Its been a while since we've posted, sorry. Life is pretty busy these days. We are getting into a pretty good routine and loving every minute of it. Have I told you lately how much we love this baby girl? There absolutely cannot be a baby who has ever been kissed so many times by her mom and dad. Marc and I can't keep our hands off of her. She is doing really well, I would say she's thriving. I've been learning a lot lately through some very helpful books about "adoption parenting". I think I'm finally clear on the fact that because of the uniqueness of Sophie's first year of life, she has some unique needs that most 12 month olds might not have. I guess you could say I was a little naive and just subconsciously kept telling myself that I had been taking notes long enough and everything would work just as smoothly as I had always dreamed. Not that there have been any major issues, just all the books I've always sworn I would follow don't always apply to our circumstances. I'm clearer now more than ever that the only book that is applicable in all situations is God's Word. Wow, again, I love feeling peacefully needy for the Lord and HIS wisdom.

Sophie is really a happy baby. It doesn't take much to get a smile or a squeal. The sweetest of those squeals happens when her daddy walks in the door in the evenings. Boy does she love him. She is a pro at giving kisses back too. Actually, she is almost kissing too much these days. At first she was only kissing us and pictures of animals in her books. Now she kisses every picture: apples, balls, chairs. She even kisses the floor in front of her daddy. (I told you she loved him :-)). She also loves blowing kisses. I can tell she is getting more and more secure which is such an answer to prayer. She is very mobile and doesn't think a thing about crawling out of the room. We now have to close most of the bedroom doors. She is also picking up a few more words. As you saw on her birthday video, she loves to say "duck", by far her favorite word. But she will also say "mama" (though not on command) and "da" whenever Marc comes in the room. Sometimes we can get a "bye bye" out of her and I can tell she is trying to say "amen" after I do, but it comes out more like "mayme". She is standing on her own without holding on to anything, I think she'll be walking in no time. Watching her grow and learn is absolutely thrilling. Thanks for listening. God Bless.