9 months

Nine months ago we met our daughter. She was placed in Kevin's arms and she studied him... very interested in this new face. I hovered, watching with teary eyes. Then she stuck her hand in his mouth, and everyone laughed. She didn't cry, didn't seem scared, and just seemed to go with the flow and wanted to explore the new surroundings and faces. The grieving came later that night in the hotel room. I don't think any of us slept more than an hour at a time that night.

We've passed another mark this month, as well. Hannah has now been with us longer than she was at St. Lucy's. She was a little over eleven months old when we brought her home, but as a preemie weighing only 2.6 pounds at birth... she spent her first two and a half months of life in a hospital.

I took this photograph while Kevin was tossing Hannah in the air Saturday night. The photograph is not cropped. That's what I caught in my lens.

Our new speech therapist called and scheduled Hannah's first appointment for next Tuesday at our home. Yippie skippy! I'm so thankful that she's starting to think that repeating back words and sounds is fun. Tonight's attempted words were "Go Dog Go!" as we cheered and clapped for Sedona as she raced through the house. Still waiting to hear from the physical therapist.

Happy nine months, little bug. We love you so much.

8 months

7 months

Double checking the calendar. Has it been seven months already?

six months together

"For so long, I dreamed about you, waited for you, imagined you, tried to picture you. I fantasized about you, already loved you, thought of you all the time. Never ever had a day I didn't wonder about you. The day you entered my life, you took my breath away! Finally meet you, see you, feel you, smell you, hug you, and Loooooooooooove you - you are my life. I love to just be with you, look at you, play with you, listen to you, talk to you, see you smile... Nothing prepared me for your smile. I love you! Mom"
- Author Chantal Scalais

Kits used:
Chunlin Designs - Your Mama Forever
Katie Pertiet - LaCremerie Fraise
Cottage Arts - Growth Spurts

Sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night and want to pinch myself. "Is this real? Is she really here, three doors down from ours sleeping softly with one foot hanging out of her crib? This really happened?" Then I hear her wake up and start her little cries. I rush sleepily to the kitchen. The bright refrigerator light causes me to squint in the darkness. I pour her a bottle of whole milk, heat it up in the microwave for 30 seconds, and shuffle back towards her room. The cries immediately stop when I open the door. She stands up holding on to the edge of her crib, holding her blanket, and grins at me with all four teeth and a dimple. "Heeeeee! Heeeeee!" she shouts excitedly. Yup. She's got me wrapped around her little finger.

So hard to believe this was only six months ago.

5 months

Was it really only five months ago that we held our Hannah Claire for the first time? Tonight we looked at photos of our forever family day. She looks like such a little baby in them. I can't believe how much she's grown and changed in only five months.

We're busy this week with Kevin's parents visiting from Florida. No time for digital scrapbooking for a monthly post any more. GASP! The horror!

I'm going to start putting my photography posts on a separate blog titled My Little Lantern. I've been planning this for awhile as I want a wider format to show larger photos but will keep this blog for adoption related stuff and milestones. You can access the photography blog easily with the navigation bar link titled "Photography."

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

While waiting, and waiting, and waiting for Hannah's referral, I kept busy making a scrap page a month to mark each month waiting. There are other bloggers and scrappers out there that are taking a photo a day or making a scrap page a day for their children in a 365 challenge. Working full time and learning how to be a first time mom won't allow me to do that every day, but I think I can handle a page a month to document our life with Hannah Claire. And what a month the first one has been!

Oh, and my mom keeps pointing out to me that our blog ticker marked 100,000 hits today. Thank you to everyone who's been following along for so long. Over two years and nearly 500 posts later, we finally got here. Thanks for your kind words, suggestions, prayers, and support for so long.

We had a little photo session today after one of Hannah's multiple baths today which got my digiscrappin' juices flowing. Not much beats a cute baby wearing nothing but a diaper and a smile... except a diaper, a smile, and a hairbow!

Text: Not long ago, I dreamed of plum blossoms. I dreamed in pink and white, for a little girl on the other side of the world. I still pinch myself. I still sneak into your room to hear you breathe. But I must admit, the piles of laundry, green baby food streaks on the high chair, and dirty bottles in the sink bring me back to reality very quickly. - Mama