So thankful

I find myself so thankful tonight......

When I look at my daughter, sometimes I swear my breath is taken away by her beauty. We are beyond grateful for what God has done for our family. Why God chose Matt and I to be this beautiful baby's parents is beyond my understanding, but I am humbled.

This Thanksgiving, we went around and shared what we are thankful for in our lives.....my thought was Nella, but really I am thankful for more than just my beautiful daughter. I am thankful that she is the happiest, sweetest little love I have ever met. She smiles all the time and giggles so loud and when it happens, when the magic of that little giggle bursts out, I swear my heart skips a beat. Oh I love that sound.

We are thankful for all the little things she does now....flapping her arms with excitement when she sees you. Reaching for all the things she wants and especially reaching for mommy and daddy. Her little voice is so sweet and she talks softly and does a giggle during her talking.... it's priceless

We are thankful that she gives kisses (seriously opens her mouth when you kiss her now and will lean in to give others kisses pretty adorable), she will hug you tonight when we are snuggling. She is also now sitting up which is so adorable because she is bursting with pride.

But most of all I am thankful for momma angel, because without this beautiful, selfless person I would not have my daughter. I would not be able to be someone's mommy! I will forever be grateful for her and what she chose to do for Nella. I will forever have a deep connection with her.

I thank God everyday that he made this happen. I am so thankful this was his plan...many times I was unsure of his plan even angry for what seemed unfair....but boy did God know what he was doing.....I would do it over and over again if this is what I was waiting for! A beautiful, amazing little girl that is full of love and smiles....

Mommy Thoughts

I was talking to my sister today about her future delivery of her little one. Oh how I cannot wait for her to hold her little one for the first time. I feel like that no matter what path God lead you to be a mom, there is nothing like holding your baby for the first time! It is this huge rush of emotion of excitement, disbelief that this perfect baby is yours, and pure joy! I will never ever forget the moment I first held my daughter and what it felt like to be there in that moment with her! I just remember her sweet little face staring up at me like you are my mom! I have never ever smiled so big! She was here! She was ours! I cannot wait for my brother and sister as they embark on this journey!! Oh, it makes me smile so much for the joy they are about to have! I love this picture of our family because we are in love from the moment we met! And I love how big Matt is smiling! I have never ever seen him be more in love!!!

I love looking back at Nella's little baby pictures! This weekend I organized all of her clothes that she cannot fit into in tubs for our next little one....if we have another little girl..if not they will be a great gift to someone! I cannot believe that little sweet face has changed so much in five months! I feel like each day she changes and grows and it seems so fast, but I have loved every little moment with her! She will always and forever be our wish come true! Our special little blessing! Oh how she has changed into this little sweetheart with big smiles, giggles, and silliness! I cannot believe how little our peanut was here!

This our Nella and my how she has grown and changed from that little picture above! She is the sweetest little girl! I could not have asked God for a more perfect little girl! She is so excited to meet her little cousin in January! May God continue to bless Corey and Leslie on their journey to meeting their little one! We love you!!

Our butterfly

Our little love girl is growing and changing so much! This past month with her has been so much fun! She smiles all the time. I mean huge smiles constantly! I love it! I cannot get enough of her smiles and every single one melts my momma heart! Oh she is such a doll baby!

Here Daddy and her are getting ready to carve her pumpkin. Oh she was so adorable during our carving time. She loved touching the goop inside the pumpkin and she was talking the whole time and telling us what she thought her pumpkin should look like. I love this pic of them! Matt melts me when I watch him with her. He is so SO in love with his daughter. He smiles all the time and he becomes this gentle man that turns into complete mush with every move, sound, or smiles she makes. I love how in love they are with each other!

Our little love girl is five months....can you believe it? I still cannot believe how much she has grown. I have to say I have loved every month with her, but I am really enjoying this month with her. She is like a little person now. She is SO talkative....matt says she gets that from her mom...lol....and she smiles so much. And when you get her to giggle, it is the cutest little sound in the world. She bursts into laughter and I love it. She also is getting excited about things. When you start mixing up her bottle...she flaps her arms with excitement and tells you about it. She also does this when you walk in to the room or when she wants to go to you. Oh talk about tugging at a momma's heart strings. I love this...she is wanting to go to me now...it tends to be when Matt has her which I don't ever want to take her away from him, but it feels so good when she wants me and I can make her smile....shhh!

This is our Nella has a butterfly. Her Aunt Leslie had that idea for her for a costume and I am so glad we went with it...she was the most beautiful butterfly I had ever seen!!!!!!! Butterfly means new life and hope...and when I think about it that is what she is in our lives. Nella was what we hoped and prayed for for so long and she is a new little life. But also, we have a new life with Nella. One filled with happiness, love, and laughter, not that Matt and I didn't have that before, but we did have a part that was missing in our lives and we knew it was a baby....and Nella is our little hope that came true! She completed our family and we have never ever been so happy!!!!!!!

Pumpkin patch

Our fall with Nella has been so fun! It is crazy, but for the longest time I would sit and wonder what kind of traditions we would have as a family. I would dream about going to the pumpkin patch, dressing up for Halloween, carving pumpkins, showing off our baby at Apple Fest. And you know what my dreams, those thoughts at times, I wondered if they would ever happen, came true! I am so ENJOYING our fall with Nella!!!

These photos are from the pumpkin patch. It was so fun heading there with a group of friends and watching all the smiles and excited faces about picking out a pumpkin. Nella was precious, bright eyed and as always taking it all in. Her buddy Oliver loved all the pumpkins and even found his favorite a woof at the farm. Little Lincoln loved all the "balls" and wanted to drive the tractor on the hayride. Little Reese was her sweet little self trying to help find her pumpkin and little Miss V, she just loved snuggling with her mommy in her Ergo. It is so fun to see all the little ones together at the pumpkin patch and watch their little personalities already! I cannot wait to watch these little ones grow up together.

This was Nella and I on the hayride. She didn't mind it and just watched all the scenery and enjoyed watching the people on the hayride. It was so hot that day. It didn't really feel like fall with the 80 degree weather.

I love this pic of Matt and Nella! We found our pumpkin together as a family. Just like how I always thought it would be....she is so much fun!!!