This child is going to be sick of getting her picture taken soon.... :)

I love hats on her, everytime we go shopping I am always trying hats on her.

I am hoping this is a good week for referrals and for TA's. My friend Heather has been waiting 12 months for her referral..... 12 months, we waited 11 months and I thought that was bad but, 12 months!

And, my friend Kimberly has been waiting for her TA to go get her baby boy. If he does not get home soon, I think her husband is going to need to get another job to support her habit for buying yard toys!!!! Her baby boy and Cami are just a few days apart in age, and we are hoping to take the kiddos to Disney next year for their 2nd birthdays.

Cami is 9.5 months old today, hard to believe that in a short 2.5 months she will be 1 year old. We are still trying to decide what to do for her birthday. We are thinking about having her birthday party the same day she is baptized, and just have the party for family and close friends. The same priest with baptize her that married us, so I am glad about that.

One of my closest friends has her own cattering business, so I have been talking to her about food and such. She is going to do some Asian food and instead of plates she is going to use the Chinese take out boxes and chopsticks. For birthday cakes she is going to make some small cakes that are shaped like pumpkins and than a sheet cake with a fall theme on it. She makes the best tasting cakes.

It's low key around here so not to much to post about!

I have been tagged by Jenn at Yellow Tulips, so here I go.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago....
1)Graduating High School
2)Moving to Florida
3)Working at Disney World
4)Starting College
5)Getting a fake ID....

5 Snacks I enjoy
1)Cucumber and Ranch
2)Pop Tarts
3)Nutty Bars
4)Freezer Pops
5)Salsa and Chips

5 Songs I know all the words to
1)Anything Bruce Springsteen
2)Anything Bob Seger
3)Big Hair bands from the 80's
4)Christmas songs
5)Anything Kenny Chesney

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire
1)Spend as much time as possible with my husband and daughter
2)Build me dream home and have it decorated by Candace Olson from HGTV!!!!
3)Set up a grant foundation for families looking to adopt
4)Show my daughter the world
5)Hire someone to clean my dream house and do our laundry!!!!

5 Bad habits
1)I bite my nails when I am nervous
2)I hold a grudge
3)Starbucks.....
4)Keeping up with laundry (I am doing better, I try to do at least 1 load a day)
5)Online....

5 Things I like to do
1)Spend time with my daughter
2)Take daily walks with the husband and daughter
3)Make my girl laugh
4)Plan things
5)Show my daughter new things

5 Things I would never wear again
1)Tights and big sweaters with big belts.....
2)Crimped hair
3)Pleat at the waist pants
4)Mall hair
5)Tight rolled jeans

5 Favorite toys
1)Computer
2)Cell Phone
3)Dishwasher (we went 2 years without one until we had our kitchen re-done)
4)Vacuum (I love to vacuum)
5)Tivo

Boy oh boy is this Mom job busy!!!!! I love it.

We had our evaluation by the first steps program and I am happy to report that they feel Cami is right on track and a bit advanced in some areas, so with that she does not need their services. They did say they would call in a few months and see if we want her evaluated again.

We have been 4 weeks now and things have changed so much in just 4 short weeks:
-Cami can now sit by herself
-She is pulling herself up to a standing position
-Waves
-Belly laughs
-and countless other things that I love

We have so much fun each day, I just love it.

Is it possible to give a baby to many kisses????? She smiles so big when she gets kisses.

Just some random cuteness for Monday!!!!! If you look closely the shirt says "kiss me I am too cute" ahhhh how true is that. (and for anyone wanting to know where to get one like it, it's Carters brand, so it should be easy to find).

Today holds a very special place for me, it was 9 months ago today that my baby girl was found and so began the red thread that led us to each other.

As we read over her finding information the date October 16th kept ringing a bell to me but, I could not put my finger on it. Well, a little while ago it hit me why that date meant something to me. October 16, 2004 is the original wedding date Jon and I had picked out (because we love Fall here and thought it would be a great time of year for a wedding, I had a great Fall theme picked out) anyway to make a long story short when we went to book our reception hall someone else called and booked it without seeing it (over the phone) so when we got there for our appointment to book it we had to change our wedding date in order to get the hall we wanted. So we ended up getting married September 18th instead of October 16th. So October 16, 2006 would have been our second anniversary.

Today my baby girl turned 9 months old, we spent the day outside enjoying the nice weather and the breeze off the lake.

These are just some random pictures of today and of coarse my favorite is the scrunched up face look, she does that when she is very happy.

She is talking more, when she wants me she says Mama or if she wants Jon she says Dada. She is waving and saying bye-bye more. She is also doing a fake cough.... Last night at Mass a guy by us started coughing and then she started doing her fake cough..... Every time he coughed, she would!!

I really think I need to get a job a The University of Notre Dame so she can go to school there for free!!!!!

