Our first holiday season with Emma!!

Wow...on December 10th Emma will have been home for three months. I can't believe how fast the time is going...it sounds so cliche when I read that on other people's blogs. The old "the time seems to drag on before they come home, then it just flies by" is so. very. true. I knew it would be that way, that she would FINALLY get to come home, then before we would be able to get our feet underneath us again, it would be Christmas. And BAM here it is. Almost (like, literally in days) December. Our first Christmas as parents. Our first Christmas where we almost forgot to get each other something because we are so excited about what to get Emma. Our first Christmas that it is truly all about her. (Won't be the last one that is all about her....something tells me they will ALL be all about her from now on!) It is my parent's first Christmas as grandparents. One of my favorite things is watching my parents love on her. Even in the beginning, when things, well, sucked royally, I always loved to watch them get to know her, interact with her, and love on her. She ADORES them. It is very easy to see how much she adores them. And, she may not understand "parent" versus "grandparent" or the meanings, but she obviously knows they are special to her but are different from Javier and I.

I did a little "12 things about Emma at 12 months" blog a month or so ago. I can't believe how she is changing even in a month's time. She has 16 teeth now....all but 4 are here and ready for biting - food, toys, Mom's arm, whatever she can get them on. She gets teeth 4 at a time and they come in almost overnight. Painful, but fast at least. The Tylenol has been free-flowing in our household lately! She is officially walking also!! She can take 3-4 steps all on her own without holding on to us or furniture, and can walk for miles if she has a hand to hold!! She is so adorable when she walks. She has the biggest, happiest smile on her face and just laughs the whole time....she gets so excited sometimes she can't keep going. Her hair is growing in fast lately too, and I think a little trim is going to be in order for the back...she is sort of getting a "lady mullet". Business in the front, party in the back :) I'm sure the haircut will be less than fun for all involved parties.

We are cleaning out the last spare room of the house. It used to be the office/junk room/animal room. It is now completely empty, carpet stripped, and fresh slate tiles are waiting to be put down to match Emma's room. In a couple of weeks it will be the "play room" so that ALL the nice colorful plastic things that have descended upon our house will have a place to live, and Emma will have a place to play, unstructured, safe and all to herself. I'll post pics of before and after, if I can find any before.
Our computer and a desk is all that is left of our "office" and it now sits in the "sitting room" off the living room. Our life is so very different than it was 4 months ago. It is impossible to describe the way we have all changed but it is also almost impossible to remember life before Emma's grand entrance into our house. I can't WAIT for Christmas this year....what a year it has been!

This was us coming home about three months ago...





Wow.

Adoption Celebration Picnic!

Javier and I have been to several of our agency's Adoption Picnics. We are (until now) the "ones in process" waiting for our child....so you can imagine how special it was to be able to BRING our child to her first picnic!!! Emma had a ball....walking around holding our hands, playing in the leaves, and listening to music. See for yourself!

Thinking about Seoul today....

The boogie man....

...has come to town for sure. Well hello, sniffles, snorts, runny noses and who can forget....fever! The past two mornings, the kiddo has been a hot stinky snotty mess. LOL great visual, I know. And because Mommy is a sucker for baby kisses, even those originating from a newly awake (read: runny nose not wiped yet) sweet baby, this morning Mommy was a hot, stinky...well you got it the first time. Javier was so very eager to get to work this morning and avoid the "booger wrangling" which is what i call it when i chase Emma with the nose drops, Kleenex and bulb syringe aspirator. Funny....I think he said he was going to be late tonight....

The amazing thing is that even with a fever of 100.5 this kiddo is Ready. To. Play. And with a fever of 100.0, this Momma is Ready. To. Sleep.

I wouldn't trade a single degree of the fever....because I got it from the sweetest spontaneous kisses from my girl. Bring it on cold season, because my kiddo loves me enough to kiss me without prompting and I love her enough to be sick the rest of her life, if it means I still get kisses.


Has anyone seen my Kleenex???

Halloween Pics!

We decided Em is too young to figure out the whole "trick-or-treat" thing still, but she is NEVER too young for an adorable costume! Unfortunately Halloween was the same day as her birthday party....and this Momma and Daddy were completely exhausted. We had almost forgotten to buy candy, and had grabbed one giant bag of random candy at the store the day before Halloween. We were stretching it to make it last....we are usually more generous with our Halloween offerings than that!

Emma *hates* anything on her head so sadly there are no adorable photos of her with the costume hood up, which served as the "pumpkin top" with a stem and leaves. Instead of a Headless Horseman, we had a Hoodless Pumpkin. :) she rolled around the driveway in her new Cozy Coupe and sat relatively still for a few pics with Mom and Dad. It was fun, but next year we won't be having a party on the same day, 'cause we were so relieved when the candy ran out. That meant bedtime. For all of us.

Tonight.....

....I got sloppy kisses from my sweet girl. Totally spontaneous, in
the middle of playtime, dropping the toys and throwing her arms around
my neck and planting a big wet one on me. I remember a time it felt
like that would never happen. I'm not talking about our rough
transition or our attachment. I mean a time when it felt like this
child would never be home.

