It is amazing how peaceful Elle looks when she sleeps.

We love just watching her sleep. 

She is spending more and more time awake.  The other day she was awake for almost an hour and a half straight!  That is progress!  Elle is a JOY.  She has brought a lot of happiness to our home.

What a day!  It began at 2:30AM when Elle fell asleep and continued on when she awoke at 7:30AM.  What a gal!   We loaded up our things, piled into the car and off we drove to our destination- home, in Provo, Utah.
She was a GEM.  She ate and had a diaper change shortly before leaving.  Then we had a pit stop in Tremonton, Utah where she ate again.  She slept the entire journey.  She is a trooper!
We have settled in now, and look forward to building a routine with her as far as eating, sleeping and playing goes.  She is doing great.  Below are a couple pics that we took shortly before loading into the car for our journey home.

This afternoon we took Elle to her first post-hospital check-up.  She passed with flying colors!  At the hospital the check-out nurse expressed some concern that she hadn't been eating a lot and gave us instructions that she should try to have half an ounce of milk every few hours.  Boy, is she responding to those instructions.  She is having about 2 ounces now every time she eats (usually every 3-4 hours)!  We don't have a lot of worries about her eating anymore. :)  She has gained a couple ounces in weight already.

We are grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing us with this sweet daughter.  We love her.  Each day we love her more and more.  The happiness she has brought to our family is immeasurable.  We will forever be grateful and indebted to Elle's birth parents who gave us such a blessing.  The only greater blessings that I can think of are the gift of the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Savior's atonement.

People kept telling us shortly before the adoption with a twinkle in their eye, "You know you better enjoy your sleep for now, because once the baby comes..."  When I heard this I just thought, "Ah, she's a newborn.  She'll sleep all the time."  Well, I learned something over the last 48 hours.  Newborn babies do sleep a lot...just not at night :)

Elise and I enjoyed our first night with the baby.  She woke up every hour or so to eat, get a diaper change, or just be snuggled.  Elise was a gem.  She changed many a diaper.  I helped out some as well with some coaching from Elise's mom.  I learned that it is good to burp the baby a couple times during a feeding.  What priceless advice!  I know Elle appreciated it too! 
At 4:45 am, she ate, enjoyed a diaper change and has been sleeping in 3-4 hour increments since, with feedings and diaper changes in between.  Right now she is sleeping like a rock. :)

A miracle happened yesterday. Her name is Elle. She was born at 9:54AM weighing in at 6 lb 9 oz and measuring 20 inches. Truly a miracle. We are so grateful for her arrival.

Elle is an especially special baby. It is because she has two sets of parents. Her birth parents and her adoptive parents. Both sets of parents have a great love and respect for each other. They all love this girl more than anyone on earth (with the exception of grandparents, maybe :) ). All are committed to helping Elle have the happiest, most successful and fulfilling life possible. Another miracle, really. This blog is dedicated to her birth parents. They are the ones who have made this adoption possible.

We hope you enjoy the photos below.