's middle name. It was a great way to honor this wonderful woman whom we miss so much.

Alexis is 4 months old today-it's just so hard to believe that 4 months can go by so quickly. We are truly blessed with this wonderful little girl.

Welcome

I guess I'm welcoming myself to blogging. My friends have been blogging for a while now and I decided that it was time for me to give it a try. I will try to keep you updated on our lives as we enjoy our new lives as parents.