Our first Christmas with Jaden!

Well finally what I have waited on for four years has come and gone. We had our first Christmas with our little girl! It was wonderful to finally have her here. She got to enjoy the holiday by seeing Santa Clause 4 times! The first time she did great, the second time she was a little nervous, the third time she was so not into him(thanks Sophia!), and the fourth time she was just done!

She got to have three Christmas get togethers! One at Rusty's parents, one here at home, and then one in Mississippi with my parents. It now looks like Toys R Us threw up in our living room! She got everything she could possible want plus more! I think we are going to have to buy a battery store. Not only did we have Christmas in Mississippi but we also had a shower thrown for us! Jaden got more toys and clothes! She had a great time and loved being the center of attention.

Rusty and I got a break when my parents treated us to dinner and movie. The catch was that we go alone and they keep Jaden. It was hard but I did it. Of course there were many calls to my mom checking on her. I was so ready to get back to her and of course our waiter was so slow. I don't think she even knew we were gone! She had a great time. I think she wore her Nana and Papaw out though.

We came home from Mississippi Saturday. It was a 14 hour drive and Jaden slept 13 of those hours! Of course there was no sleeping when we got home. We are now undoing all the damage that was done while we were there. I don't think her feet hit the ground much while we were there. She was a little spoiled. (thanks mom!)

Jaden is making so much progress everyday. We are so blessed with her. She talks alot, some we understand some we have no clue what she is saying! She did say "I big". She still loves to say more when she wants something. Last night she said "I love you" but I think it was a fluke!

She has seen her first snow(but she has not been out in it because she is sick) and she had her first hair cut. It wasn't much but it shaped it up.

I am so looking forward to the new year with our girl. I don't know how we will top this past one. 2009 was the best year ever because Jaden was finally placed in our arms!

Jaden update

I know that I am not doing a good job updating this site but I have a very busy 1 year old as my excuse. I do still put pictures up on the shutterfly site though. That is much easier because I dont have to site down and type up something!


So Jaden will be turning 13 months old in a few days. She is getting so big and doing so well! It is hard to believe that we have had her for 4 months now. Somedays it feels like we just got her and other days it feels like she has been with us forever. She brings so much joy and happiness to our lives and our families lives. I could not imagine our life without her. I catch myself forgetting she is adopted. I will say little things like she gets her allergies from Rusty and such and such. I could not have loved a biological child anymore than I love her. She is no less a member of our family than her cousins. Just because our blood does not run through her veins does not make her any less a family member. She is our daughter and we love her more than we could imagine possible!

Ok enough mushy stuff. I know ya'll want to know how Jaden is doing. Well she is now running! It was so much easier when she was just crawling. I know the dogs liked it much better before she was walking. She had her 12 month check-up with the doctor and he was very impressed with her progress. In many cases children who are adopted have some delays. Not Jaden, she is ahead in everything! He was amazed by her. Rusty and I were just talking the other night about how lucky we were. We had no problems at all with Jaden except for sleeping and the only problem there is that she wants to sleep with us. In my opinion that is not even a problem! Her new word is more. If she wants more she will let you know. The other night Rusty let her have a bite of ice-cream and she kept saying more. I dont think Rusty got to eat any of his ice-cream.

She is taking her naps in her own crib. We had to buy her a new crib because we had one of the drop down cribs and we didn't want to chance anything with her! It has been nice having a break everyday while she sleeps. She is a velcro baby for sure but she has started playing by herself.


She loves Lancie, our big dog. They are always side by side! Lancie will not let you get close to her if she does not know you. She can bite Lancie's ears, climb on her and hit her and Lancie doesn't move. I am so thankful for this because I was worried about her. The other two dogs could really do without Jaden. Our littlest one will play with her if I am not looking. Gabbie on the other hand has nothing to do with her. I think it has something to do with the fact that Jaden hits her all the time.


She now has 8 teeth! She only eats table food which is a plus for us since we dont have to buy baby food! I had a sad moment this week when she ran out of formula. She no longer needs it but I feel like I am losing my baby. I even took pictures of the empty can! I know that is sad, but I only had a baby on formula for four months, most people get 12 months.


We get so many comments when we are out and about from people. They all say how beautiful she is. Then they want to hear her story and we have no problem telling people.

I still can't believe how blessed we are with her. I thank God everyday that we had to adopt to make our family. She has made our life all the more beautiful and special just being here!