One Year Letter

Dear Angel Doll Leah Katherine,

It was one year ago today that I held you in my arms for the first time, felt your soft little hands, and smelled your wonderful scent. When I first felt you in your little small blanket in Baltimore at 0420, I knew that you were special. I knew that you were meant to be our daughter, and the wonderful gift that Tasha has given us was a gift from god that was supposed to happen. I did not know how much I would come to love such a special child, and your mommy and I love you more and more every day. This year has been the best year of our lives, our family is now one, and we are both very lucky to be your parents.

The happiness and joy that you have brought to my life is so strong that I always feel it, whether I am at work or I am at home with you. When I get home in the evening after a stressful and busy day, holding you in my arms and singing to you makes everything better. Hearing you make the gratifying noise when you are falling asleep in my arms takes my breath away and often moves me to tears of happiness. It is this special feeling and bond that is love, and is something that every child should feel every day. If there is one thing that you have learned over the last year, it is that you will always be loved, no matter what.

Over the last month you have been eating much more "regular" food, have learned to be very good for daddy while mommy is away with her girlfriends, and have started to drink milk instead of your normal baby formula. You've let daddy put you down downstairs and played with your toys, for 2 whole hours the other night without as much as a sound. Daddy was glad that he was with you during the terrible thunderstorm on Monday night, you were crying and scared but he held you and comforted you until you went to sleep nice. One of your favorites games is to play with the telephone buttons when mommy is on the phone, sometimes even hanging up on people!!! Daddy has been letting you play with his badges if he sees you in the mornings before he goes to work. You've had a wonderful time with the other little kids, playing with Daniel, and crawling around with everybody on Easter when everybody came over.

Leah, every day when I wake up, the first thing I think about is you, my little princess, and how lucky I am to be your daddy. There are many times that I'd just love to come into your room and hold you and kiss you all over, but you are asleep so nice and cuddly. I think about the last year and how many nights that mommy and I were up with you, feeding you, taking care of you, or consoling you. None of it matters, it doesn't matter that it was 0100 and I had to work the next day, it doesn't matter that I had to get up many times during the night or mommy didn't get a nap on a certain day, what matters is that we have you, our wonderful precious daughter and that we love you unconditionally, forever. Some day, when you are older and you've had a bad day, things aren't going right, or you need some support, I want you to read any of these 13 letters and always remember what is in them. Keep them around and read them as many times as you need to, and then come give mommy and daddy a nice big hug, because we will always be there for you. It is you who makes the day better, it is you who came to us, and it is you who always shines like the sun through our windows. We love you sweet darling, and happy birthday.

Love,

Daddy and Mommy

Vote For Leah!

I entered Leah in the American Baby cover model contest.  Her photo was selected for voting.  If you’d like to vote for her, please visit http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/179940  You can vote for her as many times as you have computers, once per computer per day.  We are currently in 9th place.  Please post to your blogs, email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.  We could win a trip to NYC :-)

Thanks!

Another Monthaversary

Dear Leah:

It is almost impossible to admit that this very day eleven months ago, nurses laid you in my arms for the very first time, and in an instant I fell completely in love with someone, hopelessly and irretrievably, forever.  In the eleven months that have passed, my love for you has only grown stronger every day, and every day you seem to give us new and wonderful reasons to love you.

You have had a very busy month indeed.  You survived yet another blizzard, and another trip.  This month we added North Carolina to your list of places to call visited, and you charmed every single person you met there, from waitresses to authors, young and old.  You were the absolute hit of the weekend.  It was wonderful to watch you put your new skill of waving into action, and how everyone responded to you, which of course only encouraged you further. 

You also took major steps towards independence this month.  When I took you to the mall, for the very first time, you voluntarily left my side to go see what other kids were doing in the play park.  To say I was nervous and a bit sad is an understatement, but I was also proud of you, so I hid my tears.

You are now pulling yourself up and will walk while you hold onto whatever it is you’ve pulled up on: the couch, the fireplace, a table, my leg.  You are not real skilled when on hardwood or linoleum floors yet, but when you are on carpet, you are ready for action!  I’m sure it won’t be long now before you are walking.  You continue to be an absolute speed demon when you are crawling around, especially when you get your eye on something you want, and even more especially when you aren’t supposed to have whatever it is!  You make it very difficult for us to say “No!” because you smile up at me and bat your eyelashes, and all I can do is laugh while attempting to maintain a firm tone of voice.

You have also developed a cheesy grin—you will crawl up to me, get right in my face and grab my cheeks with both hands, and smile a huge, toothy grin.  It is so cute—I hope to get a picture of it, but I’m afraid the camera will make you stop, and I don’t want you to stop.  It’s a few seconds of sunshine that I don’t have to share with anyone but you, and just one of a thousand miracles we share every day.

Your favorite things to play with this month are your sound stage (Daddy and I made a good investment in that thing!), people’s drinks (you love to go fishing for ice cubes!), silverware that’s in the dishwasher (you scatter it everywhere!), and blocks and puzzles in your room (as long as I build a tower for you to destroy or put the puzzles together so you can fling the pieces all over the place!). 

You have been eating many more solid foods too.  Your favorites remain pickles and cucumbers (your aunt would be proud) and french fries, but you have developed an affinity for Cool Whip, noodles, and squash.  You absolutely hate tomato sauce and decline any pasta or bread with tomato sauce on it.  You are also quite adept at spitting out the chunks in the stage 3 foods we’ve gotten for you;  I guess you’re not big on texture!  We have been working to convert you from bottles to sippy cups, but you’re not too excited about that change either.  We will continue to persevere.

You have had a hard time sleeping in the past few weeks, getting us up every single morning between 4:45 and 5:30AM.  This is very difficult on me, but Daddy has been filling in, which is hard on you!  We did have you sleeping through the night, but you haven’t been too interested in that lately.  We are going to go back to sleep training as soon as you get over this latest cold you have.

You also have a new pediatrician now, and charmed the office there when we took you for a cold earlier in the month.  You’ve had 2 colds this month, but it seems you’re getting good at battling them.

We finally gave in and I put away all your 6 month clothes.  They still fit, but I was determined to at least have you in 9 month clothes by your first birthday.  You are growing taller and taller, but haven’t gotten chubby, so the smaller sizes have still fit.  It was hard to admit that I could go up a size, even if the clothes are a bit big on you, but Daddy finally convinced me to do it, and I’m glad.  It is crazy to think that you are growing and growing from that sweet little bundle that I held 11 months ago into this growing, crawling mass of arms and legs and personality that lights the lives of everyone she touches.  You make me so proud to be your mama and I will endeavor to make you proud to be my daughter.