Juneau Mom Emilie posted a really great web site on her blog www.celebratingadoptions.org it's photographers who donate their time to adoptive families (home 1 year or less) to take photos, sitting fee is waved you pay for photos you want. I have already sent the local lady here an e-mail to set up an appointment this fall to do pictures of Cami. I thought we would then give the photos for Christmas presents for some family members who would like it. There are photographers all over the country who belong to this group.

HAPPY 9 MONTH BIRTHDAY CAMI ANH!!!!

Because Heather said I needed to post more pictures of Cami, I took some random shots today.

Cami loves our dog Shelby and Shelby of coarse is happy to let Cami pet her. Shelby sleeps in Camis' room and seems to always have an eye on her.

The next picture is how I get some things done around here, wearing Cami in my Babyhawk. The strap works great to hold a bottle so your hands are free. Cami gets fussy when she is tired so I put her in the Babyhawk and give her a bottle and she will then fall right asleep.

I have been working everyday with Cami saying bye-bye and waving well tonight the MIL came over to see her and when she was leaving she said bye-bye Cami and Cami looked at her and goes bye-bye and waved. I looked at Jon and said did you just hear what I heard, so we were all excited then when MIL was walking out the door Cami says bye and waved again!!!!! We can not believe it, she actually spoke words we understood (not baby talk).

We are having Cami evaluated next week by First Steps it's a program through the state that does different kinds of therapy for little ones (physical, speech etc). Our Doctor suggested that she get evaluated, her exact words were "I think she is on track but, First Steps is free through the state so why not see what they have to say." So we will find out what they have to say. Their social worker came out today (they do everything at your house) for me to fill out paperwork and answer questions about what Cami can and can not do. After I answered all her questions she said Cami sounded good but, she will leave it up to the physical therapists to decide and she also told me that if they think she does not need their services they can re-evaluate her in 3 month intervals to make sure keeps on track.

Today Cami and I and a friend of mine went to the zoo today. Cami had so much fun, she was waving at all the animals. Her favorite animals were the goats at the petting zoo (that she petted on her own) and some Canadian Geese that were just hanging out.

My favorite part was there some bad boys (maybe 10-12 years old) teasing the male lion and the lion turned around and sprayed them with his pee!!!! We started laughing so hard and I said that what you get.

Enjoy the photos and the last one is her fast asleep after we got home from our big day.

So my girl went from 12lbs 15oz to 13lbs 2oz in 1 week, I was hoping for a few more ounces but, she is healthy so that's most important!!!

She had to have 4 shots today, that was so hard to watch her cry while she had them done. They don't seem to be bothering her but, I have been giving her some Tylenol anyway. We went swimming after the appointment and she had a blast.

I also wanted to say to all my single parent blogger friends that you are my hero!!! Being Mom or Dad is the hardest job in the world and to do it by yourself you are made of some tough stuff!!! As much as I love spending all my time with my best girl, I love it when Daddy comes home and gives me a break. So my hat is off to all single parents.

Sorry, no pictures today I hope I don't get hate mail for it!!!! ;)

My little fish went swimming again today. Tomorrow we start her shots, so I am going to take her swimming after to take her mind of it.

I am excited to see how much weight she has gained in the week since her last appointment. She now eats 6 stage 2 jars of food a day (2 dinners, 2 veggies and 2 fruits) plus 5- 8oz bottles a day and cereal with fruit for breakfast. I have yet to find a food she does not like. We are working on a sippy cup and self feeding with puffs.

She seems to get funnier with each day, she laughs so hard now that it makes me laugh. I think I give her a million kisses a day and she is learning to give kisses back (more like a lick) she is also waving now.

She is not much a napper yet..... I hope that changes soon so I can get some things done...... She is sleeping a lot better at night though.

I have been on the Mom diet since we got home..... Coffee, so today my hubby got me a new coffee maker (my $10 one was on it's last leg) he got me a fabulous Cuisinart one that is titled "The ultimate coffee experience" and for $100 it should be!!!!

Tomorrow I may get up before Cami and enjoy a cup of coffee and possibly...... Take a shower!!!!!! Since my girl does not nap I have to wait until hubby gets home from work to take a shower.....

I will post tomorrow Camis' new weight, she was 12lbs 15oz last Monday, so we are super excited to see how much of an increase we have (her 3/6 month clothes are fitting her better finally).

Wow, have we been busy..... This little one keeps me on my toes but, I am loving it.

As you can see she is starting to get a little belly!!!!!

We had her first Doctors appointment this week, Cami is 12lbs 15oz..... On the U.S. charts she is in the 3% group but, our Doctor is going to chart her growth on the international chart so it's a little more fair to her. We go back Monday to start her shots..... And they will check her weight again.

This little girl amazes me everyday, she is so scary smart and catches onto everything so fast. We have done a few outings and she LOVES to look at everything. She is the neatest person I have met, she is so happy now.

When we went to Vietnam I had very low expectations of how she would be (to much reading) and Cami has blown us out of the water, she is right on track and a little ahead in a few ways.

We have been blessed.