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!!!

Nella is 4 months!!!

Nella is 4 months today!!! I cannot believe she has been in our lives for 4 months all ready!!! WOW~ Where does time go? To say that these past 4 months have been a blessing would be an understatement! She is so much fun! She is a cooing machine! Her little voices gets so loud! We love it! She loves life! I mean loves it! She is our bright eyed girl as she is always taking everything in! So fun! She really enjoys being outside and shopping..lol! I am serious she wants to check everything out when we are there...not sure where she gets that from!

She smiles all the time! She had her first giggle this month! Seriously, the cutest sound I had ever heard. It was uh, uh so cute! She has a new sound this week ut. She says it constantly and if you do it back to her then she does it back. So needless to say, we have long conversations. I find her talking to herself more...especially in the car...so cute! She is a heart melter! I love this picture...I think it actually captured how beautiful and sweet she is! Seriously, I cannot believe how amazing she is!

Today we celebrated my 27th birthday! How did I become 27...wow! We had a great day! My husband is beyond thoughtful and compassionate. He made me breakfast and gave Nella her 6 am bottle so I could sleep in! Then he went and bought an outfit for Nella for her to wear on mommy's birthday! It is the outfit above! :) It says I love you a whole bunch! He then planned a day for us to go to Brown County and hang out! We had lunch together and then shopped around in Nashville's adorable shops! Then we went to Brown County to hike!

It was truly an awesome birthday! I have to say it was the best ever! For those of you who know, this year was not the easiest in my life. There were many times when I would doubt that I would be a mom! I remember last year blowing out the candles and wishing that God would send us a child to love! When I was in the woods today, I was reflecting and talking with God. Even though at times this year was hard and many times I doubted what he was doing in our lives, I am thankful! Thankful I went through the pain and that I learned to trust God. I am ever so grateful that he brought Nella to us! Seriously, I still feel I am in a dream! I still cannot believe I am her mom because she is the sweetest, beautiful little girl I have ever met! Honestly, she is! It was a perfect birthday because I spent it with my family and realized that my wish that I wished for last year on my birthday candles came true! Her name is Nella! God is WONDERFUL!

I'm 3 months!!!!

WOW, our little lady bug is 3 months old! She is so awesome! I think so far, I love EVERY single stage. She is so interactive right now! She smiles and talks to mom and dad all the time!
She spent a lot of time with family and friends this month! We attended Leeapalooza! It was so fun celebrating Lee being in remission and we loved sharing her with everyone! Here is a pic of my mom and dad with her! Doesn't it just melt you? I never ever realized how much my parents loved me until I had Nella bug! Wow it is such a deep love, the kind that hurts in your stomach at times and makes you feel like your heart is going to burst at moments because you think that your love cannot grow for her anymore, but it does. The kind where you get goosebumps and smile just because she is the cutest little one ever.....so fun! But watching our parents with her has been so breathtaking. I can feel their love for her! It pours out of their bodies. Such big smiles and we love it!!!

I love putting her in her bumbo. She looks around and joins in on conversations now! Love it! You can tell she thinks she is such a big girl! So cute!

Nella loves laying on a blanket and taking in her world. She especially loves it when she has a little one to grab onto and coo too. She really enjoyed her blankiet time with Peyton! They kept holding hands....so cute! Peyton is our cousin and we are so excited to see them grow together!

She LOVES being read too!!! I mean loves it! Her eyes stretch so WIDE and she just listens and seems to take it all in! Matt and I think she loves life! She loves watching and learning. You can see it on her face! Here is Grandma Spencer and her reading! She looks pretty comfy:)

We traveled back to Kendallville for Daddy to be honored at the first East Noble Football game for being on the State Football team 10 years ago...WOW 10 years...doesn't feel like that long ago!!! It was so fun! Nella even joined Daddy out on the field. It was a blast seeing friends and being with family! She was so cute. She loved watching the movement on the field. Her eyes would stretch so wide!

Well we have had an AWESOME 3 months.....see you soon!!!!!!

My heart continues to melt

I look at her and I cannot believe she is here......and I get to be her mom. If someone would have told me someday she will be yours and you will be her mom, I wouldn't have believed them that I could have such a precious baby girl. It is hard to believe most days that I get to be a mommy to the prettiest girl I have ever seen!


This first picture is what her little hair looks like when I come her hair out in the morning. She loves it! She loves having her hair touched and played with. She always smiles when I say, who is the prettiest girl in all the world and we say Nella......We had just said that when I snapped this picture......maybe a potential ham for the camera :)

Here our little love is at the State Fair for the first time. She is hanging on to Grandma Spencer. I love this picture. What a snuggly love! She loved the fair. She really liked looking at the animals and the people. She is SO alert and wants to see everything and take it all in. What a sweet little love. She looks so cute in her hat. It is SO big on her

Here is a pic of Nella and I before we went over to my cousin's house. I love that we both caught smiling in this one......She is the light of my life. I cannot tell you the amount of love I have this little girl. My heart feels like it is going to burst somedays for how much I love her. I love every moment of being a mom. It is hard to go to school and teach, but I know that is where I am suppose to be too, but man I fly out of school now to get to see my lady bug and if you know me...I didn't use to do that...but I don't want to miss a moment with her. I love Miss Sarah and she gives me such peace of mind because she loves Nella so much too!!! She is fabulous!!!

After church one day, Nella and I hung out on the porch. she loves being outside and she takes it all in. She likes putting her feet in the grass and looking at the trees and flowers. Sometimes we see dogs or people walk by.

Seriously, everyday I think to myself why does God love me so much.....honestly to think he helped bring our momma angel and us together and he lead us to Nella. He chose us to love her. It is amazing how much he loves us! Some of favorite things she is doing now is smiling, her noises and how she gets so loud and it surprises herself, splashing in the tub and kicking her feet, watching her in the bumbo she thinks she is such big stuff, how her eyes stretch so wide when she is excited, and her being on the changing table....we have deep conversations up there. I don't want to miss a moment with her. I try to take in every single thing she does. I want to cherish it and remember it forever. I want to share to her about all the little things she does.....being a mommy is so good!!!! God is so good!!!