The day after Christmas we went to visit Rick's family. Here is Emma Grace with her new doll stroller from Grandma and Grandpa.
On Christmas day we went to my parent's house. They got her a car and she was very proud of it!
Christmas morning- Emma Grace with her new baby doll
Emma and Timmy with baby Jesus- Christmas Eve at church
smooching under the tree with her little brother
The best gift EVER came on Christmas Eve- Emma Grace received her certificate of citizenship!
Emma Grace looked adorable in her Christmas dress. I took these pictures and then realized how it was not very smart of me to use a black drop when she was wearing black tights and has black hair. Oops! Oh, well.
Emma is growing and changing so much. I was watching video of her from China and I couldn't believe how skinny her face and neck looked. She has gained over a pound since she has been home. This girl LOVES to eat. We thought we would have to smash up all the food and maybe even give her baby food due to her palate... but this girl can eat anything. I am amazed that she can gum up just about anything, even with a huge hole in the roof of her mouth. She WANTS to drink from a cup, but because of her open palate she is not able to suck. I give her a sippy cup without the stopper and she will drink from that... but she soaks herself. It is messy, so we normally only do it at dinner before she gets in the bath. She smiles so big when I hand her the cup. She also wants to walk. When we first got Emma, we went to stand her on our legs (while we were sitting) and she would buckle at the knees or her legs would fly out to the side. She didn't know how to keep her legs under her or how to put weight on them. By the end of our China trip, we could see a difference in her strength... she had pulled up to her feet twice and would let us support her and stand her on our lap. Now, this little firecracker pulls to a stand all day long, she cruises down the couch... and she will walk while holding on to our hands. That is a HUGE improvement! Her feet are incredibly weak, and her physical therapist feels that corrective shoes might be in her near future. Emma wants to walk so bad that she will get on her knees (butt off the ground) and walk that way. I am hoping and praying she walks by her 2nd birthday. We have 7 months and at the rate she is going, I know she will do it. When we first got home from China, she would watch Timmy climb the stairs and just sit at the bottom. Now, she can get to the top before he does! She is using signs and even saying some words. She will say "uh" for up and "mah" for more. She also says ma-ma. Once her palate is repaired, the speech will come along. Emma continues to be a champ at sleeping. She sleeps 12 hours every night in her own crib and in her own room. She will cry for a few minutes, then pop the thumb in and settle down. She has adjusted so wonderfully to our family that it feels like she has always been here. Monday will be a huge transition for her. She starts with the babysitter! This will be the first time that I have "dropped" her off with someone not familiar and left her for a significant amount of time. The lady watching her is AMAZING. She is loving and nurturing. It might take Emma a few days to realize that mommy always comes back, but once she does I think she will be really happy there!
We are looking forward to celebrating 2011 with our family of 6. We are so thankful that Emma is home and will be here to experience every day of the next year with a family.
I'm glad to hear things are going so well for your family and that Emma Grace is progressing so well! She does look so different than I remember her looking in China! She looks so healthy!
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