Your favorite friends continue to be Quintienn and Elizabeth and Alex.  We see them a time or two a week.  You love to be around kids, and had a great time with Nicolas when you went and spent a day with him and his mom so Mommy could get some sleep.  You are looking forward to a visit from Kai this week and perhaps we’ll be able to start walking with Daniel again soon as the weather gets nicer and nicer.  You got to enjoy time at the Playroom this month with Ada and Willa too, which was lots of fun for you. 

I’ll close here for another month, and next month will be your last letter, so this is the last one I’ll write for you, at least in this context.  Perhaps I’ll continue the tradition off-line as something for you to take with you someday.  I am working on a scrapbook for you about your adoption, and then will start one about your first year of life.  It is hard to believe, but we’ll be sending out invitations to your birthday party this week. 

Stay sweet, little angel.  We love you more than words can say.

Mama and Daddy

Siberian Adoption Story

Yesterday, I was flipping through the channels and found a 90 minute special on Discovery Health called “Siberian Adoption Story”.  It detailed the journeys of two families who had decided to travel to Siberia to adopt infants.  One was a single mom from Virginia who wanted to adopt a baby girl and she was slated to travel with a couple from, I presume, California who also wanted to adopt a baby girl.  I missed the first part of the show, so I’m not entirely sure that they are from California, but I dubbed them Malibu Ken and Barbie in my mind, so California it is.

Never in my life has an adoption show pissed me off more.  Honestly.  And it wasn’t the show, it was Ken and Barbie.  And mostly Barbie.  What an obnoxious BITCH. 

Again, since I missed out on the first part of the show, I’m not entirely sure what their motivation for adopting was, although during their rehearsals for the court proceeding Ken mentioned that Barbie had had 4 miscarriages, so that may have had something to do with it.  I came in where they were traveling to Siberia for the first time.

When they arrive at the orphanage, they are greeted by a translator and a social worker, and apparently Barbie is obsessed with the possibility that the baby has been exposed to alcohol in utero and might have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  Consequently, she has hired Dr. Jane Aronson, who advises her of some pictures she would like to see of the baby so she can try to analyze if the baby was exposed to alcohol in the womb or not.  So they sit down with the social worker, and Barbie demands to know if the baby’s mother was a prostitute.  The social worker and the translator were like, “We cannot say, the baby was abandoned".  I mean, what the hell kind of question is that?  And why does it matter?  Is it going to affect your love of that baby?

So then they go in to meet the baby for the first time, what a sweet little thing she was, too!  They spent the entire time taking the pictures for Dr. Aronson and not really bonding with the baby.  Barbie kept saying, “This doesn’t feel the same as when I gave birth, this is much harder than I thought it would be, I don’t know how I feel about this”.  Then she comes out with the real kicker, “Well, maybe her hair will be blonder when she’s out in the sun.”  Apparently, they only wanted a blonde baby!  JEEZ!  I mean, it was clear that they had no intention of hiding from the baby that they had adopted her—they even talked about bringing her back to Siberia to visit someday—but somehow her hair color matters?  Cripes.

Meanwhile, the mom from Virginia decided that even if her baby was exposed to alcohol and had some issues, she didn’t care, she knew that baby needed her and was meant to be hers.  She fell in love instantly and she and her son were devastated when the hour was up and they had to leave baby Maddie behind.

Ken and Barbie hauled ass back to an internet cafe and sent pictures off to the doctor.  Single Mom asked them what they were going to do, and they said they didn’t know, they weren’t sure, everything was so unexpected and they didn’t know what to do about the whole thing.  Finally Dr. Aronson said that from the pictures the little girl appeared healthy and didn’t have any signs of FAS, so they decided to proceed with the adoption.

Single Mom meanwhile ponders if she would be able to find Maddie’s birthmother while she is there.  She would like to thank her and let her know that her little girl will be well taken care of and loved. Ken and Barbie are horror-stricken.  Their opinion?  “We don’t even want a picture.  That is opening a whole can of worms that when she is fifteen she will turn against us and say, “You’re not my real parents!” and decide to move back to Siberia.”  HELLO!!!!  You’re going to let your 15-year-old up and move to Siberia?  That’s one hell of a teenage rebellion and some kind of permissive parenting.  Not to mention, I’d be willing to bet that 99% of adopted kids try that “You’re not my real parents!” crap at least once.  I fully expect Leah will and we’re ready for it.  So prepare yourselves, Ken and Barbie.  Just because you don’t have a picture of this woman, who you’ve already decided is an alcoholic prostitute drug addict doesn’t mean your child won’t try the “you’re not my real parents!” routine at least once.  And just because you know the birthmother and can answer some totally normal questions we all have about “where we came from” for your daughter doesn’t mean she’s going “to turn against you”.  Ugh.

Fast forward, and we see Ken and Barbie preparing to return to Siberia.  While Single Mom and her son are having bake sales to fund their adoption, Ken and Barbie decide to sell off their extra house to pay for it.  BREAK MY HEART.

Then they get on a plane to go back to pick up the babies, and they are talking to other adoptive parents on the plane and what came out of Barbie’s mouth made me want to absolutely put my foot through my own TV set.  She said, “You can’t adopt babies who look American in America any more.  You have to go to Siberia to get babies who look American.”

Pardon my French, but: Fuck you, bitch.  Let me show you what an American baby looks like:

I was furious.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with people going overseas to adopt, some of my best friends have done it.  But Barbie was clearly in it for some sort of designer baby that fit the mold of what precisely she wanted.  And considering that America is the great melting pot of the world, there isn’t a baby on Earth who doesn’t “look American.”  Oh, that really rubbed my fur wrong.  I grabbed Leah and I held her and I cried.  This is the kind of small-minded idiot Leah is going to have to deal with her entire life.  And I bet if you asked Barbie, she’d consider herself just as liberal and open-minded as they come.

So they get back to Siberia, they get baby Ava, they take her for her medical exam and the first thing out of Barbie’s mouth to the doctor is, “Has she been exposed to heroin? Can you tell?”  This woman is obsessed with this poor child’s medical history, which is UNKNOWN.  The birth mother is UNKNOWN.  You are taking your chances here to an extent.  What concerns me is that if little Ava displays any sort of behavior that is not in the Ken and Barbie mold, Barbie is going to be determined that it’s to do with her pre-natal experience and that she was surely addicted to something before she was born, and there will probably be all kinds of recriminations.

