It's been FOUR months since we met our beautiful baby girl and brought her home. We have enjoyed watching her grow and change right before our eyes. She has developed quite the little personality, constantly making us laugh and smile. This month was full of "firsts" for P.J. To start, she went on an airplane for the first time as we traveled to Maui for our first vacation as a family of three. ("Lola" and "Papa" generously treated us to a week at the Four Seasons Resort.) We were very anxious to travel with the baby, but, it's no surprise that she stayed true to her flexible and compliant nature- she was a DREAM the entire trip! She charmed people everywhere we went- some fellow hotel guests were even on a first name basis with her by the end of the week! :-)
While in Maui, Providence donned a swimsuit for the first time (which was so gosh darn adorable we could barely stand it!) and "swam" in a pool. We figured she'd either love it or hate, but she seemed totally unimpressed with the whole thing. Her facial expression was mostly bored, but we had fun introducing her to the water anyway. She also dipped her feet in sand for the first time and took her first boat ride (whale watching). Our favorite memory with her was watching her reaction at a luau performance. The music, colors, fire dancers and drums absolutely thrilled her! She couldn't sit still- she just had to kick and bounce! We know she won't remember a single moment, but we have photos and memories to last a lifetime. We were SO proud of our little traveler- she adjusted beautifully and maintained her laid-back temperament throughout the entire trip. (Very Hawaiian of her!) :-)
The week after our return home, Providence flipped over from back to tummy for the first time, and began sleeping through the night. We're afraid to blink, in fear of missing something else! She's also more or less weaned herself off her pacifier (it's a meltdown-only solution), and has taken to sucking on her fingers and hands. She'll occasionally grab her own bottle and feed herself (her independent nature is starting to shine through with each passing day), and she's very close to sitting up on her own (thanks to the Bumbo seat for helping her accomplish this!). We can't wait until she starts to do more and more things, but with each new milestone we are saddened- we already miss her "infant" phase.
By far our favorite thing about Providence is making her laugh. It's an absolute riot, and I still get teary eyed every time! (See the Youtube video we recently posted on Anne's facebook page.)
We love being a Momma and Daddy, more than anything in the world. It's a whole new part of our marriage that we are happily exploring. We still make time for ourselves- leaving P.J with babysitters to ensure we get our quality time alone. We know we'll be better parents and better spouses if we make that a priority. Thank you for your continued prayers for our family! We're hoping to have a court date in April or May to finalize the adoption and officially make Providence an IMBODEN! We'll keep everyone posted! :-)
