~6 MoNthS HoMe~

October and November have both flown by....

We have been so busy as a family that it has been impossible to find time to blog. Everyone is doing amazing..especially little Addy. She continues to amaze us each and everyday. It has been 6 months now that she has stepped foot in Indiana and she is such a changed girl. So different from the first time we met her. I remember her barely walking out of the orphange room..looking so tiny and sweet. Now she literally runs everywhere she goes, she is non stop into things and curious. So not the shy little one we first met. She is figuring out who she is and coming into her own personality. It is soo fun to watch.

At preschool and sometimes at home, when she is not "in the mood" for you or what is going on she stops and closes her eyes!! Not for a minute or two, but for awhile. Not sure how to handle this really. She just shuts down and is done with the situation. It happens alot when she is getting in trouble for doing something, its almost like she does not want to hear you telling her no! Such a stinker, so we continue to work on it. On the other hand, she is doing well at school. She really enjoys going and all the other kids want her to sit by her and hold her hand all the time. Soo sweet to see.:)

She is very protective of Gracie now...loves,loves,loves her big sissy. They play so well together and when she gets scoulded for something she runs to Gracie to cuddle. So amazed at how far they have come... God has been soo good to us. Our family has grown this year and we are all healthy and happy. We are truely blessed!!!

Busy Busy Times!!

We have been so super busy since school has started and it seems I have neglected our blog more than usual. It seems we hardly have time to keep up with activites and our house let alone try and show off our beautiful little girl!!! She is doing great!! Preschool is awesome and she loves every minute. Her teacher is great and Addy really loves the other kids. She is learning the dance moves to songs, understanding about staying in line and raising her hand for snack. She loves to hang out with her big sis now, they will sit and play barbies forever!! I love watching them play together. We recently got a new puppy, our Westie of almost 13 years died and we could not imagine our lives without a Westie dog in it. Our new little puppy is Milton and Addy loves to carry him around and push him in her grocery cart, Im not sure how he feels about that but he does run from her when he sees her coming!!!lol We are preparing for our Buddy Walk, since it is DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH!! We are super excited. This will be our first walk, we are trying to get the word out and hoping anyone and everyone in the area will sign up to walk with us or atleast go online at firstgiving/addynorman.com and help us raise money online and find out more info!! Just a quick update I know, will post more after Halloween!!

PrEscHooL TiMe

Addy has started preschool!!!!

She is too cute walking into her big sisters school everyday going to her class with her little Strawberry Shortcake backpack!!

All the kids have really taken to her. Especially a little boy that has Ds. He is soo stinkin cute. He pulls her chair out for her and they hold hands!!!

The teachers said she is doing perfect,as long as she keeps her shoes on!lol

School time is off to a busy start. With three children now, it seems like my evenings fly by and feels like nothing was accomplished! Trying to keep up with all the school activites and clubs, then we lead a small group at our church on Wed. nights, and trying to run a business..... I think its safe to say Im exhausted.

Addy has had several play dates recently. With my best friend Karrie and Addy's new little bff Tori!! Also my sister and my dad and step mom have taken her out on little adventures, and she is winning them over for sure!!!

She continues to make advances with her sign language and each day Im amazed at just how smart this little girl is and how far she has come. We recieved a gift from the "grandma" that visited Addy in the orphanage awhile back. There were clothes, picture frames and cards for Addy. It was soo sweet. It has taken me awhile, but Im now sending her some recent pictures of Addy and all that she has been doing over the summer. They are very sweet photos and I hope that she enjoys them and it warms her heart to know how much progress she has made and how much she has changed for the better. God is soo good!!!! Everytime I look at Addy and see her play with her brother and sister, see her eat healthy balanced meals,see her witness to other people the love that she has, and feel His presence more and more in our lives..my heart just melts and I literally stop and thank Him! The one who raised the money for this adoption, the one who delievered us to Ukraine and back safely and the one who has given us this precious life. I feel so unworthy of her in our lives. I wish everyone could experience what we have this last year and see the impact Addy has had on our family. I feel like she is such an amazing gift to us and Joe and I have even spoke about saving another life....we have peeked at the waiting children list, and Im praying...asking....seeking.. for an answer. our sermon series at church is "Go For It"! How appropriate...Joe just sat next to me and smiled.....

Just a few new treats that Addy has given us... she loves to blow on things that are hot and sign hot!!hot!!, when she is unhappy she points her finger at you and growls!, she has to be without shoes, constantly!, She loves snuggling with her big sissys stuffed cat at night, she says dada now, clear as day, my new name is babu, not sure about that, she tries to sing "Baby" with the Justin Beiber song, she is in love with chocolate milk, has a love/hate relationship with the dogs on our house, likes to walk around our house and hold the cat by its neck, sticks out her tongue and shakes her head at you, and likes to eat lots and lots of dog bones!!!

Now on to the pictures

3 Months And Doing Great!!!

Addy is doing great!! Actually she is doing better than great, she is the absolute most precious child I have ever laid eyes on. Everyday I am completely surprised by her knowledge, her abilities and her strength. I love watching her grow and learn, especially when she is learning about how to be apart of a family that will fight for her everyday of her life!

Yesterday we took a break and met her daddy for lunch. Ofcourse, she looked at him through the window of our car and started sreaming. Then, as soon as we got out she started saying "Da,Da,Da"!! Joe immediatly broke down, he is such a softy! haha


We had her evaluation for preschool this week and it went really well. She was able to point to alot of pictures correctly. Her comprehension is far beyond what we thought it would be at this point. We go for her case conference next week and then she will be ready for am preschool. Im soo excited for her. We were able to visit her class and she loved playing with the kids. And to top it off, there were two other children with Down Syndrome in the preschool! She really enjoys playing now and she is creative thats for sure! I caught her in her room trying her best to actually sit on a barbie chair!!!

Noah and Gracie are both in school and loving it!! Noah really is enjoying 6th grade and Gracie says she loves her new teacher!! So things are going really well.
Now for the pictures!!!!

Too Much Fun!!

We are having soo much fun this summer it is hard to put it into words. All three kids are doing great and everyone has had an awesome summer. My best friend, Karrie, and I took her two girls and mine to Pennslyvania this past week. We went to Sesame Place Park, which I highly recommend, Hershey Park, Crayola Factory and to New Jersey to the beach. We had an absolute blast. The girls were excellent, especially in the long car ride and the activities we did with the girls were soo much fun. Pictures will come soon!! Addy continues to fit right into our lives. She still does not talk, which is ok, we are learning more signs to teach her and she is picking up new ones everyday. She is now addicted to Gracie, they are best friends, and never leave each others side. It is too cute to watch them giggle for hours and play together..Very bittersweet. We are working on body parts right now and she is doing well. We also took a trip to the dentist, she has no cavities and teeth are pretty healthy..he did say to watch her gums and she could have some adult teeth missing, but no worries now. We also are doing Speech Therapy starting next week, so excited to see her progress with her signing and speech. She has gained a total of 4 pounds and has grown almost two inches and has went from a shoe size of 5.5 to a 7. I guess a little nutrition goes along way. When she first came home she slept almost 13 hours at night and took a 3 hour, if not more, nap during the day. Now she sleeps around 10-11 hours at night and if she does take a nap, it is only 1-2 hours. The malnutrition and anemia really took its toll on her, but now that she is much healthier, THANK YOU JESUS!!, she is really doing great. To look at her now and see the changes and the love that pours out of her is such a blessing. Now for the good stuff!!!!