Ella's First Christmas~Our First Christmas as a Family of Four

We had our family Christmas on Saturday, December 19th since we were going to be out of town with family on Christmas Day.  What a sweet day together with beautiful memories made.  I was on the verge of joyful tears for much of the day.  Sometimes I loose my breath with how blessed I have been in this life and namely the people who have blessed my life...Matt, Ava, and Ella.  I need nothing more in this life than them.  

First Christmas for our littlest princess

Family Pic before presents.  One of my favorite memories this year...the girls in their princess outfits.

Lots of gifts to open and their new wagon

Ava was just as excited as the rest of us for Ella to open her first Christmas present.  Ava kept saying, "Ella, it's your first Christmas!!!"  Ella's first gift she opened was her light up pillow pet.  Definitely her favorite!

Ava and her new watch that Baba picked out for her.  Definitely her favorite gift of the night.

The girls with the shirts they picked out for each other.

My gifts

"It is 4:55"

Dinner of Chicken Noodle Soup and rolls.  Dessert of brownies and ice cream.  And cheers with wine and sparkling grape juice.

Holy Moly We're at Six Months!!

I swear time is flying by at warp speed!!  There is a lot of truth to the saying, "The days are sometimes long but the years are fast."  I know I don't always think about the gratitude of every precious minute I get with my sweet family but I pray everyday that God helps me to soak up every sweetness, every argument, every hug and kiss.  And I pray that these moments together last forever. 

The 6 month mark is an important one because it means we should be receiving our final adoption documents so that we can re-finalize Ella's adoption in the US.  This is the final step in making our family a family of four.

1.  It is so fun watching you take in all the magic of your first Christmas.  You love looking at the lights and the Christmas tree.  I know it doesn't make sense to you but you enjoy the beauty of it all.  You met Santa at daycare and weren't scared at all; just unsure of  what was happening.  However when we went to see Santa all together you were not having it!!   Once Mama came in to save you we sat next to Santa together but you refused to even look at him.

2.  You are also loving Christmas movies.  A few in particular are How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey version) and Polar Express.  It's been nice to watch something other than Daniel Tiger!!

3.  You are a great sleeper and we are SO grateful for that.  You have been a great sleeper since day one.  You're not always the easiest to get to sleep; in fact there are many nights when you are still awake when I head to bed but once you are a sleep you rarely wake until morning.

4.  You enjoy coloring at home.  You color princesses and hearts.  You're also good at hoarding the colors to make your sister mad at you!  Still pushing those buttons ;)

5.  You are making friends at daycare and love going to daycare.  When we get close and can see daycare you break out excitedly shouting, "Daycare!!!"  At the end of the day you are excited to see whoever is picking you up but you also give out hugs to your friends and you always tell us that you had a fun day.

6.  Your speech continues to improve.  There are some words that are still very hard to understand.  Sometimes that's because you're irritated and whiney.  And sometimes it's because you're trying to say a new word.  But words that you've been working on continue to get clearer.  We all get so excited when you say a word that we can understand on the first try.  You have a speech therapy eval next week so that we can start therapy soon.  

7.  You love your baby dolls.  You're always feeding them, rocking them, or tucking them in to bed.  You even have them pretend crying at times so that you can then take care of them.  You're quite the little mama.

8.  We love playing games together as a family!  Some of your favorites are Uno Attack, Don't Break the Ice, Candy Land, and Count Your Chickens.  You definitely require help with the games but honestly for being 2 you do a great job!  You're learning your colors, numbers, and how to take turns.

9.  You celebrated your first Thanksgiving during the last month.  We celebrated with both my side and your dad's side of the family.  Thanksgiving was filled with fun, food, and family!  We were so blessed that you were with us this year.

10.  You and Ava are closer than ever.  It is so fun to watch your relationship bloom.  You girls are getting along more and more and you love playing together.  Mama and Baba love that you girls use your imagination; pretending to be at the beach, playing dress up, cooking food in the kitchen, and on and on.  Nothing makes us happier than hearing our beautiful girls laughing and playing together.

Visiting Santa

We visited Santa this weekend at the Durham Museum.  Santa was very busy and had a long line to get to him but it was worth it!  Ava was so excited to see Santa this year.  She kept telling us that she was not scared of him anymore but I was still hesitant about how she would do.  Once it was our turn, Ella decided that she was not interested so I was busy holding her and telling her it was okay.  By the time I turned towards Santa, Ava was already on his lap telling him what she wanted for Christmas!  She's now a pro at this Santa business.  We were able to get a few pics of both girls with Santa and then I jumped in to save Ella.  I hate to say it but this photo makes me laugh! Ella however was not amused.

After Ella calmed down in my arms I went with her to sit by Santa.  She still wouldn't even look at him but we did manage to get a decent picture.

Wish lists for Santa this year included:

Ava~slippers, teddy bear, barbie clothes, and a new hippo game

Ella~baby doll and teddy bear

Ava's First Christmas Program

Ava has been preparing for her first school Christmas program over the last month.  We were all so excited for her program and we were very proud parents!  Ava was so happy to have both her mom and dad there as well as Lau Lau and Pappy there to watch her.  

