....a place........or is it palace??.....all her own!!!
This is Agirl's latest purchase with her saved allowance money. (Well, I think the latest purchase was actually the Nerf gun but, this was just prior!!!)
Here she is........enjoying her own private space! The little beanbag fits perfectly!
It's a wonderful place to read and enjoy some Dr. Seuss! Also, it is a perfect little theater for her portable DVD player.....will have to add a pic of that.
Sweet BabyJ,
We brought you in to our home, feeling called by the Lord to do so, to help your young parents...for a short time. (You see, we know your young father......he is our nephew......and your grandpa......well........your Dada grew up with him! :) )
Soon, things went from bad to worse for your young parents and the state decided to step in and formally remove you from them for a time. All the 'important' grown-ups decided that you were going to stay here, with your great uncle and aunt. Since there was no way we could see you leave and be sent to a foster home, we were very glad about that decision! For months,your young parents struggled with things in their lives........lives that were far too young to be responsible for another life! They wrestled with deciding what would be best for you and in the years to come, we promise to do all we can to help you understand it all.
This journey began back in April. You were only 2 and 1/2 months old. Now, you are so big at just over 9 months old!! You have grown and changed so much! You have the sweetest, easiest going little personality. You know us.......not as 'uncle' and 'aunt' but as 'Dada' and 'Mama'. Not as 'cousins' but as 'brother' and 'sister'.
Last week, we went to a very important 'meeting' concerning your future. Something they call a 'hearing', with a judge, and lawyers, and volunteers who care about you. There was lots of 'grown-up' talk and after some time, and some questions, the judge decided what he was going to do. Everyone agreed and everyone was wanting to do the best thing........for you.......and for your young parents.
The judge decided that you should stay with us.......forever.........for always. Your young parents had already made that decision too. They signed a very 'grow-up' piece of paper saying that they love you but they just couldn't take care of you like you needed.
So BabyJ, as your now big sister Agirl says, we are going to "n-dopt" you!! We are all very excited! Your adoption is so very special, just like Jman's and Agirl's were. You were born into this family and now you are being adopted into our home!
We love you very much BabyJ! We'll be so proud to call you our son and look forward to all that God is going to prepare you for in your life!!
Dear Blog,
I really do miss you!! I have found it so hard to find time to record our life on you for the longest time!
You really are important to me! I want to journal and chronicle our memories here with you and I love the first Blog Book that I've printed!
Here's hoping this is the 'beginning' of me getting back to you!!
And.....here's some of what has been going on. Sorry for the sequencing problem! We're going to begin with most recent and go backwards! I do not feel like moving all the pictures around!
Jman will be 10 years old on the 20th!!! So hard to believe! This is my first baby.......the one that I waited on, prayed for, and cried over for such a long time! And here we are, nearly 10 years later! He is in the 4th grade now! Unreal! Look how excited he is about doing his homework! Lots and lots of homework this year!
See how cooperative he is with me these days when I try to take his picture! And look at that room! Judging by the attitude and the room conditions, the pre-teens seem to be kicking in already!!
Here is precious baby angel boy!! He will be 9 months old on the 24th. I got him this food strainer 'thingy' and put some fresh banana in it last night. He wasn't too keen on it! HA! I think he prefers the jar kind he's been eating. No teeth yet but, we are starting on some solid finger foods that chew and dissolve easily. I thought he would love this..........perhaps takes some time to get used to the texture of this device!
Look at him with the sippy cup! He's getting good at it!
Look at our lovely backyard!! It was so hot and so dry this summer, we lost our lawn in the backyard. We couldn't keep up with the watering it needed, or afford it! So, this is what the kids have been doing with it! I told them to enjoy before we re-sod in the spring!!
This is a cute picture of my angel girl............who was bored one morning and decided it was dot day! (I was cleaning out the computer cabinet and she found these colored sticker dots!)
Agirl started 4 yr. old Preschool in September. Here she is playing kitchen/cooking with some friends in her class. It's very hard to believe that my 'baby' will be 5 in December and that she will begin Kindergarten in the fall!!
She loves her class and her teachers! She has missed school this week as the kids have been trading a fever back and forth! She is still running a temp. and won't be able to go back tomorrow either.
Working hard!
August saw baby boy sitting up. I love it when babies sit because they can finally see the world from a whole different perspective!! He loves bath time and this inflatable tub makes it so much easier.....and more fun!!!
