Sleep!

Masie is in her own room!

I know I'm a little late since she's been sleeping thru the night for nearly 2 months now, so it's about time! Miles's old crib/toddler bed was passed down to her. The real reason for not putting her in her own room was that I needed to finish decorating it and had to find Miles a new bed. Masie's room is nearly finished, and I couldn't wait any longer to get some real sleep for myself without her in the bassinet beside my bed. I've just got to put the finishing touches on her room... stay tuned for pictures, it's VERY CUTE!

Masie made it till 4a.m. in her new bed, and I only checked the video monitor every other hour. More sleep to come as I adjust to her not being next to me.

So, Miles got his Christmas present early...

He loves his new loft/tent bed :)

We asked him after the bed was constructed,

"Do you want to take a nap?"

His eyes lit up, and he cried, "YEP!"

He's having fun climbing the ladder and sleeping "under the covers" since he only had blankets before and not a tucked-in flat sheet. We hung fun posters and I will also be placing pillows under the loft so he can comfortably enjoy his new little cave :)

It's Official!

This beautiful, smiling bundle is officially a part of our family.

We flew in to SLC on November 24th and stayed the night with our friends, who have welcomed us into their home many times over the last couple of months. Tuesday morning we had an early appointment with Judge Kennedy. My heart has been skipping beats and doubling beats over the last few weeks as I thought about my baby girl. She's my baby and I just had this lingering struggle going on in my head that I wasn't deserving of her... that something terrible was going to happen and her adoption finalization wouldn't go through. Nothing ever happened to justify my feelings, but I just kept thinking "this is too good, I've been too blessed, something has to go wrong." I've been crying to Luke, to my sisters-in-law, to anyone who cared enough to listen. She's my baby and I'm a worrier. I've come to realize I must be a pessimist.... I don't like admitting it, and I don't like feeling like this, but I can't help it.

Masie's finalization could not have gone any smoother.

The judge was all business asking the adoption agency representative many questions and wanting to be certain that finalizing early was in the best interest of everyone. Our lawyer was great and let me say a few sobbing words of gratitude for adoption and the joining of Masie to our family. The whole thing only took half an hour, then we were at the receptionists office getting official copies of the adoption decree.

I was breathing again... she's ours, for real now!

Then we raced to the vital records office for Masie's birth certificate. We waited nearly 2 hours and were handed 3 copies. Then we raced to the post office to apply for her passport. We were on the road to my mom's house in Pocatello by noon!

On paper and by law, Masie is ours, and eternally she will be ours in just a few more weeks when we have her sealed to us in the Brisbane Temple at Christmas.

You'll be hearing gulping sighs of more relief from me after that.

Luke's sister has been in the States for a few weeks with her family, so we were able to meet up with them while we were in UT. Here's Annabelle with our Masie.

National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month.

This year, November 15th is marked as

National Adoption Day to raise awareness of the thousands of children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families.

I would not be a mother if it weren't for the blessing of adoption and my children's amazing birthmoms.

We are so grateful for adoption and the chance it gives

Luke and I to grow our beautiful family.

We spent Saturday with our local chapter

Families Supporting Adoption

celebrating our appreciation of adoption.

Trick or Treat

Our two beautiful kids dressed in their

Halloween day outfits.

Miles is oh so happy thinking about all the candy

he'll be collecting in the evening.

I LOVE these kids :)

Cute, fluffy, white, sparkly Snowball

(a.k.a Masie)

Little waddling Penguin (a.k.a. Miles)
Picture with Dad
These pictures are in chronological order.

I put the kids in their costumes and then took them off (since they are most definitely costumes meant for cold climates) for the drive out to my brother Nathan's where we celebrated with his family. Miles fell asleep in the car before the festivities even began.

[I unbuckled Miles since we just arrived at our destination]
Ashlynn begged to be able to hold Masie for a picture...

this is the best shot we could get of all the kids in one frame.Miles's best buddy, Caleb, is hiding under the clown.The boys were very suspicious of one another and wouldn't stand too close because they didn't recognize each other in costume. It wasn't until Caleb took his wig/hat off that Miles followed him around shouting,

"It's Caleb, it's Caleb!"

Michael Comes Home!

My younger brother, Michael, arrives home today

after serving a two year mission in Russia!

!WELCOME HOME LITTLE BRO!

I so badly wish I were there to meet you...

I could just cry!

I'll see you soon though.

Cabin Fever

We spent last weekend at our friend's cabin in Overgaard, AZ.

I had these big plans to relax.... HA!

We definitely had a great time, but I always fool myself into forgetting the needs of a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old. Also, on my leisurely walk one morning, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw 2 huge, black tarantulas sauntering on my path - yuck!

The hot tub was a huge help in calming me though.

I do love the outdoors.

Miles spent nearly every minute outside exploring, jumping, or throwing things.

Masie wasn't too sure about things at first...

Our friends invited us to a campfire to roast marshmallows. We had to teach

Luke how to make smores - silly Aussie.

Of course we rugged-up the kids first.

3 Months Old

How quickly life changes...

4 months ago we didn't have physical evidence of Masie's existence. We knew in our hearts and were told by the spirit earlier on that our baby was soon to arrive, but nothing tangible.

How quickly life changes...

I can hardly remember what my life was like without her.

I can't imagine my life without her in it.

I am so in love with my baby girl who turned 3 months old today.

It is wonderful to have a baby that smiles, grins, and coos at me just because I look at her.

She grins so big that her whole face scrunches as she wiggles her little body with delight.

She looks beautiful in any color, but I like her in purple the best.

