November is National Adoption Month!

In honor of the loving parents who have adopted children both domestically and internationally . . .
In recognition of the courageous young women who choose to make an adoption plan for their baby's life . . .
In celebration of the precious children all over the country who are loved by their Forever Family . . .

Happy National Adoption Month!

To my dearest little angel Madilyn,

Please know that you are so loved by the ones you call Mommy and Daddy. I may not have given you the gift of life but Daddy and I have given you our hearts forever!! You're birth mother is a courageous woman to have trusted your life, heart and soul to us. You are the gift to our lives. You brighten our lives by just being present with us. Your laughter is contagious and filled with joy. Everyday you amaze us! We promise to you that you will always know you are special. Adoption has given you a life and has given you to us!!

We love you forever and always!
Mommy and Daddy

Gladney 2010 Kickoff

We had our Gladney 2010 Kickoff a couple of weeks ago and it was a complete success. Madilyn had such a wonderful time, and she was completely herself around a large group of strangers. It was almost as if Madie knew she was in the company of many other adoption families. Scot and I had a wonderful time as well being in the company of so many adoptive families and knowing that we all have similar experiences. She was a chatterbox and gave everyone kisses and hugs who asked. There were ponies, a petting zoo, bounce houses, face painting, photographers, and food. Photographers were walking around taking pictures and then they even had an area inside for families to take pictures together and the kids could dress up. As you can see from these pictures...Madilyn is going to be a little ham.





Madilyn will be 17 months tomorrow and she is already becoming a polite, little girl. She won't be my baby much longer. I can't believe how quickly she has progressed and grown. I enjoy every little moment I have with her. She loves to identify body parts, animals and sounds, and fruits and vegetables. Of I'm most excited because my little angel loves to eat broccoli and spinach.

Body parts that she can I.D. and say - head, hair, eye, ear, cheeks, mouth, nose, teeth, tongue, elbow (which is the cutest), knee, and toes.
Animals and sounds - monkey (her fave), cow, horse, sheep, cat, dog, chicken, pig, duck, bear, elephant, and snake. We're also working on counting and she can count to three and I believe Scot has started working on the alphabet as well.
Fruits and Vegetables - broccoli, carrot, green pepper, red pepper, apple, peach, plum, banana, grapes, lettuce, tomato, and onion to name a few.

Update on Scot...he is will be starting as a Junior at UTA in the Spring to finish his BS in teaching. Once he's finished he will be an Elementary Teacher. He's very excited. I'm excited that we have a plan and we're sticking to it. I can' wait till he has a permanent job and there won't be anymore wondering, "What's next?"

Love to All!!

Becca

Our Little Monkey is Walking

Our little monkey Madilyn is officially walking on her own. On June 27th we took her swimming for the first time, and she absolutely loved it. When we returned home after swimming she started walking all over the house. It was great!!! She's talking up a storm and she's so curious about everything. She is just a joy and blessing to have in our lives. I can't imagine life without her now.



Everyday is a new day with her and it's so fun to see life from her point of view. We love the way she mocks everything we say and even sometimes the intonation. I love the way she laughs when we play peek-a-boo. Of course we say "ahhhhhhhhh-boo". Madie thinks it's so fun to play in the fridge. She enjoys sitting on the bottom ledge as I search for certain items for dinner. We even love how independent she's become when eating. We are in no way allowed to feed her or help her out when she picks up her cup or places it on the table! When you ask her "What's your name?", she'll say "Maaaaa-die." She's doing so many awesome things now that it would take forever to write them all down.

All of these moments Scot and I are enjoying, but sometimes I catch myself thinking of her birth mother and I wonder if she realizes how wonderful a child Madiyn is becoming. It does give me comfort that I have the ability to write her letters and send pictures so she knows that Madie is doing so wonderfully. I do hope that one day her birth mother and I can have a relationship where she can tell me more about Madie's background and her birth father. I'm hoping she will decide to contact me and reach out to me. I know the day will come when Madilyn has so many questions, and I can only hope I have some answers. I write, I send pictures, and I've even called but I can only do so much. So I continue to pray and be hopeful that one day her birth mother will feel she can call and we can share moments about Madie. Until then I will continue to live every moment to the fullest with my wonderful little monkey Madilyn who fills my heart with love and joy!!

1 Year Old and Many Milestones

A few weeks ago I called Madilyn's birth mother. I was torn and wasn't sure if I should call because I thought maybe I might be interrupting her life but I felt like I needed to give her an update. I'm so glad I did because she was having a difficult time and missing Madilyn. She also confessed that she hadn't called at all because she didn't know us that well and she didn't want to upset us. We talked for quite a while and I was able to put her mind at ease. She expressed how thankful she is that we are able to give Madilyn such a wonderful life. Of course I thanked her for bringing Madilyn into this wonderful world. We love her more than we could have imagined and she brings us continuous joy. I can't wait to send her all of my new pictures of Madilyn from her first birthday party.

Speaking of birthday party...this weekend was definitely worth all the wait!! Madilyn had her very first birthday party. She absolutely had a blast. We all had so much fun watching her. The best part was placing the entire smash cake in front of her. She took her little finger and swiped some icing and ate it. Then I took her hand pressed it into the cake and she took it from there. She placed both of her tiny little hands into the cake and massaged it. It was hilarious. She had so much icing and cake on her hands and the she continuously shoved her "sweet" hands into her mouth to eat it. She was so mad when I took it away.


