Tears of Joy

We are in Washington for the weekend staying with some friends. First of all, they have a wireless internet connection!! Joy of joys. Second, they have a brand-new, beautiful nursery where Kara gets to sleep. (Their first baby is due in a few weeks.) Third, we love spending time with them. We were very sad when they moved all of the way to WA a few years ago from So. Cal. Their dog, Missy, is so good with Ellie and we always have such an awesome time with them. (Oh, by the way, they have a beautiful new house and we get our OWN room. Kara is next door in the nursery.) I will be posting pics soon of WA. I had a few to catch up on from the lake. Also, I got a new camera and haven't uploaded the new pics onto my laptop yet. Expect to be hearing from me again soon!

Out on the Lake

Tonight was a beautiful evening so Aaron got the kayaks ready. He blew up the inflatable raft for Kara, Ellie and me. It was so fun. Kara wasn't quite sure about the life vest but didn't complain. The eagle flew over us while we were out there. It was really cool. Today was a good day. Aunt Nicole taught Kara how to drink out of a cup. Great. Now she is going to want a sip of all of our cups when she sees them. She said da-da for the first time in relation to Aaron. She was saying da-da-da-na-da-na-na-na while Aaron was in the room. He walked out and she began to cry. She was silent and just babbling until he came back. The da-da-da started up again. I think I may have to term that as her first word with meaning. She is such a daddy's girl. He can get her to smile from ear to ear from across the room just by looking at her and smiling.

VBS

Vacation Bible School is all done for this year. It was awesome. Kara had a great time and I had a great time being with her. I pretty much just carried her around to all the activities with me in the Baby Bjorn. All of the people just ooohhhed and aahhed over her. We had about 65 kids total which is an amazing turn out.

My parents are leaving today. They are going to break up the drive and spend the night in Ashland. Hopefully they will be able to catch a play at the Shakespeare Festival.

We are just having such a good time relaxing and spending time with Kara. She should be crawling in the next week or two. Ellie loves to lay in the sun outside. Aaron is reading a Benjamin Franklin biography. I am reading a light mystery. The only thing we really need to worry about is what we are going to make for dinner. We always eat so well up here because we take the time to plan and cook.

More Pics from the Lake!

Wow, this dial-up is killing me. Sorry about not posting in so long. We are having a great time. My parents are here and Aunt Nicole got here yesterday. The fireworks off the lake were beautiful. Kara slept through all the noise. She is enjoying watching all of the other kids and the big dogs around here. I have not accomplished anything. I brought about 8 books to read and ALL of my scrapbooking stuff. Oh well. I have done what is most important--staring at Kara and loving every second.

Since we have gotten here Kara now has 6 teeth, has learned to bounce in her bouncy, is getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth, whistling, "talking" in syllables--na, na, na, na--and tilting her head in an amazingly cute way. She has had problems sleeping and we are assuming that is was the 4 teeth that came in within the last 8 days or so. Poor thing. Today the last one (hopefully for now) poked through.

I will try to get some more pictures on soon. Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow and Nicole and I are teaching 1st and 2nd graders. It will be exhausting but was worth it last year. I am determined to get my scrapbooking stuff out now. Hope you all had a great 4th of July!

Father's Day

I haven't posted about Father's Day and I really need to take the time to do it. Where to start? First of all, I have the most amazing dad in the world. He is the most honest, loving, forgiving and caring man I have ever met. I am so thankful and grateful to have him as my father.

My husband is also an absolutely amazing father. He is thoughtful and loving. His sincere love of Kara surprises me daily.

Kara's birthfather gave up so much for us that we could never thank him enough for his selflessness and love for her.

Aaron's dad has always been a model of unconditional love and support. His work ethic and his dedication to raising five amazing children has been an inspiration.

We like to think that Kara is, by far, the most loved baby in the world.

Pics from the Lake!

Pics to come

We are on dial-up here in Oregon and the connection is not so great. We are having a really nice time so far but spent yesterday in town stocking up on over $300 worth of food...etc. for our 7-weeks here. The weather is beautiful!!!

Kara is sleeping well and we are taking turns getting up with her. Pretty much we both end up playing with her in between us in bed and snuggling with her while she smiles from ear to ear. I have taken some cute pics but am having trouble getting them uploaded. I will try again when Aaron gets back from his walk with Kara and Ellie.

Kara now has her two front teeth and the one on the left side of the front tooth should be in by now (didn't check this morning) or later in the day. I will post pics as soon as I can.

Oregon (Written 6-23-08)

I think we packed everything we own in Aaron’s truck and left for Oregon at 6pm on Sunday night. Neither of us ended up sleeping ALL night but I did drive some so Aaron could have a break for a few hours. We got here in record time—this morning at 7. We have been napping on and off all day. Kara was amazing on the trip. Every time we had to stop for gas or a bathroom break she would wake up, give us huge smiles, and go back to sleep immediately when we started driving again. It is wonderful to be here. It is over 105 at home and we are bundled up with a temperature of 68 here.

