tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-207964052009-10-31T09:41:08.603-05:00The True Adventures of LilyKate and EleanorSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.comBlogger241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-26607622823904699192009-10-05T09:12:00.009-05:002009-10-06T14:50:18.868-05:00

Eleanor and LilyKate - 27 months old, September 2009The girls are growing and developing like crazy these days.  After being a little concerned about their speech development, we had them assessed by Babies Can't Wait (Early Intervention), and they were declared perfectly normal and right on track, so that was a relief.  They are suddenly talking up a storm and adding new words to their

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-57843561182559814312009-08-13T08:00:00.004-05:002009-08-13T08:34:56.578-05:00

I confess to being a complete slacker when it comes to this blog. It's just so much easier to post and upload stuff to Facebook, I find myself there whenever I have a few free minutes to spend on the computer. I know there are still a few folks who haven't jumped on the FB bandwagon (c'mon people, whatcha waiting for?), so here are a couple of recent photos of the girls. They are growing like

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-62927592580806410042009-08-11T18:18:00.000-05:002009-08-11T18:24:00.074-05:00

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-48220770638880331282009-06-20T21:00:00.013-05:002009-06-20T21:40:28.779-05:00

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-35796446417354600382009-06-16T11:39:00.034-05:002009-06-16T22:00:40.625-05:00

On this day last year, we met our sweet girls for the first time. After years of waiting to be parents, our dreams came true and life as we knew it was changed in an instant. All the families from our travel group gathered in our hotel lobby, from where we would walk across the street to the Jiangxi Adoption Office, and meet the babies, who were coming from seven different orphanages in the

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-43109439461571939552009-05-26T19:08:00.007-05:002009-05-26T19:41:46.441-05:00

We take pictures of the girls almost every day, most of which are never posted. Some of these images are cute and funny, but many are just simple, everyday moments...here are a few recent favorites.Eleanor's latest funny lookLilyKate playing the piano at church and telling me no when I try to play tooEleanor dancing at a friend's graduation partyLilyKate cuddling with Daddy and still sleepy from

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-25143076250860809102009-05-21T08:40:00.018-05:002009-05-23T09:55:51.161-05:00

The girls loved their first visit to the beach, and we LOVED watching them experience so many new things, and seeing it all again through their eyes. They loved playing in the sand, swimming in the pools, running on the greens (and everywhere else for that matter). The only thing they didn't like so much was the ocean...they loved looking at it, but didn't want to get too close to it. They ate

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-13409490637695190932009-05-06T07:53:00.011-05:002009-05-07T06:44:21.446-05:00

We just returned from the beach and I have a ton of great pictures to post, but before I do that, I need to acknowledge a special anniversary - Referral Day. One year ago, on May 2nd, we received the phone call we had been waiting for for three years...the phone call that changed our lives forever, and in a matter of minutes! Our agency called us that afternoon to tell us that we were parents, to

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-18414741052008345512009-04-17T13:04:00.013-05:002009-04-17T14:17:09.970-05:00

We had a lovely Easter weekend with the girls hunting for eggs, spending time with family, and enjoying the beautiful Spring weather. The girls just seem to accept every new thing with ease, and we are continually amazed by how much they are growing and changing. They are starting to say more words and comprehend everything you say to them. I know it won't be long before they are talking up a

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-18155460455440482802009-04-14T14:43:00.001-05:002009-04-14T14:44:42.721-05:00

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-13901714186040199922009-04-09T09:20:00.011-05:002009-04-09T09:36:17.500-05:00

Eleanor in red socks, LilyKate in white :)

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-19588718573071626642009-04-01T15:55:00.013-05:002009-04-02T08:00:18.933-05:00

The girls had their first real haircut this week and although they both cried through the entire process, they were very brave and let the stylist do her thing. Fortunately, it didn't take more than a few minutes to trim their ends, and then put their hair into pigtails, but it was a rough few minutes! I felt bad taking pictures of them crying, but it was a first and I had to capture the moment,

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-16477742180917280972009-03-21T10:00:00.006-05:002009-03-21T10:07:44.337-05:00

We shared a delicious Mexican dinner tonight with our friends, the Chapman's. As we were leaving the restaurant, Ben and Pete spotted this huge chair, so we decided to sit the kids down for a photo op. Surprisingly, everyone cooperated and we got a pretty good shot...a rare occurrence with five kids, especially when it was past our girls' bedtime!

