The Zoo- Part 1

This expression is what we saw all afternoon... We took Lily to the zoo last summer, and she loved it. However, she had no words at the time to express herself like she did yesterday.

She was amazed by this waterfall when we first walked in. She kept pointing to it and saying, "Mama- Baba". She wanted us to see it, too.

Then, we started walking down one path. We had been telling her all morning we were going to the zoo. She was so excited. She kept saying "the zoo" over and over again. We looked for all of the signs and talked about them in the car as we passed them. The letters Z and O are two that she knows, so she knew where the signs were.

Before we even got to an exhibit, there was a lady holding a fox. Lily was smiling from ear to ear as she got to gently pet this fox. The lady was so sweet. I wish I could have gotten on the other side for the picture. Jamie said Lily was grinning in disbelief.

When we left that area, a common phrase continued that lasted the rest of the day at the zoo, "More fox, more fox" Lily said. Next came the camels. When we walked away, "More camel, more camel." Then, came the zebras. "More zeba, more zeba." You get the point, right. Well, a little later came the cats. Can you imagine? You know how much Lily loves cats...

I will post more pictures of the zoo tomorrow. Have a blessed Sunday!

Busy Days

I haven't posted in awhile just due to the craziness of the end of the school year. We have been so busy with things at school and home. Lily is doing great. She is just growing taller and taller, but her weight has just come to a stand still. She is 25 pounds and holding. She has weighed that much for the past few months.

These pictures were taken after bathtime tonight. Her bangs are in the process of growing out-- again. So, I have them pulled back out of her eyes.

I just thought this picture was too cute, too! I posted these mainly for my sister, Suzette. She misses seeing Lily and spending time with her even though she saw her every day last week, and she was here yesterday, too. Last week, I was trying to teach Lily that she is 2 years old. While Suzette was giving her a bath, she asked her how old she was. When she said "2", Suzette held up her hands and said "Peace!" and gave her the peace sign. SO, now when people ask Lily how old she is- she says "2- PEEEEace!" She is a sponge!!!! Of course, she isn't 2 yet, but we are just getting prepared for May 17th!!!

We are taking Lily to the zoo this weekend. Hopefully, we will have more pictures to post then.

Have a blessed weekend!!!

Mama's Spring Break!

Since it is Spring Break for me and my sister, Suzette- our Dad or Lily's Pop- decided to come for a visit. We spent the first day together mulching outside. So, Lily and Suzette got to play and pick flowers in the yard. Lily loves being outside. I just love this picture of the two of them!

We walked into the living room the other night and caught this moment. Lily and Pop are watching the NCAA tournament. They were both totally engrossed in the game while Lily was eating some puffcorn.

Last but not least, we had our 12-month post placement. This is Debbie, our wonderful social worker. Lily adored her, and she did not want her to leave. She loved playing with Debbie at our house, and she walked through the house saying "C'mon, Debbie" with her familiar hand-motion. At first, she called Debbie- "Kitty" which was really funny. But, eventually she got it. I did not think Debbie would ever be able to leave because Lily was not about to let her. But, Debbie was so sweet- she just followed her around and played with her forever. Thank you Debbie for being so sweet and kind to our family. We are glad God brought us together.

We are enjoying this week together! I will be sad when it is over! But, I sure am looking forward to this summer!!!

22 Months Old, too!

On our Gotcha-versary, Lily also turned 22 months old! So, these are the pictures we took that evening. We had a big day of spending time outside together followed up with ice cream. Lily loves "ice keem"! She is intently watching American Idol...

Then, she looks at the camera for a big "cheese"!

Happy 1 Year Together!

I cannot believe that last year at this time, we were in China just counting down the seconds waiting to hold Lily in our arms for the first time. Yet, a whole year has passed. Now, Lily is counting to 10, arguing that the 6 is really a 9, saying that B stands for Baba, playing hide-and-seek like it is going out of style, and saying "I love you" which just melts our hearts. On this day last year, she was crying, not able to roll over, could barely sit up, couldn't sleep through the night, couldn't talk, couldn't clap her hands together, and had no idea of what her life would be like thousands of miles away from China. God has truly blessed our lives! He has also made up for all of the years we spent without a child by giving us the most perfect, wonderful daughter He could have ever made for us. As I write this, I am listening to her squealing and laughter as Jamie gets her out of the bathtub. We are blessed... richly blessed... and I could not and would not ever want to imagine our lives without Lily.

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to all of our group mates!

Lily's Abby-Hair

Here are pictures with Lily and her Abby-Hair a.k.a. a little ponytail. Finally!!! Playing with her hair has been so much fun this week!

Below, you can tell how much she loves Abby!

"More Dance, Baba!"

Lily is a big fan of Dancing with the Stars- we found out the other night! This first video took place at the end of the show with the last dance. Jamie was taping her dancing moves, only to find out that somehow she knew this song. We were cracking up during the taping!

The one thing we heard over and over again throughout the show was "more dance, more dance" every time the commercials would come on. Luckily, we DVR everything now. So, the dancing could take place again quickly for Lily.

Now, you will see the quick head turn at the beginning of the next video. She was copying the dancers! She is so serious when she is trying to dance during the show. However, you notice that Jambalaya caught her attention for a moment at the end of this performance.

By the way, for those of you know that Lily has always freaked out when I want to put her hair in a ponytail- I should have realized that she wanted her hair to be like Abby Cadabby's hair. As soon as we asked her if she wanted hair like Abby's about a week ago, she has been asking for her "Abby hair" every day. I will post some pictures of this new, adorable look tomorrow!

Hope you got a good laugh! Have a great day!