Aunt Nicole is taking care of everything with the A/C repairs (THANK YOU SO MUCH) and my dad will be stopping by occasionally to get our mail and pay our bills. They will all be joining us up here soon though.

OH!!! The big news of the day is that Kara got her third tooth! Top, front right. The top, front left and the one next to it should be in tomorrow or the next day.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Thursday night we went to a friend’s house for dinner and games. When we got home it was 86 degrees upstairs. Obviously a problem with our air conditioning. We opened up all of the windows and got it cooled down enough to sleep. The next day we called an A/C company and to make a VERY long story short and $9,000 later we will be having a whole new air conditioning unit installed tomorrow morning.

It was 110 degrees the next day and by 1 am that night we realized that our house just wasn’t going to cool down. It was 92 degrees in our bedroom. Yuck. We packed up just what we needed and invaded my parents house. We spent as little time as possible at home. Unfortunately we needed to pack for our 7-week Oregon trip. That is a task that doesn’t just take an hour or two. The weekend was miserable but luckily Kara and Ellie were at my parent’s house keeping cool.

Katelyn's Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated our neice's 3rd birthday. She is so cute and has SO much energy. She really seemed to enjoy her party.

Beach Trip

Ok, I am going to TRY to catch up a bit. Our beach trip was fun. It is definitely more hectic to travel with a baby and a dog but we will continue to do what needs to be done. Travel is important to us and we don't want to just give up because it is harder now. My parents met us there with their dog on their way home from Oregon. Kara had a great time playing in the sand at the beach. I brought her two favorite rocks she found home with us. We dog-sat Daisy while my parents toured Hearst Castle. My parents babysat Kara while Aaron and I had an awesome (yet expensive) dinner alone. We figured since our 8-year anniversary is on Tues. we would just celebrate then. Kara did great during the 3 1/2 hour drive and slept really well in her pack and play. She really was born to be a traveler.

It is Official!!!

I have SO much to write about and no time right now to do it. Most importantly, Kara is legally ours now and forever. Our court date got changed to this morning and we had to leave Cambria a day early to get back in time. It was awesome. My mom cried her eyes out, my mother-in-law was in charge of pictures and my dad was in charge of the video camera. We were sworn in and asked if we loved Kara. My reply was, "More than I ever thought possible." It was really special and the judge was a really nice man. My dad's comment was, "You know this is a lifetime sentence." And we both beamed. Parenting certainly doesn't stop when we turn 18 or 21 or 50. Our parents have loved us, supported us and felt our pain and our joy with us through our journey to Kara. We are blessed beyond belief. I will post more later about our wonderful beach trip (tons of cute pics coming) and the party we had this afternoon honoring our beautiful daughter.

First Tea Party

Today Kara went to her first tea party. It was so fun. Unfortunately she can't enjoy the awesome food yet. We are trying to get together with our closest friends before we leave for Oregon for 7 weeks. Today Matt and Erin were available since it is their son's last day of school. Their daughter still has one more week. I remember when both of their kids were born and now the oldest is finishing 2nd grade!!! How time flies. Kara was so good, as always. We got her all dressed up.

After the tea we went to Aaron's school and got him all checked out. We are officially on summer break!!

So Funny

We got some Pedialyte popsicles for Kara to try since she is clearly teething and I don't want her to get dehydrated again. So far I have tried everything that we have fed Kara. Those popsicles are SO sugary and of course frozen. I break off teeny pieces or shave some off with a spoon and she gets the funniest looks on her face EVERY time she takes a bite. I am not sure if she is reacting to the cold or the sugar. Maybe both. We were laughing so hard I had to stop giving it to her in fear that we might wet our pants.





Today was Aaron's last day of work!!! Now Kara and I get him 24 hours a day until August 7th! Yea! They already started having fun together right after he got home early this afternoon.



Ellie was starting to feel left out so I decided to put a picture of her on here. What a ham. We booked a special hotel on the beach for next week that has a VIP program. (Very Important Pooch) Not only do they bring us breakfast every morning they have special baskets for dogs and many other amenities for Ellie to enjoy. We should have tons of fun and it will be Kara's first experience at the beach.

Six Months! (Edited)

May 30th was Kara's six month birthday. We celebrated by taking her to the doctor for her last set of shots she needs until she is at least one. She is 26 1/2 inches tall (75 percentile) and weighs 17 lbs. 14 oz. (85 percentile). We can not believe how fast it is going. She has tried several kinds of food in the last couple of weeks and has been a very good sport about it. So far green beans are her least favorite. She loves carrots and bananas though. Today she slept a lot (from the shots) and was unwilling to try any food except her formula. Poor little thing. She was just kind of grumpy and irritable today. As well as the fact she is getting at least two more teeth at any minute now.

