These are the books we read:

She has several words that she can say, these include: light, button, kitty, doggie, duckie, Daddy, Mama, Nana, hi, yeah, necklace, monkey, kick and ball. She can also meow like a cat. She understands a ton more than what she can actually say, and will happily fetch a book, or one of her toys when asked to get them. She can point to her head, feet, and ears when asked where they are, and points to our nose when asked where that is. She can also sign “all finished” and “more”, and is working on “milk” and”water”

She is a walking maniac. She started walking about a month ago, and it is now her main means of getting around. She loves to walk so much that when we set her down on the floor, she starts to laugh.

She’s also an excellent dancer, and will sway back and forth or bounce up and down whether there is music playing or not, she’ll often sing to herself and dance along with the song she is making up. When she wants us to play something, she will sing and dance, then look at us.

She prefers finger food to pureed baby food now, and makes it clear that she is ready to eat on her own, usually by bursting into tears when she sees the jar of baby food. She’ll eat almost anything, and will try any new food we put in front of her. she may not always like it, but she’ll always give it a taste at least once.

She is a very happy girl, but she is also highly opinionated, and if she isn’t getting what she wants she’ll let you know in no uncertain terms. But she is easily pleased and it really doesn’t take much to make her happy, a book, a toy, or several kisses to the belly usually does the trick.

She loves people and will wave and say “hi” to perfect strangers on the street. She loves animals and gets wiggly and excited whenever she sees one, whether it be a cat, dog, or even pigeons.

Books are her favorite toy, and she will frequently ask to be read to. She likes to flip the pages herself, and points to the pictures and asks “Dah?”, to which we dutifully answer “pig”, “dog”, “flower”, etc.

Holly is a joy and we are so happy she is in our lives. Here are a few pictures of the last year.

Holly continues to be a joy. She is talking like crazy, all kinds of great coos and gurgles. She will have conversations, responding to a question with a sweet noise, just like people She is getting so big, over 12 pounds, and we think she’s getting longer every day. She sits up with the assistance of pillows or the corner of the couch and likes to be held in a standing position. She hates tummy time with a passion and is very clear about her feelings on that subject. She’s happy and healthy, and we couldn’t ask for more.

Now, what you really want, pictures

Jeans and t-shirt photoshoot (Sept. 14th):

Peacock outfit (Sept. 17th):

Baby’s first IKEA. Yes, we got the puppets for her (Sept. 19th):

Morning smiles and her birth marks on back of head (Sept. 22nd):

“One million dollars!” (Sept. 22nd):

Grasping her first object (a shoe, which makes Mom very happy), plus a cute outfit on Kate’s birthday (Sept. 25th):

Baby’s first swing is all a blur. She loves it by the way (Sept. 28th):

Holly checks out the baby in the mirror. Cue “You’re so Vain” (Oct. 5th):

Kangaroo-style with Dad (Oct. 9th):

Official two-month photo, plus outtakes (Oct. 10th):

A little update for you all. Holly is just awesome. Wonderful temperament, laid-back personality, and quite smiley. She is very agreeable, but not a push over. If she needs something, she let’s us know! Her ability communicate is sensational. She can tell us when she’s hungry, has a dirty diaper, tired, over stimulated, or bored very clearly. Rarely are Kate or I at a loss to comfort her.

Believe it or not, she’s almost sleeping through the night. More nights than not, she sleeps from roughly 10:00 PM to 5:00 or 6:00 AM. We fully understand how great this is for us and are very grateful! But let’s get onto the good stuff! Here are some photos over the last month and a half:

Grandma Barb and Cousin Tess with Holly at the Joel/Barb birthday gathering on Aug. 4th:

Holly’s brand new belly button. The cord stub just fell off (Aug. 6th):

Baby’s first Starbucks with Mommy (Aug. 8th):

Our friend Alex (3 years old) visiting Holly (Aug. 10th):

Holly and cat Gary keeping Dad warm on a cold morning (Aug. 11th):

In the bed with Mom, and her cowlick (Aug. 11th):

Drying off after baby’s first bath! (Aug. 11th):

Mom filing Holly’s nails (Aug. 12th):

Surrounded by colors! Holly in her farm animal bouncy chair (Aug. 14th):

The whole family in Nintendo Wii form (Aug. 18th):

I guess she’s not perfect all the time (Aug. 30th):

In her new pretty dress from her friend Sophie. 5 weeks old (Sept. 5th):

And by popular demand (and I do mean popular, and I do mean demand), here are some of the first photos from the hospital, and a few at home. Finally! My apologizes for the delay. Kate and I have officially discovered the baby time vortex. As far as I’m concerned, it’s yesterday right now and tomorrow is coming today.

