I need this....

I definitely need a trip to the beach! So this picture is Hawaii...somewhere I have wanted to go all my life....isn't it beautiful? Someday I'll get there.....but in the meantime, I need a beach, any beach. One thing I really miss about living in the Northwest is being 2 hours from the coast....even though its always cold and the water is frigid, its so beautiful and I love it. I used to go ALL the time and just relax and play and it was great. Its been almost 2 years since I've been to ANY beach at all....and I'm having serious withdrawals...its so sad. There's something so wonderful about the ocean air and sand between your toes. And the romance of the sunset over the ocean....you can't beat it. Ah.....but for now, I'll just wish for it....

Names and kicks and dresses....

We've finally picked a for sure name for the squirmy little one. We thought we had narrowed it down to Sydney, but it never felt 100% right. I love that name, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to refer to her as Sydney without it feeling just a little "off." So on Sunday, we were talking about names and names and names and names and names and names....and when we said Mia...wow, that was it! Then we looked up some stuff on it...and there is a Swedish meaning of the name of "wished for child" and that confirmed it was right! So her name will be Mia Grace Hasselblad (unless of course when she is born she doesn't look like a Mia!). Anyway, I LOVE the sound of it! :)

Also, Malo finally was able to feel baby Mia (love the way that sounds!) kick last night! Or elbow, or her butt, or something....but the point is, he finally felt it! She really is a REALLY wiggly squirmer! Which is great for paranoid me to be able to feel her moving around lots and lots. Anyway, just thought I'd share! :)



p.s. I've also received lots of requests for a larger picture of Aspen's BEAUTIFUL dress that my dear friend, Allysia made for her sealing and blessing. So here are a couple. She is throwing a fit in the first picture because I took a toothbrush from her, no real tears...but its a nice picture of the dress! ;) Silly girl!

Catch up time!

We've been awfully busy this past little bit; had company until today and lots going on...so I'm going to try to catch up!

First of all, last Saturday was Aspen's sealing. I have no words to describe how wonderful it was for our family. My mom was able to come out for it, as well as Leif, Lurlyn and little Leify and Allysia and Belen. It was awesome to have people in town and at the temple with us. And we're grateful for the small group that was there who live here, too. Honestly, I don't think anything in my life has compared to the feelings I felt when they sealed our daughter to us. I'm not even going to try to find the words because there are none sufficient enough. Just that I have never felt more love and happier. :)

Malo blessed Aspen in church last Sunday, too. That was really a special time for us, too. I didn't get any pictures because Aspen was asleep after sacrament meeting. And we'll get to do that again in 3 months or so when this little baby that's still cooking is born! :)

Here are a couple pictures from the last week:

Aspen and Belen exploring the boring contents of my fridge. These two little ones got along great while visiting here. It was cute to watch them play. Belen is a walking pro and Aspen followed her as best she could crawling! :)

Taking a break and playing with what they found....

Little Leify. He is such an adorable little man. I feel bad, though, I think Aspen was a bit rough on him; she tended to body slam him and I'm not sure he appreciated it much, but the next time we see him, he'll probably do it right back. He was a little trooper though and didn't complain that his cousin was buggin! :)

And I think the last thing I'll write about now is my dr appointment yesterday. We had ultrasound #5 and it looks like things are going pretty well. The baby is growing fairly well, which is a huge relief for me, but I have to go back in a week and check again. I have just been freaked out about everything, but I think things are going ok and that's great. I've been trying not to read too much on the internet about the single umbilical artery because all the talk about birth defects and everything just stresses me out. And since my ob is mostly concerned with her growth and making sure she is not premature or too tiny, I need to not read about all the other nonsense. So anyway, things look ok and I feel great so that's good. I feel her moving around and kicking and she is very active. Its been fun to know for sure that that's what I 'm feeling! :)

Anyway, I think that'll do it for now!! :)

Aspen's favorites....

Here are a few of Aspen's favorite things to do, just thought I'd share. :-) I cannot believe that she is already 9 months old...it has gone by so quickly and I can't even remember what life was like before her...or how I was happy without her in our lives. She is the best!!! :-) (Oh, and by the way, I'm feeling lots better....stone passed....I'm alive, yay!)

Aspen enjoys:

* Climbing up on EVERYTHING! She is getting to where it isn't even a struggle or a challenge to
go from sitting to standing (pulling herself up on stuff...she can't yet stand on her own).
*"Walking" (holding on to mom or dad's fingers for dear life!)