What also breaks my heart is that Ava, that unspoiled innocent little babe, is probably going to grow up to be a pretentious little snot like her mother.  Look at the example she’ll have to follow.

I don’t know if those two ever intend to adopt again, but I hope and pray to God there’s not a social worker in the world who would touch them with a 10 foot pole.  I hope there’s not an adoption agency or a country that would accept them again.  I feel terribly judgmental even writing or thinking that, but frankly, I have never been more offended by a person in my entire life (Ken was pretty much on the sidelines, I will say, much like the real Ken who got tired of Barbie and broke up with her a few years ago, his job appeared to be to look pretty, flash his veneers, and let Barbie run the show).  I watch Adoption Stories every single day—I could probably recite them by heart at this point, and every last one makes me cry ever single time I watch it.  No matter where the couple comes from, no matter what their story is, where their child/ren come from, every story is beautiful. 

Siberian Adoption Story absolutely infuriated me.  I hope Single Mom here in Virginia is doing well with baby Maddie, and I pray little Ava will grow up to tell her mother exactly where to stick it.

Save the Date

I can't believe we are already thinking about this, but Leah's first birthday party will be on Saturday, April 10, 2009 sometime in the afternoon. Hope to see lots of sunny faces there to celebrate our little angel's special day.

Ten Months Already!

Dear Leah Katherine,

                It is now 10 months since we first held you in that little blanket in Baltimore at 0420 AM, which began our family.  You have made lots of progress this month, mainly you’ve started crawling more, babbling more (mostly saying “dah dah dah” and “iiiiiiya iiiiya iiiiya.”)  You have also learned to sit down all by yourself after holding on to the couch or whatever you are trying to get to.  You’ve lately been sleeping all night, lately your wake-up time has been around 0600. 

                This month you went to Atlanta and spent a few days with Uncle Mike and Auntie Lesley, where you were spoiled and you were introduced to your teapot.  Grandma and Grandpa from Rhode Island also came down to see you and even watched you while we went out for dinner.  You also went with us for dinner a couple of times with Uncle Landry and Auntie Meredith, where you were excellent the entire time.  You went and spent the day with Auntie Melissa while mom and dad were away all day with Cioci giving birth to your second cousin, William George.  You’ve been enjoying spending lots of time with Nana, as we have had so much snow that we haven’t been really able to leave the house for days.  You have been keeping us entertained with your babbling and climbing all over your mommy, and even being good for daddy while mommy went out to shovel and to the grocery store.

                You’ve really started to babble a lot more, be a bit more mobile, and have become more and more curious of what is around you.  Mommy has been still experimenting with real food to give you, and lately your favorite is sweet potatoes.  Daddy likes that you are up at 0600, since most of the time he can spend a few minutes with you and mommy before he goes to work.  Mommy also cut most of your hair off this month in an attempt to get it more under control, and everybody thinks that you look so cute.  Of course we already knew that, but it’s great to hear it from everyone else.

                Leah when we hold you in our arms it is the most special feeling in the world.  When daddy brings you up to his office and sings to you, with you falling asleep in his arms, it brings him to tears that he is so lucky to have you and be your daddy.  When mommy snuggles with you during the day and feels you on her shoulder, she feels like a million dollars to know that she is the lucky one who has the privilege to stay at home and raise you.  In the mornings we listen for the “ih, ih” and realize how thankful we are to have our daughter to love and take care of, forever and ever.  As you will learn more when you get older, there is lots of love in the Kosior house, and that you will always feel and carry with you wherever you go.  We love you darling daughter, and your progress this month is just the beginning of a life-long list of achievements that we can be proud of.

Love,

Daddy and mommy

Nine Months

Dear Leah:

You are now nine months old, and have spent as much time in the world as you spent preparing to make your debut.  Every day now we have had you a little bit longer than you birthmother did, and we think of her a lot and with gratitude for the wonderful little gift she gave us: you.

What a month you have had!  You have been extremely busy.  Each day I wake up and I think, “I wonder what Leah will learn today?” and you never fail to surprise me.  You said your first words this month, “Mama” and “Papa” and seemed to know exactly what you were talking about with each of them.  The random babbling has at least two elements that are special and mean us!  What joy that brought to us.

You also started to crawl this month.  You are getting stronger and better at it every day, and I have to control the impulse to still pick you up and put you next to whatever it is you are indicating that you want.  You know very well how to get there on your own, even if it is sometimes easier just to scream while we try to figure it out.

You also grew 3 new teeth!  WOW!  And they all came in at once.  You have two on the top and four on the bottom now.  It’s amazing.  For a while we thought maybe you’d just have 3 teeth forever, but now you’ve doubled the number!  It was rough going, but you managed.

This month also marked your first Christmas.  You had lots of visitors and lots of presents and made the time a lot of fun.  Thanks to your Cioci, we were able to make prints of your feet, so we will always be able to look back on how small you were, even though right now you seem to be growing like a weed!  Some of your favorite Christmas presents were the sound stage (you gaze at yourself adoringly in the mirror, it’s so cute!), the xylophone, and all your pretty new clothes.  You also received a special ornament from Nana, the first in what will be a collection.  It is hard to imagine that someday you will leave us to have your own Christmas celebrations, but you will be able to take your ornaments with you for your own tree and each one will be a special memory.

You also got a taste of the snow this past month when we had a big blizzard.  We were trapped in the house for 2 days, but you were a constant source of entertainment.  We strapped you into your snowsuit and put you out in the snow to see what you’d do, but you didn’t appear to like it!  Then we took you around with us to see all the neighbors and give out Christmas treats.  You loved absolutely everyone, playing with adults and kids alike, and so many people since have told us what a good little angel you are.  We know, but it’s sure nice to hear it from other people!

We’ve also let you try lots of different foods this month and you are certainly very adventurous when it comes to eating.  Your current favorites seem to be pickles and celery, although you are also fond of lemons.  Jarred food is OK, although you get mad because I won’t let you play in it up to your elbows.  You still love sweet potatoes and applesauce, but have started trying some meat and like beef and turkey just fine.  You still hate green beans.  You are also not terribly fond of the pasta blends.  It’s OK, you take after your father in that regard!

