On the day she was born

Jimmy and I were sitting here tonight watching Amelia play, and talking about the fact that she is 13 months old today.

Then he said "I wonder what we were doing on the day she was born?" So we looked back to see if there was a blog entry on that date---August 26, 2005. and here's what I found:

On the day Amelia was born, I posted that we received an e-mail from CCAI, stating that our Dossier had been mailed to China.

....and it was followed by this poem ;)

KISSES IN THE WIND
I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are....whats taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you, and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin....
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in his hands until I can be with you
I promise you, my baby, I'm doing all that I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend
But for tonight as always, I blow you kisses on the wind.
My God wrap you in his arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
----unknown

Portrait of Amelia at a year

Amelia at 12.5 months

• You are Sweet!

you give unsolicited kisses and still love to snuggle. sometimes you put your face on mine and go ummmmm. I just love that!

• You are Fiesty!

you love to test the limits of this new mommy and daddy; when we tell you "no" about playing with the computer or an electrical cord, you like to gently touch it while looking at us with the most mischivous little smile.

• You love to Play!

your favorite toys are the laughing rolling learning ball, the Pooh wagon (as Christy calls it), and anything loud!

You love to play in the bathtub

You love to bounce and dance

You love seseme street, particularly Elmo!

You love to swing

• You are Mobile!

you cruise all over the room holding to furniture, and sometimes you let go with both hands for a few seconds. You've walked all the way across the room pushing the "pooh wagon", and were very annoyed when you came to a wall and couldnt go further.

• you love to eat!

your favorites are sweet potatoes, spagetti, carrots, brocolli with cheese, yogurt, hawaiin delight, fruit medley and bananas.

• You love to mimic us!

your most recent thing is pretending to sneeze; after I sneezed one day, you went AAaachu! so funny

• You talk and babble all the time!

you've started stringing together 4 or more syllables.

you can say mama, daddy (sometimes dada), baby, hey, baba (bottle), dog, and you try to mimic all kinds of things we say. the other day I called you pumpkin and you said loudly and clearly "PUMP!"

3 months tomorrow

I can hardly believe we've been home with Amelia for 3 months. Time really does fly when you're having fun. :) I haven't been able to update as much lately, because of the whole mom thing:) and because I've started to work 4 days per week. A's in good hands with grandma while I'm working. The job is going very well! I love working in adoptions. I love putting together post placement reports to send to China, love following up with families as they settle in back at home, and love that I'm going to be able to make match calls at referral time! And of course, being surrounded by it every day, I'm thinking a lot about Amelia's future sister. When someone asks us if we're going to adopt again, we always say " probably" but I'm quite sure its a done deal, because frankly, we're already batting around names. (Marissa Skye being my fav)

Amelia has come so far. She is blooming before our eyes. She went from toppling over when you sat her up, to army crawling, and then crab crawling, pulling up, cruising, and now she's standing and then letting go of of her support for several seconds at a time.

Her eating has come a long way as well. We started with stage 1 baby food, moved to stage 2, then stage 3, and now we're on to table food chopped and mixed with just a little baby food to make it creamy. She's still not keen on crackers, bread, or any dry foods, but she had meat loaf and mashed potatoes the other night, so she's on her way!

She only takes a bottle morning and night, and is mastering the sippy cup during the day. We are going to keep her on the bottle for those 2 feedings until she's at least 18 months, for bonding. Bottle time is such an important bonding tool, and most international adoption experts recommend continuing the night time bottle for MUCH longer with adoption babies, to make up for some of the intimacy they missed out on in the orphanage. I absolutely agree with them. Bottle time is our special time, and we'll keep it as long as we feel she needs it.

I've debated deleting my blog since its hard to keep up with it these days. But I keep remembering how much I enjoyed the blogs when I was waiting..And waiting....And waiting for my baby. The blogs kept it real for me; kept me believing that it would happen for me too. And it did!

China adoption takes longer these days. The time lines aren't as predictable as they used to be; and this is frustrating and scary for those just starting the journey. But I still believe it is one of the safest and best programs out there. China indicates no plans to end their adoption program. It may take longer these days to get your referral; but those who hang in there will get one. YOU WILL GET A BABY! AND IT WILL BE WONDERFUL!

so all of you who are waiting; know that this baby is worth waiting for; worth every moment of uncertainly and frustration; worth every piece of paper you shuffle.

Now that I've been home long enough to catch my breath a little; its time for the thank yous.

