All the Moments

Dear Charlotte,

We made it! We hit 1 year with you, and you're still alive and breathing... I'm fairly certain Ukraine would be proud of us for all you've accomplished this last year...and I'm also certain they wouldn't even recognize if we brought you back for a visit. You have grown into quite the little lady, with a spunky personality, and love for life. Every month that has passed this last year, you've changed... and we've tried the hardest to document each and every moment as best as we could. We hope you'll look back at the posts/letters to you (specifically) and see how much our love for you has increased each and every day that has passed.

We've been reunited as a complete family, with your Dada this month, and we're so excited we were able to celebrate this special day altogether. We remember the moment we took you out of the orphanage, and how exhausting it was for you. Pretty sure you just passed out around 5:30 after eating 8 helpings of dinner that night. We could have snuggled you to pieces, read you books to sleep, or attempted a bath, but we knew it was a LONG day for you... so we let you sleep as soon as your belly was full, and you were out until 8 am the next morning. Oh how we just remember watching you sleep... pretty sure the two of us couldn't keep our eyes off of you. We wanted to make sure we didn't miss a moment.

Since that night, we have tried to pay attention to EVERY moment... the moment you first called us "Mama" or "Dada", or the moment you first uttered the words, "Love You"... the moment you understood/recognized that your name was Charlotte, or started to sing the "ABC's"... we didn't miss the time you started counting to 10, or the moment when you could put your shoes on all by yourself (on the right foot).... and I don't think we'll ever forget the crazy dance we did the moment you went pee pee for the first time on the potty... or how shortly after, you were potty trained. We were so proud of the moment in which you started wanting to pray on your own, and the time that you belted out "This Little Light Of Mine" in front of MANY people...

The thing is Charlotte... they were moments that we would have missed out on, had we not taken the leap of faith to follow through with our desire to adopt. Oh, how we are SO thankful that we did... we couldn't even imagine life without those moments in them. Thank you sweet child... thank you for waiting for us those 3.5 years of your life... thank you for loving us, thank you for trusting in us, and thank you for all of those moments. We look forward to years of many more...

You are such a blessing to us... Keeping on celebrating life precious child,

Daddy and Mommy (you've started to call us this, rather than Mama and Dada lately)