garland christmas letter

Christmas 2008

Greetings, family and friends! Well, Leah is 100% Dutch (read: frugal) and had a great idea to post our Christmas letter right here instead of sending out a letter, so consider this our 2009 letter.

The year began with snow on the ground and a little girl that was quickly melting our hearts. Cayla enjoyed watching her first Iowa Hawkeye Bowl Game at the Keegans. The Hawks won and she was happy about that. She was starting to respond to us more and give us little smiles here and there. I said this to Leah when she was four months old: "I hope she stays this age forever! She's so fun!" We even let her play in snow--she loved it!

By March, we were able to expand Cayla's food horizons. After the first couple attempts (which didn't go so well), she figured out how to slurp from the spoon, starting with cereal and progressing from there. Soon our cupboards were full of rice cereal, veggies, turkey and gravy, and lots of other mashed stuff in little jars. Where once was Hamburger Helper and Ramen Noodles (in my single days), now was watered-down broccoli. She loved it all! When Cayla was six months old, I said to Leah, "I hope she stays this age forever! She's so much fun!"

March is one of my favorite months because of March Madness--the culmination of the basketball season! After an exciting shot at the buzzer sent the Lady Dutch to the state tournament, the team thrilled fans again with another one point win to reach the semi-finals. The girls made Coach Vint's final season a truly memorable one. I also had the chance to watch two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Minneapolis with some friends. We even found our way to court-side seats, thanks to an usher one of the guys knew. It was amazing!

Spring means one thing in Pella: Tulip Time. We dressed up Cayla for her first Tulip Time parade. She stayed awake the whole time! She also tried to bite the stem of a tulip. Destroying a tulip is a $100 fine in Pella, so we had to stop her before somebody saw. For more on this incident, check the blog archives.

Before we knew it, school was finishing up and summer was here. I decided to coach freshman baseball for the first time and had a blast. With our games starting at 11, I had a sweet farmer's tan by the end of the season. Leah and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary with a trip back to our honeymoon location of Puerto Vallarta. It was the longest we'd been away from Cayla yet. While we missed her, it was definitely a great trip together. Leah even decided to go para-sailing! Check out this picture! Yep--that's my wife!

We also introduced Cayla to the water over the summer. Leah found a class that advertised swimming lessons for kids as young as six months old. We figured what the heck, and signed up Cayla expecting to see a bunch of kids her age. Nope. She was about the only kid under the age of two. We may have possibly had to hide a few of her spit-ups in the water, but otherwise she did great, even kicking her little legs at times. Didn't quite master closing her eyes when water was pouring down her face, but we're hoping that comes later.

The end of summer saw us taking Cayla camping for the first time. The three of us slept in a tent with Cousin Dylan for two nights in Minnesota at Sonshine Festival. Uh, it was a little colder than we thought. Okay, a LOT colder than we thought. We had to put Cayla between us to keep her warm the first night, but she managed to sleep much better than her parents. We also toted Cayla to Kansas City and St. Paul for weekend weddings, and she turned out to be quite the traveler.

September 30 came and we got to celebrate Cayla's first birthday! We couldn't believe our little baby was already one! She enjoyed the day and made a nice mess of her cupcake. Does every year go this fast??? I may have mentioned to Leah, "I hope she stays this age forever! I love this age!"

This fall, work took Leah to Grand Rapids for a two-day post-adoptive therapy training. I got to be Mr. Mom. The VERY detailed, printed out schedule was quite helpful! Recently, Leah received a wonderful opportunity through work. She was chosen to be part of a three-person team that traveled to China for a week. There she got to know nearly 80 orphans, and hopes to find families with a desire to give these kids a loving home. Hopefully by next Christmas, many of these children will be celebrating their first Christmas in the United States.

As we wrap up 2009, we consider ourselves blessed in so many ways. There have been many challenges along the way, but every time we get frustrated, Cayla has a way of making us smile and reminding us of the gift she is. Each of her little milestones mean so much to us. In fact, just last week she learned how to put her hands up when we say, "How big is Cayla? Soooo big!" (Thanks, Grandma Jill!) Her army-crawl is getting closer and closer to a real crawl and we often find her sitting up in her crib when we get her in the morning. We are so thankful God has chosen the two of us to love her and raise her.

We want to thank you all for your love and support over the past year--you mean a lot to us. May you be blessed this Christmas season and in 2010.

In His strength,

Jerod, Leah, and Cayla Joy