My Princess Turns 1!!

I can hardly believe my sweet princess turned 1 today. My does time fly. We have been home six months, and already we celebrate a birthday. Morgan is growing by leaps and bounds. She walks, and talks (hi, bye, mama, dada, you get it). She is a fiesty little princess, but life wouldn't be the same without her. Here are a few pics from her day. We enjoyed a Hibachi dinner and cake with a few good friends! The pictures are grainy thanks to my iphone. But I'm glad I had it since my battery died in my camera before the party.

Morgan sleeps in the car after all the festivities
Off to daycare (my equivalent of school) on my birthday. See my nifty birthday badge. My teachers also brought me donuts and balloons. I had a special greeting over the PA. It was great!All this for ME!! Wow this is fun!

Couldn't wait to get my hands in this Wonder Pets cake (She loves that show!)

Everyone should be princess for a day!! I loved my very first birthday!! (I actually let them put this crown on my head). My cracker was good too.

Morgan at 9 Months

My Morgan is growing by leaps and bounds! She is happy, independent, fiesty, curious, smart, and lovable! She is now 9 months, and the time seems to be flying by. Our adjustment has been tougher than I anticipated, but the rewards so much greater than I anticipated. She is truly a joy, and life before her seems so dull. Time to blog has been far and few between, but I'm hoping to do better!

Morgan loves these banana graduate puffs. She eats them up, and will crawl over anything to get to them.
She stole my husbands slice of birthday cake! I guess she couldn't wait til July (LOL)!!
Mommy, this stuff is so good!
Hey ya'll! I'm trying to walk. I'm only 8 months here!
As you can probably tell from this photo. I love getting into things! But, look at my smile! Mommy, Daddy and Big Bro just can't resist!

Post Adoption Blogging

Let me just say, post adoption blogging is hard! Big ups to those faithful moms who can keep their blogs updated with lots of words and pretty pictures after returning home with their new babes! I'm gonna try, but boy is it tough!

We have been super busy in these parts; thus lack of time to post. It has taken us a solid month to get into a rhythm, but I think I'm finally getting into the swing of things. Baby Morgan turned 6 months on Jan 20! She is adjusting well and bonding with all of us. Mommy, on the other hand, has been super tired. After 9 years, I think I almost forget how hard it is to raise infants (LOL). Despite the sleep deprivation and shear fatigue, I am enjoying it. Baby girl is super active. She definitely keeps me on my toes, and I think I've lost a pound or two just keeping up with her; I forgot how active 6 month olds can be. I thought she may have been a bit delayed when we picked her up, but she is so NOT delayed. I don't think I was quite prepared for so much activity, but it is a blessing. She is such a happy baby. She coos and says Di Di alot. She touches everything, and puts everything in her mouth. She smiles alot, and has started to cry when I leave the room. (Sweet to me, but I'm starting to worry what will happen when she has to go to daycare). She is so close to crawling, and can stand with support. I almost wish that she crawls soon because she gets so frustrated when she can't explore like she wants. (Ask me how I feel about that statement when she is mobile and tearing up the house..yikes!)

We have even started solid foods, and she enjoys everything, even green beans and carrots which my son hated.

Sometimes I think we are starting to spoil her a bit, as she will whine just to amuse herself and I can imagine her saying.."Man I just scream and here they come!". She sleeps pretty well at night which is a blessing. On most nights, she sleeps through the night, but that happened after a few weeks. She is also an early bird, which is killing me, but a little coffee can cure anything (lol).

Since we have been home, she has had a few night time break down's, but I think she was just super tired, and resorted to methods she learned to sooth and comfort herself while in foster care. Since we have been home, these nighttime meltdowns have decreased; hopefully they will resolve completely.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of our sweet baby girl, and hopefully I will get to post about our trip when I regain my strength. Winter is not my time of year, and I just cannot wait until spring and summer are here! Toodles, and Happy Monday!

