Little Happies: Birthdays, pumpkin patches, and my little man

It has been a particularly frustrating and nutty day today, entirely due to work. Blah! So I figured I'd take some time to focus on all the little (and big!) blessings in my life these days. Enter, Little Happies! It's been too long. So here goes!

1. We celebrated our God daughter's first birthday a couple weeks ago. Seriously, where does the time go? She is such a beautiful blessing in our lives, and I feel so honored to be her Godmother. She's going to make a really nice wife for Nate someday too ;)  Ask her if they're going to get married, and I bet she'll say "yeah". Never mind the fact that that is her first and only word right now :)

2. This past weekend we visited our friends in St. Louis for their daughter's 3rd birthday. These kids seriously need to stop growing up! We stayed with them for the weekend, which is always such a nice getaway. I find myself able to let go of lots of anxiety when I'm away from home. I love love love getting away from the craziness that life feels like lately.

So we celebrated Wizard of Oz style, which was super cute. And somehow we ended up bringing home two new (to us) toys. Our friends generously offered two of their kids' toddler toys. Nate loves them! Our living room is filled with toys, but I can't turn away cute stuff!

3.  We are planning Nate's first birthday party! Ah! Is he seriously almost one? It's crazy how just one year ago we were waiting to hear whether his birthmom chose us or not. And yet it feels like he has been with us forever. I am having a great time planning his party. I'll be sure to post more when the time comes, but right now the planning itself is such a little happy for me. It's something I've longed to do for years. I feel so blessed to have a party to plan and a little life to celebrate!

4.  A couple weekends ago we took Nathan to the pumpkin patch for the first time. It was a simple children's farm, which was just our speed. It is so exciting to start celebrating holidays with him and making our own family traditions. It's these moments that I dreamed of and longed for for years. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with these beautiful moments!

5. Lots of little moments with my little guy that never fail to make me smile :)

Nathan's first Catholic board books came in the mail last week. He loves them!

I look away for a second and suddenly there's a puff in his eye. Silly boy!

For more Little Happies, head on over to Stephanie's blog at Blessed to Be.

Miraculously My Own

We received this as a gift from my aunt when Nathan was born. If you type
in adoption quotes online I feel like this one always pops up. Here's why :)

I have occasionally heard people referring to the possibility of us having kids "of our own" or talking about Nathan as "fitting in like he were ours". I admit the same thing about him looking like us, but there's something about these phrases that make me a little worried. I don't want my son to EVER hear someone say these things because here is the 100% honest truth. He IS our own. And he does fit in because he is ours. I don't want him to ever think otherwise. He could have had purple skin and blue hair, and he would still fit in. Because the thing is, being a part of a family you never have to fit in. You are loved and a part of the family because you are you. And guess what! Adoption doesn't change that in the least.

This child is the one I have dreamed of my entire life. I don't love him any differently than if he had grown within me. My heart bursts when he excitedly smiles at me when I walk in the door, when he babbles "mama" and "dada", and when he bounces in his crib each morning when we walk in the room. I know everything there is to know about him- the one stray hair that stands up straight on his head, the way he excitedly grips my hands and runs to the bathtub at bath time each night, the silly faces that make him giggle, and the evolving set of  tricks to get him to sit in his high chair. I love the way he climbs me like a little monkey and eventually nuzzles in to fall asleep as I rock him to sleep at night. I love that I can rely on him for at least a dozen laughs each day and plenty more smiles. Most of all, I love that I am his "mama" and he is my sweet, silly and energetic son. He is my own, always has been and always will be. As parents, no matter how they come to us, God has blessed us with our children in this lifetime and entrusts us with the incredible job of raising and guiding them to grow closer to Him, our Father. So no, my son did not grow within my tummy, but he grew in my heart for years. He was prayed for and loved beyond words long before he entered this world. He is 100% my own. My wish for him is that he will always know this and never feel otherwise. I love you, sweet Nathan!