Vacation recap and what's up with Jaden!

Well we had a wonderful vacation last week in Gatlinburg with my parents. Jaden had a great time with her nana and papaw and mommy had some help! I even got to go to the spa!!! This time of year there are lots of older people in Gatlinburg and Jaden was the star of the town! Everyone said she was so cute. I even had someone want to take her picture because she does wood burning pictures and thought Jaden would be the perfect model! Of course I forgot to ask if I could get one. We saw tons of bears. We saw two sets of twins and one set of triplet cubs! Remind me never to drink the water from those streams! Also one night we drove the car to the pool because the hills are killer and I told Rusty to park by the bear statue! Well turns out it was not a statue! It was about a 500-600 pound bear! We didn't get out of the car. My parents walked and they got about 4 feet from him! Nuts!
Jaden also had her picture taken in one of the old fashioned shops. It turned out so cute! I will try to scan it and add it soon.
We had alot of funny encounters with her while we were there. One day we had some lady come up to us and ask "is she one of those adopted babies?" Uh duh does she look like us. Rusty said that next time he was going to say no but I have been meaning to ask my wife about that! The first night we were there we set by some people at the restaurant who said their daughter was adopting from China but that the "bamboo curtain" had closed and they lost all their money! Ok what in the world is the bamboo curtain? I must have missed that while we were in China. Well I let her know that no the bamboo curtain was still open and her daughter needs to check into that cause someone is full of crap! But all in all people were very interested in Jaden and our story! I guess we got to get used to being stared at!
Now onto little miss Jaden and what she is doing. She has 5 teeth and it looks like another one is trying to pop out! Take my word for it when she bites it hurts! Her words now include bear, bird, duck, mama, dada, baby, and once she said papaw clear as day. Never happened again though! Sorry dad! She waves bye, blows kisses, and claps! She eats anything that she can. She loves vienna sausages! That would make my papaw Mire very happy! She drinks her juice out of a sippy cup with no help! She is letting go of things and standing with no help. Last night she was standing up and clapping! The big news is that she took her first unassisted step! I missed it but Rusty got to see it! I am not sure I am ready for her to walk yet. She is already into everything. We are putting locks on the cabinets this weekend!
She has her appointment with the international clinic this friday and again on monday. That should be a blast! I am not looking forward to that at all.
I cant believe that she has been with us almost 2 months, then again it seems like she has been with us forever!!!

P.s. Those are not turds in the pictures! She was eating raisins off the kitchen floor! (Anything that makes her happy)
P.s.s. A big thank you to our cousin Sarah who was crazy ( I mean nice) enough to come stay with Jadens sisters Lancie, Gabbie, and Kayleigh while we were gone! We owe ya!

Fun with our Family!

Well Jaden has been busy this past week! She had a playdate with Sophia and Addie last week and the next day went to the zoo with Lily and Andrew. I posted the pics on the shutterfly site for everyone to see. This weekend we had a wedding on Rusty's side of the family so she got to meet alot of people she had not met before! She had a great time meeting everyone! She also got to see her cousin Chase again who is just 1 1/2 months younger than her. Jaden was a bit of a bully to her cousin though!




Then on Sunday we were off to Gatlinburg to spend the week with my parents! Jaden was great on the ride up here. She cried maybe a total of 20 minutes! Today she had her first trolley ride and went to the aquarium! She also went to the indoor water park at the resort we are staying at. She loved it but I was unable to get pics because my camera and I had a little incident with a water bucket. I am glad to say it dried out and it is working now so we should have more pics next time!







There are more pics on shutterfly

10 months old today!!!

