MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas!! Yes, we had a great Christmas. We kept things as simple as possible, which made it very enjoyable for all three of us!! Emily loved opening presents!! It has been Christmas for Daddy and Mommy since the first of August when we received her picture. Emily got lots of dolls, books, teddy bears, telephones and clothes. Of course, she liked the packaging the best....amazing, you don't have to teach them that!
Emily has been lots of fun. It is still hard for Mommy to beleive that she is actually here. She is babbling and talking up a storm. She also does quite a bit of sign language. She now says daddy, momma, dog (ALL animals are dogs!), Dora, bye bye and MINE (which she screams!) She now signing dog, eat, more, book, bye bye, no, yes. She likes it when mommy signs momma and daddy, but she won't do it!! She makes me do it over and over!
She eats and sleeps very well. I haven't found anything yet that she won't eat. Grandma gave her jello yesterday. once she got over the shock of cold, she loved it!!

WE'RE BACK!!

Well, we made it!! Tomorrow will be 1 month since Gotcha Day. All I can say is WOW!! I watched the video of when we received Emily, and it seems so surreal. Like I did not realize Donnie hugged Emily's Nanny. All I remember is the nanny being thrust our way for a picture. Our travel buddy that took our video videoed us for almost 30 minutes! Thanks Mike, you did a great job and it is such a blessing to us to have that footage.

We have been home for almost 3 weeks now and are adjusting quite well. Donnie was real sick when whe got home. Between being sick and jet-lag, it took him about 2 1/2 weeks to readjust. Emily has had some sleep issues since we have been home, but that was to be expected and she is sleeping better all the time.

Donnie and I are both amazed at how easygoing she is. She definately has a mix of both our personalities. I am very laid back and easy going, and Donnie is very active and intense.

Emily is doing great. We haven't got her out a whole lot yet. She loves her Grandma, Granny and Grandpa. She has met a few aunts and uncles, and her Great Grandma. She has been to church twice, and doesn't mind all the new faces - I think she loves the attention! She still doesn't have any teeth and is not walking yet. She eats very well. She is OK with the dog. She says dog and does the sign language for dog. The dog is so jealous and protective of her.

Well, I still don't know how to post pics to the blog, so I will continue to us the Journey to me site as well. I will try to post pics soon. We took over 1000 pics while we were in China, and we are in the process of getting them all sorted, catogorized, and then I will post some on my Picasa site for your viewing pleasure!!