Leah, I wish I could put into words how much we love you.  There are days we look at you and our eyes just well with tears about how fortunate we are to have you in our lives.  You are a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, a true joy to all who know you, our every hope and wish come true.  I wish I could hold you forever in my arms, sweet girl, you are exactly the child we dreamed of when we decided to adopt.  You are growing so fast, it’s impossible to believe how quickly all this growing is taking place!  Looking back on old photos, I can’t believe that baby is now the baby in front of me.  We’re with you every step of the way, from here to forever.

All our love,

Mama and Papa

Finalization Party

We will be celebrating the finalization of Leah’s adoption this Saturday, December 12th at 6:00pm at the Roma Restaurant, 203 Lansdowne Road in Fredericksburg.  We invite everyone to join us to celebrate that our beautiful daughter is recognized officially by the courts as ours and only ours. 

To celebrate, we had a family portrait done on December 4th, the day we found out Leah is all ours.  Enjoy!

Eight Months!

Dear Angel Doll,

                Here we are again, another month has gone by and you continue to amaze Mom and I with your growth and development.  This month you have started eating real food quite a bit, adjusted to a new sleep schedule, and overall become more “nosey” with everything – not that you weren’t nosey before, but your favorite pastime is to look around your environment.  You have continued to play a lot with Cousin Dottie when she comes down, pulling her hair and taking her toys, but that’s OK, that’s how little babies like you learn.  Mommy has started to really work on your hair quite a bit, and it is looking better and better every day.  You still haven’t gotten any more teeth, although we think that you might have a couple ready to pop out of your sweet little mouth any day now.  You hold your arms up when you want to be picked up and are shaking your toys in your hands just like when Mommy shows you “All done!”  We know you don’t want to play with those toys any more!  You are so smart!  You have also started eating on your own—Uncle Lucas and Cioci showed you how to hold your own bottle and now you don’t need any help.  Of course, sometimes Mommy and Daddy just want some snuggle time, so we hold you and feed you anyway.  We don’t want you to grow up too fast!

                You’ve seen a lot of people this month, you’ve been very good with Colleen on Wednesdays when mommy goes for her appointments, you were very good when Grandma and Grandpa came down from Rhode Island to see you, and you were even good when Cathy and Peter came over from the Free Lance-Star to talk to Daddy.  Mommy and Daddy took you to Richmond to a potluck for adopted families and you were perfect the whole time, not even letting out a peep.  Auntie Beth showed you off and of course you were the HEAD Little Baby at the event.  You also went to see the folks at Dr. Leonard’s and had 2 shots and didn’t let out a peep, instead looking at the nurse as if to say “is that it?”  You went with Mommy and Daddy to the hearing aid place and to the dentist, where of course everybody was loving you, and you even screamed for Daddy while Mommy went to the bathroom.  And of course, there was the infamous trip to Ruby Tuesday’s recently where by the end of the meal, you had 6 waiters and waitresses standing around you admiring you!  Overall you have continued to be a very very good baby when momy and daddy are in public or when we have company.

                There are a couple of problem areas that we are trying to work on with you.  You are very attached to Mommy, to the point that if she leaves the room you start to cry/yell.  This is hard for Mommy, since she has to give you her undivided attention at all times and doesn’t get many breaks.  You also are still having trouble getting used to daddy, and lately have not been eating for him, making this harder for us.  But we know that these little things are just temporary and that you will grow out of them.  You have been EXCELLENT in the car lately, and Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you for that.  You continue to play a lot with your toys, and are getting more sleep which is good for your development.  We have started to let you cry things out more, and we are helping you to learn that it is OK if Mommy is in the other room or Daddy can’t pick you up all of the time, and it will get better.

                On November 30, the final adoption order was signed by the county court and we received it on December 4 in the mail.  Mommy and I have received the best gift of all: the gift of a child, Leah Katherine, you are now ours.  You are now a Kosior, nobody will be coming around questioning what mommy and daddy are doing, no more visits to Richmond, and no more expensive legal costs.  We knew at 3:56AM on April 8 that we had the most precious gift, Daddy knows it and feels it every time he holds you, and Mommy sees it in your eyes when you smile and make faces at her.  Nobody can question anything anymore, it is final.  On Saturday, Mommy and Daddy are going to get together with some friends to celebrate the news, although we always knew in our hearts that it would happen and that you were meant to be our wonderful daughter.  Leah Katherine Kosior, we will always love you, and your gift in our lives is one that we will carry with us and treasure forever.

Love,

Daddy and Mommy

Seven Month Sweetheart

Sweet Baby Leah,

It is hard to believe another month has come and gone in the first wonderful year of your life. I look at you and I can’t believe the time has flown by so quickly. It has been another adventurous month, and you have made it through with flying colors, literally!

This month, you took your first airplane ride as we went to visit Nana in Florida. Everyone on the planes absolutely loved you, and you had no problems with going up or coming down—your ears were just fine and you didn’t let out so much as a peep either way. You were charming and got your first pair of wings from the flight attendants and let our seatmates hold you and enjoy your company. Once we got to Florida, the challenge began. It was VERY hot and you had a hard time sleeping. It was a sad time for all of us with your Papa John being sick, but it was especially tough on you because you decided to have two teeth come in while we were there! Your little teeth are so sweet, and quite sharp, and you show them with pride.

Still, we had a lot of fun and when we got home, we were still off and running. You had a doctor’s appointment right away and you weighed in at 16 pounds 4 ounces and 26 inches in height. Mama was able to make a notation on your growth chart finally, you reach! You also went with Mama to the dentist and all the hygienists came running in from their various rooms just to see you. You are such a sweet baby with so much magnetism!

You are talking almost constantly when you are awake, and you are so nosy and inquisitive and happy. You love to laugh and are so silly. You have a snorting little giggle that is so cute. You love to play with toys, and pretty much anything is a toy to you now. If you can grab it and stuff it in your mouth, it’s fair game! This includes other people’s feet and hair.

You are on a new sleep schedule this month as we try to make sure you get enough sleep for your growing development. You have taken to the new schedule very well and seem to greet your bed with a new level of respect—and this helps Mom and Dad feel better too. The whole family is running like a much more well oiled machine.

You are sitting up beautifully now. It is rare that we bring your car seat in with us to restaurants and stores—you would rather sit in a high chair or in the grocery cart. The cart makes Mama nervous, so we will get you a cart seat cover that is soft so you can enjoy it more. The high chair is fantastic, you can be nosy and look around at the people around us and have fun. You also get great enjoyment out of your high chair at home and sit there for meals now instead of in your baby swing. You also sit in the stroller without the car seat any more. Who said you could be such a big girl? Where is that squishy little newborn we brought home who just cuddled and slept all day?

