Christmas 2007
We spent Christmas Eve at St Mark UMC and with family at Rico's brother Ramondo's Home. A great time was had by all! On Christmas Day we stayed home and Nadia entertained us by playing the piano, singing and dancing. She even had her new baby doll play a song for us on the piano! Check out Christmas 2007 photo album.

Our Newest Family Member!
Today we brought home a lovely new family member named CeCe. She's our new puppy -- a lovely white dog with brown spots and smoky eyes. She's a randy mix of beagle and Australian shepherd. Nadia is just loving her! See our pictures of Nadia and our new puppy.

Our Little Artist-in-the-Making
Each day, Nadia enjoys playing, exploring and learning. On this day, she looked so beautiful in her artsy get-up, running around the house, playing the piano, looking at photos and just being her! Check out our Flickr Photo Set to see how she's evolving...

Getting More Teeth!
Nadia continues to develop so fast... She now has about four teeth, and she loves to run around and laugh. Her loving and happy personality is really nice to have around the house!

Holiday Greeting 2006
Boy, was it hard to get Nadia to sit still this year for our annual Holiday Greeting card photo! I think the photos in our Flickr Photo Set adequately convey how active she is now that she's walking all over the place.

"Hooray! I just turned one!"
I just turned one and had my first birthday party! Grandma and Grandpa Curtis came up to visit, and lots of friends and family came to my party, which Daddy and Papa hosted at our neighborhood clubhouse. Thank you everyone for all the special gifts, and for making my first birthday such a special and fun time! Take a look at the Flickr Photo Set from Nadia's special day!

Nadia at 7 months old
We took Nadia to Sears this week to get her 7 month picture (I know, it's supposed to be 6 months, but what can I say?). We had a great time posing with her, and got some really darling shots. Here are but just a few from our session:

Nadia's Baptism
On Sunday, April 30th, we baptized Nadia at our Church, St. Mark United Methodist Church. It was a lovely service, and we appreciate our family and friends that were there in person or in spirit. Afterwards, many members of our congregation came to greet our lovely daughter, and we enjoyed a lite brunch at our home with those that could come. View more photos in our Flickr Photo Set from that day.

Nadia's First Easter!
Easter Sunday was a lovely Spring day in Atlanta, and our new gardens were in full bloom! We enjoyed hosting about 12 friends over for Easter Dinner at our home, and all had a wonderful time. Nadia looked just darling in a new pink and green dress that her Auntie Londa bought her (thanks, Auntie!) We enjoyed lamb, ham, roasted rosemary potatoes, ginger carrots, seared green beans with roasted peppers and many other wonderful treats from Rico's culinary hand... and we topped it off with Julie's yummy hummingbird cake! View our Flickr Photo Set from that lovely Easter day.

Dressed Up with Daddy
Nadia got dressed for spring with Daddy when he had to attend a family function recently. She was very sporting in her navy blue nautical outfit. Again, we have a hard time not thinking she's the most beautiful girl in the world!

All Bundled Up!
Ski Bunny NADIA is keeping warm this winter thanks to some cute threads from kind friends and family. This lovely combo was a gift from Uncle Asa, and we love the "Ski Bunny" look. Unfortunately, she's growing out of this sweater too fast!

I love my blanket from Aunt Jenny & Grandma!
One of the most special gifts Nadia got during the holidays was a lovely hand-knitted blanket and hat/bootie set from Aunt Jenny & Grandma! She uses the blanket everyday and loves it! We have tried getting pictures of the hat/booties, but usually these are on her when we are going places and a little frantic/sans camera. Thank you Aunt Jenny and Grandma!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever!
We were so blessed this Christmas to have the best gift under our tree: our beautiful little daughter whose smile melts our hearts. Daddy and Papa of course dressed her all up for her Christmas pose, and she was the feature on our holiday greeting card (what else would we have done this year?).

A Visit from Grandma & Grandpa Curtis!
Bill's Mom and Dad visited us for a special holiday season weekend at our home. They both had a great time meeting their newest grandchild (their sixth!), and we shared lots of good times and good food. Little Nadia is now wanting more time with her Grandma -- missing her holding and feeding her!


View our Flickr Photo Set from Grandma and Grandpa's visit.

Personalized Jungle Nursery!
Papa Bill and Daddy Rico got busy creating personalized wall art for our little angel. You can see the name sign that is held up by "birds" above Nadia's crib, and the grouping of colorful animals that are above her changing table (click to zoom the images). Fun!

A Visit from a Special Great Aunt
Aunt Sally came over for a visit to meet our little princess this past weekend. Papa Bill and Daddy Rico were delighted to have her visit and she enjoyed holding and getting to know Baby Nadia. We were glad to share our joy with this special Aunt!

Bath Time
Papa Bill and Daddy Rico just love taking care of their princess Nadia at home (instead of the hospital). Daddy Rico gave Nadia a bath today and she is content as a little lamb...

Baby Nadia Comes Home!
On Friday, November 4th, Baby Nadia was discharged from the hospital and placed in our care by the attorney. We are so glad to finally bring her home after having her in the hospital for 17 day!

Baby Nadia is Ours!
Today, our waiting period ended and we confirmed that our legal process is proceeding. We are sooooo excited that Little Nadia is ours. We hope she will be coming home from the hospital soon.

Baby's First Halloween
No trick or treating for baby Nadia tonight but she is improving by leaps and bounds. She is progressing very well with feedings and is now up to 3 bottles a day. Next steps are to move to feeding from a bottle for all six feedings (no more feeding tube). After that, she will be ready to come home and we can stop making daily trips to the hospital. We can't wait!!!

Baby Nadia is Improving
Baby Nadia continues to improve. Her respiratory distress has subsided and she has been taken off of oxygen entirely. After many days of photo-therapy, her jaundice has cleared up. The doctors are gradually increasing her formula intake, still being given through a feeding tube. She is being fed some with a bottle, and when she is able to do so for a full 24 hours, she will be ready to come home!

Caregiving in the NIC-U
Nadia is gradually improving but is still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NIC-U). She is getting slowly weaned from oxygen as she had some mild respiratory distress, a common problem in preemies. She is still on IV medications and feedings. We are very hopeful that we will be able to begin feeding her formula very soon. We expect her to continue improving and to move to intermediate care by Sunday or so, and shortly after she will be on her way home! More Photos

Baby Nadia Marie is born!
On Tuesday, October 18th, 2:53am, a precious little baby girl was born at Southern Regional Medical Center in south Atlanta. She was 4 lbs, 7.4 oz and born 5 weeks premature. Papa Bill got THE call on the following day, when our adoption agency called to ask if we were interested. The answer was (of course) YES! After a flurry of activity and discussions we were on our way to the hospital to meet the precious little girl. More Photos