Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Nine Months

Oh, how fast time goes by.
Our sweet little baby girl is nine months old.
That means she is 3/4 of a year. 
Yikes!!
I remember the day we saw her picture so well.  She was just a tiny little 6-day old.
That was the day that my prayer and dream for so many years became a reality.
It was so hard watching her grow up without us.  First it was her one month birthday,
then two... then three... four... 
and when my Mom and Dad were in Congo she turned 5 months.

Six months ago I blogged about Bethany turning 3 months old.
But that post did not tell how strongly my heart yearned to be with her on that day.
I couldn't write how much she and Kaden were on my mind.
How it sometimes hurt to think about them because we didn't know when they could come home...

Now that she is home, I take her for granted all to much.
Her sweetness, and personality, and just that she is my sister.  
yes, even little girls like firetrucks.  How can you blame them?

At nine months Bethany is dancing and clapping instead of crawling,
 and that is fine by me!
She is babbling "da da" and things, but I'm trying to get her to say "Ba Ba" for Brittany.
Brandon and David called me "Ninny" before they could say "Brittany", so we'll she if she'll do the same or if she'll give me her own name.
I love Bethany so, so much!

Monday, January 28, 2013

The Answer...

Skiing!


Yes!  We are in West Virgina enjoying the slopes with friends.
My mom and the little guys are at home, and we're missing them, but we are having fun and enjoying the snow!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Guess...

Okay, okay.  I know I should have posted long before now, but if you look at the picture above you might be able to tell that I have an excuse. 
Can ayone guess where we are or what we're doing?
I'll tell tomorrow! 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: First Time Painting

Okay, this is not completely wordless post,
but I think we may have an artist in the making!
 
 


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Our (very late) Christmas/New Years/Happy That Grandparents are Here Party

This year we new we wanted to have a Christmas party with Kaden.
Nothing fancy, just a simple party with simple games, etc.
We planned on it, but it didn't happy before Christmas.
So we decided to make it a New Years Party.
But it didn't happen before - or after- New Years.
So we decided just do the week after New Years, and it didn't happen then either.
Finally, when we heard that our grandparents would be coming to visit we deiced to do it with them...
and we did!
We made the "healthier" version of gingerbread houses with peanut butter and cream cheese instead of using the tradition kits.
It was a lot of fun!
We gave Kaden two graham crackers and let him put whatever he wanted on it,
and the rest of us made little houses.
He did a lot of smiling...
...and eating!
There were a few construction problems here and there,
but nothing that eating a couple of bites wouldn't fix:)
This is probably one of the best things about being homeschooled.
We are so fixable.  If something doesn't happen before Christmas- or New Years - we are able to turn it into a late celebration or make up a new one.
 
What about you?  Do you have any different celebrations or ways to celebrate?


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Prayers and Pictures

Kaden's prayers are so cute!  When we pray together, he normally wants to get in on it and
will ask to pray.
Most of the time is prayers go like this:
 
Merci Jazwi (thank you Jesus for)
Momma, Papa... Brittany, Brandon... Momma,  David.... Defany... Brittany...
Mrs. Tomico... Gandy... Papa... Pop... Brandon, Momma, Papa... David... Brittany...
 
Normally by this time Brandon is cracking up, and Kaden interrupts himself and will
reprimand him before continuing.
 
...Brittany, Papa... Momma... David... Brandon... Gandy... Momma...
Brittany... Pop... David...
 
and we continue like that until we finally decide to help him with the Amen.
Yesterday I was able to get a few really cute pictures of Bethany.
She is in such a sweet, content stage right now, and it is so easy to get pictures of her laughing and smiling.  I need to get more of Kaden, but it's kind of hard because he's so active that most of the pictures are blurry.   Anyone have tips on how to get good pictures of active 3-year-olds?
 
 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Summer in January?

We are having very strange weather in North Carolina.

It is actually supposed to be 78° one day this week!
I know we don't live in the colder places of the US, but I do think I would be nice to have snow at least once this year.
Oh, well. We'll enjoy the warm weather this week, and maybe it'll get cooler soon.
Anyway, last week we had more normal January weather, and I got some pictures of the beautiful frost.  I love it!

 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Bethany

Oh, how I love this girl.
I mean really.
Bethany is the best baby.  She is always so content and happy.
Bethany is now 8 months old, and we are starting to see some of her personality.
She is a dancer!
Whenever music is on she claps, and sways back and forth.
It is so cute to watch!
She hasn't started crawling yet, and isn't very interested in doing so.
 
I love her hair.  It is so soft, and amazingly long!  When it is wet it goes to the bottom of her neck!
We are trying to keep it moisturized and take care of it, and we're having fun with bows!
She'll sit on a blanket and play so happily with her toys.
Oh, we're blessed with our baby!


10 things you probably didn't know about me

1.  I'd rather write an essay than do a science lesson.
2.  I don't like clothes shopping, but I really enjoy thrift stores.
3.  I love walking around and the hustle and activity of big malls, but I don't like buying things there.
4.  I like to cook meals, and especially enjoy making special lunches for my siblings.
5.  I'm not (and never will be) on facebook.
6.  I like having an active lifestyle and exercise almost everyday
6.  Before adopting Bethany and Kaden, I had been praying we'd adopt for as long as I can remember.
7.  My mom is my best friend.
8.  I was born 6 weeks premature.
9.  I don't have (or want) a phone.
 10.  If I had to choose, I'd choose healthy food over food that tastes good.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Christmas Part 2

So back to Christmas...
December 26 we packed up and left for Virgina... a 4 to 5 hour trip + what ever happens with a baby who really does not care for the car.  At all.
We traveled about half way to my grandparents when we decided we needed a break and stopped at a McDonald's to use some free yogurt coupons.  There Bethany wet through her diaper and onto my mom and needed a complete change.  She was still pretty happy, though:)

Finally we were back on the road and eventually arrived!
There was a little snow on the ground and so Kaden got to see it for the first time! 
 
Then we headed inside and had so much fun with cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.
There was a lot of dancing around...
 
 
 
 


memory making...
rip sticking...
delicious desserts...
This one's for you, Aunt Kelly! :)
cuteness...
 
 
And FUN!
 
The next day more family arrived, and we got the news that one family was sick and couldn't come.  We really missed them, but were glad that they're feeling better now.
We watched a puppet show,  Aunt Kelly braided my hair...

And we opened gifts!
 
 
One thing that I love that my grandma does for us every year, is give us ornaments that reflect something that we were involved in or that happened to us the past year.
With 25 people to get ornaments for, this is no easy thing to do, but she always picks out the perfect thing!  Thanks, Gandy:)
can you guess what mine was this year? 
Yep, a camera!
David got a gymnast
 
We had a great time this year!
I love our family so much, and we always have such a great time making memories with them.  I can't wait until our next get-together.
 

Numbering the Days ~ 1 March