Life with Lydia

The girl can trash a clean room in 10 minutes!
This is a page from Emilie's Kind. class book. They were so sweet to keep up with our adoption through the blog. Lydia got to visit them last week.

Em pushing chunky monkey around in her baby doll stroller.
Lydia LOVED it!!

Aunt Von came to see us at Aunt Cheryl's.

What a great day!!! Thanks for coming down Von!!!

It takes a village....

Lydia LOVES her extended family! She is always blowing kisses and waving at them to let them know she loves them. (Allowing them to hold her is another story) She took her first road trip to visit in South Carolina. She traveled pretty good... but I wouldn't want to head out alone with her just yet. :-) Our first night was rough... she cried like she did in China and I was sure I had made a huge mistake. Thankfully by morning she re-booted and was happy as a clam for the rest of the visit.

She even began to cry for Uncle David when she thought he was leaving. There's an old saying that "kids spell "love" "t-i-m-e." If you want our girl to give you the time of day, you had better have LOTS of time!

School is out and as usual we busier than we want. June is the busiest. We have a Kid's Crusade, Camp Meeting, Tennis Camp/Vacation, Youth Camp (for the boys) and summer basketball for Jason. July is not much better as we really hope to visit grandparents and Jason has a mission trip to Peru. Not to mention Cheryl's move to Texas! (insert heavy sigh)

School starts Aug 3... how in the world am I supposed to leave such a sweet baby with someone else all day while I go to work?

Remember us when you pray....

~Cindy

Oh... almost forgot to tell you Lydia has 4 new teeth coming in. ALL AT ONCE!!!! Still not walking... but close!

Disco Inferno 2009

Dancing lessons from Reed

Winning the dance contest!

Oooops!

Before the fall!

Kissing in the back row..... solo

This show was so much fun for Andrew. He sang a couple of solo's! He didn't tell us that he dies in the play... the good news is that he did resurect long enough to sing one more time! :-)

The plaid bell-bottoms were found on e-bay. Gotta love it! Bravo Andrew!!!!

Now You're Talking!!!!

This smile can make your day!

Chillaxin with Daddy

I like to have a toy in each hand just like Andrew did when he was a baby!

Look out Paula Deen...

We have had a very busy week! Lydia has began to say a few words. She is learning her facial parts and can say "eye, nose... (ohhh), and (ou )for mouth. She is walking all over the house with her rock-n-roll toy. has worn a path around the downstairs loop. She also loves to cook and serve anyone within arms reach. She'll say... Mmmmmm. It never gets old... we love watching her play and learn. She is such a smart girl. (yes, we are a little proud)

We are getting ready for a visit with Josie and Emilie. They are coming to watch Andrew in his on-stage debut in "Disco Inferno." Look for those pics next week. He is ready for his solo's... yes, I said solo's! School is down to 5 days... can you believe it?

Movin~n~Groovin

She knows how to hold a pen!

"I just love sharing Jason's milkshake!"

Prom 2009~ Our little Roo-Roo has grown up... sniff, sniff...

Our little girl has been growing and developing at warp speed! She has began to wave bye-bye, blow kisses, says mama, and dada, crawls all over the house, can pull herself up on furniture, and has 1 new tooth and another just about in. She has began to walk behind her push toy and that is ALL she wants to do. She can pitch a fit like a champion to get it out and start rolling. Our sweet, innocent looking angel has a temper accompanied by a very strong will. :-) I'm guessing that's how she survived and thrived in China. Fortunatly we have a little experience with a strong willed child (a-hemmm Jason), and we are enjoying every aspect of parenting again. She has a great sense of humor and knows how to use it to avoid nap-time. She adjusting to life in a parsonage and has learned that while we are at church, there are going to be people looking at her. She is pulling at her hair less and less. One of the bigger challenges we face for now is still food. She will eat "Cheerios, animal crackers, etc... but doesn't receive baby food. She has tasted food from our plate and occasionally will show interest, but not consistently. She has began to drink juice from a sippy cup this week!

Jason and Andrew are just the best big brothers ever! She adores both of them and has squeels and smiles for them when they come in from school. We can hardly wait for next weekend as Andrew will be playing in "Disco Inferno" at our local theater. Jason has made plans to go on a missions trip to Lima, Peru this summer. Please begin to pray for him and this incredible opportunity.

~Cindy