3 year portraits

I like to play with my camera. Lila and I spent about 1/2 an hour taking pictures the other day. These are my favorites of those we took. (Thank you to our wonderful Secret Pal, Jodi, for the darling dress & headband!)

Lila had her 2 week post-surgery appointment this week. They are very pleased with her progress! We return in a month for her next check-up.

We have finally settled into a summer routine since being home from the hospital. The girls are sleeping in, playing outside, watching movies, and having a great time. My sister, niece, and nephew are here from Texas for the whole summer so have been here to play, stay all night, or go see movies. Toy Story 3 was awesome!!!!

The birthday party, the hospital stay, and it's good to be back to normal!

Grace with her candles on the cake

A couple hard days of recuperating after surgery

Waiting to check into our hospital room

The birthday sisters!

Lila blowing out her #3 candle

Grabbing the pinata loot!

Grace takes a swing

Lila was the first to try

Ladybug pinata!

Surgery

Lila had surgery Tuesday. We are in the hospital hoping to go home Saturday or Sunday. I would add some pictures but don't have the cable for the camera here at the hospital.

Fun weekend!

Mikayla, Lila, and Grace at the Children's Museum

Lila being silly at the zoo!

Greg, AJ, and Mikayla at the zoo butterfly house.

Our family at the zoo butterfly house.

Greg, AJ, and Mikayla were here for Memorial Day weekend. We went to the zoo on Saturday then had a barbecue while the kids played outside. Sunday we met for lunch, went to the new Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit at our children's museum, then ended the day with dinner at our house. It was a fun weekend with good friends, getting caught up, watching the girls play together, and just hanging out.

Happy Birthday Dear Lila!

My baby girl is 3! She had a wonderful "first" birthday with presents, ice cream cupcakes, and her favorite meal for dinner (fried rice). We will have a big party for both girls on June 5. We are waiting until my sister & her family are home from Texas to celebrate with us!

Tearing into her first present at breakfast to start the day off!

Birthday girl with her yummy ice cream treats! She was a pro at blowing the candles out. I'm not sure if they celebrated birthdays at the orphanage or not. We think this was her first real celebration ever but definitely her first full of love and joy, at home, with her family. It was a day that made me think of her birth family and know they are missing her & wondering where their little girl is on this special day.

Today Grace is 6!

Her new big girl bike!

Ladybug cookies for her Kindergarten class! The party theme this year is ladybugs.

What is it about a birthday that makes you remember the first time you held that tiny little baby? I can remember every detail of what I told her and her tiny little face peeking out from the tightly swaddled blankets. She'll always be my little angel.

My first real haircut

Lila had her head shaved in typical orphange style in China. She had a lot of growth since we got home and it was time to get it shaped up. She wasn't scared at all, climbed right into the chair, was silly & squirmy for the cut, and came out looking much better. Delores evened it all up and cut it into a cute little layered bob.