Friday, August 22, 2008

Danielle is 2

This has been a very busy week at our house. First, it was extra special because we were able to celebrate Danielle's 2nd birthday with her! We had a big party for her on Saturday with lots of friends, cake and ice cream. She gets a little overwhelmed if she is the center of attention, so we decided to have her party at a "play house". We went to Miss Jamie's House and had a lot of fun. Miss Jamie's House is an actual house that has been converted into play rooms for kids (no one actually lives in the house). They have a room that is play house, a stage with dress up clothes, a ship with fishing poles, a camping room with tents, and then a big outdoor playground. My girls love to play there - and I do to...less mess for me to clean up. This was the first time that we had a party away from our home, and I must say that I liked it! It was nice not having to clean the house before AND after a party. All I had to do this time was get the paper products, snacks, party favors and make the cake!! Hopefully everyone had a good time - Danielle did, and that is what counts!

Also this week I went back to work....ugh!! I am going to be an assistant teacher at my girls' preschool! All 3 of our girls are going to be going to preschool this year, and instead of doing private speech therapy while they are in school, I decided to work where they are! I am really looking forward to it! I have been a little nervous about leaving Danielle, but God is once again looking out for her! My best friend, Cynthia, is going to be her teacher!! Danielle loves and adores her, so hopefully this transistion will be relatively easy. Danielle has been doing better with me leaving - she has done great with a teen babysitter,and she now goes to Sunday school with Elizabeth (only a few tears initially) - I love being able to worship without my "little distraction"!

Today was another special day for us. We went to court to finalize our re-adoption! Basically, this will give her a Gwinnett County birth certificate, instead of using her Chinese one. We are excited to have completed this process. We hired a great attorney, and she didn't charge nearly as much as some do. We were friends with Crystal before all of us got married and started having children, so we were more than happy to send some business her way. We had no issues at all with any of our paperwork - her fees were worth it for me to not have to worry about doing things right. Besides, if I had done it myself, chances are we wouldn't have even filed our papers yet - it can be difficult to get things done with 3 little ones! The only problem we encountered today was....I left my purse in the Judge's chambers! Steve said that was probably the safest place to have left it - hopefully! We got it back and all was well - just a little embarrassing!!

We are all doing great - keeping very busy with friends, family and life in general. The week before Danielle's birthday party was Ally's party. Ally, Shelby, Frannie and Danielle were all on the same Waiting Child list....and we all live in Atlanta - amazing! See the picture of them below titled "Digit Friends". It is great to have such good friends who are going through the same things that we are. Parenting is hard at times, and great support is so hard to find! Thank you to all of our friends who help us out along the way - we couldn't do it without you!!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Busy summer

Okay, I have heard from some people that they were wanting me to post again - sorry that it has taken me so long!! This summer has just flown by! Stephanie spent 4 weeks in summer school with one of her favorite teachers and had a blast! She loves school and can't wait for pre-k to start on Sept. 2. We spent a week and a half in MN, visiting my parents and we had a blast! The weather was wonderful (much cooler and less humid than Hot-lanta!) We spent a WHOLE lot of time in my parent's swimming pool, and as you can tell from the pictures below, the girls had no fear! We swam every day and had a blast! Our girls are just little fish - they can't get enough of it! Danielle's first swimming experience was great - she had no fear what-so-ever...which is not always a good thing. They miss swimming every day, but now we go to Nana's often to swim, which everyone loves, too.

Everyone is getting along quite well. Danielle and Liz continue to be partners in crime and enjoy finding trouble together. They have become less destructive, though, which is great! All girls have been great helps at home...helping with dishes, folding laundry, sweeping, dusting and making beds. They would much rather help me with the household chores than picking up their toys! I can't wait until their cleaning skills get better - my house may have hopes of actually being clean one day! Danielle's language skills are improving. She is imitating and learning new words everyday! In fact, Steve had to work late tonight, and so they all called him to say good night, and Danielle told him that she loved him! She said, "Wuv you", and Daddy was in heaven! Another HUGE milestone is this...Danielle does not "require" me to sit in her bedroom until she falls asleep! This is huge for me! This transition was relatively easy...hopefully she will do as well when she goes to school! She will be going to preschool for 3 mornings a week at the same school where Stephanie and Liz will go. Whenever we talk about school, she gets very excited. She is very proud of her new lunchbox...she carries it with her everywhere!

Thank you all for your continued interest in our family. All of your prayers are greatly appreciated. We are so very blessed - God has truly outdone himself (if that is possible) by giving us such a wonderful family. Enjoy some updated pictures!

New pictures