October Snow

Today was a good day to...

Shovel snow (and lots of it)

And build a snowman in the yard

And go sledding.



I just hope that Saturday is a good day to go Trick or Treating!

Serious Cali

Cali is a very serious baby. Her smiles are few and far between and she really makes us work for them. Mostly we work really hard trying to soothe her crankiness. Lately she has been smiling a little bit more, although she is definitely more grumpy than happy. It is so nice to see these smiles...it helps me to feel like she is going to grow out of all of this fussiness. She has even been cooing and "talking" with me these past few days and it just melts my heart.

5 years old!

It's hard to believe that Bella is 5 years old! Sometimes it feels like I've been a mother FOREVER and not only a mere 5 years and then other times I feel like time is flying by and my babies are growing up way too fast!

We had fun celebrating Bella's 5th birthday with the Angus cousins. (We only do a friend birthday every other year). Bella wanted me to make a Hello Kitty cake and this was a very simple design that I found online and felt like I'd be able to duplicate it. I'm glad she was happy with it.

Bella is truly a sensitive soul. She has such a sweet and gentle spirit about her. She is a loyal friend, tries to make people feel good, and she definitely wants to do what is right and please us and her teachers. She is also a little worry wort and sometimes she wakes up crying in the middle of the night because she has remembered that she left something at a friends house or worrying about something else. She is becoming a great artist and she is sounding words out as she is learning to read and write very well. She is a very smart girl. We just love her to pieces and are so grateful she is our sweet Bella Joy.

3 Sisters and a Baby in Music City

Last week I got to go to Nashville, Tennessee with my two sisters. It has been our tradition that when each one of us celebrates a big birthday (30, 40, etc) we get together and do something fun. This year is Tiffani's 40th and so we decided to go to an awesome Keith Urban and Friends benefit concert in Nashville. Tanya got us incredible seats with a package deal to go to an after party where supposedly Keith Urban and friends would be. We thought we'd have a chance to at least get an up close picture. Although we were disappointed with the fact that we didn't get up close and personal with anybody except David Archuleta, we still had an amazing time at the concert and just being together as sisters. Lucky for me, I have a wonderful cousin who just so happens to live in Nashville. She came to our hotel and babysat Cali while we partied until 2 in the morning. THANK YOU, Jessie! You are the best! (I stole this picture of Jessie from her blog since the one picture I took of her did not turn out. I am still trying to figure out the settings on my new camera).

Aside from the concert, we had fun walking around downtown Nashville, touring the Country Music Hall of Fame, and just hanging out as sisters. I found Nashville to be a beautiful city where the people are VERY friendly.


Nashville













The artists who performed at the concert were: Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Brad Paisely, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Faith Hill, and Dierks Bentley. It was so much fun!









The after party

Adoption versus Birth

Many people have asked me what my experience has been like giving birth to Cali as opposed to adopting Bella and Ez. I welcome the curiosity as I have always been very open about infertility, adoption, and apparently my life in general. I guess since most people have not been lucky enough to adopt, they naturally wonder if they could ever love a child that isn't genetically related to them the way they love their biological children. I, on the other hand, can't seem to understand why biology has anything to do with love.

To sum up adoption versus pregnancy and birth is simple. They both offer unique, wonderful, challenging, and at times miserable experiences. Neither has been better or worse for me, just different. But the end result is the same. A child of my own to love, nurture, guide, snuggle, to test the outer limits of my patience, and to remind me of how very, very blessed I am.

And look at these adorable faces! Who could ever love one more than the other?


One thing is for sure...Cali is lucky to have an older brother and sister and they likewise are lucky to have a little sister.

2 years old

Our little man turned 2 years old last week. He loves trains and so I did a repeat of last year's cake. He definitely appreciated it more this year and was very excited about his "nain" (train). We gave him a little tricycle and he has been scooting all around our house in his new ride ever since. His little legs don't quite reach the pedals yet but he doesn't care. His cousins gave him a castle tent thingy and he insisted on taking his nap in it for the first two days after his birthday.

We are so blessed that Ezra is in our family. He is a happy, energetic, loving, and sweet little guy. Our family sure wouldn't be complete with out him.