You are also starting to tolerate other people better. As long as Mama isn’t around and you can’t see her or hear her voice, you are calming down and enjoying time with other people a bit more. It is still a slow go, but we are getting there. This has made it easier to leave you with the babysitter or with Daddy for a while and for Mama to have some time to get things done. You’ve also been up to visit your birthmother and sister and did very well with Tanya pulling on your hair—you didn’t make a squeak, but I could see the wheels turning in your head, plotting your revenge. You also had great fun on Halloween, dressing up as Princess Leia and helping us hand out candy to all the kids who came to the door. You and Cousin Dottie were so cute and seem to be getting along better now that you can hold your own.

You are eating like a champion. You still do not love rice cereal, but you are a great fan of applesauce, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, and of course the new love of your culinary life, bread. Any type of bread hits the spot with you, and a morning isn’t complete until you’ve mangled half a mini bagel. You aren’t too crazy about other solid foods like puffs or teething biscuits, but you love some bread! Your face lights up just to see it.

We had our last appointment with Beth the Social Worker as part of your adoption, and pretty soon, you will be ours forever. The paperwork and courts will grind their way together and then we will be signed, sealed, and delivered YOURS.

You are such a joy to us, and we are so proud to be your parents. You have been the greatest gift and treasure to us and we hope that we can be the parents you deserve every day. We love you, Leah Katherine.

Mama & Daddy

Last Post-Placement Today!

Today we traveled to Richmond for our final post-placement adoption meeting with our marvelous social worker, Beth Johnston. It went very well, and we took care of all the last payments to JFS (Thank you, credit card, for arriving!). Apparently the interlocutory order will expire next Saturday and then Beth can submit our paperwork to the courts recommending that our adoption be finalized.

We got home and dropped a quick email to our attorney, Colleen, and she is ready for action on her end. We will hear from her paralegal soon about some other paperwork and then get a court date!!!

In all, it took from July 31, 2008 to November 6, 2009 to get from our first homestudy visit to our final post-placement appointment. Not too bad at all :-) We went from zero to family in just over a year.

Six Months (Better Late than Never!)

Dear Putch Putch,

Well, your mom and I can't believe it, but you are already 6 months old! The time has gone by so fast, yet it has been the best 6 months of our life. You continue to amaze us every day with what you are learning,doing, and trying all by yourself.

In the last month you've developed quite a bit. You've managed to do considerably better in the car, crying only a little bit to let us know that you don't like it back there and we understand that. You've started to sit up, with mommy and I helping you, and have also been playing a lot in your exersaucer. You continue to giggle when mommy and I make noises for you, and you've continued to put that great smile on most of the time. You have really started to eat "normal" food, mainly apple sauce and pears, and you seem to do very well in the high chair when mommy and daddy are eating. In general, you are becoming more aware of your surroundings and like to look around a lot.

In terms of activities this month, you continue to go with mommy on her walks with Lisa and Daniel, you met Colleen, our babysitter for the first time and were crabby for her, and you even got to go to the Pentagon and watch Cioci and Uncle Lucas run in the Army ten-miler. Uncle Mike and Auntie Lesley came up from Atlanta once again to spoil you rotten, and right now you are in Florida with Nana and Aunt Estell. This month you've also added yet another mode of transportation to your travels: the airplane, where you were fantastic the entire time. You went up to Baltimore with us and Mike and Lesley to get some books and have lunch, and you also went to the national book festival in Washington, where you were admired and loved by Judy Blume and Marilynne Robinson. You also got to go with mom to get her hair done, and were the hit of the show and all of the ladies adored you and were talking about what to do with all of your hair. Finally, you also went up to Quantico 2 times to meet daddy for lunch, and even let him hold you, which was the highlight of his day. Another thing you did this month was to eat a piece of bread at the Pines of Florence restaurant when we went out with Cioci and her friends from work, that bread was all over the place and you loved it!

You are still sleeping well for the most part, although you have continued to move around a lot and wake yourself up during the night. Mommy has started leaving you by yourself in your room and closing the door so that she can sleep, after feeding and changing you, in order to help you fall asleep on your own. You still are very very crabby with daddy, even crabbing for him all night on October 05, but daddy knows that you were just tired and are not used to him. Every day you will have an hour with daddy after he gets home from work so that you will get used to him, and so far it's working out very well. You are still as adorable as ever and very good when everyone wants to hold you and love you.

Six months of happiness is just the beginning to a wonderful family life that we are looking forward to having with you. On October 01, Daddy took care of you and played music for you until you went to sleep. By the time he put you to bed, he was crying thinking of how much he loved you and how lucky we were to have you. Mommy and daddy are so proud when we go out places and everyone adores you and loves you, making us feel even better about our decision to have you as our daughter. In the first 6 months of your life, you have been to 15 states, traveled 5 different modes of transportation (including the Washington and Boston subways), and had so many parties that we can't even count. Above all, you continue to develop into a wonderful little girl, and we are very excited about the months and years ahead of watching you grow into a Kosior.

Love,
Daddy and Mommy

Five Month Old Baby!

Sweet Leah,

We can hardly believe it has been 5 months since the first moment we saw you and held you. The time has flown by, but this past month in particular has been an absolute whirlwind. You have been so patient with all the changes we underwent, far more patient than I (your mother) was during much of the time.

The month started out in New York, where we visited your grandfather while he was recovering from his heart attack. You made a million friends on the train ride up there, and a million more while we were home in Oswegatchie. It was very special for me to walk you through the rooms of the house where I grew up and introduce you to the people who meant so much to me.

You also got to test out two new modes of transportation: Greyhound buses and city rail. We took the bus from New York to Boston and traveled the city by T. You made many friends on the bus as well, and I think you enjoyed the trip around Boston. You barely made a squeak as we walked the Freedom Trail, and you seem to enjoy sitting in your car seat in the stroller where you can watch me as I push you all over the place. You had lots of fun at Daddy's Norries convention where you screamed during Mommy's speech and it took four women to finally settle you down after more than 30 minutes! You have, in general, become a little bit less happy to be around people you don't know--you cried a lot this month visiting friends and family. This has been a little bit hard not only on Mommy (who would welcome a rest for her arms!) but also on everyone who wants to love and hug you. Towards the end of this month, you seem to be getting better, but you are certainly very selective about who you want to spend time with. You even went to spend an afternoon with Wendy and the boys, and seemed to enjoy yourself very much, although you slept your head off when you got home! Towards the end of the month, you started getting along better with Daddy too--yesterday you sat with him for nearly 3 hours without so much as a peep! This makes him very happy, as he has been very patient but has had a hard time with your apparent distaste for him.

