6 Months

Well at this point, Taylor is almost 7 months, but we just went to her 6 month appointment on Monday and she is doing great! She is now 17 lbs and 10 ounces which puts her in the 71% and she is almost 26 inches long which puts her in the 44%. I still can't believe that my little munchkin who was barely on the charts is now moving her way right up them (especially when it comes to her adorable chub).

Six months brought some very exciting times in the Tate household and the fun just keeps on going. Taylor has now cut her two bottom teeth. She is trying to sit up on her own, but still has the round butt syndrome. She is nowhere near crawling, but I'm okay with that. She is trying to feed herself so we are feeding her with two spoons in an attempt for her to learn how to feed herself, but really, it's only made things even messier. She is still loving squash and sweet potatoes and she is perfectly fine without the green beans and peas. She seems to prefer oatmeal to rice cereal and she started the Graduates Puffs this week. She hasn't quite figured out how to get the little crackers from hand to mouth, but right now her sock is in her mouth, so it's obvious that she has found her feet.

Here are a few of Taylor's favorite things:

• Her daddy! As much of an angel as Taylor is, sometimes we do have our rough days. It's really hard trying to explain that Taylor has been a pill to Dustin when he walks in the door from work and she can't stop smiling and giggling at her daddy. I have never heard anyone make her laugh harder than her daddy. She just lights up when she sees him, yet she seems to have the same reaction on him.
• Kissing... watch out boys! Since her first week of life, her Grandma taught her how to kiss so she is very good at grabbing your face and giving kisses. Beware, because if Taylor grabs your face, chances are you'll be receiving an open mouth kiss! Thanks Mom!!!
• Quique. I think that she's finally figuring out who Quique is. When Quique comes in the room she'll just stare at her and maybe even laugh. She loves petting Quique and giving her loves. Quique seems to like it too!
• Sucking on her hands. She hasn't really done the pacifier thing since she was a month or two old, but she always has her hands in her mouth. Especially the left hand, she tends to favor her left hand so I won't be surprised if she is a lefty!
• Baby Signing Time. When I am not quite ready to get up in the morning or need a little break during the day, I just plop Taylor in her playstation and turn on her Baby Signing Time DVD and she is in 7th heaven! These two things have been life savers (thanks Mom!) Even my mom and sister couldn't believe how engaged she is with these DVDs. When she was hating the car, I would play the CDs in the car and now she doesn't seem to hate the car anymore... magic!
• Talking. She doesn't actually talk, but she loves to hear the sound of her own voice. We may have an Ashley on our hands... (love you sis!)
• The Baby Bjorn. She is completely content when we go on walks or if we are running errands and she gets to face forward in the Baby Bjorn. She is already a people watcher!
• When she sleeps, she loves to have something covering her face, and that's usually her pink stuffed animal dolphin. She used to just cover her eyes with her hands, but now she uses her dolphin or sometimes her blanket. I love just watching her sleep, she is just so precious.
• Utah Basketball and Utah Jazz games. The noise, the lights, the Utah fight song, she loves it all!

Taylor sleeping with her dolphin over her face

Taylor at the Zoo last week with her Grandma TT on the train

Taylor's 1st Carousel ride.

Taylor with her cousins Tate, Bryson and Allie, her Aunt Brooke and Grandma TT

Bath Time - nothing like a swig of bath water... yum!

Taylor with her cousins Emery and Isaac and Quique.

Taylor's famous face that she started making when she started cutting her teeth.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since the day is coming to an end, I hope that everyone had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day! This was a holiday that was celebrated every year in my home growing up, so I have tried to hold on to some of my family traditions. Since Dustin is out of town this week, we celebrated the holiday on Sunday as a family. I made the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage along with some carrots and potatoes with white sauce, horseradish and mustards. Probably not as good as my mom used to make it, but still pretty good!

I remember very vividly growing up when my mom was finishing up cooking, my dad would bring out his glass of green beer and he would pour the milk into our (my sister and me) glasses and miraculously the milk would turn green. I am so grateful to my parents for always celebrating holidays and getting into them so much because they are memories that I treasure and hope to pass on to my kids.

No... we didn't put green dye in Taylor's formula, we'll save the green milk until next year. But we couldn't let her miss out on the fun. Her Grandma along with her Aunt, couldn't help but make sure that Taylor was in the spirit of the holiday. Her shirt reads "I'm Your Lucky Charm". I think that that is the understatement of the century for us!

Today, I also spent some time making a cake for a church activity we had this evening. I attempted it for Dustin's birthday, but this time I was actually able to make the three layer cake which two layers for his birthday due to a shortage in 8" cake pans. (Who knew that it was so hard to find 8" cake pans - 4 stores later). This is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake I made... is there a better match made in heaven on this earth than peanut butter and chocolate???

Taylor has had some rough times over the past couple of days due to her being on the verge of cutting her second tooth. With Dustin out of town, I had to bring her to the activity I went to and she wasn't incredibly happy, so after some crying, we finally got home to find this on our doorstep...

Sweet Liz brought over some cookies for Taylor from her BFF Lilly. Maybe it was one of those moments, but it almost brought me to tears. It was just one of those tender moments after I had just spent a couple of hours with some of my dearest friends in the world, to come home to a very thoughtful gift from one of my other very dear friends. I feel like the most blessed person alive to have such an amazing family and friends!

Best Weekend Ever!!!

It is official... Taylor is ours forever and ever!!! It was a jam-packed weekend of Taylor, Taylor, Taylor and it is one of my very favorite weekends of my life! There is a lot to say, so just bear with me.