I also finally took Madie for her very first haircut. We just had her bangs cut and then they were blended with the sides. I wasn't ready to cut the rest of her hair.


I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend. Mine was very enjoyable and memorable. Scot was wonderful and he surprised me with a loving and meaningful gift. He bought me a sterling silver charm bracelet and it's all connected by hearts. My first charm is a little girl and he's going to have it engraved with Madilyn's name, her birthdate and the date we finalized her adoption. It's so wonderful because I can add to it when we adopt again!

Love,
B

11 Months Old

So many people have been asking to see some updated pics of Madilyn. I'm sorry it's taken so long. Scot and I have been super busy. It's just one thing after another. Madilyn will be 11 months on April 7th. I can't believe we'll be celebrating her 1 year birthday in a month. I will of course have pictures of the birthday event.

Just a little update...Scot is doing awesome in his job. In April he will have worked with Dynasplint Systems for 1 year. He absolutely loves it and has been fitting over 30 splints a month. He's been going above and beyond his goals!! In fact in March he found out that he was number 2 out of the entire southwest region for the highest number of splints confirmed. I'm so proud!!!!

As for me, I have been asked to be the ABC Liaison and a board member on the Gladney Family Association in Fort Worth. I accepted and my duties will officially begin in September but I have decided to take over the planning of the ABC playgroup in July 2010. I've been wanting to become more involved in Gladney and this is so exciting to have fallen into my lap. I'll even be attending a Leadership Conference in May for two days where I'll be able to meet people from across the country that have leadership roles within the Gladney organization. Scot and I will also be attending a silent auction and fund raising event in May for Gladney. YEAH!!! :)

Enjoy the pics of Madie. They are 9-11 month old pictures.

2010

The year two-thousand ten or twenty-ten, however, you choose to say it...has arrived. 2010 has started off beautifully! My husband has a job he absolutely loves, our daughter is turning 9 months on February 7, 2010, I had a superb review at work, my friends and family are healthy, and Scot is turning 40.

I'm so excited about Scot turning 40 and there will be more to come about the BIG 4-0!!!

If 2009 is any indication of our future life, then 2010 will be more than we can imagine. It's been almost 8 months since Madilyn came into our lives and life as we knew it has changed forever...THANK GOODNESS. This weekend we received her birth certificate in the mail and I kept looking at that document repeatedly. It's the most amazing document because our names are on there as her parents. She is the most amazing little girl. Everyday we love her more and more. I couldn't love her anymore if I had given birth to her. Scot and I have an unbelievable bond with her. We thank God, her birth mother, and Gladney everyday for the gift they have given us. Some people say that Madilyn is so lucky to have us as parents, but we truly believe we are the lucky ones. Our lives have changed for the better since she was placed with us. She's our reason for getting up in the morning, our reason to be better people, our reason to be better to each other, and to be the best parents. I know 2010 will be great no matter what comes our way because we have Madilyn.

In 2010, Scot and I have decided to be a part of the PAL program with Gladney. We had a wonderful PAL couple that answered all of our questions during our adoption process. We now have the opportunity to return the favor and be there for another couple that has recently been approved and is now waiting to adopt. We are very excited and of course it gives us a chance to share our adoption story.

2010 is a new year and a new chapter in our lives. In 2010 we hope to begin the adoption process again. We are shooting for May but we've learned to take it all in stride. Trust me, that's easier for Scot than me...me and my OCD.

Also in 2010 we plan to visit some of my family in Louisiana and then we hope to head north later this year to visit Scot's parents. After Madie Cakes turns 1 we might even take a family trip together just the three of us. In 2010, there will be many "firsts"!!

1st Steps with Some Assistance

My sweet angel Madie Cakes took her very first steps this past weekend without the help of mama and papa, but she did have some assistance. Madilyn and I were sitting in her room, she stood up, and she tried to squeeze in between her dresser and her Learning Band Walker. I pulled the walker away from the dresser, she grabbed the handle and away she walked. Scot and I were amazed. We think she'll be walking on her own before we know it.

Thursday evening I was able to record her walking with my camcorder. I hope the video isn't too bad because I'm still learning how to use my camcorder that I received for Christmas. I'm not sure that the picture is so great but it was fun taking the video. Oh and I almost forgot...after I turned off the camcorder she started clapping on her own. I couldn't believe it. Maybe next time I'll catch her clapping. Enjoy!

Madilyn and Kenna's First Christmas

Well the adorable angels had their very first Christmas together. Of course they won't remember but we all have plenty of pictures to show them in the future. I'm sure we had more fun just buying gifts for the girls.

Madilyn had four Christmas celebrations. One with Grandma and Grandpa (Scot's parents), next with Meme (my mom), Aunt Rachel, and Kenna, third with cousins Britainy and Reagan, and finally with Grandad, Nanny (my dad and stepmom), Aunt Rachel, and Kenna. Hopefully sometime in the future I can start putting video on the blog because I received a camcorder for Christmas. First things first, I have to find time to download everything and figure out how to use it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!