I'm going to miss nursing...

We decided that we would start weaning after her one year appointment next week.  I've nursed her every time she's gotten shots, and I want to at the one year appointment as well. We made it to a full year!  That was always the goal, but I wasn't sure we were going to make it at first...

If you had told me when she was a month old sucking from blistered nipples that one day soon I would enjoy nursing and miss it when I was done, I would have thought you were crazy.  If you had told me that I would giggle when Daughter looks at me with a milky smile, I would have thought you'd been drinking.... giggle while nursing?  But the pain! 

Yes... there was pain. 

But we stuck with it!  I say "we" because it really is a team effort.  Daughter had to be willing, and Mat had to be supportive.  Which he was.  He was uber-supportive.  I love that man!


I'm very glad that our breastfeeding course at the hospital was open to dads, too.  Apparently some of the courses at other hospitals are not.  I'm also very thankful that Mat was able and willing to go with me. 

My nursing success can be attributed to 4 things.

1. milk supply (Thank God I have plenty of milk!  Some women don't)
2. stubbornness (if other women can do it, I should be able to, too!)
3. a very supportive husband.  Seriously, wouldn't have made it past 2 weeks without him.  
4. Daughter's patience while I learned what to do.

I thank God that I was (and am, until I officially wean Daughter) able to nurse.  So few adoptive mothers get to do that.  Heck, now-a-days few genetic mothers get to do that!

1 year!!!

Daughter is officially 1 year old!  Oh my goodness!

She's crawling so quickly! 
She's taken 1 step.  Once.  Other than that she's holding onto something.
She has three teeth- the top two and one on the bottom.
She has a very cute gap in her teeth :)

She's still not overly smiley, but she's a very happy girl. 
She loves giraffes.
She hates shoes.
She loves fabric.
She says dada, mama, uh-oh, woah, what, and hey all the time.
She loves swimming!
Last night, she said "I love" in response when daddy said "I love you"

Birthday party!

Daughter is already one!  It's crazy!  We waited so long for her and now she's growing up so fast. 

We had her birthday party on Saturday. There was a great turnout!

I've been quoted!

The Birth Free DVD's that we used now have me quoted on the website :)

I emailed the teacher, Jenny, shortly after Daughter was born.  I told her how we used her relaxation techniques throughout the pregnancy and up until the version and C section.  She left out the part about the C section (I think with it being a natural birth class, she didn't want C sections to be in her references).

I would recommend those DVDs to anyone who wants a natural child birth and can't get to a class.

God has His own plans for every baby, but preparing helps! Even when your plan completely derails...

Gap toothed grin

I'm in a spaceship!

Quilt for new nephew

Our new nephew was born last week!  He's so adorable!  We will get to meet him in a few weeks :)

Here's the quilt I made him 

Our old pastor went to heaven

Our first Missouri Synod Pastor, Rev Klemet Preus, went to heaven.  Here's his obituary.

He was a great man.  We were able to make it down to the cities for the visitation.  I'm so glad.  It was nice to pay our respect and see people.  His wife smiled when she saw Daughter and got to hold her.  Both she and Pastor (and all of our GOC friends) were so excited about Daughter and EA.

Pastor Preus was the one who helped us navigate through the moral issues of infertility.  He thought adoption was a wonderful idea when we eventually decided on EA.  He's also the one who gave us guidance during our losses.  We will miss him. 

He's one of the main players in Daughter's life.  He's left this world, but as he said while he was in hospice, "I am going to LIVE!".  (not sure that's ver batim, but it is the gist of what he said).

Funerals for Christians are both happy and sad.  Happy for the deceased who now gets to party with Jesus!  Sad for the family and friends left behind-there will now be a gap in their lives until they, too, get to heaven. 

Don't be offended, I'm mama :)

My mom, aka grandma, was over yesterday.

She was holding Daughter and Daughter reached out for me. 

Melts my heart :)

4th fun

Our lake kid loves swimming!

We had a great weekend.  First time watching fireworks (she actually said "ooh!" several times!) and first time at Granny's.

We don't have any pics of her watching fireworks, because we were inside with the lights off. 

But here are some from Granny's :)

It's hard to quit with a monkey on your back...