After the trip to Boston, you got to go back to Rhode Island and visit Daddy's parents. There was a big party for you there and people came to visit from 3 states just to see you! It was very special for you to meet Mommy's friend Lynn who is also adopted and Mommy and Daddy's friend Denise who would like to adopt. We were happy that you accepted cuddling from both of them! The entire community there spoiled you absolutely rotten--you received many wonderful gifts! You also got to know your cousin Ethan better.

By the time we came home, we'd been away for 20 days and we were all exhausted. Daddy and I sat down and figured out that in your short life, you have visited 11 different states already! (New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) We are planning only one more trip, this one in October, and it will cover 4 more states. Then you are finished travel, we promise! Mommy for one is totally over it! But you are so patient and such a good baby that you take the worry and burden off it for us.

As soon as we got home, you had to go to the doctor and survive another round of booster shots. Still, you are over it almost as quickly as you get upset! You weighed over 15 pounds and were 23 1/2 inches long. We are waiting for you to hit the magical 2 feet mark, but I bet you are there by now! We can see a couple little white bumps in your sweet little mouth and we suspect you might well be developing some teeth! You are drooling unbelievably, so it wouldn't surprise us in the least if that were the case.

This has been a big month in your development, too! You are starting to sit up on your own for 5-10 seconds at a time before tipping over. You have relaxed your fists, and now are grabbing things with your hands and putting them in your mouth. You grab some things we would rather you didn't, like Mommy's drinks and the tissues that have an entertaining way of continuing to pop out of the box. You have started to eat solid foods. You have a new exersaucer and you play with all the toys now, making them play music or attempting to chew on them. It is a new favorite in addition to the busy chair and the monkey mat!

You are eating real food now and while you do not like bananas (good girl!) or rice cereal, you seem fine with applesauce and squash! We can't give you 6 ounces of formula yet as you have a tendency to spit up if you eat that much, but it doesn't stop you from wanting it. You have graduated away from the newborn nipples on your bottle and are using bigger bottles now than before. You still like to hold them when you think of it, but nothing replaces snuggle time with Mommy.

You are making new sounds, most especially your "Pteradactyl scream" which you will do until you cough, and then you giggle at how loud you can get. Your laugh is the best laugh in the whole world. You also are babbling and chatting up a storm, which is fun. You love when we make silly sounds to you!

Watching you grow and change is so rewarding. Your personality is developing into a total ray of sunshine. We are still stopped by people in restaurants who interrupt our dinner just to tell us how sweet and cute you are. We know we have the most precious gift of all--the gift of you and we treasure you every day in every way. We couldn't have chosen a better daughter. We love you.

Mama and Daddy

Updates!

Ok, it's been a couple weeks and I'm going to try and be better about updating a bit more regularly. However, please don't feel shy about inviting yourself over to visit Leah if you haven't gotten to see her yet! Just drop me an email or contact me over at Facebook and we'll set up a time!

So we had Leah's 4 month appointment on August 24th--a bit late but better late than never. She had her next round of booster shots which was not pleasant, but we got through it. I'm hoping we're almost done with them! She weighed in at 15 pounds, 1 ounce and was 23 1/2 inches long. She has developed a little rash, but it seems to be clearing up. They swabbed her throat for strep just in case the mystery virus was still hanging on and man did she hate that! But the results came back clear and the rash is clearing up, so we're chalking that one up to heat and drool.

On August 28th, Beth our social worker came by the house for our second post-placement follow up visit. It was a nice visit all around, I was proud to show her Leah's room, which was a rabbit hutch the first time she was here. She loved it and loved the color, which made me feel great! We had a great visit--talked about Leah's health, about relations with the birthmom, any issues coming up relating to stress and parenting, and that was about it. She was telling us about some hot springs she had taken her son to when he was little and needed some soothing and I later asked her about it again and she told me where they were. I've looked them up on line and found the B&B and resort where they are located and Michael and I have decided to go there for our anniversary next year.

Other than that, Leah is doing just great! I can't believe another month has flown by almost--in one week she'll be 5 months old and I'll be writing another letter. Sheesh, they weren't kidding when they said time goes by so quickly. It's breath-taking. Her development and growth changes every day. Occasionally now, she will sit up on her own for a few seconds at a time--like 10-15 seconds before tipping over. She has got the biggest, happiest smile and amazes me every day.

In other news, my friend Donna is finishing up her homestudy. I'm so excited for her and hope her journey goes as smoothly as ours has been! Congratulations, Donna! Can't wait to meet your baby!

Four Month Girl!

Dear Baby Doll,

Here you are, 4 months old, and getting bigger and stronger. We still realize that we are so lucky to have you, and you remind us of this every day. During the last month you have made progress in the car not screaming as much, and you have become very attached to your mom. While this is a good thing, when dad comes home and wants to hold you and take care of you, you've been getting very upset which is unacceptable! :-) However, daddy has come up with a system that works for you, involving letting you scream for a bit, then rocking you until you go to sleep. You
spent all night July 13th with daddy and were very good, only taking a bit to settle down to sleep. You've also become quite the celebrity on the WebCam, getting together with grammy and grampy, Nana, Auntie Paula, and even Uncle Franc and Auntie Cristina in Ecuador.

Unfortunately you had a virus and got sick this month, which was very hard for mom and dad. We took you to the hospital, where all of the nurses were holding you and adoring you. Luckily you got better, but mom and dad definitely knew that something was wrong when you were screaming when we touched you and weren't eating. But don't worry, daddy got the same virus you did, and doesn't blame you for screaming since everything hurt. You have still been playing a lot with mom during the day, and telling us baby stories that we love. You spent a couple of days with Auntie Melissa
who came down to give mom a break, and even met Auntie Kerianne up in Washington. Right now you are up in New York with mom, enjoying time with PopPop, and of course being held by all of the people up in Star Lake. Mom and dad took you up to Baltimore to visit Tasha and Mary, who of course adored you and fed you while we ate and had a great time. You took yet another trip on the train and were excellent the entire time, even with mommy finding her way around Penn Station in New York. Next week you will go to Boston for the first time and meet some of daddy's friends in the
Norries community, and then back to Grandma's and grandpa's for yet another party. Boy, for such a little baby, you've certainly managed to have a lot of parties.