A shot of Mr. B and Miss Morgan at the Bejoe house on our second night together in Addis! BTW, to all the Gladney families waiting to travel, I highly recommend the Bejoe, but more about that later. Big Bro and Lil Sis are in LOVE let me tell you!
Miss Mo on our second day at home. The Bumbo (blue seat) has been a life saver for us! She is looking like "Mommy please stop taking all these pictures!"

Our second night back, and the sandman came a little early for baby girl.

We're Back!

We made it back from Ethiopia safe and sound on Wednesday! Our trip was absolutely wonderful! Everyone, including Ms. Morgan, is doing well. We are seriously jet lagged, and sleep is hard to come by with a 6 month old; but this is to be expected. As soon as we get re-acclaimated, I will post about our trip. I will also be sending out the photos to waiting families of the precious babes we met while in Ethiopia!

Travel

Our travel is confirmed! We leave on Jan 2 and return on Jan 12. We are flying Emirates and staying at the Bejoe House. We are so fortunate to be traveling during Ethiopian Christmas, and our embassy appointment is on Christmas Day (in Ethiopia). I am so excited to see how the holiday is celebrated in Ethiopia!

Because it is the Holiday, airline tickets are scarce and expensive. So for those still waiting for referrals, and the possibility of travel around the holidays 2010, be prepared for booked flights and extra fees. Despite this, it is SO worth it! I can't wait!

If anyone waiting would like me to take pictures of your little one(s)/and or bring a care package, I would be more than willing to do so. The pictures we received from other traveling families were priceless! Send me an email at trashawnmd@yahoo.com, and I'll put you on my list.

Happy Tuesday!

It's Official!!!

I know I'm a bit delayed in writing this, but today has been a VERY busy day!

I am very happy to announce that we passed court today! Here she is. I hope you enjoy!

Three Plus One at OneTrueMedia.com

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Congrats

Congrats to my blog buddy Freda! She and her husband passed court on Monday, and will soon be traveling to Ethiopia to pick up their very handsome son, Jordan!!

As for us, 3 more days. Hopefully, you will be introduced to our Baby M very soon!

4 and 14

Today (Nov 20) is Baby M's 4 month birthday! (Happy Birthday to you...!) She is growing so much, and looks so well taken care of. I can't wait to give her lots of hugs and kisses!

Today also marks 14 days until our court date! I am hopeful and prayerful, that Dec 4th will be the day that Baby M is officially our daughter! Just knowing that she is officially ours will make the Christmas holidays so much merrier.

Until then, I am working and keeping busy. Trying to stay focused; but let me tell you, I am NOT. I daydream about her daily, and find it hard to stay on task. I'm starting to lose my appetite just as I did right before and just after our referral. I guess my stress hormones are increasing as we approach our court date. I guess that's not too bad, especially if I can shed a few pounds.

I am also on a mission to clean house. There is serious nesting going on here. I have been cleaning closets and giving things away like a mad woman. My yellow lab watches me as a vacuum, mop, and dust as if she's trying to figure out what's going on, and who's coming to dinner.

Things seem to be falling into place. We are almost ready. Baby M's crib and nursery furniture will arrive on Nov 30, and we should have our updated homestudy in hand momentarily.

Until Dec 4th, I'll be busy figuring out what to cook for Thanksgiving, and how to do it since I have to work on the three days preceding Thanksgiving. I also hope to get some of the bargains after Thanksgiving and start decorating for Christmas.

Waiting is hard, but it sure is nice to be waiting during the holidays when there are so many other things to distract from the wait.

Happy Weekend!

Thank You!

I want to send out a special thank you to Sharon and Emily. They sent us such beautiful pictures and video of our sweet girl. These really made our day! Can I just tell you she is beautiful! I can't wait to share her with all of you.

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I'll just say that I am so thankful for the wonderful traveling Gladney families who carry things across the ocean for us, and take wonderful pictures of our babes while we wait. I cannot wait to return the favor to another waiting family!

Happy Monday