Everyday Keeps Getting Better...

Taylor has been one of the greatest blessings in our life, but when you don't have the bare essentials when she arrives, let alone all of the other fun, frivolous things, life can be a tad bit busy. I will say that I have a whole new respect for mothers. I didn't even give birth to Taylor, she is such a good baby and I am still struggling with the sleep schedule and everything else. My hats off to all of you mothers out there!

I don't know if I can say anything that Dustin hasn't already said, but Taylor has been the most amazing blessing. Everything happened so fast that I didn't even have time to take in everything that was going on. I think that my expectations of this amazing bond I would have with my child when she was placed in my arms would be unlike anything I had ever felt, but to be perfectly honest, at first it felt like somebody else's baby. I felt so much guilt because how could I not be overwhelmed with emotion by this beautiful baby girl, the amazing love and Christ-like act of a birth mother and a truly miraculous story, but it was hard that my feelings weren't mirroring the expectations I had had. 6 days after taking home Taylor from the hospital, we took her birth mom and her boyfriend out to dinner so that they could see Taylor. As I watched Taylor's birth mom hold her, it finally hit me that she was holding my baby girl. It was like a breakthrough moment for me and I feel our bond getting stronger and stronger every day. Here are just a few of the things I have learned about Taylor in the last 15 days.

• She has the most beautiful red hair
• She twitches a lot like her dad
• She looks beautiful in pink (good thing because her dad is obsessed with it)
• She get the hiccups at least once a day
• She never sneezes just once. Her record is 5.
• She grunts a lot, just like her mom
• When she is held and awake, she likes you to hold her so that you can look at her
• She gets a second wind around 11 pm
• She loves baths and she is totally fine with getting water in her eyes. Yes we have another water baby on the way!
• She hates the car seat
• She always wants her hands touching her face
• She'll turn her head towards Dustin when she hears his voice
• She has been seen holding her bottle all by herself at just over a week old...
• She loves giving her Grandma Ann kisses (yes tongue and all)
• If she's ever fussy, her dad singing the University of Utah fight song always soothes her. think I can say it's her favorite lullaby
• She has brought out a whole new side of her daddy that I have never seen before. He is the proudest papa around with a new obsession of pink, bracelets and bows
• She is loved by so many people and had more visitors than I ever get
• I could watch her sleep for hours upon hours

I can't help but get emotional now when I think of these past two weeks. I am so grateful to my mom who hopped on a plane the day we could take Taylor home from the hospital. She helped me in so many ways and I pretty much had a meltdown when she got on the plane to go home. I had other family members throw a shower two days after we took Taylor home and my dearest friends and neighbors throw us a neighborhood shower a week after bringing Taylor home. I am so grateful to the amazing support network that I have.

I have always heard of these amazing adoption stories. I think of what Dustin and I have been through this past year. The baby I miscarried would have been due in just a couple of weeks. I remember the pain that Dustin and I felt when we couldn't see that heartbeat, but the joy that we have now far exceeds any pain that we endured. I look at all of the miracles that happened during this process. Some may call them coincidences, but I don't believe in coincidences. We turned in our papers about the same time that the birth mother chose to place Taylor for adoption. One of my friends at work said that she was just waiting for us to turn in our papers because we were supposed to be Taylor's mom and dad. Taylor is living proof that prayers are answered and miracles can happen. There were so many prayers made on our behalf and it is because of you that this miracle happened to us. Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough.

Some of our many visitors...

My Aunt Vellie aka surrogate Grandma (Grandpa's sister and Grandma's best friend). She's helped fill in since my grandparents have both passed away.

See... she really can hold the bottle by herself

Daddy and Taylor time

One of my dearest friends Amy (who hosted one of my showers) and her precious daughter Eva

My cousin's daughter Emery, but she's pretty much like a niece