New friends and new surroundings

One of our very favorite things to do with Chloe at this age is to take her swinging in the park.  She LOVES swinging!!!  So a couple days ago me and one of my former students, Tonya and her baby girl Sarah went to the park with our girls and let them play together and of course swing!!

Here is Miss Sarah- such a cutie pie....

Chloe was so tired when we went she was about to fall asleep in this swing because she could lay back all the way  LOL- but it was so fun!!

Then after we left those swings, we took the girls to the park area and let them interact a bit more.  Since Sarah is already 1 she is cruising all around and walking circles around Chloe. 

Chloe was trying to figure out how to walk like her and wanted to move so badly, she got frustrated!!

So Daddy tried to help her by letting her simulate walking and she seemed much happier than sitting down watching Sarah get to run all around!

And here is beautiful Sarah again, acting a bit shy, leaning on Mommy's legs!

Daddy was also along and he was throwing Chloe high up in the air and she just loved it and giggled and squealed!  I love how this picture turned out!

Then we took the girls over to another area of the park- it is a HUGE play park, and let them swing on a different type of swing since that seemed to be what they liked the most!

It was so hot out- Chloe was getting cranky, and wanted to go into some AC....

but not Sarah- she was sweating like crazy, but she wanted to swing for hours!!! LOL

So after all the swinging- the girls were so cute as they said goodbye to each other in their own baby way :)

Chloe kept trying to put her thumb in Sarah's eye??? go figure....

But it was so fun to have her interact with another child again after being home all day with her sitter and not really having a chance to interact with other kids, I think these outings are crucial for her social development.

Speaking of having her interact with more kids..... she will be getting PLENTY of it really soon.  Last Monday my sitter gave her 2 weeks notice, she is moving in with her son in NC so she wil be leaving us.  Remember she comes to our home to watch Chloe so Chloe has been having a lot of one one one attention for the past 2 months since she has been our sitter.

Well the past week since she told me I have been begging the Lord to open a door to a new place I felt comfortable leaving my girl..... She is so precious to me and I will not be leaving her just anywhere that is cheap or convenient to our house, it has to be the RIGHT place.

Well just 3 weeks ago I called the church day school I really want to put her in and she has been on their waiting list since April for a spot in their nursery, and they said they did not have anything and they thought it would be more like October or even November before a spot would open!!!  I was very discouraged.  So fast forward to today- Sweetness and I were just about to go looking at some DayCare centers and I looked at my phone and I had a message from the head of the church day school!!!

In God's divine providence, they have a baby that is moving unexpectedly and Chloe was next on the waiting list!!!!  I literally had tears in  my eyes as I told her how I have begged God as I lay awake at night to open a door like this!!!  She reassured me that He knows all our needs and He has been so faithful to us time and again, so why doubt Him now?

So we went there and got the packet of about 100 pages we have to fill out for her- but she will start on Monday July 16th and be in a nursery with 9 other little babies her age and have tons of interaction with other kids and I think its going to be so wonderful for her!  So while we are sad that she wont be at her home and crib anymore, I actually think this is better and best for her long term development socially and spiritually.  They sing songs and tell them bible stories at this school and she will be getting lessons about Jesus each and every day!!!  Her spiritual growth is just as important, if not more so than her academic growth- and she will get both here at the DaySchool!! 

We give the Praise to Him who has been so faithful to our family- and we look forward to what He has for our sweetest little girl at her new "school."  I will certainly keep you updated as to how she does in her new surroundings.....that's all for now- next up the fourth of July celebrations and Sweetness' family was here to celebrate with us- just have to download the pictures from my camera :)

A Saturday in the life of Chloe

So this past Saturday, it was about 100 degrees out, much too hot to do the yardwork or anything really.  So we lounged in bed almost all morning, and Chloe really thought that was neat-rolling all over Mommy and Daddy! We snuggled and played games and just got a lot of lovin in on our girl!!!  She then wanted to watch her little cartoon show on BabyFirst channel and she just squeals and laughs so much with the kids on that show!!!  Its amazing how drawn they are to other children!

                        She was having a great time sitting on our bed just laughing and singing with her cartoons  :)

About 11 am she was ready for a nap and then ate some lunch around 1pm.  We then decided to take her out in her new baby pool that I purchased on Amazon.  It is sooo cute!!!  So we put Daddy on the job  of blowing the thing up, and before long he broke out the air compressor. It was a job to blow all these little parts up!!!

It was such a hit!!!!  The water was HOT coming out of the hose becausee it was over 100 degrees out, so we had to actually add some cold water to it!!  Crazy I tell ya.

So as Daddy kept his hands on her and watched closely, I was taking a zillion pictures and even took a video of her laughing and squealing with joy as she splashed and splashed!!