At 4 months you seem to be developing as you should, today was your first day eating cereal and you responded pretty well to it. Right now a challenge is getting you back on your sleep schedule, since while you were sick and in pain you woke up a lot during the night. You have also started rolling over in bed, which scares you since you are just used to being on your tummy. But don't worry, we will help you adjust to it and you will be a pro very soon. As more and more time goes by, and as we get
closer to Auntie Beth's next visit and the time to see Judge Dalton, mom and dad are realizing more and more how much we love you and cannot imagine life without you. You have changed our lives so much for the better, and have brought us all closer together as a family. You should never ever forget that there is not one single thing more important than our family that we have built, and we can only look forward to many many happy days and years together watching you grow and develop into even more of a special girl than you already are. It is a wonderful thing for dad to be able to come home and say "Hi Darlin'" and scoop you up in his arms after a long day at work. It is a wonderful gift to have mom be home with you during the day and watch you develop. Most of all, without question, you are the best part of our life, Little Leah, and will be for a very long time.

All our love,
Daddy and Mama

Leah's Mystery Ailment

So if you and I are friends on Facebook, you'll have seen all my posts about Leah's mystery disease. But if not, I'll bring everyone up to speed.

Last Friday, I noticed that Leah slept all day long. As in, I think she was awake for approximately 3 hours. Whenever we would move her at all, she would scream like she was in pain. She wasn't eating very much either.

Overnight, I noticed that she was getting really, really hot. Around 5AM, I took her temperature and it was 101 under her arm, or about 102 core temperature. I knew this was not good, so I called my mom for advice, who suggested Tylenol and a sponge bath. This worked for a while, but when she was still not eating, was still screaming when we touched her, and was still listless we decided to call the doctor.

The doctor on call returned our call almost immediately and suggested that we go to the ER. We had been mulling over that possibility all day. Leah, when healthy, has turned into an extremely active and extroverted baby, so this was totally unlike her. We took her to the ER, and I will give Mary Wash Hosp credit, they saw her immediately--it was so fast I thought they were calling me up for more paperwork and instead the nurse asked where the patient was. Having sat in the MWH waiting room for 5 hours with a broken leg, I was impressed.

So they did the standard tests, took her temp and pulse and oxygen rates, her temp was 100.7 when we got there. They did a urinalysis and drew blood (fun for mom on both accounts--why do they make moms hold down screaming babies for things like catheters and needle sticks?!) and then we got sent to a waiting room.

I had left in such a hurry, I hadn't even stopped to consider packing her diaper bag, and by now she was starting to get a little hungry. The nurse found us some formula and I called my sister and asked her to bring over some more. The doctor finally came back after a couple hours and told us that the urinalysis was clear and the blood didn't show anything alarming. His best guess was that it was some sort of virus that would eventually burn itself out with the fever. He told us to follow up with the pediatrician on Monday and that they would call us if anything serious turned up.

We went home and waited it out. She actually seemed to be improving on Sunday, as she was a bit more lively and eating better. She was not sleeping at night, however. I think the Friday sleep turned her days and nights all around, and so we were up ALL NIGHT. Monday morning, Michael called the doctor while I tried to doze for a while, and we got an appointment. I took Leah up and they gave her a check up and again, couldn't find anything. I took the initial lab results with me and Dr. Crane said nothing points to anything suspicious. Leah's fever was down, but she had developed a nasty rash. Dr. Crane said that oftentimes if a virus is to blame, at the end of its lifecycle it will manifest as a rash and that's how you know that the virus is dying off. She suggested more rest, feed her what she would tolerate, and continue the Tylenol for pain.

We got home and there was a call from MWH's lab asking me to call back, which made me very nervous. I called and spoke to the doctor, who said they had possibly found a bacteria in one of the cultures. It was a common bacteria and more likely than not, it was from her skin and had just found its way into the sample, but they would know more in 24 hours and would call back if it required medical attention.

To date, we haven't heard from them and it's been 48 hours since I spoke to them. This is hopefully good news. Today Leah is back to being her normal self, which is to say a total ray of sunshine. She's back to giggling, smiling, babbling, snuggling, etc. Her sleep is not totally normal--she woke up 3 times last night, but each time after a feeding or a pacifier, she went right back to sleep, unlike on Monday night when she was up from 11:30 to 4:30 and I wanted to kill myself (thanks again to Melissa for coming so Mom could have naptime!). We'll see what happens, we have a big week coming up with our travel next week, so I'm trying to take it easy now so that she'll be well rested for the journey to New York. I know she will be good medicine for her PopPop and seeing him doing better will be good medicine for me, so fingers crossed it all goes well.

Look What I Can Do!

Leah has made some big gains this month already!

First of all, occasionally she holds her bottle by herself. Ususally I can't capture this in any appreciable way on camera because I'm holding her. However, this weekend when we were with Tasha, she held it and since I was not holding her at the time, I got a picture of her doing it! WOW!



I've also noticed when I go to retrieve her in the mornings from her sleep that she is often rolled over from how she went to sleep. Today I captured her as she rolled over on our bed.



Our little girl is growing up, no doubt about it! It's wondrous to watch.

A Visit with Tasha

Yesterday, we drove up to Baltimore to visit with Tasha, Leah's birthmom. She has gone through a lot of upheaval in the three months since Leah was born, so I was very happy that we could visit her and bring her a little sunshine.

We arrived almost an hour late courtesy of the DC DOT (which is now officially on my list of DOT's that I cannot stand), but it was fine. We hung out at Tasha's place for another hour, during which her sister came by to visit, and then we headed out to where it all began: The Cheesecake Factory!

It was fun--we ate outside overlooking the paddleboats and aquarium, which I am definitely looking forward to taking Leah to someday. It was so nice to have a wonderful afternoon to catch up and just really enjoy ourselves, the pressure is off from the adoption, Michael and I can relax, and just enjoy this young woman in our lives.

It was hard to say goodbye, but nice to drive on with a text coming into my cell that read, "Thanks for everything, you are doing an amazing job. I couldn't have picked better parents in the world than you. Love ya!"

We also gave Tasha the album yesterday with the cards everyone had made and about 125 pictures of Leah's first 3 months. She actually cried over everyone's notes and sentiments. I told her there might be a few more on the way, so if you haven't sent one yet, but want to, feel free. We'll go visit her again this fall AFTER the baseball season--Baltimore sucks when everyone's in town for the O's.

It was tough to say goodbye, but the joy of an open adoption is that we're only saying "Goodbye for now" and we know we'll see her again! It's great that she's so close by and we can have regular visits. This adoption has turned into everything I didn't think I wanted, and it's made me so happy.

