Halloween

Playing dress up and at the Zoo

Summer photo shoot

Back on Blogger...fixing to update

Due to some issues that I was having when Blogspot became Blogger, I've not been able to update the blog is so long. I'm so sorry. Right now I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures, then update some info later.

Mary's 1st day of Kindergarten

Life...as normal as it gets in MY house

The girls continue to grow like weeds. Well, Mary is. Ella is still a little peanut despite how much food that girl can put away! Mary has gotten SO tall in the last couple of months that all her pants and dresses are too short! She's also starting to get that "older" look to her. No more "baby" face. She is becoming one of the most stunning young girls I've ever seen (okay, so I'm a little partial). I'm in BIG trouble when the boys discover her!

Ella's speech is still progressing with leaps and bounds. She finished up the school year a few weeks ago. She misses school already! Ella had her dental surgery a few weeks ago. They fixed seven of her teeth and pulled one. (Now she whistles when she talks!!) The next step is getting her fitted for her obturator which will be done in Chicago. Then I think she's set for a couple years before they attempt to close her palate again.

The girls are adjusting slowly but surely to Mama and Baba having our own places. It's a little weird, but anytime parents split up it gets weird. Mary has had a couple night terrors, which is probably her brain's way of dealing with the stress of the changes. Mary stopped sleeping in her own room and is now sleeping on the top bunk in Ella's room. She won't say why, she just says that's where she wants to be. Perhaps it's because she is downstairs with me. Maybe.

Both girls LOVE summertime. They like swinging on their swingset. They love playing with water guns in the yard. They love riding their bikes in the park. We are going to try camping in a few weeks, but I have a feeling they are going to love it!

Here are some recent pictures!

Water Gun Fights!


Ready for church

Boxes! The world's best toys!

Whatzzzup!?!?

The "Gangsta Princess"

Pretty in Pink (LOTS of pink)

Horsey rides with Mama's friend from JUNIOR HIGH! (Wow Mama's getting old!)

Happy Birthday Mary!!

I can't believe my little girl is FIVE today! Oh my. Where did the time go? Of course, to Mary, this is a pivitil age. She wasn't allowed to chew gum until she was five, so I guess that made her birthday present easy, lol. She couldn't go to school until she was five (at least not until the fall now). Well, Mary seemed to think that turning five meant opening ALL kinds of doors. She thought she got to drive when she turned five AND she thought she was allowed to get a tattoo at five. Oops. Guess I shouldn't have put so much emphasis on the age of 5!

We are planning to take her to Chuck E Cheeses (man I hate that place) tomorrow night once Rob gets home to celebrate her birthday. She's wired about it. She also wants a 'Tini Puppini' for her birthday (a dress-up "diva" dog stuffed animal, Ella got one for her birthday in January), but she wants to pick it out herself.

I'll post pictures after the celebration!

Mary's Referral Day Anniversary

It was four years ago today that we received that amazing call that would change our lives forever. Four years ago today we saw the first picture of the little girl who was destined to be OUR daughter. It's hard to believe its been four years because where does the time go? Then again, its also hard to believe its ONLY been four years. We can seem to remember life without Mary in it. Was there life before Mary? Hard to say. Mary was a dream come true for me. A dream that had started when I myself was a little girl. I dreamt about her for so long that I wondered if she would ever be anything but a dream. Now she's here and growing up into this vibrant (and sassy) little girl. She hardly resembles the little baby we brought home from China in May of 2005. She's become so tall (all legs!) and no longer has that "baby face". She's growing into a beautiful young lady and I am always proud to call her MY daughter.

Here is the first picture we ever saw of Mary.



And here is Mary now...

Picture Perfect

I did a photo shoot with the kids this weekend. All of them cooperated, for the most part. I DID get a couple really cute pictures of the girls! They were really playing it up! I did their hair a little different this time. Ella's hair turned out really cute with it curled under. Mary's hair ended up looking like a 50's or 60's flip on the bottom and it looked so great on her! Don't take my word for it. Judge for yourself!













Ah, boys will be boys!


Sisters!