Fall Festivities - tons of fun, tons of pics

Fall in New England is a beautiful time of year, chock-full of seasonal activities. We have been filling every sunny moment with fun while the nice weather is here. Had trouble deciding which pics to include in this post so here are a few of the millions I've taken lately. My poor girl says "cheese" every time she sees a camera even if it's not in use. Someday when she's all grown up she'll thank me, right?

playing in a corn box - this was a first

first jumparoo experience for Little Miss

getting the hang of it . . .

really enjoying it!

hanging with some "punkins"

another of those many faces

my little "punkin"

apple picking with the cousins

a big apple for a little girl . . .

no problem!

Making Strides against breast cancer walk (second annual for little Miss)

a playground break during the walk . . .

gotta keep all parties happy!

My girl of many faces

Before Little Miss came home, I was fortunate enough to get many pictures of her in Ethiopia from fellow adoptive families who travelled to Hope's Place ahead of me. At only a few months of age, Little Miss had a different look in nearly every picture. I dubbed her "my girl of many faces" at the time, and that title continues to suit her well. Here are just a few of her many faces . . . I love every one of them!

A year in the life of my sweet girl

In the spirit of reminiscing about Little Miss's first year home, I created a video of some of our moments together (and hopefully, I am getting it uploaded here as I type this post). In one short year, we have created a million memories. I treasure every one of them and look forward to making millions more!

Our First Family Day . . . perfect! (well almost)

One year ago today, my prayers were answered. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I met the most beautiful, amazing, lovable, 5 month old baby girl - my daughter. I remember the day like it was yesterday - the excitement, the sights/sounds/smells, the rain, the love, the visceral emotions of the day and the moment I met my Little Miss. I have such wonderful memories of that day and of the moments/hours surrounding our union. I knew in that moment that I was truly blessed!

I had big plans for today full of fun activities, tradition setting, and nostalgic moments, but things don't always work out as we plan. The challenges of this day began at 10:30pm yesterday when my girl was still fighting sleep. With a poor night's sleep for both of us and a crack of dawn "Mama, Mama, Maaamaaa!" wake up call, we didn't really stand a chance. Little Miss has very few days that are cranky, unhappy. Today (Murphy's Law) happened to be one of them. I tried to delay the fun activities until after a morning nap, but the nap just didn't happen. When all else fails, get that girl in the car (strapped and immobilized by carseat buckles) and eventually sheer exhaustion wins the battle. However, it was a little too little (25 minute nap - ugh!) a little too late - the plans had to be nixed. The driving nap did yield an unexpected pleasure though, we ended up at a great learning toy store. In the spirit of anniversary celebration, I spent too much but got some beautiful wooden puzzles, shape sorters, books, etc. for Little Miss - Happy Family Day to us! There were some tears today and maybe a tantrum or two and our plans were ultimately nixed by our combined fatigue and crankiness, but it was still our first family day anniversary. Through it all, my heart was and is very full - full of gratitude, full of love, full of joy. And we did manage to squeeze in a few fun moments, some reminiscing, and a few activities that will hopefully become family day traditions. I'm reminded today of how quickly time passes. I can almost imagine our family days in 5, 10, 20 years and am so looking forward to what each new day brings. In the meantime, I will continue to savor every moment - the good, the fun, and even the cranky. My love for you, Little Miss, is beyond words. You are a tremendous gift to our whole family. I love you so much!! Happy Anniversary Princess!

8-18-08

8-18-09

Lazy days of summer

A few pics from our recent summer days:

I love this pic. It was taken at my aunts' summer cottage where I spent summer weekends when I was a kid. I actually rode the bike Little Miss is on when I was about her size some, ah-hem, 30+ years ago.

Learning to love the water - can't ya tell?

Sportin' a little sidewalk chalk on the cheek.

A night at the ballet - once she got over the initial shock of lights out and sudden loud clapping, she loved it!

"Let me at that stage!"

Hangin' in the kitty's bed

Time for a cat nap?

July highlights

It's been a busy and fun-filled month. The summer we'd been waiting for hit us in the face with a whopping 104 degrees when we landed in Texas for our adoption agency reunion. We had a great time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. What a treasure to be able to have all of these kiddos home and reunited for a weekend.

Little Miss loved the plane. She was full of wide-eyed wonder on the first flight and was an old pro by the time we were on our connecting flight.

Hanging at the hotel

Some Hope friends

My little cowgirl!

We also recently had a great day full of summer activities with our dear friends - pool time, backyard fun, and the town summer festival all in one day!

The first tattoo for Little Miss. She was unsure at first, but ultimately loved and kissed that little turtle on her hand!

And we finally got a little beach time! It was worth the wait - Little Miss had a great time.

Summertime is that you???

The sun has finally revealed itself after over 3 weeks of gloomy/rainy weather. And at last, we have had a chance to enjoy a few summertime activities with family and friends. Here are some shots from our recent trip to the water park/zoo. It took Little Miss a while to get close to the water, but she figured it out and then didn't want to leave, of course!