Happy Birthday Baby...

How a year goes by....

Five years of waiting....

Six months of paperwork....

Two sets of government regulations.....

Countless stacks of paperwork....

AND THEN

Twenty Four hours on a plane....

Five visits to the Embassy....

One early decision to come home....

Three of us heading home....

AND THEN

Six months she crawled and learned to really laugh....

Seven months she could stand on her own, clap and found her fake laugh....

Eight months her feet hit the ground running as does her tongue: Mama and Dada come first....

Nine months she gave up her bottle for drinks with straws and talking is what she does best....

Ten months brings hysterics and giggles daily. She even laughs at her shots....

Eleven months; there is finally a tooth and she barks at dogs as they pass by....

Twelve months; it's here and she's growing like a weed. Time sure does fly by; here's to you little Ms. G!



Here's some other random pictures from the last little bit....

Where to start....

Lots has happened since my last post, LOTS!

1. Grace was sealed to Dallan and I for time and all eternity in the Sacramento Temple on Aug. 1. On August second, Dallan gave her the sweetest blessing ever and we were very blessed to have so many of our friends and family come to support our new little family. Afterwards we had brunch and it was perfectly delicious; all in all it was more than we've ever dreamed of.

2. Also on Aug. 1, Morgan and I threw a baby shower for our sister Chelsea. It was beautiful if I do say so myself! Chelsea got a lot of stuff that she needed and the most beautiful crib ensemble ever! LOVED IT!!!

3. I started back to school! School is cool, school is cool.... I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit. It's good to be back and I feel more motivated than I ever have. There is something about doing it for Grace that is keeping me on track.


4. We found out Dallan will be deploying again to Iraq. Sometime in mid-December we'll send him off for a six month tour in the sandbox. It's gonna stink and we're gonna miss him like crazy, but we're so thankful for his service and the benefits it brings into our lives.

5. Chelsea had her baby! The most beautiful little Guad-a-pean ever! (Her dad is Guatemalan and Chelsea's claiming her European heritage, hence guad-a-pean). She was 7 pounds of perfection. Morgan, Grace and I trekked down two days after she was born and had one of the best weekends ever! The family was together for the first time in many, many, MANY moons. .

6. Grace has learned to feed herself and is talking up a storm. My favorite word: Shoes. I've never been so proud! She also says: momma, daddy, kitty, God (this is actually dog...), shoe, fish, please, hi, baba, papa and tub. Now, if only she could get some teeth....

7. I finally attempted brushing her hair! What a difference this is from anything I've ever known! Hahaha....I only got through half before there was a complete breakdown. G has SO much hair! It took us about two hours to brush what we did and so she is sporting a new style for a bit.

8. We are buying a house. We're looking for the long term so it's been interesting looking. We love to house shop; we're just feeling overwhelmed by so many options. Hopefully we will close on something before Dallan deploys so I can move in when our lease is up here in Concord.

9. The holidays are a comin'! It's been so different with a little one; normally I could really care less about Halloween but this year is just so different. We've got her costume (she's going to be a bumble bee) and we took a trip to the pumpkin patch. It's been amazing to do this stuff; I'm more thankful than I've ever been



10. Life is super good and amazing. We've been talking a lot about "this time last year"...Grace wasn't even a thought last year and next month she'll celebrate her first birthday! It's crazy to think how different life can be from one year to the next!

Gracie Gets Going

Gracie's feet have hit the ground and she is off for adventures! Dallan and I spent a lot of time pre-g talking about what age to adopt. We wanted a baby so we could experience all that comes along with babies, well we feel cheated somehow! Hahahaha...we are so stinkin' proud but I feel like she is way too young and little to be walking already! And, she already knows all about my shoes and purses! So glad we got a baby so I could have a toddler going on 16!

We are missing Dallan like crazy but he comes home this week so we are super excited. G has been putting on weight to her pediatricians delight and growing too. She is trying to cut some teeth but they've yet to pop up. She's moving further away from her bottle and wants as much grown up food as she can beg off people. She's been spending lots of time in the pool and she's so comfortable there that she has managed to fall asleep twice while floating in her chair. She is giggling more and more and "talking" all the time.

We've been trying to stay busy while Dallan is gone so we took a trip with Auntie Morgan to San Diego so that G could meet Auntie Chelsea and Auntie Taryn and McKenna. We had tons of fun playing at Sea World, the beach, the Del Mar fair and everything else!