I went back to my very first few posts tonight and cried. How far we have come. The amount of joy I have in my life right now is incredible. The things I have gotten to experience over the last six months of being a mom makes all of the pain and debt seem so insignificant. Kara really is a miracle.

First Haircut

Last night I decided Kara needed a haircut. Her bangs were long enough that they were going over her eyebrows and it just looked sloppy and unkempt.

Cabin Trip

We had such a fun weekend up at my parent's cabin. The drive went really quickly and Kara did fine coming and going. It was right during her naptime so she slept most of the way. She slept just fine in her pack and play while there. She ate well and was her usual happy self. The weather was awesome. It rained and was very overcast and we were up in the clouds. I got to sleep--A LOT. My parents came on Sat. and Nicole was with us so I got to sleep in and take naps. It was wonderful.

Happy Birthday Kristina!

Tomorrow is Kara's birthmother's birthday. I could NOT stop thinking about her today and decided to look up her birthday. It is May 23rd. It must have gotten stuck somewhere in my mind or we really are connected somehow. I LOVE to look at Kara and see facial expressions and parts of her that are definitely Kristina. I am not sure if there was ever a more wonderful, beautiful, or selfless woman in the world. To give us the gift that she has given us is beyond words. I often pat Kara like the beat of a heart knowing it was Kristina's heart that loved her, calmed her and made her feel safe long before I knew Kara was going to be in my life. The rhythm of my heart now beats along with Kristina's every moment that I am holding and loving Kara. People think it is weird that I miss her and the birthfather. We e-mailed back and forth almost every day for four months. We met, we shared the most amazing miracle of my life and now we are both moving on with our families. I know it is healthy but it is still hard...for them too, I am sure. Happy Birthday Kristina!

We are going away for the weekend to my parent's cabin about an hour and a half away. It will be Kara's first visit there. Aunt Nicole and Ellie are going with us and on Sat. my parents are meeting us there with their dog, Daisy. I am sure I will have some cute pics to post on Monday when we get home.

Tomorrow morning my brother-in-law graduates from the Los Angeles police academy. After MANY months of hard work he is done! We are so proud of you Julio and so sorry we will be missing your party. (We have a good gift for you though.) Please keep him in your prayers. He has been stationed in South Central LA. Not the safest of areas. He has a family that loves him very much, a wonderful wife, an almost 2-year-old and hopefully another on the way soon.

Lastly, Aaron's youngest brother is getting engaged soon to an absolutely wonderful girl and I couldn't be happier. I grew up with her family next door to me! I have been trying to set them up forever and finally they went out last fall. They really are a great couple. Congrats!

Mother's Day

I am a week behind but my first Mother's Day was awesome. I took tons of pictures and couldn't decide which ones to post so I just threw on a couple. Kara and I snuggled in the morning and Ellie had to join in, of course. My parents came over for awhile and we had lunch and talked. Later we met Aaron's family at our new park that is within walking distance from our house. It was a beautiful day. We relaxed, exchanged gifts, celebrated my sister-in-laws birthday and just enjoyed being with eachother. What a wonderful day.

Enjoying Motherhood

I can't believe I get to celebrate my first Mothers' Day. I have gotten cards from friends and family that are so sweet. I have never given a Mothers' Day card to anyone including my own grandmother (since we celebrate Grandparents' Day.) It is very thoughtful for people to be thinking of me. I always just celebrate MY mom (and now my wonderful Mother-In-Law, of course.)

Kara is growing, communicating, learning and SITTING all by herself now. She is absolutely adorable eating rice cereal off of a spoon. She opens her mouth so wide like a little baby bird. We have had so much fun being together all day since I have had the past two weeks off. I still have one more week off. I only have 5 more days of work after that spread over the next 3 weeks. She just has the best personality and I enjoy her company and her sense of humor even. She seems so mature and intelligent for only being five months old.

Aaron and I are starting to really make it a priority to get out more often without Kara. Last Sunday we had tickets, thank you Nicole, to Wicked at the Pantages Theatre. I had absolutely no interest in seeing it since the 'plot' seemed so hokey to me. It was AMAZING and I absolutely loved it. Aaron's mom came over to watch Kara for us. Tonight Nicole came over and stayed with Kara while Aaron and I went to dinner and a movie. We haven't done that in approximately 3 years. We saw Iron Man, which I really liked as well. We are feeling very blessed to have so many wonderful people around us to help us keep our marriage a priority and who Kara loves and we feel comfortable leaving her with.

We are looking forward to spending Mothers' Day this year with my parents who just got home from Oregon today and Aaron's family. Kara just loves her cousins and it is so wonderful to have everybody close by. Ok, enough random thoughts for now.