I have started to work on Ella’s adoption video and it has brought me right back to those first days in Viet Nam; meeting our daughter, getting to know her in the hotel, exploring Hanoi. Although it wasn’t all that long ago, our time there seems like ages ago and I am so grateful to have those videos to bring me back, and to one day let Ella see our first weeks together.

Today’s Love Thursday post is inspired by Ella’s reaction to watching some video clips of our time in Viet Nam. A few days ago... more

Lately I have encountered a few situations that could have been made infinitely better if only I had practiced some discretion. I too often say too much, offer unasked for information and find myself in a conversation that I never really wanted to be in in the first place.

The most common question that I get asked about adoption is in reference to the cost. ‘Was it really expensive?’ or ‘It costs a lot, right?’ are the two main ones. Instead of going into why adoptions cost money and how... more

Music plays an extremely large and important role in my family’s daily life. We love to watch “Jack’s Big Music Show” and “Little Einsteins” on television. Both shows are centered around music and Ella just can’t get enough of it. Classical, contemporary, jazz, she loves it all – especially if it has a strong beat to it. She will stop whatever it is that she’s doing if she hears a song she likes, head to the source of the music and clap, wiggle and bounce to the tune. It is also part of her sleeping ritual to have a classical... more

Watch out all you pool owners! Ella's coming for you and she won't stop until she has explored every swimming option available to her! Ella's aunt and uncle have a beautiful swimming pool at their home that provided her with her first big pool swimming experience this past weekend. Now that she’s enjoyed the vastness of their pool, our dinky little blow up baby pool in the backyard may not be good enough for her.

She really did great swimming, and even more importantly, she did great socializing with the other children... more

When a woman gives birth to a baby, she often will remark that she was able to forget the pain of pregnancy and labor as soon as she saw her baby’s face. Many say that this is how women go on to birth more than one child. For us, it’s different, but similar at the same time.

Our first days in Viet Nam with Ella, and even more so, the first weeks at home, seem surreal. I’m not quite sure how we got through it, but I think a large part was not being completely aware of how hard it was at the time. The adjustment to... more

Love is independence. Actually, love is a child feeling safe enough to explore their independence. Ella is developing a bit of an independent streak and it is fascinating to watch her figure out her little world that she’s a part of. She has started “asking” if it’s okay to do certain things. She asks by looking intently at or pointing to the object or activity in question, looking at me with eyebrows raised and vigorously nodding her head up and down. When I respond with my own nod and tell her yes, you should see the... more

This morning Ella and I went grocery shopping. We go out regularly and I have noticed that she has been getting more and more comfortable in public, but today really topped the cake. We had at least half a dozen people stop us to talk about how cute Ella is, ask how old she is, etc. All of these encounters happened when I was pushing the cart, so Ella was facing me and could see my reaction to the people.

At one point while I was scooping granola out of a bulk bin, I was at the end of the cart so Ella was facing... more

For today’s Love Thursday post, cupcakes represent the amazing support system that my family is lucky enough to have. Those cupcakes mark the culmination of the many exhausting hours of hard work that led up to Miss Ella’s first birthday party that we threw for her this past weekend. There is no way I would have been able to pull it all off if it wasn’t for the family members and friends that pitched in.

The day before the party my house was full of Ella’s female relatives. Both grandmas, a great grandma and an... more

There are plenty of magazine articles and blog posts about the adoptive parent – “real” parent issue. It is a genuine concern for many in the process that they aren’t sure if they will ever feel like their child’s real parent. Can they love a child not born to them? Will they feel like that child is really theirs despite different blood running through them? If they have biological children, will it feel the same? Of course this thought entered my mind, as did every fear and negative experience that could possibly happen.

Luckily, that fear has... more

Lately I have been giving a good deal of thought to Ella as a school aged child. As we prepare to move to a new town I have been researching school districts, and I’m pretty sure that is what has prompted these daydreams. I have been checking statistics to ensure that she is not the only Asian or only minority in her class once she gets to school and that we move to a culturally diverse area. Part of this is guilt related since we are moving from a wonderfully diverse area and I feel badly for removing her (at only one... more