Friday

Friday was the day we made the adoption legal. We had our court hearing at 8:30am with Judge Barrett. Since I've never really been in a court room, I was kind of hoping to sit in the court room like you see on TV, but instead, the judge took us into his chambers (a little more intimate, perhaps?). I didn't think that Friday would be too big of a deal seeing as how Taylor already feels like she's been ours for 6 months now. I was asked some questions by our lawyer and then asked if I would like to say anything additional and then the same questions were asked of Dustin. Although my mom and sister were on the couch behind us bawling, I didn't get too emotional, until our case worker Pam began talking a little bit about the adoption. This is when I was flooded with emotions. We have only known Pam for about 7 months and we've only met with her a handful of times and yet my love for her is stronger than I can put into words. It was through her inspiration that Jami (Taylor's birth mom) even looked through our paperwork from the beginning. She was one of the main instruments in making this adoption possible. We love her so much and we will forever be grateful to her.

It's official! Taylor is a a Tate!



My mom and Ash came into town to share this awesome experience!

Taylor and Pam (our adoption case worker... she's the best!)

Judge Barrett who made this adoption official!

Saturday

Saturday was the big day. Friday we made the adoption legal, but on Saturday, we made the adoption eternal. I tend to not go into my religious beliefs a lot on my blog. I know that religion is something that people keep near and dear to their hearts, but with this amazing experience we had this weekend, I felt it necessary to share the experience that we had. I know that there are many that read this blog that aren't familiar with the LDS faith, so I will explain a little bit about what we went through on Saturday. When Dustin and I got married, we got married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Since there are certain requirements to enter the temple such as to being a member of the LDS faith along with certain responsibilities and commitments as to how you are living your life, not everyone is able to enter, once the temple has been dedicated. Because of this, not everyone was able to see us get married, even some of our nearest and dearest friends and family members. But it was still a step that we wanted to take because in this ceremony we were sealed as husband and wife for time and all eternity, not just until we die. In regards to Saturday, if I was able to give birth to my own children (or if this happens in the future) they will be born in this covenant that we made when we got married and continue to live. However since Taylor was adopted and she was not born of me, we have the very rare opportunity to actually take her to the temple with us and have her sealed to us for time and all eternity.

I cannot even begin to explain the emotions the flooded me when I walked into this room where some of the most special people in our lives were seated. There were friends and family who have been there for us through this process. Some had had this same opportunity of adopting children, others had placed babies for adoption, but even those who had not been blessed with adoption in their lives, they had been with us through some of those most difficult times over the past couple of years. They were with us as we endured the pain of not being able to start our family, a pain that was so real at the time, but I can no longer feel. During the ceremony, Taylor smiled at her daddy and others in the room as these special words and promises were spoken. I can honestly say that it was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. I can say without a doubt that I know that this sweet little angel that was put in our lives was always supposed to be our little baby. I can't even begin to imagine our lives without her. Her special spirit has touched all that she has come in contact with and I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father who entrusted Dustin and I to be her parents.

On the temple grounds after Taylor was sealed to us for time and all eternity

Sunday

On Sunday at church, we were able to bless Taylor and Dustin was able to give her a blessing for his first time as a dad. It was a very special blessing and the words that he spoke were some very precious promises that were said that will be with her throughout her life. After church, Dustin's parents allowed us to use their house for some of our friends and family to come and celebrate the weekend that we had.

Taylor with her Great Uncle Jay

Taylor with her Grandma TT and cousin Allie (who was just blessed the week before)

Thanks to everyone who has shared this journey with us. We know that we could not have gotten through this without our family and friends as well as all of the prayers that were given on our behalf. There has been so much love and support shown to us and we can never repay you with all that we have received. Thank you can't even begin to explain the gratitude and love that we feel towards everyone. We love you so much!!!

Mom of the Year

WORST mom of the year that is! Since I had a hand in causing my daughter to look like this...


And like this...


I think that I deserve the title. So here is the long version of how this poor rash came to be. Thursday night was the monthly dinner club with the girls. This month the theme was to try something new. Growing up I used to love making calamari with my parents. I remember cleaning the squid with my dad and then frying up some calamari. Since I really can't remember doing it, I decided to try it out. Of course Taylor happened to be a little cranky during this process so I was working on the calamari and then tending to her... back and forth. Apparently during one of those times I must not have washed my hands well or touched her skin or something.

On Friday morning after her bath, I noticed she had a bit of a rash on her stomach and the tops of her arms and legs. I called the nurse at my Pediatrician's office and she said that with rashes, they have to see them to be sure. At this time, making the calamari hadn't even crossed my mind. I decided to wait it out a couple of days to see how it went and by Saturday it was bad. Thank goodness for my sister in law, Brooke the pharmacist. She has helped me out so much! I figured by this time it was probably an allergic reaction since cooking calamari probably wasn't the best idea around Taylor. Brooke told me about the Aveeno baby bath powder that helps soothe rashes. She also took time to go through her notes and told me to try using a humidifier at night. I guess allergic reactions usually peak around 72 hours. Great, another day to see if things get worse!

Last night I gave Taylor a bath and actually today her legs are looking better. I was just giving her a bath and crying feeling like the worst mom ever. Even though Taylor is as smiley as can be and doesn't seem to be irritated at all by the rash, my heart just breaks when I see the rash all over her face and body and know that I was the cause. I guess this is only the beginning of feeling inadequate. I just hope this rash goes away before finalizing the adoption in court on Friday. Nothing like showing up with a big rash all over your baby's face in court telling a judge how suitable you are to be the parent of this child.

On a lighter note, the countdown has officially begun! We can hardly wait until finalizing the adoption on Friday, sealing her in the temple on Saturday and blessing her on Sunday! What an amazing weekend this will be!!!