SIX months!!

Dear Addison,

It's so hard to believe that you have been a part of our family for six months. I remember "gotcha day" like it was yesterday, and yet it feels like you have been with us forever. I don't grieve for the months we spent apart, but I rejoice for the months we have had together. You have filled a void in my heart that I didn't even know was there. You bring so much joy and laughter and fun to our family. You have stolen all of our hearts. Today, you started saying Alyssa and Riley's names. They have waited a long time to hear you say their names......Ah LaLa and RiYah. You are adorable!

I don't know what the first 13 months of your life were like, but you have such a strong and determined spirit, that I know you are adjusting to your new life beautifully. I thank God for you every day, and for giving you the will to overcome your fears. In the past 6 months you have learned to sit, crawl, walk, and now you are trying to jump. You have learned how to hold a bottle, and how to eat real food. You have learned to give kisses, hugs, say mama, dada, bottle, and lots of other words. You have learned to sign please, thank you, more, help, potty, shoes, all done, mama, dada, stop, go, cereal, friend, drink, bottle, milk, beautiful, and nigh-nigh. You have learned how to blow bubbles in the pool, and to go underwater without being afraid. You can go in the nursery at church, and stay the whole time. You have been to New York, Colorado, and Michigan. And you are learning how to pray. When we say prayers at dinner, you fold your hands and squint your eyes closed. When I rock you in the rocker before bed, I tell you about all the people that love you, and I always tell you how much God loves you. As soon as you hear me say God, you fold your hands and squint your eyes, so we pray together before bed. Those are such sweet times to me that I will hold in my heart forever.

I hope you will always know how loved and treasured you are. We love you with all our hearts, precious baby girl, and we thank God for the gift of you.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Some fun pictures.........

Addison learned how to "smile".....

And to think, 6 months ago she didn't know how to eat! Now she can eat and talk on the phone. Smart girl!

Daddys girl!

Happy baby!

We would love it if you would leave a wish/prayer/comment for Addison. I plan to print them all out and put them in her album. thanks!

Pictures...

Is this a cute little coat or what?! Like my piggy tails?

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands" Psalm 19:1

Easter, ski trip and more!

Addison on Palm Sunday.........

This is Addison checking out the ducks in our back yard. As soon as she saw them, she said "baby" and kept signing 'baby', it was so cute....... Sisters.......... We took Addison on her first ski trip to CO. last week. We all had such a great time, and we were lucky enough to have lots of family out there to stay with her so Russ and I could ski. She did so good with babysitters for 3 days, and she loved seeing all the snow....... TWO grandma's to babysit!! And Uncle Dick and Aunt Donna..... Cousin Luke..... and Brooke On Easter Sunday we rode a lift to the top of the mountain for a Sunrise service. It was incredible!! Cold, but worth it. What a way to celebrate our saviour being risen from the dead... Riding the lift back down....Addison's first ski lift ride, and definitely not her last!!

Happy Easter from the Carlsons!!!

Spring Break

It has been a busy few weeks around here with spring break and the kids having some time off school. We were finally able to get together with our friends from Wheaton who also have a little girl from China. You can see pictures of the girls here .

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Eric came to visit from PA., and then the kids and I went to Michigan for 3 days to visit some friends......

Look how big Addison looks next to Aidan!

Riley is such a great "big brother"!

This is at our friends, the Davito's, in Michigan.

Addison is now walking more than crawling, and sleeping and napping less. She still isn't talking much, mostly babbling. We were eating dinner the other night and she patted my arm and said "Mama". We were all so excited and made such a big deal out of it, that she patted Russ's arm and said "Mama", too! Ok, so we're still working on that one. (she also thinks SHE is mama, and Riley is mama!)

Wearing her "I love America" shirt, from her GREAT Aunt Margo and Uncle Dave!

Could she be any cuter?!?! (yes, we're a little biased!)

Spring!

We had at least 2 days this week that felt like spring. Addison loves being outside! We are definitely looking forward to summer. And, Addie learned how to drink from a straw this week. I guess she will go from the bottle straight to straws, since she wants nothing to do with sippy cups. What a funny girl! Oh, and by the way, I did not fix her hair to stand straight up in the swing picture, it was really windy that day. :-)

Pictures...

My Brown-Eyed Girl!

This is pure joy!

Addison learned how to stand up this week! She thinks it is so funny when she stands up then falls back down. She laughs and laughs. She cracks me up, every day!!

Thanks for my new sweater Grandma Carlson, see how pretty I look?!