Our Adoption Journey: The days of our lives......

Ummmm....... Where are the time gone? Was it really July the last time I posted a blog? WOW!!!

No, this blog isn't going to be about "Days of our Lives", but I have been thinking about about the days of this last year. Alli will be 1 in just over two weeks. It seems totally unbelievable. The days seem to all run together. There was the day she was born, the day I first met and held my baby, the day we brought her home, and so many more special days. But have I really made the most of all the days in the last year? Time has just flown and I want to remember to make the most out of all of our days. Allison is just so special and I don't want to get so busy moving from one thing to the next and miss enjoying every moment with her.

Alli had her first trip to the river in August. She loves water and really liked the river. The river water was just a little too cold for her, but she still liked it. She did GREAT camping. She actually slept all night for the first time camping on our canoe trip.

Allison has had at least two more ear infections. I am so ready to be done with them. Alli has such a high pain tolerance that you just don't know she has one until it's almost too late. But thankfully I have learned to watch for cues. One of the biggest things is she is fussy. She is never fussy or whiny so when she is, something is up. This last one I noticed late on a Saturday. Of course no one is open at that time but the ER. She went to sleep and seemed okay. We decided to see how she was the next day. Thankfully we have a nurse in the family now and she looked at Alli's ears for us. She couldn't really see in her left ear very well because of a chunk of gunk, but he ear canal was red and she sure didn't like the otoscope (sp?) in that ear. So we took her to Koke Mill Express care in Springfield. They were FANTASTIC and had us in and out. Alli's left ear was really infected, she has a sinus infection, and her tonsils were a little swollen. My poor little baby.

We have been busy planning for her party and getting everything ready. It just doesn't seem like she can be a year old already. She is learning new things all the time. She is such a little mimic too. She now lays her head on your shoulder and if you start patting her back, she pats yours. She has this ornery little laugh that just makes me smile. We have had to get baby gates because she will not stay where you put her. She doesn't crawl and she doesn't walk, she rolls everywhere. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I need to get a video of her doing it. If she gets stuck in a corner, she will push herself off whatever she can with her legs and keep going. She is NOT a fan of the gate and has sat there and cried at it. I cannot tell you how much I love this little girl and how much I believe that she was made just for Mike and I. She is a part of me I never knew was missing. She is one of the first things I see in the morning and the reason I can't wait to get home from work at night. I love Mike more know seeing how wonderful he is with her. Being a mother is more of a blessing than anyone can ever tell you.

Here are some pictures from the last couple months. We are so blessed.