He is always soooo happy! And look at the talent!!! Playing the drums and the piano at the same time!
This summer, Agirl was determined to get the training wheels off her bike. She and dad worked on it some but, she wasn't ready so, they went back on. That's OK...........she'll get it one day!
Daddy is always the bike riding coach! She had fun trying!!
Agirl and 'goodest' friend T......having a play date one day!
And finally, Agirl attended a week long Dance Camp this summer, in early August. She has been in gymnastic for years and I thought this would be a good way to see if she would be interested in dance lessons/classes.
She really seemed to have fun on this day that I stayed a minute to get some pictures. Her teachers said that she did a good job.
With 'goodest' friend T........ready to dance!We had a great 4th!
There are a number of families in our Sunday School class with children the same age as ours, that our two are good friends with. So, we families naturally gravitate toward each other and enjoy getting together.
Nothing like good food and good friends to celebrate our freedoms!!
The kids enjoyed time in the pool.
Little BabyJ enjoyed relaxing and watching all the craziness!
There was lots of grillin'!
And lots of chillin'............and waterguns being shot at the Mamas!!
Here's me and Coach, with some weird effect added from my photo editing?!
Here's my guy and gal, just a swingin'! She was already so tired.......and this is still early in the festivities!!
Time to eat!!
and eat....................
and eat...............
and sleep!!! This is what BabyJ eventually did on his 1rst 4th of July!!
My silly Jman in the baby swing!
Oh.........more eating!!! (The bunless burger plate.......mine. Who starts a diet on a holiday? With lots of food around? I did well with that but, it didn't last!!)
And finally, BabyJ woke and enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds with Uncle Steve!So........I've been in 'trouble' lately for not blogging more! Some say it's because of (facebook).....pee-shaw! What is that all about?!!
I do have to do a better job with this because of all the memories this blog is helping us to preserve!
OK.......let's just start with this.....................
Is this not the sweetest thing?!! I LOVE to watch sleeping babes and this was just precious........to catch Baby J with his thumb! LUV him!!!
He was 5 months old on the 24th and smiles, coos, laughs, and just is cute all the time!
Last weekend, Agirl and I took Baby J to visit his parents. While there, we stayed at Aunt Suzanne's. I painted her fingernails (Aunt Suz did her toes) and then she asked to paint mine. That was fun! :o) And such a bright, hot pink!
I love this next picture!! Jman slept late the other morning.......catching up from being away at camp. We went in to wake him and I got this sweet picture of all the cousins together!
And here is Baby J having a chat with Jman! He was really telling him all about it!!
I bought this jumper from a friend for Baby. He cried the first time we put him in it. He is warming up to it and seems to like it now. Agirl has fun playing with all the gadgets on it and I think that she would like to get in it! I won't put it past her!!
Jump baby, jump!! Gotta work those chunky legs!!
Some dear friends gave us this highchair. We tried it out for the first time the other night. He is such a big boy!! He likes his chair!! And, the cereal and fruit that come with it!!
"Put that camera down and get over here and feed me!" "If I stare at it hard enough, it might move toward me!"
He likes to sit up and this borrowed Bumpo chair is great!
While brother was at church camp, Agirl really missed him! We bought lots of craft projects to keep her busy! This day, we made garden stones for the grandmothers. The plaster dried really quickly!! We had to mix, shape, and press in stones and tiles really quickly!
Working on painting this one. They both turned out great and Nana and DeeDee LOVED them! It's nice to give "just because I love you and my brother was gone to camp so I was lonely and bored and needed something to do" gifts! ;o)
And, speaking of camp............here is Jman, in the middle, with a couple of friends. They were the green group........notice A's hair. Nice!! I sent Jman with some green hairspray but, he didn't use it!
Great times with good friends!
Time for some Bible study.
The green Oscar the Grouch shirts were fun..........and notice these two showing off their green nails!! FUN memories!!
I just had to include this! I sent Jman to his room the other morning. He was not speaking very kindly to me or his sister! When I went back to talk with him, all I found was this green turtle! He was just a little upset and not quite ready to deal with it! :o)
And finally............the Texas heat is KILLING us! My car read 107 the other day! Here are my cute kiddos at a splashpad park play date the other day. Cute backsides anyway!
Well, at least one of them turned around!!
