Welcome to our Family, Tess!

Emily and Paul arrived home this past Saturday with their brand new daughter!  Testute (pronounced Tes-suit-tae) Sophia Hammond walked right through airport security and into our arms!  You could tell right away that she was just the sweetest thing ever!  She was smiling and ready to meet her new sister and brothers.  Of course, you would have thought she was someone famous with all of the camera flashes going off.   She just looked at the camera and smiled for everyone.  We all wanted pictures with her and she would, happily, climb into our arms and put her arms tightly around our necks.  Ellie, Cooper and Cole brought her a balloon and she was fascinated with it....until she accidentally let it go!  I've been around her several times this week and it's really cute to see her interact with her sister and brothers.  They follow her around like a little puppy dog and fight over who gets to sit next to her!  I'm so excited to see Tess continue to take in her new environment and experience many "firsts"...like a cheeseburger and ice cream and waffle fries with polynesian sauce at Chick-fil-A (she LOVED it!).  She seems to be adjusting well!  I'm so proud to have her as a part of our family!

Tess and her beautiful, big brown eyes!

Cole, Cooper, Tess and Ellie!

Greyson and Maddox with the Hammond kids.

Grammy and Poppy are very excited to take Tess to Myrtle Beach, Dollywood and Disney World!

Aunt Mimi and Uncle Kyle with little T! 

Shower for Emily & Tess and 25 weeks!

This past weekend, some of Emily's friends graciously hosted an "adoption" shower for her and little Tess!  Tess (along with Ellie and the boys) got some really cute things!  Tess is going be to very well dressed when she arrives!  Emily and Paul are leaving on Thursday to travel to Ethiopia to get Tess and will, hopefully, be home a week from Saturday!  Please keep them in your prayers for safe travels.  They will get to meet Tess for the first time next Tuesday.      

I am officially 25 weeks!  It's going by so fast and so slow at the same time!  

Here is a 25 week picture:

Please also remember Kyle's parents in your prayers as their adoption of Nastia was put on hold this past week due to the international incidence involving a Shelbyville woman and her Russian adopted son.  They are in the process of traveling home from Russia and, needless to say, are very disappointed that they are not bringing Nastia home.  We are hopeful, however, that God's plan will be for Nastia to join our family very soon!  

Wedding Cupcakes

On March 13th, I had the honor of making cupcakes for the wedding of Lee and Aileen (Wark) Bennett.  They are such a cute couple!  I made 175 almond, chocolate and strawberry cupcakes for their big day.  They were all topped with white buttercream frosting.  The icing decor included 1/2 with pearl candies and 1/2 with lavender cursive "B's" made from royal icing.  We placed them on a hand-crafted wooden cupcake stand.  The cake topper was made by Stephanie Felts of The Sweetest Day.

A SUPER HUGE thank you to Marcia Truitt of Inara Studios for passing along these great pictures from the wedding!  Marcia and her husband, Cade, were my wedding photographers and they are GREAT!

Thank you Lee and Aileen for letting me part of your special day!  

Jungle Cupcakes

So, I've completely been slacking on putting cupcake updates on the blog.  I've had numerous orders over the past few months including my first WEDDING!  I made 175 cupcakes for a wedding in March and will post pictures very soon.  It turned out really pretty! However, I couldn't resist taking pictures and blogging about the cupcakes that I made today (well, completed today--I have been working on them for several days).  

THEY ARE THE CUTEST CUPCAKES THAT I HAVE EVER MADE!  

A friend from college called and needed some "jungle-themed" cupcakes for a baby shower.  I googled to get ideas and the finished product is absolutely adorable.  I'm so proud of myself! :)  I made giraffes, elephants and zebras out of fondant and put them on cupcakes iced to look like green grass.  They are, however, EXTREMELY time consuming.  I think that I will have to charge a bit more for these in the future because of the time put into making them.  In my opinion, it is definitely worth it!

I also had another fun cupcake project that I completed today!  I made "gender reveal" cupcakes for a dear friend who is having a baby!  Mary Kate and her husband, Josh, had an ultrasound (x2) this week to see if they were having a boy or a girl.  However, they chose to not find out and keep it a complete secret until tomorrow!  Mary Kate delivered the sealed envelope to me, along with pink and blue gumballs.  I can't wait to post pictures on Monday!!  They turned out SO cute!  What a fun way to "reveal" the sex of your baby!  Mary Kate and Josh will bite into their cupcakes along with their family on Saturday and all find out at the same time!  Now that takes a lot of self control!    

Just a teaser....!!

Have a wonderful weekend!  

22 Weeks

Kyle and I went for our 22 week OB appointment this morning and had another ultrasound (yippee!).   At our last visit, they were unable to get a good picture of Will's sacrum (bottom of spine) because he was face up and would not cooperate and flip over.  Today, although stubborn, he eventually turned and the tech was able to get a good shot.  I learned that they check the spine very closely for malformations.  Most spinal problems start at the base of the spine.  Little Will's sacrum looked perfect!  Whew!  He was such a cutie during the ultrasound.  He kept putting his hand up to his mouth and then pulling it away--almost like he was blowing kisses to his mommy & daddy!  Melt my heart!  We could also see him swallowing amniotic fluid and were able to watch his mouth and tongue move when he swallowed and see the fluid go into his stomach---what an amazing sight!  At the end, he had both hands up to his mouth with the first finger of one hand and middle finger of the other hand in his mouth--the tech laughed and said that we have a nail biter---I wonder where he gets that---ahem--KYLE!  It was a quick visit and, I guess, the last time we'll see him until he's actually in our arms.  Here are some pictures from today:

I forgot to mention that I asked the ultrasound tech to look, again, and make sure that he was a boy.....he was! :)  This is a view of his little bottom with the arrow pointed and his "manliness." 

