Sweet Valentine

Just wanted to share a few pics of our sweet Valentine!

The Little Miss Turned 2!

Gia has officially become a 2 year old! It was so exciting to celebrate this special day with her and at the same time it brought so many emotions. Let's start from the beginning:

I was so excited for this day to come and began planning for her party probably as soon as Christmas was over {which by the way I never really shared so I will be posting some very late pics for you all to peak at...} I knew exactly what I wanted to theme her party and immediately began pinning all sorts of things on Pinterest. Let's just say once I get something into my head I kind of run with it like a crazy person for a little while. Anyways.... the theme was Tangled! This movie has become a staple in our home for the last few months; we eat, sleep, and breathe Tangled. What does that mean you ask? Well it means that we watch it at least once a day if not more, we know all the words by heart, and could instantly break out in any one of the Tangled songs if lead to do so. It's been all about Tangled. I loved it at first, it was the first movie she actually sat down to really watch and it took the focus away from Yo Gabba Gabba, which was a relief. And honestly I was very excited to plan a birthday with such a theme... Princess! I worked for weeks to hand make her decorations and to plan everything out perfectly! The day came and went too fast and I was left rather sad that it was over in the end. Here's a peak:

Because her party was not on her actual birthday we got to celebrate twice, the second time as a family- just the three of us! It was a perfect day! We went to the park, had her favorite dinner, and watched {you guessed it} her favorite movie!

More importantly than the party, the decorations, or the cupcakes this day meant so much more to me; it was my child's second birthday but her very first as a member of our family, as our daughter. I couldn't help but think that there was so much we missed in that first year and half and that on a day like this where most mothers get to recount the steps they took to birth such a beautiful child I am left with no memories of such an account. All I have are the memories of when we first met, when we first took her on a visit, when she stayed overnight for the first time. Jason and I talked a lot about this day and he reminded me that although we don't have the memories of her birth we have the gift of making memories for the rest of her life. Looking forward to that means so much more to me than looking back on what's been missed. So now we have a two year old.... and everyone knows what kind of memories we're sure to make this year:) Some of them have already started!

A Time for Thanks

Thanksgiving to many is really just a holiday reserved to eat a lot of food, watch football and spend some time with family. Well to the Ayers household it holds a different meaning. Several years ago Greg and Pam, Jason's parents, decided that this holiday should be a day meant to tell those you love how thankful you are for them and what better way to say it than giving a gift? So instead of giving gifts on Christmas they chose to give each other gifts on Thanksgiving and reserve Christmas as a time to remember Christ's birth and giving to others the way God gave his son to us. 

Being a part of this tradition for the last several years has been very special to me as I watched Jason's parents and siblings go person by person telling them why they are thankful for them and declaring the things of God over their life. It's funny to think that we "know" that our family loves us and that it doesn't really have to be said but when someone does, or several people do, it touches your heart in a way you can't imagine.

This tradition is something that Jason and I have decided we would like for our family. I struggled in the beginning thinking about all of my Christmas morning memories and knowing that my children wouldn't have those, so as a slight compromise Jason gave way and came up with a plan to spend the day before Thanksgiving as a family decorating the Christmas tree so that Thanksgiving morning our children would be able to wake up and open presents under the tree. A silly concept but one of the things I remember most about my childhood. 

This year was particularly special because it was the very first Thanksgiving with a child of our own. It was so exciting to be able to share this time with our little girl and although I'm sure the only part she understood was that she was opening gifts we took the time to tell her how thankful we are that God gave her to us and declare the plans that God has for her future. It was so special and fun to watch her tear into her gifts and to see her literally jump for joy when she saw her new playground outside. 

A Gabba Gabba shirt!

We had to hang a sheet to cover the surprise!

Playing with the dress ups G'ma and G'pa gave her

It's a day I won't forget and it's a tradition I'm glad to carry for many years to come. 

Halloween

Here's a few pics from Halloween:) Gia was a little unsure at first because our first stop was Grandma and Grandpa's house where she was allowed to pick her candy from the same bowl we had been telling her not to get into just the week before. We went to a trunk or treat at the church down the street and she quickly learned that she was receiving candy and because she was so darn cute she could take just about as much as she wanted. She was only traumatized once by a scary mask and it of course was her uncle "guycle" who was the culprit. She's still talking about it!