She is a fantastic eater.

She's already reaching for things and loves to chomp on her fingers or my fingers or anything that gets near her mouth.

She loves to watch and talk to herself in the mirror.

She watches every move Miles makes and will smile at him every time he talks to her.

She loves her daddy who is very good at calming her.

She is so close to sleeping through the night.

She only likes to nap if she's wrapped tight, buckled tight, and swinging in her swing.

She hates to be on her tummy and will cry immediately when you try to put her on it. And if you dare to try, it will take a few minutes to get her to calm down and get her to stop gasping for air.

She is so strong and loves to stand up with help.

She likes to fall asleep with her blankie next to or over her face.

She is my lovely baby girl.

Ok, so I just said how much she hates being on her tummy... this is the one and only picture taken without her in tears.
Exciting news: We got the approval from the UT courts to finalize Masie's adoption early, so we'll be in UT the third week in November. That means our baby girl will be a world traveler before she's 6 months old since we'll be able to get her a passport and head to Australia for Christmas. YAY!

Miles had his last soccer practice today and wanted to show off his soccer medal. He made great progress over the last 8 weeks. To start he either cried or held Luke's hand all through practice. By the end of the course he was kicking and racing after the ball on his own and really enjoying himself. Now he asks Luke to "kick the ball" in the backyard with him.

Issues

I can hardly stand it when I have

computer problems!

What little time I can find to get to the computer to work or blog, I just want my machines to work properly!

Is that too much to ask?!?

What I thought was an internet issue, turned out to be a problem with my desktop computer. Not too big a deal when I've also got a laptop to work on. So while my new desktop was in the mail, I was using my laptop fulltime until it also started having problems. So, my new desktop arrives with all the latest and fastest stuff (you'll have to ask my know-it-all brothers for the specs) and

guess what?!?

The new computer keeps turning itself off!

ARGH!!

After lots of arguing and tons of sweet-talking by my amazing, smart, talented, and handsome (but taken) brother, the company finally decides to send me another new computer and take back this other piece of junk. At first they were trying to get me to open the whole thing up, like unscrew the cover and check the wires and I'm going, this is a BRAND NEW computer!! I shouldn't have to try and "fix" anything besides feeling totally uncomfortable with pulling apart something this complex.

UGH!!

So, now my laptop is working, thank GOODNESS, though not the WiFi part of it, so I'm stuck in my office with cords coming out of every port on this "portable" device.

I'm praying the 2nd new desktop arrives tomorrow with everything working as it should.

Thank you *Richard* for all your help!!

I'm so glad you moved back to AZ :)

Now enjoy some gorgeous shots of my gorgeous kids,

and you'll feel better too!

Soccer!

Miles had his first soccer practice this morning. We made sure there was tape in the video camera, the digital-still camera was charged, he had cute gym shorts and headed for the field. I remembered bottle water but forgot bug-repellent and a lawn chair (for me because Luke has to run the whole practice with Miles). We are your typical new parents loving to experience every first milestone of our first born. Love it!

His new jersey was too big so we made it work with the dorky sleeve roll/tuck-in, but he's fearless and still attacked the field wearing his baggy outfit.
Always remember to stretch first.
Just a little help in the right direction from Dad.
The new baggy jersey only lasted through half the practice.

Once he was comfortable again in his clothes, he was right back out on the field making his move.

GOAL!
Good practice boys!

Paradise Found

Maybe you noticed that I changed my blog title.

I'm just not a creative person, so my old title, Luke.Emrie.Miles.Masie. just seemed to explain what my blog was all about... of course emphases on the Miles.Masie part. I decided our names weren't cutting it any longer. I have this terrific framed art in my kitchen that reads "Paradise Found". At home with my hubby, my son, and my daughter, I know I've found my paradise.

Luke caught all of us "napping" together.
I think this is the first time I've captured them both smiling (granted, with a little tongue)at the same time - success!
It helps that Masie is smiling a ton these days. Luke and I can both get her smiling by tickling her chin and cooing at her.
Miles thinks he's getting too big for naps.

If I can't get him to fall asleep, he'll often crash on the couch right before dinner... After we wake him, he's super cranky for the rest of the evening, so I'm really pushing the naps still.
Nighty-night.

Aussie Tooshes

Monica found the Aussie boardshorts for Luke a few years ago, and when she found some Miles's size, she had to have them and brought them with her on her latest visit. He's daddy's little boy through and through.

So cuddly.

Note: first family picture! Ok, so I look like a cheesy goon (I'm hoping Monica's camera caught me at a better moment than mine did), but the rest of my family is gorgeous!
Monica was off to the airport for home just a few hours after this photo was taken. So good to have her stay with us. We'll see her again soon! (we already booked our flights to AUS for Christmas...)
Please notice that Masie has enough hair to wear cute barrettes that I found online :) Love it!

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring...

Can you believe the rain we had the last couple of days?!? We love it! And the temperature dropped below 90 last night, so I went for a run in the evening. Ugh, I haven't exercised in over 2 months. I was so sad to note how quickly I got out of shape as my muscles were burning and itching (does that happen to anyone else?) in the middle of mile one. I'm sore today and have blisters on my heals... I love it! I'm hoping for cooler weather again tonight.

What's the saying?... "Battin' down the hatches!" Our gazebo, purchased just this year, would have flown away during the storm if it weren't for these strong and brave men.
We love puddles!


Ok, so it didn't cool down that much, but I had to try this outfit on Masie anyway - thanks Mom!
I don't know what it is, but I'm always needing to take pictures of Masie's hands and feet. I just find them so feminine and cute.