I love how this pool has it's own shade for the baby so they dont get so much direct sunlight!!  Its really quite ingenious.  It also comes with 3 small mushrooms, you can see the red and blue ones in the pic above--that you blow up and they sit in these small holes on the side of the main pool.  It also comes with 3 round butterflies that you blow up and they velcro to the yellow arms that support the mushroom's top!!  Its so cute to look at as well as play in.

I have since found out from my girlfriend, that she got one very similar to this for her baby at WalMart if anyone is interested in buying one like it for their little one!!

So after about 45 mins in the kiddie pool her skin was getting  a bit pruned, so we took her out, and put her straight in the bath since she was smothered in sunscreen and it makes her so oily, and she splashed some more.....

Then she had some dinner and a bottle and played in her jumperoo for a bit, and then it was time for her to go to bed for her 12 hours of beauty rest!!  We have the best baby- she sleeps for 12 hours at night and she really likes to sleep- just like her momma!!!

I hope you have enjoyed a day in the life of Chloe-she has the life really!!!

38 weeks!!!!

38 weeks old!!!  Where does the time go??!!   My baby is getting so grown up.  She can wave bye bye now, and she claps her hands in delight when she sees me and Daddy come through the door!!  It certainly is the dog days of summer right now....Geesh- its over 100 degrees everyday now and I am looking so forward to the fall breezes coming really soon.  I hate summer time- but I do love getting outside with baby girl and letting her explore her world!

 I just love this dress on her- she looks so patriotic!!!  And this cute red white and blue headband that coordinates just perfectly!!!  Ive been holding on to it just for her to wear on the fourth of July and to church this week.

 Baby girl loves to curl those toes!!!  :)

 The most beautiful face and porcelain skin.....:)

She is the happiest, funnest, silliest little girl ever!!

We can't wait for Daddy's family to get here tonight!!  This is their first time meeting Chloe, and they are staying with us all week!!.  Its going to be so much fun as Chloe celebrates her first 4th of July tomorrow!!!  I will keep this post short and sweet, but there will be many many more pics to come this week!!!

We wish you and your family the happiest 4th of July ever!!



Some fun shots from this past week!

Baby girl is getting so fun and full of herself!

 Grandma came over Friday night and we went out to dinner!  She is so busy now, and active that she will not sit in her carrier while we eat anymore, so we have to occupy her the whole time.

 But everybody just gravitates to her and her infectious smile, even strangers are talking to her wherever we go!

 She can sit up really well now, but she still has not even begun to crawl yet, that is until this morning she actually pulled her legs up under her and got on her knees!!!  So it wont be long.....  She loves to stand like this all the time, and I was reading the baby book about what to expect over the first year and they say some babies can skip crawling all together. I had no idea!!!

 Maybe thats what she will do, who knows~ but she has certainly mastered sitting in a very short time!!  This picture that I captured below has got to be one of my new all time favorites of her!!!  Man is she one beautiful baby girl!!!

So cute story ahead...... My step dad went to 7-11 one day and he found a day old kitten screaming and screaming, he waited for over an hour but the mother NEVER came.  We assume she abandoned the baby.  It was pouring down rain and he wasnt leaving the baby out there to die, so he scooped her up and went to Wal Mart and got bottles and kitten formula and much to my mother's shagrin brought her home!!!

Well that was 3 weeks ago, and the baby kitty is doing well, everybody in the family is taking turns feeding her, but she got a bit constipated and so I had to take her to the vet earlier that day. 

So after dinner, we came home and put Chloe in her PJs and decided to show her the baby kitty.....

 Here is my mom holding Chloe and showing her the baby.  She loved the baby!!!  And she wanted to get her hands on that baby kitty as you can see from the pictures.  But it was a really sweet moment!!!

 Then on Saturday, Daddy happened to put on his beloved Clemson Tigers t-shirt, so I thought I would put Chloe in her matching "Clemson Cutie" skirted onesie!!!!  Man they looked so cute together!!!  Daddy is sooooo ready for football season to start- shoot- Mommy is too!!!  We are a football loving family and anything that has to do with Clemson or Alabama- we are so there!!!

 This pic below is one of my faves of the 2 loves of my life!!! I am going to have it printed and put in the frame I gave him for Father's Day!

 And below are just some shots I took a couple days ago of my girl in Daddy's favorite aqua color!!

 She is making some of the funniest expressions lately!!! 

 And this is one of them.  I was happy I actually caught it!!  She looks like she is saying "Oooo I'm gonna get you momma!"  LOL

I hope everyone has a really great weekend coming up and an amazing 4th of July!!!  Sean's Aunt Joan and Uncle Bob are coming down to spend it with us!!!  I am so happy!!!  They are like my in-laws because Sean's parents are both deceased (I never got to meet them, although I would have loved to).  So they stood in for his parents at our wedding and they love us so much!!!  I can not wait for them to meet Chloe and take them around our area!!!  There will fo' sure be pictures!!!

Peace and Love Ya'll!!!

37 weeks old!!!!

