Adopting a toddler is an experience like none other. When a baby sees something for the first time they are not able to verbalize their excitement or ask what it is that they are seeing but a toddler can and does! Just the other day I was driving down the interstate and a car carrier came up along side our car. Bailey got very excited and for a moment I thought maybe she was seeing a UFO but no, it was just a car carrier. She pointed, clapped and shrieked with excitement all while asking me what it was. Last week we visited the local park for a picnic. It was Bailey's first time at the park and she looked like a kid in a candy store. I told the girls they had to eat before they could play and before I finished my sentence I beleive Bailey was done. Another new experience for her was having her picture taken at a studio. I thought I had prepared her for what was going to happen but when we got there she became clingy and was all frowns. She wanted nothing to do with the photographer and when I suggested she sit in a little chair to have her picture taken she turned into a limp noodle and fell to the floor. After five or ten minutes of that I decided it was time to take action so I promised her a cookie from the store we had just passed in the mall if she would let the lady take her picture and smile for her. Like magic she turned into the jolliest toddler in town and was all smiles! Probably the scariest of Bailey's new discoveries (for her anyway) was our trip through the car wash. She was absolutely terrified and there was nothing I could do since driving out of the car wash in the middle of it was not possible. Thankfully Brea caught on to the fact that the spraying water and colorful soap suds were scaring her sister so she started pointing and laughing to let Bailey know that every thing was going to be just fine. Bailey picked up on her silliness and soon the two of them were laughing together. Probably my favorite part of Bailey's new discoveries is hearing Brea, Baker and Brooke explain things to her. Kids really do have a way with words!
Before I close I'd like to ask you to pray for a sweet little boy named Jean Paul Marceaux. He is waiting for a heart transplant at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. His story is a mirror image of Brea's. He caught a virus that attacked his heart and he is currently on a Berlin heart while waiting for a donor heart. Please pray that he will stay strong and that his parents will find strength in their faith. Please pray that the photos of Brea thriving and living her life as a normal four year old will bring them hope and courage to face what the future holds.
Enjoy the photos of our beautiful blessings. |
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Bailey's three year old pictures
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