Julia's Baptism

Now that Julia's adoption was final, we were
able to get her baptized into the Catholic Church. It was a great weekend and we were happy that so many of our family and friends
could make it (and a special thanks to Laura, Julia's godmother!). Julia was her charming self most of the day, although the baptism itself was during her naptime so she was a bit
restless through the ceremony ( =

Poor baby just wanted to sleep and instead she was stripped, covered in oil, dipped into freezing cold water, and held up in the air for all to see...
it'd be a rough day for anyone.

Afterwards, we had a little picnic and
celebration at the splashpad...Julia preferred the water at the splashpad
to the water in the baptismal and had a great time. To top off a great day for her, she got her first taste of a cupcake and made the most of her experience ( =

Julia's 8 month pictures

Since we both loved Julia's baptismal gown (and since we hadn't had professional pictures done since her 3 month pics) we took her for a "photo shoot"...and she really did great!

Swing low...

Our friends Hanson and Elizabeth gave us a swing for Julia, which she LOVES. I put it up yesterday and as soon as I sat her in it, it started to thunderstorm, so today was really the first day she got to try it out.

Papa Bear's Chair...

is just right, according to Julia. She looks so teeny tiny when she falls asleep in David's recliner and we couldn't resist taking a quick picture...

Julia's First Tooth...

On Saturday, July 12, 2008, Julia's first tooth finally popped through (we had to delay posting until she'd let us get a picture of it). The funny thing is as soon as I took this photo, I stuck my finger in her mouth to feel her gums and her second tooth is now through as well! Her new teeth already make her look like such a big girl to me...and she's already angling for a cheeseburger now that she has some teeth (hmm...maybe next month...).

It's official!!

Even though we've been a forever family since the day Julia was put into our arms, today the State of Tennessee agreed to recognize it as well...so on July 17, 2008, Julia is officially Julia Noelle Wright and we are officially her parents. It feels so wonderful to have everything finalized and legal and to know that there is now no way the unthinkable could possible happen. After court we went to TGI Fridays for a celebratory lunch and then went back by the court to pick up our copy of the Final Decree. David took the day off so we came back home, snuggled, watched a bad movie, let Julia swim in her baby pool, and just enjoyed being together as a family. Ahhh...we can all breathe...

Julia and Andrew...

Julia loves my parent big pool but mom thought it would be cute to fill up this boat for a pool so the kids could splash in the carport for awhile without getting fried in the sun...Julia thought it was great and Andrew humored us long enough for a few pictures (Olivia was napping but I'm sure she'll be glad to join her brother and cousin in a few months...).

That's my boat...

Last weekend we went to my parents house in Springfield and my sister drove up with her two kids as well. I couldn't believe that Julia was already big enough to play in this yellow boat that Andrew loves...and she felt like such a big girl sitting in it. I actually had a better video of her sitting in the boat, but I figured I should put this one in to prove that we actually do dress our child on occasion...