Well another week down, and Baby girl is growing fast!!!  She is just too precious for words.... I know I say that every week, but man I love her so much!!!

 She has begun to pull her legs up under her now, so I believe she may start crawling any day!!  I actually caught her sleeping in that position for a nap the other day- she had her butt clear up in the air!!!!  I wanted to get a picture but I would have woken her up and Mommy did not want a cranky baby with no nap on her hands!!!

 She still weighs 17 lbs, and in size 2 diapers, and mostly still in her6 mo clothes, some 9 mos just for length!!  Speaking of clothes, I set up a facebook page to sell her clothes that she has grown out of.  It is not attached to my personal page at all, so if any of you have a baby girl or are pregnant with one, I have a ton of beautiful Newborn, 3 month, 3-6 month and 6 month clothes on their right now, and am adding more each week.  If you are interested in having a look, please email me at heathermarsden117 at gma.il dot com (or comment on this post) and I will send you a link on how to view them.  If you wish to buy anything, comment under the picture with your PayPal email address and I will send you an invoice and ship it to your address on PayPal.  It works great!!!

 We had some fun this weekend, and took some fun pictures that I will post in the next day or so in another post, but we have learned to cherish these weekends with our girl- there just is not enough time!!!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week, and try to stay cool - this heat is awful!!!!  I need my spring and so looking forward to fall and celebrating the holidays with my girl!!!

One year ago today........

The beauty of this blog is that it marks things down for me that I may have otherwise forgotten the EXACT date of. This being one of those moments that I am so glad I am able to look back on today and be so incredibly thankful for how far we have come !!

You see one year ago today we received the call from our nephew saying that he wanted us to adopt his unborn daughter. We were floored!!!! We were humbled, excited, scared, and a million other things!!! Could this be our baby???? Could this really be it? We asked each other a million times could this really work ????

The next 4 and 1/2 months were the most hectic and nerve wracking roller coaster ride I have ever been on, and one I do not ever care to take again. It was all painfully documented here how we never knew from one moment to the next what was going to happen, and I had my heart ripped out of me more than once in this process. But we kept on trusting the Lord, that He had brought this young lady and this baby into our lives for a reason.

But it did all work out and ultimately led to our amazing perfect miracle baby asleep in her crib in the next room! We have indeed come sooooo far, I almost forgot the emotionally fragile state I was in last June. I was at my rock bottom, I was beginning yet one last feeble attempt I get my eggs to try to do a surrogacy that we had NO Idea how we were going to pay for it, and it was all just swirling in my head!

But when this call came and we began to talk to Chloe's birth mom L, the more PERFECT this whole situation sounded. We began to get an incredible wave of peace flood over us She was our family, she could stay in her genetic family and be raised by two people who wanted her more than anything!!

And finally on October 16th at 6:42pm our miracle was born and placed in my arms..... She was finally here!!! And she was MY baby.... The one we had prayed for for soooooo many many years. And that began a whole new amazing life for us that we are so grateful for!!!!

Thank you all again for the love and prayers you offered to Sweetness and I as our hearts ached and longed for this happy ending.

Through this entire infertility journey I have always remembered my favorite quote from Dr. Jerry Falwell, one of my heroes, "When you are in the valley and you are crying out to God to deliver you from the circumstances and you feel left in your "storm"; if you cannot see God's hand at work, you can ALWAYS trust His heart."

How very true it is that He sees each tear we cry and He only wants what's best for us. And honestly, He knew that this was the child we were meant to have. We just had to wait on His perfect timing to receive the gift.

And dare I say this out loud or to anyone else except my Sweetness, we have begun to boldly pray that He would bless us with another gift. Whether it be through adoption again or the miracle of opening my womb, we are trusting that He knows best and He will expand our family according to His will and purpose. But if He chooses not to give us another child, we will be perfectly and insanely happy with the most beautiful baby girl on the planet, how could we ask for more???

8 MONTHS OLD!!!

Where has the time gone????  My sweet baby girl that was as tiny as a peanut has grown up into the beautiful, full of energy little girl right before our very eyes!!!  As she past over the 8 month mark a couple days ago, I just thought back in marvel at how much our life has changed in one short year.  I will do a big post on that in 3 days, because we celebrate something special on June 24th- you probably can't guess what it is......but I will tell you very soon!  :)

 Our lives are pretty close to perfect, just the way we dreamed for all those years we begged the Lord  for a child. She is so full of laughter, giggles and FUN!!!, she keeps us hoping all the time!  

Currently, she is 17 pounds and still in Size 2 diapers, basically long and skinny!!! 

I hope you all have an awesome week thus far, and stay COOL because the first day of summer is here in Va Beach!!!  It came in with a BANG today!!!  It is over 100 degrees today!  But thanking the Lord for the invention if AC!!!!    Have a great rest of the week and we will certainly be back with pics from this weekend to share!!!!