A Month of 1st

Wow! November was a busy, busy month and now December is here. We made a road trip to visit our travel buddies a few weeks ago. We took the girls by our agency to say thanks for all their hardwork in getting these babies home to their forever families. They seemed happy to watch the girls interact and here about our trip and how things are going at home. It's been 5 months since our trip and the girls seem to be doing really well. Of course, we were a little sad to be missing half our group. I hope we will be able to have a true reunion with all 6 babies this summer!

The next morning Rusty and I took Emma in for her 1st haircut. She was a little unsure, but she did great and got a sucker for being such a big girl!

After getting home, we decided to start putting out some of our Christmas decorations and get our tree up. Emma oooohed and ahhhhed over all our goodies and was ALOT of help! LOL! Let's just say we definately have to be on our toes because she is into everything she can get her hands on. I ordered her 1st Christmas ornament from a woman who is headed to China for her dollbaby on the 13th. It is super cute and I was happy to give my dollars to someone who is using it to get her own China girl home!

We celebrated Russman's birthday on the 25th and then headed home on Thursday morning for Emma's 1st Thanksgiving. Emma made her presence known and was so cute! She even learned the proper way to eat black olives - one on each finger! After a good nights sleep, we got up Friday morning and got ready for Bake Day! Every year the women in my family try to have a bake day to make all the cakes, cookies and candies for the holiday season. I'm not sure about the other families - but our treats barely last the week, much less till Christmas. Emma helped make some sugar cookies and once again she was a really good helper! She's almost more help than we can handle. It was fun watching her as I remembered a holiday season not so long ago when I longed for this child with all my heart. Now she is here and I am just sitting back in awe of her and how she has turned our world upside-down! We wouldn't have it any other way!!

Our 1st Mini-Reunion with J & D:



My 1st haircut:


Putting up our tree:




My 1st Thanksgiving and Bake Day!!

New Pics of our Girl

Our little girl is growing and changing so much these days. I'm amazed how each day brings something new - a new trick, a new word, a new animal noise. Our favorite is when she does the flamingo and stands on one leg! Too cute!

She also has become quite the girlie girl. She loves to put on new clothes and she will immediately go to the mirror to admire herself. She also got a new coat last week from her Grandma. It is plush white, extra soft, and Emma loves it. How I'll manage to keep it cleans remains to be seen - especially since she gets so mad when we make her take it off! She would stay in it all day if we let her!!

My first balloon!


I love my Daddy!!


Rain, rain go away!


Baa Baa Black Sheep


Trick or Treating will wear a girl out!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!! This weekend we got our pumpkins carved and ready to go. Emma was a little unsure - but after checking things out, she dug right in and started pulling the pumpkin guts out. She really likes to light our jack-o-lantern with Daddy! We are going home for trick-or-treating on Friday. I'm sure Emma won't have a clue what we're doing - but mom and dad are extra excited. We've waited a long time for this and its lots of fun watching Emma experience it all for the 1st time! Enjoy the pics and have a safe and happy halloween!!

Oh my gosh....an update at last!

I title it that because some of you will be pleasantly surprised to see an update! Life with Emma has made it a little more difficult to blog, which is sad because there is so much to tell. We went to the doctor a few weeks ago and dispite getting four more shots (this time she knew what was going on) - she got an A+ and all seems to be well. She is changing so much and we are just trying to keep up. This week alone, she is starting to try and say a few words. She wants to really bad - but it's just not quite there yet. And just today, she has decided to start climbing on anything and everything. Tonight she was standing on her push car and then we turned around and she was climbing over the baby gate. So it's pretty obvious those are becoming obsolete real soon!

Here's what we know for sure - she is alot of fun! Our girl is a little onry, but we love it. I think we may have our hands full in the coming months - but oh well, we will just power through!

Enjoy the pics - you've waited long enough!

Two Months Ago....

So it's been two months now since we first met the new love of our lives. M has changed so much, but especially in the last few weeks. She has definately put on some pounds (thank goodness) and seems to learn something new everyday! This week she has started spinning on one foot - so I think we might have a dancer in our future. She loves the music and just dances and laughs - and that makes for a happy momma! I'm amazed at how this beautiful thing half a world away has managed to make her mark on our hearts so very quickly. I'm not saying she doesn't have a naughty streak - she's a determined little thing! But she is so funny, so ready with a smile and so very loving. Everyone we meet tells us how lucky she is - but we are quick to remind them that we are the lucky ones! We waited so long for this gift and she is everything we could of hoped or dreamed she would be!!

My 1st bites of El Ran - yummy!!



Loves from Grandma L - a girl can never have too many Grandmas!!



More loves from Grandma W!



Spaghetti is messy but oh so good!



My 1st trip to the zoo



Sweet Girl!

Finally.....an update!

So it's been a while since I have posted. I wasn't very good at posting before and now it seems with the addition of Emma, it is pretty tough to find the time to sit at the computer and put my many, many thoughts together! Life has definately changed around here - but it has been a wonderful summer and we are just enjoying our days together and watching Emma as she tries to figure out the world around her! We just thought we had our hands full - but now it seems Emma has mastered walking this week, so we have gotten out our tennis shoes and are just trying to keep up!

Enjoy the pictures! After all, that's what you are really here to see!!

As you can see - I've found the toilet paper!


Spending some time in the pack-n-play so Momma can get something done!


These are from our 1st vacation - swimming at the Great Wolf Lodge

Adjusting to our "new normal"

Our little firecracker!!

Well, it's been two weeks since we got home and we are slowly adjusting to our new way of life. We've had alot of stuff going on since we arrived home - lots of visitors and of course the 4th of July holiday weekend. All in all, we've had some adjusting to do, but we all seem to be getting along great and settling into a routine.