Thank you Josh and Lily for starting this agency, and for maintaining honesty, professionalism, personal service, and integrity while becoming one of the largest and most respected China only adoption agencies. :) (sorry for the plug ;) but the thank you and opinion are sincere)

Thank you to the CCAA for maintaining one of the most reputable adoption programs out there, for striving continually to improve the conditions of orphanages so that the children in China have basic needs met, and for placing these beautiful children for adoption.

Thank you to Amelia's birthmother, wherever you are. We think about you a lot. We wonder what you look like; what your life is like; and we wish we could tell you how wonderfully your daughter is doing. We wish you well; we pray blessings upon you; we thank you for leaving Amelia in such a public place, knowing she would be found quickly. You put yourself at risk by leaving her where you could have easily been caught. We believe that you wouldn't have chosen such a risky location if you didn't want the best for her. Your decision gave us the most beautiful gift we'll ever receive.

Thank you to all those in the adoption community who encouraged me when I felt discouraged; thank you for reminding me that adoption timelines have always been fluid, and that this adoption would happen. Thank you for your gifts; your pats on the back; your quilt squares; and most of all, your ear, when I needed to vent my frustrations. You were all right; it was worth the wait, and the pain of waiting does mysteriously fade once you see your child's face.

Thank you to the local adopters who have become my friends and confidants. You made the waiting more bearable, and certainly more fun! I am honored to have shared this portion of my life with you; and I'm honored to join you in celebrating the miracle of adoption.

Thank you to my friends and family who have been so understanding when I made the 50 millionth comment about adoption; or China; or Amelia! Thank you for cutting me some slack in my baby obsession, knowing that I waited a long, long time for this moment in my life! I certainly don't think she's the only adorable baby in the world; there are lots of them; including YOUR kids. But this one is MINE! AND I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE ABLE TO SAY THAT.

Thank you to all the friends who threw lovely baby showers; thank you to everyone who sent a gift;

Thank you to all who emailed your congrats or commented on this blog.--we got a ton of e-mails in China and they meant so much to us.

Thank you to the waiting child department at CCAI, who had patience with me, as I submitted 3 different checklists! Jimmy and I kept researching, and discovering that we were comfortable with more issues than we realized initially.

Thank you to the travel department, who did an excellent job arranging our travel; Thank you to Sue Sorrels who got us great prices on our airfare to China; Thank you to our wonderful China Guides, Yuka and Kathy. You held our hands every step of the way; we couldn't have done it without you. I hope you realize how important and appreciated your work is!

Thank you mom for pet sitting for two weeks while we were in China.

Thank you Lisa S for doing airport duty going and coming, and for picking us up with a hot meal ready to be eaten our first night at home!

Thank you to everyone who brought meals during the first 2 weeks home. What lifesavers! We were jet lagged and all sick with colds. We soooo appreciated your visits and delicious meals.

I guess the only person left to thank is God; and believe me, I thank God about 50 times per day........At least. :)

Julie and Kacey

My friend Julie is in China adopting a 2 year old, whom she has named Kacey Susan. She is pictured in the post below. You can follow her journey at http://www.wishuponastork.org/ and click on China and then click In China Now and then Julie Thomas.

my favorite quote from Julie is as follows:

" she took out her photo book, and pointed to me and said.......Mama.

well, you know that line in the movie Jerry McGuire, when she says:

You Had me at Hello ?

well, its kinda like that !!!"

---Julie Thomas

Gave me goosebumps, how about you!???! I know just how that feels

We love you Julie, and cant wait to snuggle Kasey

Gotcha!!!

Happy Gotcha Day Julie and Kacey!

Mother and Daughter, together at last

gotta love Gotcha day!

Amelia's First Birthday Party

Thank you Julie for sharing your pictures! yes, I have officially won the mommy brain award, because I didnt take ANY PICTURES at my daughters first birthday party. Didnt even pull out my camera. HELLO???? no one was home that day, I guess.

There were other friends and family at the party that didnt make it in front of Julies lense (including Julie, since she was behind the camera). If anyone else took pics of people not pictured here, would you e-mal them to me???

thanks!

and thank you to everyone for coming to our party!

Polka Dot Girls

From Our Lips

From Our Lips; To God's Ears

Amelia Rose Bennett

placed in our arms at 3:11

on

June 12, 2006

She is a blessing

and a wonder in our eyes

Amelia was baptised last Sunday. We were blessed to be surrounded by family and friends for our special day. Thank you to everyone who attended the service. It meant alot to us to share this special day with you.

Saturday in the Park