After San Diego, we turned around and hopped another flight to San Antonio to see Dallan and had another busy weekend. We saw tons and we all have a love for San Antonio now.

Basically, we're having an awesome summer!

Happy Father's Day

Dallan is in Texas on this, his first father's day. Luckily we figured out how to get skype going on his computer so he could see Gracie and vice versa. She was so excited to see him finally after just hearing his voice for the last week.

Since Dallan was gone, Grace and I trekked up to Roseville to celebrate my father; a man unlike any other. He is seriously the best man I've ever known. When Morgan and I asked him what he wanted to do today, he told us he wanted to take Grace to the zoo, so that's what we did! She was great all afternoon. I'm not sure that she noticed the animals but loved all the other kids and the wooden posts that Grandpa helped her stand on (she did notice the monkeys and really liked them). Her favorite part of the day was when Grandpa shared his ice cream cone! Here are some pics from the day:







Special note to my husband: It's been worth waiting the five years to see you with Gracie; you are an AMAZING daddy. I can't imagine doing this with anyone else.

Not just surviving but totally thriving...

It seems hard to believe that a month ago we were just arriving in Ghana. That six months ago we felt as if we'd never meet our daughter. That eight months ago adoption was on our minds, just not at the forefront of reality. That a year ago Dallan was just coming home from Iraq. A LOT has changed!

Grace has been amazing! I could seriously brag about her all day! I'm so grateful for such a wonderful little girl who lets mommy sleep through the night and be as social as ever! She is everything and so much more than we could've ever hoped for.

Dallan left on Sunday (June 14) for six weeks in San Antonio with the Air Force. He switched from the Marine Corps in January and maintained his rank but has no experience in his new job so they sent him off for some tech school. He had a rough start getting out there but seems to be okay now a few days in. There is another gentleman that was prior service and is older than Dallan and then the rest of the class are new guys, straight out of boot camp. Gracie and I are hoping we'll be able to visit Dallan while he is there but we'll see how things shape up. Before he left, Dallan went to Build a Bear to make Gracie a bear (it's actually a bunny...) that had his voice in it so that she could here and remember his voice while he is gone. She's very cute with the bunny; she totally lights up and knows it's here Daddy. Last night he called and when I put him on speaker phone she lit up and was kissing my phone; she's such a daddy's girl - we wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm sure the next six weeks will pass before us in the blink of an eye; I will try to update but it's so much more fun to hang with my girl than be on the computer!

Starting Forever

We are home! We are home! We are home!

After 25 hours of travel, three airports and one good night's rest, the Livingston clan is up and moving.

Grace was amazing on both flights; she shocked us and surprised all the skeptics on both flights by being quiet and a great source of entertainment. Dallan and I couldn't believe our luck as she traveled the friendly skies like a consummate pro.

We're so grateful for every one's love and support and we can't wait to see you all!

Ways We Know Grace was Prepared For Our Family...

1. She snores like Daddy.
2. She sleeps with her right leg up at an angle like Mommy.
3. She's stubborn like...well, like everyone on both sides.
4. She has Grandma Livingston's smile.
5. She is a leech when she sleeps like Auntie Morgan.
6. She loves music like Auntie Kaitlan.
7. She loves her dye dye like Auntie Chelsea.
8. She has a peg leg crawl like cousin Kenna.
9. Her laugh is deep like Grandpa D's.
10. To relax, she plays with Daddy's ears, just like mommy does.
11. She mimics all of daddy's noises.
12. She likes to sing like Auntie Janielle.
13. She likes anything technical like Daddy and Grandpa Livingston and Uncle Kenyon.

I'm sure there are many others but we can't think of anymore! Gracie kept us up last night with a night terror and then restless sleep so while she is happy as a clam today, Dallan and I are dragging our feet and dreaming of home!

We went to the embassy this morning to actually pick up the visa/passport for Grace. They gave us an 8am appointment for which we were on time. Too bad they didn't see us until 11!!! Thankfully Grace is AMAZING in public and she waits patiently (one thing she definitely didn't get from me!). Dallan got her to fall asleep which was even better.

There is nothing standing in our way to boarding that plane and coming home. This process is finally wrapping itself up and we couldn't be happier. We'll see you all when we get home!