9 Months Already!

I thought I would do a blog all about Emma. :) Just an update on her and how she is doing and the milestones she has had and of course include some photos.
Emma turned 9 months old on the 10th of this month. I took her in to be weighed and measured and she has more than tripled her birthweight and grown almost 9 inches! She weighed 19lbs 1oz and was 27.25" tall. She is such a healthy little girl! We did have over a week where she was very sick with a flu/cold and she lost weight and had pretty much everything except a fever. It was a long week and we were worried about her but she has bounced back and gained back all her weight and then some! She has two teeth now and I think perhaps her gums are beginning to bother her again. She is now waving goodbye and learning high fives and trying to crawl. The attempts at crawling are fun to watch. She gets rather frustrated and finally gives up and rolls all over the place. Last night Chad was trying to help her practice crawling and she was getting frustrated so he stood her up and took her hands and she took off walking. Definitely prefers that mode of transportation! She doesn't have the balance yet to walk on her own or I know she would be off and running. She especially enjoys having us help her chase our dog Finlay! For now most of the time she is content to roll from place to place and play with her toys.
Emma loves books and being read to and she "reads" to herself. She loves music as well and can be in the middle of anything else when she hears music and stops what she is doing to find out where it is coming from. I have registered her in a program called Rhythm Rhyme and Storytime and am looking forward to taking her. It is a hands-on hour and a half of music, stories, dancing and crafts and the parents stay and do it all with the kids. It is for kids ages 0-5. It will be good to get her out and interacting with other little ones and good for Mommy to interact with other big ones!
Emma's hair is turning curly! It is still very dark and the longer it gets the wavier it gets. When it is wet it is all curls. Too cute! She is a good eater and we have been experimenting with lots of different foods. It seems as though she has a sweet tooth and she very much enjoys fruits and yam. I think mango is definitely a favourite of hers!
We are staying with my parents right now as renovations are taking place in our house. It has been a good time for Emma to bond with them and have some quality time. She is a little clingier right now as her world has turned upside down for a week but she is handling it quite well and is still full of smiles and sunshine. She is truly a happy little girl who makes everyone smile. So often when we are out shopping so many people (lots of grandma and grandpa types!) stop and talk to her and she just smiles and makes their day. She brings so much joy and light into every room and heart and is a blessing beyond compare.
Here are some photos of our lovely girl...

Reading and relaxing

Mmmm blueberries!

Hanging out at Gramma and Grampa's house

9 months old!

Such a big girl!

                                    

Trying to eat Finlay's dinner :)

         

Hi everyone! Look at my curly hair!

Finally!!!

I am so very excited and thankful and relieved to tell everyone that Emma is finally and officially a Sakaluk!!! We received the adoption order in the mail this past week. There is a small technicality that has to be fixed as they spelled my middle name wrong but it just means another piece of paper and that we can't apply for her birth certificate until it has been amended. Otherwise she is legally ours!

When I got into our vehicle after picking the adoption order up I sat and cried. Then I called Chad. Then I cried some more and even as I am writing this I am crying a little. It's amazing how some pieces of paper can change your world. Of course she was ours before this too but now it is done, settled, legal, no one can take her from me. How many times in the last almost nine months have I had thoughts go through my head of what my defense would be if someone tried to take her from me? What I would say in front of a judge....who has been changing her diapers, feeding her, clothing her, staying up nights with her when she couldn't breathe because she was so sick, loving her, teaching her, cuddling her, singing to her, praying over her, who has truly been her mother? What a relief to know she is truly and forever ours. Well, until some icky boy comes and sweeps her off her feet! But even then she will still be ours.

God is so good and He has blessed us so much. I think though that He can stop teaching me what it means to wait! I have waited for so many things in my life and think the lesson is well learned! Of course I know in saying that there will be more lessons. It's okay though, everything that I have waited for has turned out to be even more beautiful and amazing and perfect than I could ever imagine!