Hello!
My name is Lily. My Mom and Dad are looking forward to bringing home a new little brother or sister for me, so I thought I'd help out by writing you a letter about our family. (I may be only a year old, but I'm a good helper already.) Besides, I think we're a pretty cool family, and I'm very excited to become a big sister!
My Mom Andrea and my Dad Josh are my favorites. When I was born, Mom quit her job to stay home with me, so we get to play together a lot. She's teaching me my colors and helps me with my animal sounds. She also reads to me all the time. I love cuddling with her when she tells me a story. I am sure she knows my favorite book, The Muffin Man, now by heart.
Mom also takes pictures of me almost every day so she can post them on the blog she keeps for my birthparents. She says she really likes photography and that the blog is a great way to record all of the great things I do. She also uses the pictures she takes to make photo books. That's one of her many hobbies. I hope she teaches me how one day.
Dad is the best when it comes to giving me baths. He and Mom trade off, but he lets me get everything all wet. I have so much fun splashing and playing with all my duckies. When I'm all done he's great at getting me into my jammies and helping me settle down for bed. He gives the best goodnight hugs and kisses.
Dad also loves music so he's pretty good at pat-a-cake. Sometimes he even sings and plays the piano for me and Mom. One day he'll teach me to play my favorite song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," but first I have to learn not to pound on the keys, even though I think it sounds fabulous. What I'm really good at though, is dancing. You should see me move my hips as I rock out with my maracas and tambourine. I think they named that ABBA song, "Dancing Queen," after me.
One of Dad's favorite things to do is to work on the computer. He's been practicing building websites and editing videos, the star of which is usually Yours Truly. Since he graduated with his Master's Degree, he actually has more time to spend on all of his hobbies like cooking and foreign languages. I like it when Dad cooks because he makes a mean stir-fry. I might get rice all over, but I sure enjoy eating it. I can't wait until I'm old enough to help him make some yummy Chinese food!
Our house isn't huge, but it is comfortable and in a quiet neighborhood. Mom and Dad remodeled much of it before I came along. They painted, installed hardwood floors and even added a pool fence so I'll stay safe. Mom says "If you can survive a home remodel, you can survive anything." All that craziness didn't stop Mom from turning my room into a jungle when she heard I was coming though. I've got vines hanging from the ceiling, jungle animals to keep me company and lots of pictures from our trips to the zoo. I must be a really lucky to have such a fun jungle-themed room.
As a family, we travel a lot. I've only been to 7 states so far, but I'll be getting my passport soon, just in case we want to visit another country. Mom and Dad have their eyes on another trip to Italy. I'm a big fan of pasta so Italy would work for me. Wherever we go I'm sure Mom will have a great trip planned and Dad will do a great job speaking the language. After all, I've got to get a jump on those "1000 places to see." Hmmm...Where to next?
If you want to know more about our family you can email or IM my Mom and Dad. I'd say you could call me, but I haven't quite mastered talking into the right end of the phone and I'm not the best typist yet. But, I know they'd be happy to answer any questions you have and tell you about their plans for an open adoption. They really love adoption, especially since it's the reason they have ME! We are all ecstatic about the idea of growing our family through adoption.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Even though I can only keep my arms folded for a moment or two, I know my prayer still counts. I can't wait to be a big sister.
With Love,
Lily (and my parents, Josh and Andrea)
The best part for us as parents was that Carter actually did what he was supposed to do -- went from cube to cube trick-or-treating and saying thank you (most of the time), without stopping to try and eat every piece of candy like last year. Miraculously, he also didn't try to trade each piece he was given in for bigger or better stuff this year.