* Climbing up onto the dishwasher and trying to touch everything inside.
* Crawling INTO the pantry
* Finding small objects in random places and trying to get them in her mouth before mommy or daddy can catch her.
* Looking at and waving at the dogs through the back door window
* Grabbing the dogs' tails

* She likes to stand up in the living room window and pound on the window....its like she wants to be let go from her "prison," it cracks me up!

* Following mom everywhere she goes
* Playing with daddy when he gets home from work

* "cooking" with mommy (she just **has** to have her own spoon and pan or bowl)
* Giving body slam hugs
* Being chased (this is I think her all time favorite thing right now....she gets crawling pretty darn fast when she's being chased....and the laughter that comes out of her is PRICELESS! :)

She's so much fun, this little one! :-)

Ouch

Well, to top everything else off, I have some lovely kidney stones that I get to pass. Yay me.

Its officially official!

ITS FINALLY OFFICIAL!!! We had Aspen's adoption hearing today at the courthouse and she is now officially and legally our daughter. She has been our daughter from the moment she was born, but now we've got the little paper that says so! I was a little nervous going in there, but it was such a special time. The judge was so nice and happy to be having a "happy family day" putting a family together instead of the opposite. She was really nice.

So the first thing we did was the judge swore us in and then Malo took the stand and our attorney asked him a series of questions starting with things like his name, address, age, if we're married, when we got married, when Aspen was born and when she was placed in our home. Then she asked other questions like "Do you love Aspen?" and if we wanted to adopt her, if she's acclimated to our family. She asked him if he was mentally and physically able to provide for Aspen, if he would educate her and do all the things a father should for his daughter. She asked several questions like this and then ended with asking him if it was in Aspen's best interest to be adopted into our family and why. Malo said "Yes, because we are the best parents for her." He makes me laugh. He is so straightforward and to the point. That's what he was thinking and so that's what he said. I sure love him and I fell a little more in love with him today, watching him on the stand testifying that he loves our baby girl and that he will continue to love and care for her.

Then it was my turn to take the stand and they didn't ask me the first questions. They asked my name, address and age and if I was married to Malo. They asked who all lives in our home and if we have any other children (to which i looked at my rapidly expanding belly and answered "not quite.") Then they started with "Is Aspen the child whom you wish you adopt" and I said yes, then they asked "Do you love Aspen?" And then the waterworks started. I answered "Absolutely" and couldn't stop crying. The judge and the court clerk both said "awwww" but I was embarrassed. And when I was asked the question if I would give her the love a mother should, I just bawled and said of course. I looked down at my beautiful baby girl sitting on her daddy's lap and felt like the most blessed person in the world to have them both in my life. When they came to the question of why it was in Aspen's best interest to be in our family, I rambled on and on (a big shock, I know!) about how much we love her and that she'll have a mom and a dad, which she wouldn't have otherwise had...and other rambling. And then I finally abrubtly ended and said because we love and adore her and will always do everything we can to make her happy. I'm such a dork.

And then the judge had us both stand and she said some stuff I don't remember because I was crying and then pronounced that Aspen was now our daughter "forever and ever!" It was so sweet and I just cried and cried and the court clerk was crying and our attorney said she was tearing up, too, but I didn't see that. It was just so special. I just feel so blessed that we could have this day....and all the waiting and worrying and frustration was so worth it. Now next month we'll finish everything up with having her sealed to us and then it really will be "forever and ever" like our judge said today!

Now, a couple funny little things. Aspen for some reason this morning became REALLY attached to my comb and that is the ONLY thing that she wanted to hold on to....she held on to that stupid comb during the hearing and before and after. She's so silly. And also, our attorney thought she took 3 or 4 pictures of our little family with the judge, but when I looked on the camera when we got home, there were not any pictures. Not sure what happened, she must've just not pushed the button. So the only picture we have from today is the one I took with Aspen and our attorney (and Aspen's chewing on the comb!). Oh well. :-)

Updates...

Well, first off, our ultrasound today confirmed that we are having a GIRL! I am so excited and happy about that! :-) I was REALLY hoping for a girl. My favorite picture we got is of her little feet....so cute! :-)

Second, only one more week until Aspen's adoption is FINAL! AND....she's finally started crawling (and now I'm wondering just why I was so anxious for her to do it!) She is getting into things I would have never thought would even capture her attention...but she sure is happy doing it! She cracks me up! She's so fun!

Well, that's about it for now!