Breaking Through!

After a long night, Cupcake finally got her first little tooth! It is a bottom chomper and she thinks it's pretty fun to play with her tongue on it! She's drooling a lot and is really proud of herself (okay, maybe it was we that were proud?).

Not long after this accomplishment, she puckered up and started her painful cries again as we see there is another bottom tooth trying to come in! The doctor thought she was cutting 4 (two top and two bottom) all at once, so she's right so far.

I don't know how that smile can get any cuter?

Chores Already!?

Somehow, even though we asked our gardens very nicely NOT to grow weeds while we were gone... they still did!

*how rude!*

So we enlisted the help of our younger family members to tackle this job. We didn't get it done, but they were cute helpers! People say talking to plants helps? ~guess we'll have to talk more sternly next time?

Making Waves!

Happy Beach Baby!

Riding those waves in!

These googles are about as clean as his regular glasses. Go figure.

Love that face! She warmed up to the waves after she found she could splash!

We spent the day at the lake and the waves were huge! SG thought they were awesome, Cupcake wasn't so sure of them at first, but thought the sand was great. She's finally trying to at least touch the grass and with the sand she was delighted!

Watching SG was amazing as he faced the wave challenges so fearlessly. He's growing up so fast and it was awesome just to watch him laugh and be so confident. He'd still glanced back to make sure I was watching all the great "moves", but I'd not dare let on that I was regretting even blinking because I was so enjoying the moment of just watching him ...be...him. That smile and laugh are contagious.

Keeping an eye on Cupcake as she finds pieces of driftwood (hopefully nothing else!) while discovering sand and its treasures and another eye on SG pretending to be a World-Class-Body-Surfer-Wave-Crasher was the best way to spend a beautiful Thursday afternoon. EVER. I'm still afraid to blink because they grow up too fast...

Camera is fixed!! Just a few shots to enjoy!

If you're happy and you know, then your face will surely show it!

Marching in a July 4th parade and being this cute takes a lot out of ya!

Taking the "plunge"!

Yup! They're drenched!

Cupcake's first ride! Well, giddy-up already!

Multi-talented!

Discovering the flower gardens.

Wonderful Summer Day

Hey'ya Boo-Boo, How's about another pic-a-nic basket?!

I packed up the kids, lunches, blankets, toys, drinks, books, the kitchen sink, and a partridge in a pear tree and headed to the local park today for a relaxing day in the shade! After about 5 trips from the car to unload we were settled and ready to enjoy the day. It was worth all the effort to get to that point, too. Fresh air....Clouds.....ahhhhhh......

We were joined by some friends and wasted away the afternoon chatting and having Cupcake snooze and play on the blanket. She really enjoyed the baby swing and SG got in a few goals with the soccer ball too! The winner between parents vs. kids is still undecided, so we'll call it a tie! Although, SG would probably disagree. Our healthy picnic was yummy too~ Sesame baked chips, grapes, whole grain sandwiches, and yogurt.

Can't wait for another day to do it all again.

Forgive the Absence!

Okay, okay, I know I haven't posted in 12 days! Let's chalk it up to "life"! We are finally back at home after a week at DVC with 4th and 5th graders! It was a lot of fun, but poor Cupcake must be thinking we LIVE in that camper! We were all struggling with boogered-up schedules and by Thursday morning I was officially wearing the "I've been hit by a Mac Truck" look due to a lack of sleep. But the kids had a great time and Cupcake really enjoyed all the attention. It was great having mother's little helpers to make it easier, too. This will mark the first year I didn't participate in bobbing for gummy worms in the jell-o pool... Or maybe I did and just wasn't conscious. The week was fantastic!

We also were very blessed by a "Welcome Home Cupcake" reception with our friends and family on Sunday. It was hard not to get teary-eyed when we realize how long the wait has been and how people really stood by us and prayerfully held up our adoption. Praise God many times over!

So, now we home finally getting settled into a more permanent schedule and routine. We're even getting to play, laugh, bond, giggle and watch Sesame Street together! In case you are wondering the letter of the day is R and the word for today is Scrumptious. I don't remember there being a word for the day when I was growing up, but what a great idea! I still have a favorite number, and it's 4 (thanks for asking.)!

I also braved Aldi's & Wal-mart with both kids and lived to talk about it. It went relatively smoothly but there were some saints along the way that made it easier. (Thank you) That and Cupcake fell asleep for most of the Wal-mart part of the trip. Being that it has been many weeks since we've gone for groceries, we decided it was time. The rice cakes, popcorn & ketchup Charlie Brown thanksgiving meals just weren't cutting it. Luckily, we had some baby food for Cupcake already stashed away in the cupboard, but for the rest of us, it was long overdue.

I hope to be adding pictures again soon. My new camera we took to China was great. Yes, was. Took it all the way around the world and it got broken last week. ~Just glad it wasn't in China when it happened. Even more glad I bought the "idiot insurance coverage" for it. I even asked....If I do anything, I mean, Anything to it, you'll replace it. He said yes. Well, by golly, I'm glad we did that. So hopefully, I'll get it fixed/replaced in the near future, 'cause I have some great shots on there! Can't wait to share them with you!

Well...it's quiet now, as both children are sleeping and we're winding down too. The sunset was gorgeous and the cool summer breeze is refreshing. I'm content. Happy. My family is Home and I'm overwhelmed by thanksgiving for it all.

.Sweet dreams.

The sounds of silence...

Well, it's after 7:00 a.m. and the little cupcake and SG are still snoozing! We put them to bed at 9:00 p.m.!! Ahhhh.....the sounds of silence....

SG had a great time at camp! He made some new "best" friends and was very sad to leave them. He filled us in all the excitement including water balloons, getting mail, and falling out of bed! Luckily, he was on the bottom bunk! He had a terrific time and is already talking about going next year. Mind you, we leave next WEEK to go be on staff at the same camp! (but it's not the same, he says.)

If you ever need a shopping deterrent, I'm willing to bring Cupcake along. I thought we'd start out small at Dollar General. Her first time in a shopping cart was interesting. Oh no, we don't like it at all! We don't like the strap! We don't like holding on, and if we don't hold on we're small enough I can slip through the leg holes! We don't like stuff in the seat with me! We have quite an arm with a box of kleenex! We don't like things NOT in the seat with us because we can't throw them! However, we do like reaching out to the shelves and dragging our hands along it! Wow, it's like dominoes cascading to the floor! Fun! All this while people ooohing and ahhhing over the new baby. Needless to say, we only bought 2 items. Oh well, there's always another day!

SD and I were happily reflecting on the "s" in kids this morning. We can actually say now, how the kidS are, let's play with the kidS, why don't we take the kidS! It's an amazing realization that there are two of them now.... we praise God for His faithfulness during our journeys.