San Diego

SO it's been awhile {again} but that's the life of a first time mom right? It feels like it's only been a few weeks since our precious girl came home to us but in reality it's been almost two months! Two wonderfully amazing months!! Life around here has been rather hectic and well, a little different to say the least. But we got to take a much needed vacation to beautiful San Diego and I thought I should share...
This was our very first vacation with miss Gia{and we're pretty sure her first vacation ever} and we were a little unsure of how she would do on the 6 hour drive, so we tried to strategically plan to leave right at nap time. Well, this worked pretty well for about an hour and then she woke up and we resorted to things like Yo Gabba Gabba to keep her occupied:)

Gia and Daddy touched the starfish!

 The whole week was so much fun and it was exciting to experience so many new things with her! We went to Sea World, she loved watching the fish and seeing the penguins but could care less about the shows unless something was jumping in the air.

Gia watching Daddy instead of Shamu

We fed the Sea Lions

We went to the San Diego Zoo, where she had a melt down the whole time we were on the bus tour and fell asleep just as we got to the Pandas.

She's a sunglasses girl just like her mommy!

And we went to the beach! I think this was her favorite part of our entire vacation! She loved playing in the water and especially loved playing in the sand! She even allowed us to bury her, she actually helped:)

It was a wonderful week and I can't wait to go again! She did such a great job with everything we threw at her! We are so blessed to be starting our new family with this precious girl!

2 1/2 Months...

It's been 2 1/2 months... 2 1/2 months! I can't believe what a roller coaster the last weeks have been. I feel like i've gone through about as many emotions as humanly possibly in this short amount of time, everything from excitement and joy to disappointment and fear.
Needless to say Gia is still not in her permanent home where she belongs but we are gradually getting closer. I think we've run into every obstacle we could have in this process. Our home study that was ordered by the judge couldn't be completed because we live in a different county than Gia's case, and by the time they got everything worked out it was determined that we were too far along in our licensing process for a home study to be done. We tried to see if our foster classes could be accelerated, we got phone numbers of anyone we could think of that might be able to help the process and when we finally decided to give up and just wait for our license their was another court date which resulted in more waiting and still not getting the answer we wanted; that our little girl was moving in. Despite not being able to take her home permanently yet we have been allowed to start overnight visits, adding an extra night each week. And to top it all off we are done with all of our classes and are only waiting for our paperwork to be submitted to the state. Which means that it's only a few short weeks away and our daughter will be home with us!
Having her for extended visits has been more wonderful than I could have possibly imagined! You wonder when you decide to adopt a child whether or not you will connect with them or them with you or how your love will grow. It's an amazing thing to sit back and realize the love that you have for a child that you met only so long ago. She is definitely our daughter and I thank God every day for the plans that he's set in place for us and for this beautiful gift.

Let me tell you a little bit about miss Gia....

She laughs, dances, and sings. She's so clever and comes up with her own little tunes to hum. 

She knows the "clean up" song and insists on humming it every time she cleans up her toys. 

She's a neat freak:) Any time she drops food onto her tray she has to pick it up. Give her a rag and she's great at wiping the table or her face. 

She's right in the middle of size 12 months and 18 months and nothing we own seems to fit her right. 

She loves to play in the dirt. 

She has absolutely no fear! We went to an indoor swimming center that had a kiddie slide and she went down all by her self over and over and over again. 

She loves to swim and jump into the pool.

Her favorite food is mac 'n cheese, it feels like that's all we ever feed her.

We're pretty sure she speaks a little spanish and calls her water agua and says si for yes.

She's obsessed with her foster parent's dog named Molly and insists that Romeo's name is Molly as well.

We're convinced that she's a genius baby:) 

She thinks more and please are the same word.

She loves to cuddle when she's tired. 

She has absolutely no interest in tv and goes 100mph all the time until she crashes.

She calls her blanky mimis.

She has crazy girl hair that doesn't naturally part and magnetizes to her face if you don't pull it up.

Surprisingly she looks kind of like Jason and I {funny how God planned that}.

She blows kisses by sucking on the back of her hand and letting go with a loud "mush" sound.

She doesn't cry or yell when she wakes up from a nap... she is perfectly content to hang out in her crib.

She's shy when she first meets people and covers her face, but it only takes a few minutes for her to warm up to everyone.

She refuses to keep her shoes on and would much rather chew on them than wear them.

She has an amazing giggle and laugh that's full of energy.

She is a beautiful little girl that I can't thank God enough for and 

couldn't possibly imagine our lives without. 

She is our {daughter}.