Three Month Girl

Sweet Leah,

Today marks a celebration of three months since you first put your stamp on this world, since Daddy and I first earned the title of "parent", and since we first fell in love with all our hearts with a perfect little stranger. It has been a whirlwind, to say the least, and you have been so good and so patient through it all. The days are blending together, it's getting harder to remember what happened when and how, and hard to carve out time to write down our memories, which is sad. We must try harder!

You currently seem to be in the midst of a big growth spurt. For a while this month, we had you eating every 3 1/2 hours or so, but now you are back to demanding food every 2 1/2 hours and you want a lot of it! I have had to go through your clothes twice now and get rid of things that you can't fit into any more, some of which you never wore! And it looks like we're going to have to go on a shopping trip for some sleepers--you can't stretch out like you love doing while wearing your 0-3 month sleepers any more! This morning on the scale, you registered 13 pounds 3 ounces, which makes you gaining roughly a pound a month!

This month you've also had to endure some serious time in the car. You had a mini taste of it when we traveled to New Jersey, but then you had major car time when we drove to New York. The trip to New Jersey was pretty good, but the trip home was a challenge. Ditto the trip to New York, relatively speaking, it was better going up than coming home. How you can scream for the majority of 7 hours, I do not know. Not only would our throats be killing us, we'd be exhausted. But you've raised it to an art form.

You've met tons of new people this month and enjoyed every last one of them. You got cozy with Uncle Russell and Auntie Amy when they came all the way from Georgia to see you. They loved you as we all do, as did Auntie Amy's family. And of course, you met two famous authors this month, Annie Barrows and Janet Evanovich, both of whom wanted to steal you and take you home with them. You were also the star of the hospital waiting rooms in ICU and in the family room when PopPop was recovering in the cardiac care unit. Everyone loved you to bits, and you charmed the socks off them, even getting the nurses to allow you in for short visits when they should not have done so. And of course, PopPop's friend Beth loved having you at her house too.

This month you also took your first trip by boat. You have now traveled by car, boat, and train, once you take a plane trip you'll be a seasoned traveler! You didn't care for being in the boat in your car seat, but when we let you 'drive' or when we walked around in the fresh air, you loved it.

You seemed to thrive in the mountain air and slept like a champion our entire visit in New York/Vermont. In fact, sleeping is one of the things you continue to do very well--you often sleep through the night, and when you don't it's only because you have fallen asleep early and need to wake up to eat and have a quick diaper change before catching another 3 or 4 hours. We find it extraordinary, as does everyone else who wonders if we know how lucky we are to have a sleeping baby? (Of course we do! Now if we could just figure out the car thing!)

You and Cousin Dottie certainly keep us all on our toes. While we were in New York, the two of you kept riling each other up--one of you and then the other. I suspect when I look at you that you are plotting against us already. Your aunt and uncle and father and I will all have to get a game plan before you get a whole lot older or we're in big trouble!

Your favorite toy continues to be the monkey mat. You will now play on it for an hour before getting tired. You still love the ceiling fan and have reached an agreement with the baby swing, which you happily sit in during our dinnertime, and when you are getting crabby before naptime and need to settle down. You always flop to the left hand side of the swing and just lay there, listening to the music and swinging until you fall asleep. The swing makes trips to all 3 floors of the house, but that's just the way you like it.

You are much more smiley and vocal. You have developed a laugh that absolutely kills me. It's a whole body laugh, your little eyes scrunch up, you open your mouth, kick your feet and laugh. This makes me laugh, which makes you laugh harder. It is your most adorable new feature. You do it if I make silly faces at you or make silly sounds. Your babbling is reaching new heights of performance--you are starting to talk back now and love it if we imitate the sounds that you make. When you get really excited, your arms and legs are flying while you talk. We're sure you're telling us good stories, we just wish we knew what they meant!

Technologically speaking, you're advanced too! We now enjoy video conference calls to Grammy and Grampy on the computer and the camera just loves you. They love seeing you and we love showing you off. It's a win-win situation! We hope to get PopPop and Nana on board with it and your aunties as well.

Sweet baby, you have brought so much joy to our lives, we can't imagine life without you. It seems like you've always been here, neither Daddy nor I can remember what life was like before you. We're glad we can't. All we know now is that love is spelled L-E-A-H.

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Happy Two Months, Leah!

Dear Angel Daughter Leah Katherine,

You are now 2 months old and we still cannot believe what a miracle we have witnessed with you coming into our lives. The past month has seen you starting to see more, say more (cooing and babbling), and even stretching your muscles and playing on the floor. You spent one night with daddy all alone and you were so good and did not even so much as give a whimper. You also went up to Grammy and Grampy's in Rhode Island and were excellent the entire time, on the train and all. Auntie Paula and Auntie Ellen got their first chance to hold you and love you so much that they were fighting over which one would take care of you. You smiled for both Grammy
and Grampy, touching their hearts like never before. Uncle Mike and Aunt Lesley came up from Atlanta and got their first chance to take care of you and love you. Also, mom and dad had an open house for all of our friends to see you and everybody got the chance to hold, feed, and love you and were all touched by your beauty and cuteness. Mom also took you to the doctor, where you had some shots and of course were loved by everyone in the office. All through these times you were such a good, calm, and sweet little baby.

As of right now you are sleeping well at night, waking up only for food a couple times per night. Your screaming has diminished a bit, and you have started to be more aware of your surroundings. You still scream while in the car, and mommy and daddy understand that you don't like it, but you will get used to it as time goes on. Your new favorite positions are on daddy's knee facing the windows so that you can see the world, and up on the football chair in daddy's office. Mommy has also been playing with you on the floor and having you crawl to her. You're continuing to down every bottle that we give to you, making it very clear when you want some FOOD.

We love the little cooing noises that you make when you are eating your food, we love the way that you give a little whine when you aren't really upset but just want to let us know that you are there, and we love it when you breathe fast and get excited. Mommy and daddy love to sing to you, and daddy especially loves singing to you up in his office and listening to the Red Sox while he holds you, his own little angel, so close to him and protecting you. The gift of your love means more to us every day, and you will always be our little baby. We will always be there for you when you cry in the night, are upset, or need some love and support, no matter when or where that is. Taking care of you and watching you grow is the best job in the world, and you should never ever forget that we will always love you unconditionally. All of your special traits and little things that you do that we love so much make you the most wonderful daughter in the world.

Love,

Dad and Mom