Ava sang loud and proud :)  The first song was called Pinata.  It went something like, "Uno, dos, tres, pinata!!!" Shake, shake, shake.  They were so cute!!  The second song was about a Gingerbread Man.  During this song the vice principal came out dressed as a Gingerbread Man.  

Deck the Halls

I LOVE Christmas! I love decorating for Christmas! This year was one of my favorites because my girls were so into helping decorate. I mentioned to Ava that we “might” put the tree up that night and her excitement was contagious and definitely was not going to let me get away with not putting it up!

Ava helped with all of it...putting the tree together and fluffing the branches as well as putting on the ornaments. Ella watched her sister for a short time...this was the first time she would have seen a Christmas tree...but then she quickly wanted to be a part of hanging the ornaments. They were excellent helpers and I watched proudly as they picked out and hung each ornament. It's so fun to share with the girls the stories behind each ornament. I Christmases are just going to get more fun every year!

We have a pre lit tree and unfortunately when we got the tree put together the lights on the middle section would not turn on. I worked on them for a little time but then decided that I'd just go get other lights to fill in later. At one point Ava was putting up an ornament in the section and must have gotten the string of lights just right and all the sudden the middle section lit up. I got excited and clapped and Ava exclaimed, “That's marvelous!!”

So Much to be Thankful For

We love Thanksgiving in our home and we love gearing up for Thanksgiving. This is the second year of our Fuller Family Blessings Tree. We start the tree on November 1^st and then every night at dinner we each get to add a leaf to the tree with something or someone who we are thankful for. By Thanksgiving we have a full tree. It's a fun way to talk about Thanksgiving with the girls and also set our hearts and minds on the season.

We are thankful for our families all year but Thanksgiving is just not Thanksgiving without being around family. And we were able to spend a weekend with each of our families.

The weekend before Thanksgiving we met my side of the family in Manhattan for the football game and then all road tripped to my brother and his wife's house. This Thanksgiving was Ella's first big holiday at home and Robert and Catherine's first holiday as a married couple. Lots to celebrate from this year!

Thanksgiving Day was spent at home, just the 4 of us. I was originally scheduled to work Friday afterwards but ended up working the overnight shift. Thanksgiving was a lazy day and unfortunately was a sick day for Matt. We watched the parade, ate Biscuits and Gravy, and then cuddled up for several movies. Perfect Day...minus the sick stuff.

We then traveled to the Fuller Farm for the weekend after Thanksgiving to be with Matt's side of the family. Everyone was able to make it home and we had a feast! We had a blast playing UNO Attack with the kids and poker without the kids. :)

In a world that seems to be going crazy I am reminded that we have SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!!!!

Matched a Year Ago

A year ago, the day before Thanksgiving 2014, was the day we first saw Ella's picture and we were immediately in love. Even though we were trying to be cautious based on prior experiences, Matt and I both knew she was our daughter.  Ella was the daughter we had been waiting on.  She was the child we had been praying for; crying for. And we finally had a face and a name for that beautiful child.

Our first picture of our Ella Bella in 11/2014.

At home with her family in 11/2015.   What a difference a year makes!!

 It's amazing to think how much our life has changed in the last year. We went from a family of three to a family of four that day before Thanksgiving. We spent the next 6 months finalizing paperwork, preparing Ella's room, and waiting on travel approval.  In June we traveled to China to finally meet our baby girl. Since June, life seems like a bit of a whirlwind!  Ella is a strong willed, busy, independent, sweet girl. She keeps us on our toes every minute of the day.  Ella is also smart (really smart if you ask her parents ;)). Sometimes she uses those smarts to prove to us she is learning colors, numbers, names, and songs. But most of the time those smarts are used to test us with her orneriness. Little does she know, she has made us stronger parents over the last 6 months!

Ella has constantly proven how resilient and strong she is. She's transitioned quickly into her new role in our family. She's loving daycare and making friends.  She has formed strong attachment bonds to Matt, Ava, and I but also to her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She battled through surgery and amazed all of her physicians.

Ella you are amazing!!  And we love you so much!!

Holt Benefit 2015

Matt and I will forever be grateful for Holt International and everything they did to help bring our girls home.  We could not have done it without this amazing organization.  Not only do they do amazing things to help bring kids home to be adopted into their forever family but they also support thousands of kiddos around the world who haven't been adopted yet.  They provide food, shelter, and love to kiddos who so need and deserve it.  Holt is an amazing organization doing amazing things to make this world better.  

Last night we went to the annual Holt Gala and Auction in Omaha.  This event is so fun and will always be a priority for us.  We want to support and be a partner with Holt and all they are doing.   Not only in honor of our daughters but for all the other beautiful kiddos who are still waiting.

Me and my handsome date

Jenn, me, Laura, and Randa~ special friends who we've met along our journey

Randa, Celeste, me, Bonnie~our social worker, and Laura

Our table after the dessert dash.  We got Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Bud Light in our bucket!!  We may not have got the best dessert, but we had fun!

