We got more photos

I know I posted a ton of photos just a couple of days ago but we got a bunch more today (compliments of Judy of course) and I just had to post a few more. A lot of them were of her sleeping but there are others. I'll try and limit myself to just a few!


Steve held Samantha a lot (lots of photos) so I wanted to put a couple of them on here. He got her to sleep and they both seemed happy in all of the photos!

The girls from our board. Sophia in front, Lucy on the left and Samantha on the right.
Samantha playing with the crab big sis Sierra picked out and sent to her in the care package.
Lucy and Samantha hanging out and looking cute!

News and Photos of Samantha

We are so lucky to have met Judy online during our wait for our beautiful Samantha. Even before this week she has been a supportive and thoughtful friend helping us with everything from name issues to cultural issues. And now Judy has gone even further. This week Judy, and her husband Steve, who are in Taiwan due to some court issues, went to SLC to meet and spend time with their son, Eric. She was blessed to spend several days at SLC with Eric and she also chose to spend time with the other babies. She graciously took tons of photos of the other babies in our online group, including Samantha. I am so overwhelmed with her consideration and thoughtfulness that I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to her. I've been very down hearing virtually nothing about Samantha except her weight and height and that she's pretty and does not like to eat. And since she lost weight in the last update and only gained a couple of ounces the month before (so she weighed less at seven months than she did at five months) I cannot help but worry and wonder. Is she healthy? Does she have any energy? Does she not have enough time to eat? Why is she rarely sitting up or smiling in photos?

Now all of that has changed. Judy gave us tons of information about her!!! According to Judy Samantha looks and acts healthy and happy and she loves to play. They call her the "jade girl" since she is such a pretty girl (this thrilled Sierra because Samantha's middle name is Jade). She is more of a night owl since she was more awake when it is dark outside. She is beginning to crawl, sticking her behind all the way up with her feet on the floor and her head on the ground (Judy sent many photos of this and it cracked us all up). She is quiet (she'll fit right in with us) and really good and apparently she and Steve really hit it off. And look how cuddly she looks - she'll fit right in with big sis Sierra!

Not only did Judy tell us all about our beautiful baby girl but she sent us a whopping 61 photos! I cried, well more like sobbed, as I looked through them and for the first time felt like I have some idea of what Samantha is like and what her life is like right now. Hearing what Judy said about how Samantha behaved and how she really liked playing with Steve and how happy she is and how sweet and quiet she is more wondrous to hear than virtually anything I could have heard this week (first decree would be really, really good to hear!!!). And then being able to ask Judy questions and get answers about Samantha put me at ease and made me feel hopeful for the first time in months. My birthday was just a few days ago and this was one of the best birthday presents ever!

Now for a few of the photos that lovely Judy and her kind husband Steve so graciously sent us...

Judy with our beautiful Samantha - she looks so cuddly!


Judy holding Samantha and her son Eric & Judy holding Samantha with Steve holding Eric



Some of the babies from our online group, including Samantha (on her tummy in front), Eric, Sophia, Jeremiah, Island Boy and Jet

Samantha just hanging out and being cute!

I think I can...oh look what I can do.

Our little beauty just gazing

What a big girl!

Is she an angel or what!?

Belt Promotion!

Sierra promoted to Blue Belt in karate! She is only one belt away from advanced karate! We are very proud of the amount of time and effort she puts in every week learning her karate moves.

Samanths is 7 months old - an update

I'm trying to be patient and accept that things will happen when they are supposed to happen but we really need to be with Samantha and she with us. This waiting is so much harder than you can even imagine, unless, of course, you are going through this as well! I am trying not to worry about Samantha but when we got her update we discovered that she has lost a few ounces since last month (while gaining an inch in height and head size). According to the update she is now eating: Rice soup (cereal), oatmeal, mashed veg/fruit and she does not eat much. On the more positive side it said she is a happy baby, she likes to smile and she is a classic beauty!

Our baby shower

Sierra with a photo montage of Samantha and some shower decorations

The kids, and some adult guests, at the shower and Sierra opening Samantha's gifts



Playing Shower party games



Sierra & Mommy; Grammy, Auntie Amber & Sierra with the desserts; the toast to our new baby girl!

Our shower was thrown by my sister and mother and a fun time was had by all. Many of our friends were able to attend and it was fabulous to spend time with so many people just sharing the excitement of the upcoming addition to our family. We also got some fabulous outfits and fun toys! The only thing I was disappointed about is the photos. Somehow no one was in charge of taking photos so we not only never got a good shot of the adult guests but some of them are not in any photos. I was also disappointed that the only photo of Sierra and me that I liked (she always looks good; me not so much!) is all washed out, but you can't have everything. We had a fabulous afternoon with our friends, got some wonderful gifts and got to share all of our photos, plans and thoughts of our new baby daughter with everyone. Jeremy even put together a photo montage on a digital frame with all of the photos of Samantha with some beautiful music!