Well little miss Jaden turned the big 10 months today! Just two more months till the big 01!!! I am already planning her birthday!
She is growing by leaps and bounds right before our eyes! She refuses to eat baby food or rice cereal. If she sees me with her spoon she screams. The only thing she will let me feed her is pudding! She loves table food. Her favorite is fish and chicken! I hate fish. She takes after her daddy with that. She is trying her hardest to walk. She goes up and down the couch or coffee table holding on and walking. She can stand for a little without holding onto anything. I am ready for her to walk but then again I am not! She jabbers all the time. Her new word is bird. We have tons of geese and we have been pointing them out and saying bird. Her version is kinda like burr. I feel like I have 4 dogs instead of 3 because when they bark she does the same!
I think the dogs are finally realizing that this little person is not leaving. The two little ones pretty much avoid her unless she is in the highchair. Lancie on the other hand seems to kinda like her. If Jaden cries she comes running. She also lets Jaden crawl all over her! And it helps that Jaden likes to feed her whatever she has in her hands!
We are finally getting on a schedule. I have Jaden down to one nap a day at about 1. She sleeps for about 2 hours. She goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up about 8. Sometimes earlier sometimes later. She is still sleeping with me in the bed. She starts out in her pack n play in our room but about 12 she ends up in the bed. When I put her in the bed she just smiles and cuddles up next to me. I figure if we are going to have problems with her this is the one I don't mind. I know we will catch alot of slack for it but you have to look at the fact that she was not with us for the first 8 months of her life and didn't get into a good sleeping habit like infants do when you have them from day 1. Also she seems to have a fear that we will leave her and she needs to know we are there for her. So she will stay in the room for a while longer!
I know this post is all over the place but I have to post what I can while I can because someone does not like mommy on the computer!
Oh well enjoy the pics!

Check out shutterfly

I posted a ton of pics on shutterfly. I am too tired to post now, I will try later!

My first college game day!!! A day in the life of Jaden!

Today was the day I have waited for my whole 9+ months! My first college game day! Geaux Tigers. It started off early at 7:00AM, mom tried to get me back to bed but I was too excited!


I ate my breakfast and played with my toys just waiting for College Game Day to come on! I could hardly control my excitement!


Finally it was 10AM but I was so tired I had to take a nap. I woke up just in time to see them put on the Elephant head saying Alabama would win! That sucks cause I am really rooting for VT! I root for anyone who plays against Nick Saban's team!!! After that I watched the OSU/Navy game! Boy I was rooting for Navy and they almost pulled it out! Cant wait to watch the OSU/USC game! Go USC!



I had my lunch! We celebrated with watermelon, my favorite!



Then it was off for a playdate with Maddie and Dylan! We had a great time at the Polaris mall play area! There were alot of crazy kids in OSU gear but I showed them who you should root for LSU!



There was a tiger there and I just had to have my picture made with it! We love Mike the Tiger!!!



I had a great dinner at Chick-fil-a! I love chicken!



Then it was home where I couldn't wait to see the game!!! I watched alittle Alabama/VT! GO VT!




Then it was time for a bottle. I am really getting tired waiting for the game to start!



Ok its 9PM! Where is my game? What do you mean it doesn't start till 10:30!!! I wish I would have stayed in bed longer this morning! Guess I will have to wait till tomorrow to see the score. Than again I am sure I will end up in momma's bed before its over!

First playdate with Andrew and Lily!

Well today Jaden and I finally left the house! I have been so drained from this crud that we have stayed indoors. We went to the park and met up with my good friend Melissa and her two kids, Lily and Andrew. Andrew is set to be Jaden's husband so we had to make a good first impression! :-)
We had a blast. We went to Ruby Tuesday's after and I think the next time they see us they will lock the doors. I think more food went on the floor then in their mouths! Jaden loves both Lily and Andrew. Lily is such a great big sister and was great with Jaden. I am going to have to borrow her for the day some time! And for me it was nice to get out and have adult conversations! Enjoy the pics!

One month ago today.......

-One month ago today we were sitting in a conference room in a hotel in Nanchang China.
-One month ago today we were checking the clock and hoping it was 5pm!
-One month ago today we were being tought how to mix Chinese baby formula before they came.
-One month ago today we were a family of 2 that finally became a family of 3!
-One month ago today I held daughter for the first time!
-One month ago today our life changed forever.
-One month ago today we ended a 4+ year journey and started our new life.
-One month ago today we fell in love with this face.....



We love you Jaden!