FIVE Months a Family of Four

Ella, we are so thankful for you!!  You can make me so frustrated and laughing all at the same time...you keep us on our toes!  You are a strong willed girl and even though your strong willed attitude can be wearing on this Mama, I thank God you have it.  Down the road I know that you will be able to handle the world, stand up for yourself, and make a difference because under that strong willed attitude is a heart of gold and a girl who loves people!  I can't wait to see what you accomplish in this life...just slow down a little with this growing business :)  Love you Ella Bella!!

1.  You are loving music!  This has been a new thing over the last few months.  You are starting to sing/hum along with the radio.  And you definitely know all the words to the Daniel Tiger theme song :)  

2.  Along with singing, you are also loving to dance to the music!  We love our dance parties in the Fuller Home.  You're getting a groove down now and it's not uncommon to walk in a room where music is going and see you at least bobbing your head.

3.  Daniel Tiger...still your favorite show.  We watch it on the Apple TV so we only have so many episodes (somewhere around 30) and I swear that we have seen them all at least 3 times!!  Since we don't watch TV that much that tells you that when you get a chance all you want is DT.

4.  You learned how to Trick or Treat during the last month.  And now you're a pro already!  You had several parties to practice Trick or Treating before the big night.  But you definitely have down ringing the door bell and asking for candy and you definitely have down the eating of candy!

5.  You are "all clear" after surgery.  The doctors think you're amazing and that you recovered really amazingly!  We agree!!  So no more soft diet for you (or the rest of us).  I was nervous to add back in foods like crackers but you're doing a great job of chewing them up really well so that they don't hurt your new palate.  Since surgery you've been snoring when you sleep too...but definitely a cute little snore :)

6.  You love to put together puzzles...you especially like the chunky piece puzzles so that you can do them yourself!!  You are miss independent and prefer to do whatever you can on your own!!  But you are really getting good at puzzles and are learning your numbers and shapes.  

7.  You got to spend lots of time with your cousins over the last month.  We saw them in Manhattan and at the farm.  It's fun to watch your relationship with them grow.  Playing in the dirt, riding on the 4 wheeler, and just running around with them.  They love you and I love to watch you play and learn with them.

8.  You would eat all the time if we let you.  In fact you don't often stop unless we make you!  Part of that is because you are so pokey at eating.  It seems like you're still working on the last meal when we're ready to start the next meal.  Ok, that's an exaggeration...but close :)  You love crackers, cheerios, apple juice, turkey, hot dogs, fruit snacks, mandarin oranges, and apple sauce.

9.  Your speech is starting to come along.  Since your surgery you are making more syllables and you're speech is louder.  You're able to mimic more words and they sound more like they should: baba, mama, Ava, elephant, monkey, Daniel Tiger.  And you're saying more words on your own: mama, baba, more, chap stick, no, yes.  There's lots more but those are the basics.  We are currently working with the school system to get you set up for speech therapy.  Then there won't be any stopping you!!

10.  You like to help around the house and we love that!!  You've been helping by taking small things to the trash, folding wash rags, and helping wipe up messes.  You're such a big help and we appreciate it!  

Halloween Festivities!!

It has been a week of Halloween Parties!!  I'm exhausted!  Thank goodness the time changes tonight and that should mean an extra hour of sleep tonight.  Let's hope the girls got the message regarding the extra hour of sleep ;)

We started on Tuesday night at Kidz Academy~Ella's daycare.

Ella and Miss Brittany

 Ava and her good friend Liliana.

 Ella says, "I can do this!"

Ava and Miss Shelby, her teacher from last year.

Ella then went trick or treating with her daycare friends on Wednesday.  

Ava had her school party on Friday and both Matt and I were able to go to help.  I have signed up as Head Parent for Ava's class and had fun planning the party.  Ava was so excited that we both could be there!

 Ava, Mama, and Baba (this is her "I'm happy" face)

 Ava's class with Mrs. Roth and Mrs. Mittlieder

 Parade time

Mr. McGee~principal

Friday night we all went to Lil' Spooks at QLI for lots of games and trick or treating.

 Walking the plank to stay away from the alligators

 Trick or Treating with our AL Residents

Saturday~Halloween, we went to Vala's Pumpkin Patch in the morning since we hadn't been as a family yet this year.  It was cool and cloudy, but we had a great time.

 First responders handing out candy

 Pig races

 "Mama, we can't carry those!!"

 Sweet girl

 Fun on the big slide

 Turkey leg for lunch...yummy!!

 Our green pumpkin

On the hayrack ride...Ava not cooperating :)

And finally we made it to Halloween Night~Trick or Treating time.  Our dear friend and neighbor Darlene joined us for chili and then we headed out.  Ella's first official Halloween...she's a pro at this trick or treat business already!

 Darlene with the girls

 Love them~Princess Elsa and Princess Ana

The girls with Jamison and Chase...our former neighbors but still great friends!

 Loves from big sis

 LOVE

 Ava with Sergio at Darlene's.  He's always dressed for the holiday.  This is Ava's impression on him ;)

 Our sweet friends Jax and Maci

 Our sweet friend from down the street, Jocelyn

 My heart melts

Trick or Treating

Checking out the loot!!