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-45864314765002610882009-03-16T15:26:00.007-05:002009-03-16T15:44:31.167-05:00

Not that they need any help improving what is already flawless, but the girls enjoyed a lovely yogurt facial during lunch today. LilyKate was especially good at slathering it around, and when spoons got in the way, little hands proved to be the perfect tools. Yogurt - good inside and out!

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-33936247926788991222009-03-12T10:27:00.005-05:002009-03-12T10:34:21.308-05:00

I love this photo of LK. It captures her sweetness perfectly. She is also just a little bit beautiful, wouldn't you say?

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-10917760553036838672009-03-10T09:23:00.004-05:002009-03-10T09:55:28.109-05:00

I seem to post more frequently to Facebook these days - it's just so much easier and quicker to upload pictures and video. I know some people don't use it, including many of my family members, so I'll try and do better about posting here as well. Here's a little snippet of the girls being cute and adorable...enjoy!

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-11358046463412073122009-03-09T22:07:00.008-05:002009-03-09T22:38:59.222-05:00

So, last week we had snow and freezing temps, but the past few days have been beautiful - sunny and warm in the high 70's - crazy! It has been great being able to spend time outdoors and the warm weather seems to have put everyone in a great mood. After dinner tonight we took the girls for milkshakes and a visit to the park. They went on the swings, ran on the grass, got chased around by Daddy

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-4515865718373836872009-03-01T22:58:00.007-05:002009-03-02T10:57:28.901-05:00

We had several inches of now here today...it came down for several hours and created a winter wonderland. We bundled everyone up and headed outside to play this afternoon. The girls weren't sure what to think at first, but after a few minutes, Eleanor got curious and started walking around, just looking at everything. LilyKate was very timid, which is not normally the case, and it took her a

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-53517964082515586502009-02-26T10:09:00.011-05:002009-02-26T10:54:52.175-05:00

Cousin Jackie had a birthday last week, and we celebrated with a party on Saturday afternoon. We had a great time and it was warm enough to play outside for awhile, which the girls loved. The guys were playing basketball and LilyKate and Eleanor tried to get in on the action. The balls were almost as big as them, but that didn't stop them from trying! They had a great time running around and

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-84341779897517217162009-02-14T10:26:00.008-05:002009-02-14T14:35:04.793-05:00

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago, for a special, top-secret Valentine's gift for Jonathan. I have been keeping them under wraps and it's been killing me not to show him the pictures! He loved his photo album and had tears in his eyes as he opened it and looked at each page (which was very sweet and let me know I scored big-time).I hope you are spending this day of LOVE with those who

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-5826806164045582282009-01-31T21:44:00.003-05:002009-01-31T22:09:31.943-05:00

Eleanor's disposition has been so good lately. I think she is over the worst of teething, and is sleeping through most nights, so she's just happier overall. She loves to be silly and when she laughs, it's with her whole body. She is too adorable for words!

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-85451391575595028402009-01-25T18:37:00.021-05:002009-01-25T22:40:43.262-05:00

Last night, we celebrated Chinese New Year (or rather the Spring Festival , as it is called in China), with our good friends and neighbors, Derek and Marcia and their kids. They have two sons, and a daughter, Ava, who is from Yuncheng, China. We tried to get all the kids together for a photo, but as you can see below, it wasn't very successful.Peter looks half asleep, LilyKate is hysterical,

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-36296443203850505772009-01-18T18:33:00.005-05:002009-01-18T18:54:01.287-05:00

The girls love their Daddy and he can make them giggle and laugh like no-one else with his silly antics. The other night after dinner, he had them hysterical with laughter....seeing them have fun together makes me so happy!

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-15925188370714600292009-01-17T13:18:00.010-05:002009-01-17T13:51:56.431-05:00

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20796405.post-6222130619372554062009-01-15T19:54:00.008-05:002009-01-16T08:00:15.406-05:00

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11378448464105026089noreply@blogger.com15