This is just a photo post, but here’s a quick status update: baby is healthy and awesome. Parents are coasting on sleep dep. and joy. More photos to come in a few days. Thank you so much to everyone for well wishes. Kate and I feel humbled by the show of love and support.

Born July 28th, 2010. 8lbs, 14oz. Healthy and gorgeous, with all 10 fingers and toes. And she’s ours!

How it all happened: Today at about 4pm we got a call from our social worker telling us that there was an “instant baby” born yesterday. This means that the birth mother hadn’t contacted the agency until after the baby was born. We agreed to show her our family book, and about two hours later, she’d picked us and we were on our way to the hospital. We meet her birth mom and family and got to hold her. Man, did I mention she’s gorgeous? We don’t get to bring her home until Saturday, but we’ll get to spend all day tomorrow with her at the hospital. We’re very much in shock and so happy!

More later when things have calmed down a bit. As of right now, it’s 2:00 AM and this is how we feel:

Dear friends and family,

Hello! We’re writing now for two reasons:

1. To give everyone a brief update on the status of our adoption
2. More importantly, we need just 15 minutes of your day to help us get $12,000 for the adoption. Seriously, no joke.

Status update

As you know, we are currently in the process of adopting our first child. We started in the Spring of 2007, and have been hoping and waiting ever since. We experienced a major setback when Vietnam closed their doors to American adoptive families. We quickly rebounded and moved on to domestic (aka American) adoption. We apparently have terrible luck since domestic adoptions have slowed dramatically in the last year, and there is still no end in sight as we enter year four of our journey.

So basically our status update is “everything is the same as it has been for the last year and a half.” Kind of anticlimactic, we know. People often ask “what’s going on with the adoption?” Here it is: we’re simply waiting to be matched with a birthmother. No more, no less. There is just a major shortage of birthmothers which is causing the long wait.

15 minutes of your day

We are hoping that 2010 will be the year that we become parents. Three years is a long time, and we are worn out with waiting. But more importantly, 2010 is the last year that adoptive families will be eligible for the Adoption Tax Credit. This is a tax credit given to adoptive families after they have completed an adoption. It currently covers costs up to $12,000. Considering that our adoption bill will add up to somewhere near $25,000 when it’s all said and done, the tax credit is basically our financial lifeline. Unfortunately, if we don’t complete an adoption by December 31st, 2010, we may not be able to take advantage of the credit. Without the credit, completing our adoption will be extremely difficult, and perhaps impossible.

Fortunately, there are two bills in the House and Senate – H.R. 213 and S2816 – that will reinstate the credit if passed. If you would like to help not only us, but thousands of families and children throughout the country, we’re asking that you take just a few minutes to contact your Senators and Congressmen and let them know that you support these bills.

We’ve been informed that e-mail or telephone are the best way to let our reps know that you support the bill. Snail-mail tends to take a long time and often doesn’t even make it to the right people. Don’t worry, we’ve made it ridiculously easy. Please follow these steps:

Easy Peasy

1. Copy the pre-written letter of support from this Web site:

   http://adoptiontaxcredit.wetpaint.com/page/Letter+or+Phone+Call+Script+to+Representive+from+Adoption+Supporter

2. Go to the contact Web pages for your representatives:
   http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
3. For each representative: paste in the pre-written letter, edit the letter to add your name (both in the first sentence, and the sign-off!), and click send
4. Done! The entire process should take no more than 15 minutes and means the world to us.

Thank you for all your love and support throughout this process. We can’t wait to send you the e-mail letting you know we’ve completed our journey!

Thank you,
Kate and Joel

P.S.
For the law nerds, here is more info on the bills:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-2816
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-213