First Christmas

We flew to Amarillo to be with Julie's parents, sister Jenn, her husband Cody and their two little girls Kollyn and Reese.  The last 4 days have been filled with meals, laughter, dancing, singing, dominoes, presents, pictures, and love.  Sunday night David's brother Robert and his family were in the Panhandle and drove down to spend the evening with us.  It was so special to see them and for them to get to meet  Claire.  What a great time to be with family as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.   A year ago we were going through one of the hardest times of our lives and wondering what God had planned for us.  In the past year, we have seen David's dad pass away, Claire come into our lives, and a new niece born to David's brother Richard and his wife Deanna.  What a difference a year makes.

Adoption Day!

On November 19, 2010, our baby girl officially became Claire Elizabeth Washington.  The hearing was surprisingly easy considering all that we had been through to get to that point.  We celebrated with my mom and dad and gave thanks for all that God has blessed us with.  I think the most moving part of the ceremony was when the judge said, "I hereby declare that it is in the best interest of this baby girl for her to become the daughter of David and Julie Washington."  What a powerful and humbling statement to hear spoken aloud.  Now, our sincere and faithful prayer is that God would make it so.

3 Months Old

As David said last night, Claire is now a quarter of a year old!  Then he went further and said, "We only have 71 more quarters of a year before she is 18."  My gosh - just put a knife in my heart! :)   We can't believe how fast the days and weeks have gone.  Our sweet Claire has stayed sweet and is more fun with each day.  She easily rolls over from tummy to back, and just this week has been making attempts to roll from back to tummy.  She coos and giggles, smiles like crazy and holds her head up like a pro.  We're pretty sure she is the most well traveled 3 month old ever, having visited Kentucky, Houston, Amarillo, Greenville, Dallas & Abilene all in her short 3 months.  This year, gratitude has taken on a whole new meaning for us.  And while we'll definitely celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, we're reminded every day that, "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." (Psalm 126:3)

Our Tiny Ballerina

Yesterday, Claire enjoyed her very first Halloween.  Thanks to Julie's sister, Jennifer, she was the tiniest & cutest ballerina ever!

She started the night out strong, but faded quickly on our walk down the street with some friends who were trick-or-treating.  

The best part of the night was spending it with all of our friends from our small group and all of our precious miracles!

Books, Bows, and Boo!

Claire loves all the books mom has been reading to her.  

There are bows for every occasion.  This one is apparently helping to strengthen her neck muscles.

Claire is already getting her Halloween on...BOO!!!

We Are So Blessed

Our great friends Nate and Valerie spent an afternoon with us and took these awesome pictures.  We continue to be reminded of God's unbelievable blessings.  

One Month Old

In one month you have had your first airplane flight and hotel stay.  You had your first two doctor checkups and everything was great.  You weighed 7lbs after two weeks.

      

In the first month you have been to Chuy's, Chic-fil-a, HEB (a few times), and to a baby shower in your honor and somehow avoided the worst viral infection to ever enter Northwest Hills in Austin.  

You have worn an average of 3.4 outfits per day, 

soiled diapers that you have never even worn, and tried on close to a hundred head bands and bows.  You have watched the Cowboys and your mom lose two heart wrenching football games.

You have already had a younger niece Grace born to your Uncle Richard and Aunt Deanna.  You have gone to your first two church services and slept through at least one of the sermons.  

You have had your first photo shoot and already been kissed by a boy.  Two in fact.  The twin Griffin boys were taking a liking to you, but who can blame them?  

You are already flipping over onto your back from your stomach and holding your head up.  

Your eyes are still pretty blue and your mom and I love you very much.

Baby Shower

Last night our Bible study small group hosted a baby shower for us.  It was such a wonderful gathering of some of our dearest friends.  All of these people along with many others have been praying with us and walking alongside us as we waited, not always patiently, for God's plan to be worked out perfectly.  We are so grateful for their love and support.

My HEB

Claire celebrated her 3 week birthday with her first trip to our favorite store - daddy's HEB!  Everyone was excited to meet her for the first time and she proved herself to be a great little shopper.  Can't wait for many more trips to our favorite HEB. 

Happy 2 week birthday!

We welcomed 2 weeks with the biggest rain storm Austin has seen in quite some time.  Miss Claire wasn't worried though.  We headed to the pediatrician and weighed in at 7 ibs.  Mom tackled the problem of carrying an umbrella, infant carrier and diaper bag through the pouring rain with very little grace, but we managed to remain somewhat dry.  When we look back on these past two weeks, it feels like a lifetime - in a great way.  It's hard to remember our lives without our precious girl.

Claire's New Friends!

Claire had some friends come by to see her.  She seems to like all the people willing to hold and snuggle her.  We also had our first bath tonight.  She did not seem to like it as much as we thought she would,  but it was worth seeing her bundled up afterwards in a hooded towel.

Back Home in Texas!

Claire is back home in Austin enjoying time with mommy & daddy.  We had our first doctors visits today and they both said she was perfect.  She weighed in at 6lbs 10ounces just 2 ounces less than birth weight.  Claire also had her first visit to her favorite restaurant Chuy's.  

Happy 1 Week Birthday!

Today, our sweet Claire is one week old.  When we realized this, we couldn't believe it!  What a precious, unbelievable week it has been.  I don't think, even in our wildest dreams, that either of us could have imagined that God would give us such a beautiful gift. 
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"  Ephesians 3:20-21

Mamaw & Poppie

Well after the lawyer told us the adoption papers had been signed we called Julie's parents first.  Her mother Cheryl was in disbelief, even though they knew we were matched up with Christy.  Cheryl had sewed a blanket and was just waiting on a name.  Once we told her the name, she finished sewing the blanket.  We were able to be with them late Friday night and she gave Claire her new blanket.  Claire has been so good the last few days.  In fact Mamaw & Poppie have been getting up with her at night the last two nights so Julie and I could catch up on our sleep.  However, she is only getting up once at night to feed and get a fresh diaper.  We are so thankful to have them with us for love and support.  Of course we could not have kept them away with an army. We are so blessed.

Claire is here...

hello everyone.

Well it has been quite a day, week, and year.  On Tuesday morning we received a phone call from a young lady in Kentucky that we had been in contact with who was expecting a baby September 1st.  She had committed to giving her baby up for adoption to us so we had been waiting for the call.  We bought plane tickets, packed bags and headed to the airport when she called Tuesday.  By the time we had departed for our flight, she had already given birth to our little girl!  We arrived in Lexington at 4:30pm and drove to the hospital.  When we arrived they brought her in to see us and gave us our own room.  For the last two days we have fed, changed, and cleaned her.  She is beautiful and we are so full of joy.  

Claire Elizabeth Washington
born 8/24/10  11:09am EST (10:09am Texas time) 
6lbs 12 oz
20" tall
She has blue eyes and brownish blonde hair.

We wanted you all to know and we are so thankful for your love and support!

Love 
Julie & David


If you want to hear the whole story, click the link to "The Story" above.