December Update

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.--John 3:16

It took awhile, but we are finally beginning to settle in. Alayna is just a joy--she is a content little girl with a ready smile. She is getting used to being hugged and kissed by all, although sometimes she has a panicked look on her face when she sees Amelia coming at her. We are working on being gentle.

I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Alayna on December 15th. She did so well, smiles for all. At 5.5 months, she weighed 14.1 pounds and is 25 inches long. I suspect she will start gaining a little more weight now, as the doctor had me start her on rice cereal (hates it) and then adding some vegetables (loves carrots, sweet potatoes, beans and peas). Developmentally, we still need to work with Alayna. She is uncomfortable on her tummy, needs to work on sitting on her own, and has not started rolling over. She must have been held and loved on all day by Mrs. Lu. We are very grateful for that, and the other stuff will come.

Christmas came quickly once we arrived home, especially since I had not started shopping yet. I was a little worried how Alayna would react to all the extra stimulation--decorations, lights, new people, and lack of schedule. She did great! I kept looking for signs of stress from her, but didn’t notice anything.

We went to the children’s mass on Christmas Eve. Alayna was comfy on Grandpa’s shoulder just looking at all the people. Angelic, she was. Amelia was a little chatty, especially because her cousins Sophie and Isabella were able to join us from Memphis. Yummy family dinner at our house, and then off to bed for the kiddos where visions of sugar plums danced in their heads…After the gift opening on Christmas morning, we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s for dinner and more “spoiling”. Although still sleep deprived, the holidays were so much fun. The best gift being that Alayna was home for Christmas.

Love that smile.

Love this smile, too.

Brunch with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the golf course. Grandma wanted to chat with Santa, too.

Santa Baby!

Nick and Alayna

Cousin Sophia holding Alayna

Isabella helping Aunt Terri

Nick, Sophia, Amelia, Isabella and Alayna after Christmas Eve Mass

Loveable kids!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you, Santa.

Mommy, I can reach it myself.

We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all. --Ephesians 4:4-6

We decided that since our out-of-state family was in town for Christmas, we would have Alayna baptized on December 27th. Deacon Gary was nice enough to accommodate us on short notice…again. He did the same thing two years ago when we had Amelia baptized. Alayna Pei-Shan Brown was baptized with her Godparents at her side at St. Colette Church. Her big brother, Nick and my cousin, Sandra are her awesome Godparents. Sandy was even nice enough to cut her vacation short and fly to Michigan for the big day. It was a nice ceremony followed by a small family luncheon at the house afterwards. (Someday we’ll share the story of the “interruptions” by big sissy, Amelia. Don’t want to embarrass her here!)

I have to comment on Alayna’s gorgeous christening gown. It was loaned to her by Aunt Chrissy, and came to be in a most unusual way. Chrissy had been shopping in a beautiful boutique called Strasburg Children before we even decided to adopt again. She came across a beautiful gown that she just couldn’t take her eyes off. It was on sale, so she decided to buy it and the matching bonnet just to display on a satin hanger in her girls’ room. We both love Strasburg, and even though I had never seen the gown, I was excited when she told me we could borrow it for Alayna. Can you believe she had bought it in a 6 month size? It fit perfectly, and she looked so precious in it. The pictures don’t do it justice! Hmmmm, did she know something I didn’t???

The last week of the month both Amelia and Alayna had fun with their cousins. The Scoggins family headed back to Memphis, and Amelia sulked for a couple of days. We are now excited to begin settling into normal routines with Alayna. First order, getting her to sleep through the night!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and blessed New Year.