A profile of his head on the right and you can really see his spine.

This is also a profile picture of his head on the right, spine on the bottom and he has his little arm and hand up to his mouth with his fingers in his mouth.  The two small black spots on his chest is his heart.  

In other news....

Emily and Paul had a court date in Ethiopia the week before last (they did not have to attend) and everything passed smoothly!  Little Tesute Sophia Hammond is officially their new daughter!  What an answered prayer!    They will travel to Ethiopia the 2nd week of May to pick her up and bring her home to our family!  Please keep their family in your prayers for safe travels and a smooth transition for Tes!

Kyle's parents, Wayne and Vickie also received good news last week!  Their court date has been set for April 16th (?) and they will travel to Russia to bring Nastia home!  They will be leaving in the next week or so and will have to be in Russia for a good amount of time.  Please also pray for their travels and for Nastia as she comes to join our family. 

Happy Easter!  

Baby Update!

Well, it's been 4 weeks since my last post and I'm two weeks late on some pretty big news!  Most of you already know, but for those of you that haven't heard, we are having a BOY!  Kyle and I are both very excited; however, I'll be honest--since the beginning, I was convinced it was a girl.  I don't know why (well, I do but it's a long story) but I just thought that I was going to have a girl.  So, I had been envisioning "girly" things like monogrammed bloomers and tutus and pink nursery ideas!  Well, that quickly came to end at our 18 week appointment when the ultrasound tech said he was a boy.  Frankly, we didn't even need the tech to tell us because it was pretty apparent on the screen.  What do you think?

This is a bottom view of his left leg on the top and right leg on the bottom.  

In between those long legs.....

After a few minutes of having to "re-adjust" all of my thoughts, I was really excited!  God knows exactly what we need and he is giving us a perfect little baby boy!  I think one of the reasons that I'm so excited is thinking about how cute Kyle will be with a little boy out in the yard throwing baseballs and footballs.  He will be Kyle's pride and joy and will always be mommy's little boy!  The ultrasound was very exciting and we were relieved to know that the baby has all 10 fingers and all 10 toes!  Everything about him looked great on the ultrasound!  They said he was growing symmetrically and right where he needed to be for 18 weeks.  We are so blessed!  Here are a few more pictures from the ultrasound:

This is a great profile shot of his head with his little fist up to his mouth!

Another profile shot of his head where you can really see his nose and mouth.

This is a picture of the bottom of his little feet!

With all of that said, we do have a name for him!

William Dean Tomlinson

We are going to call him Will.  William is my grandfather's middle name and someone that I admire, respect and look up to in every possible way.  I'm honored to name my child after him and pray that one day little Will will know what a wonderful, Christian man he was named after and be very proud of his name!  Dean is pretty obvious!  Since my dad couldn't produce a boy to carry on the name, I'll do my part! :)

Many of you have been asking and I've been trying to avoid this for a while now....so, here is a belly shot.  Don't get your hopes up, there isn't too much to see!  Enjoy because it may be the last! This picture was taken at exactly 20 weeks.

Kyle and I are so excited on the arrival of little Will!  We continuously pray for good health for baby Will and a safe and healthy delivery.  We ask you to keep us in your prayers as well!  

Baby Tomlinson update & more!

We had our 16 week appointment this morning and everything is going great!  Kyle got to hear the heartbeat for the first time because he was out of town during my 12 week appointment.  The heartbeat came through loud & clear!  The doctor said it was about 160 bpm.  I've heard that could mean boy....what do you think?  We are very anxious to find out if we are having a boy or girl!  I think the doctor could sense this because she offered to let me come back in 2 weeks for our ultrasound (normally, we would have the ultrasound at 20 weeks)!!!!  We are so excited!  Two weeks from today we (keep your fingers crossed) will know the sex of our baby!  

In other news, we aren't the only ones adding to our family in 2010!

My sister and brother-in-law, Emily & Paul, are adopting from Ethiopia and have FINALLY been matched with a precious little 4-year old girl.  Her name is Tesute (they are going to call her Tes) and we hope to have her as a part of our family in late May or early June.  This is a long-time waiting answered prayer for their family!  Ellie, Cooper and Cole are very excited about their new little sister....especially Ellie, who has been praying every day for a sister for quite some time (even though she knew nothing of the adoption).  

ALSO--Kyle's parents are adopting a 14-year old from Russia!  Her name is Nastia and she will be joining the family next month!!  She is a very pretty young teenager and we are equally excited to meet her and welcome her to the family!  

WOW!  I feel like Brangelina!  2010 will be exciting to say the least! 

Here are some long overdue pics of the holidays and beginning of 2010!  

Our last Christmas just the two of us!

Me and my sisters on Christmas Eve!

Laura & Nicole's going away party at Cabana :(

Snowed in!

Happy Birthday Kyle (in December!)