I have lots of pictures to post - and as soon as I get them gathered up, I'll get them on here. Until then, we've posted a few to get you by. I do want to send a special thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes over the past few weeks. We have had many family and friends checking in on us and making sure all is well. Miss Emma is very loved and I think everyone is just so grateful she is here with us and doing so well! We've had some bumps and bruises, but all in all, she is adjusting very well and seems to be a pretty happy little girl. Of course, if she could master walking on her own - she'd be alot happier, but something tells me it won't be much longer and we'll be chasing after her!!


My 1st meal in America - Chili's at the Detroit Airport!


I've been traveling for 22 hours so far - but I'm still pretty happy!!


One of my favorite pictures - pretty much sums it up, we're ready to be home!!


My 1st birthday present - a new swingset from Grandma and Grandad


Learning to like the lake!

New Site for our Trip

We have recently learned that we may not be able to access our blogger site while in China. That does not bode well for our many friends and family hoping to follow us as we venture around China. Therefore, we have set up a new site @ youbelong.net. I have created a link from this site to our new one. Just click "All About Emma Too" (upper right hand corner) and it should take you to the new site.

Only 5 days till we leave on the trip of a lifetime. We have so much to do, but are ready to get on that plane and get to our baby!!

Also, a special shout out to my east coast girls. I'm thinking of you today and hope all is well!! Love ya!!

CA!

Our appointment is confirmed - China here we come! We have been given the green light to purchase our tickets and I just took a call from our travel agent! AAAAAHHHHHHH! I can't believe this day has finally come. I should have Emma in my arms in roughly 15 days!!!

TA!!!!!!!!!! WE'RE CHINA BOUND!

Today is a great day. Our agency called and said our TA is here! They still have to request our consulate appointment (June 22nd, 23rd, or 24th) and once that is confirmed we will have definate travel dates! Tentatively, they have us leaving June 11th - less than two weeks!! OMG - is this really happening?? We are in shock! But it sounds like Russman will have Emma in his arms this Father's Day and for that we are grateful and excited!! We will be posting updates as we have them! I guess the countdown has really begun!!

Happy Birthday Emma!!

As I write this post, our baby girl is having her 1st birthday. We are very sad and disappointed that we are not there with her - but we will definately make up for lost time whenever we get clearance to go. Miss Emma has taken hold of our hearts and thoughts this week and we are growing more and more anxious by the day. We spent Memorial Day weekend asking the same question over and over - where is that dang TA?? The May batch of referrals finally made their appearance on Friday (congrats to all the new families) so I'm hoping maybe that's a sign that things are moving again and our TA is on the way. I think the swine flu has played havoc with our travel plans, but it would seem that is dying down now. We would like to see something this week as it has now been 6 weeks since our paperwork was sent back accepting our referral. Our schedule is pretty much wide open now - so there's not much left to do but get to China and get our baby!!!

In the meantime, we have decided to go ahead and start getting our stuff ready. In the words of our good friend "if we pack, she will come"! I hope she is right!!

Waiting......again??

Uh...yea. Apparently there is more waiting to be done as our TA has yet to arrive. Today marks 4 weeks since our LOA (letter of acceptance)was sent back to the CCAA. Our agency has always said it takes 3 - 5 weeks for TA, but can be as long as 7 weeks. So, we are still in that window, but of course always hoping it will show up sooner.

On a side note - I received some sweet surprises as my 1st Mother's Day came and went. Imagine my surprise when a Mother's Day card from Emma was in my mailbox! I had a little moment for myself as already our girl has some angels watching out for her! I'm not sure who sent it - but a huge thank you to whoever you are! You made my day!

Have Visa....Will Travel

We got our visas this week. They showed up on my desk on Thursday. So that's one more step done....but we're still waiting for TA (travel approval). Rumor has it that maybe some were mailed yesterday, so I guess we will see what the week brings!

Abigail's Arrival

Today our Emma is 11 months old! We have been thinking about her alot today and hoping we will be there next month to celebrate her 1st birthday with her!

This week we welcomed Miss Abigail into our lives. She arrived Thursday morning weighing in at 7lbs, 12ozs and 20.5" long. She is very sweet and has already stolen our hearts! Big brother seems to be adjusting pretty well and when we left today he wanted her to watch movies with him! We think he will be a big help to his momma and daddy as they adjust to being a family of four!!

What a week!!

We have had a wonderful week as new parents to our sweet Emma! Above is just a glimpse of the many activities we have had going on since receiving Emma's referral information on the 8th. Everyone is so excited to finally put a sweet face to the child we have all been axiously waiting for. We quickly went out and made many, many copies of the precious photos and handed them out to everyone. On Thursday, we were reminded that some babies are delivered by FedEx!

We also made a trip home to celebrate Easter Sunday. It was definately an appropriate holiday for us this week, as we are having a new beginning in our household. We also spent Saturday signing a stack of documents to send back to China. They were mailed on Wednesday the 15th - and so the wait for travel approval begins! We are told this can take anywhere from 2 to 7 weeks - so we are praying for 2 and hoping for the best.

On Monday evening, we arrived home to find two new glider rockers in our living room! Thanks Mom and Dad! They are perfect for rocking, napping, and reading to our sweet girl. We can't wait to get her home and put them to good use. We have also received some really cute outfits and cards from all our family and friends! Everyone is so excited and we can't wait to get Emma home and introduce her to our large, loving group of family and friends!

AT LAST - HERE SHE IS!!

Introducing......

Emma MeiSi Wheeler