Happy Thanksgiving!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

6 months old!

I cannot believe Remi is 6 months old already!

She indulges my bow obsession as long as I don't make her wear them for very long.

And she is full of smiles!

One of the most precious things she is doing right now is when we hold her so she can stand up and look at us, she puts her little hands on our faces.  I love it...even when her hands are slimy from her slobber, it's the best thing ever!

She is also getting so big I can't carry her in her car seat very far.  The last time I weighed her she weighed around 17 pounds, but that's just using the bathroom scale.  We'll go to the doctor in a couple weeks and see how much she weighs for sure.

Likes:

*Oatmeal cereal and sweet potatoes/being in her high chair

*Playing with her feet and chewing on her toes

*Kicking the sides of her crib

*Bathtime

*Sitting/standing up
*Spitting/blowing bubbles/sticking her tongue out

Doesn't like:

*Changing clothes

*Being rocked to sleep

*Her pacifier

*Strangers/people in her face

Forever Family

11-10-11 is the day Michael, Remi, and I became a forever family.  Remi's adoption was finalized with our family, including Rachael (Remi's birthmom), surrounding us.  It wasn't exactly how I imagined it would happen, but it couldn't have been more perfect.  It was just our family in a little room with the judge, the court reporter, and our lawyer...who is awesome, by the way.  Michael and I had to answer a few questions, the hardest one being how to spell Remi's full name out loud.  Remi is easy, Virginia not so much! :)  At the end the judge found us worthy of being Remi's parents.  Praise the Lord!  I was pretty disappointed when I found out we couldn't have cameras in the courthouse, but the court reporter was nice enough to take 2 pictures for us.  They aren't the best quality, but they are precious to me, a precious reminder of such a wonderful time!  Before we left, we got to spend some time with Rachael, which is always a blessing.  To top it all off, as we walked out of the building, it was snowing!  It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful day.  I wish I had better words to describe this whole event, but Michael and I are just so very thankful to know that Remi is now officially ours on paper, not just in our hearts.

Rachael, Remi, Mandi, Michael

Dan and Susie (Mandi's parents), Mandi, Rachael, Remi, Michael, Judy and Roy (Michael's mom and her husband), and Shelby (Mandi's best friend)

The 3 Rigneys

Oh happy day!

Just so darn cute!

Remi doesn't usually like the hats Mommy makes her wear, but this one doesn't bother her at all!  It has little ears on it at the top and I think she likes to chew on the flaps when she can get them in her mouth. 

She has learned a new trick and thinks it's pretty funny to stick out her tongue!

Go Hoosiers!

Look at that belly!  Can you tell she REALLY likes her oatmeal cereal?!

A little bit of creativity

Remi and I go to 113 Moms group every other Tuesday.  The title comes from Psalms 113:9 which talks about being "a happy mother of children."  I get to spend time with other moms, and Remi gets to mingle with other babies.  She also gets to see Grandma Judy because we meet at the church where she works, and I love that Mrs. Sheets and Mrs. Knight play with her while I'm busy!  A couple weeks ago our activity was painting pottery.  So fun!  I'm not very creative, so Shelby helped me find some ideas to "borrow" from the Internet.  Here's what I ended up making...

...it's me walking, Remi being a cute baby in pink, and Michael mowing!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween from our little pumpkin!