Tonight I put her in her warm fleecy pajamas and remembered the days I
spent picking them out, washing them, folding them and placing them in
her room.

Tonight I changed her diaper after stockpiling diapers in every size
imaginable, because I didn't know what size she might be when she
finally got home.

Tonight I held her in my arms and kissed her sweet face while she
snuggled into my shoulder, ready for bed, and I remembered all the
nights I found myself in her room looking at an empty crib.

Tonight I realized she is finally here. She is home. This child I
prayed over and cried for is steps away sleeping as i write this, and
is home forever.

And she was completely and totally worth the wait.

--

Happy baby, happy pets, happy home

Emily, Emma and Eddie (Emily.nevarez@gmail.com) think that you may be interested in this web page:

http://www.nbc33tv.com/love-read-learn/happy-baby-happy-pets-happy-home

It is a link to our TV segment! Lots of what I said was edited out....but at least Emma and Eddie had good face time!

A Rising Star....

Well folks, Emma has finally managed to squeeze her way into the spotlight. :) We knew from day 1 we had a little diva on our hands....and today she got her chance to shine!

Eddie, one of our Boston Terriers, had a vet appointment today. (Yes, the hubs is a vet, but he doesn't "work on" dogs and cats. Only weird exotic critters.) So off we went, Emma strapped on my chest in the carrier and Eddie on the leash. Thankfully Eddie listens and obeys the best of the three (well, four if you count Emma....LOL) so it was relatively painless to have both of them out in public at the same time. We waltz into the vet office and check in, and sit down. In the corner are two ladies, one of which is obviously a TV "person" with her camera and equipment. They are talking to each other and looking at us. We garner looks often enough, so I didn't think anything about it. I assume they are discussing how adorable my child and dog are. :) Anyway, one of the vet office staff comes out with a baby from the back. (A human baby) It is the veterinarian's little girl. They all talk, and continue to look at us, and talk some more.

They come over and explain that they are filming a segment in conjunction with Woman's Hospital for their Baby Grand (big baby-related expo for expectant Mamas) all about how to prepare your pets for new babies and how to facilitate positive interactions between your pets and your baby. The plan was to interview our vet, with her baby and their dog, regarding her recommendations to pet owners and also her own personal experiences. When they saw us come in....they knew they had to have us!!!! LOL

When I told them that Emma was our first child, and that we brought her home only 2 months ago.....and seal the deal by the fact that our dog was with us.....they asked if I would mind an interview along with some filming of Emma interacting with Eddie. Funny. So, we did it, and then the TV girl said........"Oh this is for Baby Grand this weekend at Womans Hospital.....but it is also going to be on the 5 o'clock news tonight".....Huh?

Crap. I hope I didn't say anything too stupid. Of course this was the day my child woke up 2 hours early and my hair is slightly oily and pulled back into a half-up half-down deal. And I had a T-Shirt on that was older than dirt. Because, seriously? Who dresses up to take the dog to the vet? So......tonight, on WVLA channel 33, there we will appear in all of our glory. Oh, and Emma totally waved to the camera and all the people watching. She, unlike her Mum, is a natural on camera.

12 things about Emma at 12 months....

Ok first of all, I totally stole this idea from a fellow
Momma.....Karen, I hope you don't mind! It was too cute to pass up!

That is my copyright disclaimer. Now, for 12 things about Emma now
that she is 12 months old!

1. She now gives totally unsolicited kisses to Javier and I :)

2. She will let me change her diaper with no/minimal tears IF I let
her play with a keychain or the lotion bottle while the change is in
process.

3. She will wave when she hears hello or goodbye!

4. The screaming of the syllables "ya-ya-ya-ya" over and over indicate
she is VERY unhappy with her current situation.

5. When put in the bathtub, she immediately puts her face under the
water and kicks her legs like a frog

6. She begins sobbing at the sight of spaghetti

7. She very clearly does not like grass

8. Things on her head (hats, headbands, costumes) make her very angry

9. When given a line-up of random foods she will always pick the piece
of chicken first

10. She is currently getting 4 more teeth in for a total of 12!!!

11. One of her favorite toys is a red round plastic cap. Go figure.

12. When I ask her "where is Daddy" she looks at the front door, where
he comes in from work in the afternoons :)

It is finally cold outside....so I'm off to bundle Emma up and take a
walk! We'll see if she might tolerate the new lamb hat her Daddy
bought her if it is cold enough.....

Happy Fall!

--
Emily Nevarez

Emma's Party...Pictures Part 2

Daddy, Grammy, Mommy, Emma and PawPaw

Daddy, Emma and Mommy

Emma loves her some cake :)

Rubbin' it in...

The Tol Table

A dear friend took many many pictures....so as she emails them to me, I will post them here! Here are some highlights....the cake smashing, and sitting Emma in her hanbok on the Tol table!!! Enjoy!!