One year ago...

We were landing on China soil, living our last few days/moments childless.  This past year has been a roller coaster of fun, love, fear, patience and growth, for all of us. The first 3 months home were a blur... as we look through our photos, we can't recall half of the pictures taken once home.  New parents are warned that they are going to be tired, but no one says you are going to feel like you are going to feel like you have mono for months and lose your memory...the jet lag didn't help matters!

The first 6 months we had to take much slower than we expected, introducing Emma to new people and experiences...most people were patient with us and we thank you for giving Emma the time she needed to adjust.  Her "gun blowing" coping mechanism is almost non-existent now, but pops up as a warning sign of doing too much every now and again.  Emma's schedule is the key to her happiness (and ours), so we are very strict still about staying on track with eating, nap and bedtimes...everyday is truly "groundhog day" at our house for now.

You would think after waiting for almost 5 years we were 100% prepared for parenting...in most ways we were, but there were other ways we weren't.  To say we hit the ground running when Emma was placed into our arms is an understatement.  We expected Emma to be delayed and the only delay was weight, which she caught up on within months; going to sleep is still an every changing issue, but there are definitely more good naps/bedtimes than bad...in fact, as I type, Doug just sent me a message that she melted down at nap time.

We prepared ourselves for the worst case adoption scenario but were blessed with a on-target, funny, smart, stubborn, beautiful, ball of energy and compassion that walked within weeks of being home and has yet to stop!  She will turn 2 in a few months and it's just so hard to believe. How big/small the party will be is still undecided, but I am already on a mission to find the perfect birthday outfit!