American Girl Place!!!!

What a great weekend! A girlfriend of mine invited Avery and I to tag along with her little girl (Avery's age) and sister and niece (1 year old) to AMERICAN GIRL PLACE in Chicago! What a great time! We had "brunch" at the cafe and Avery's bitty baby sat right beside her. We even had flowerpot with mousse in it for dessert! A little info on the American Girl Place experience: It follows different girls throughout American history. Each doll has different accessories and interesting stories. The theme of all is for girls to be confident and respectful. Then there are "bitty babies" and "bitty twins", all with accessories too. Avery has the Asian bitty baby. I did break down at Christmas and get her a matching nightgown. I was on a mission to buy bitty twins (mixed and matched, one blonde and one asian), but they were out of the Asian bitty twin. Bummer! I did break down and buy doll and Avery matching t-shirts. This store is amazing! There was a doll hospital, hair salon (for your doll), design a tshirt for you doll, photo studio, and so much more! You can even buy different outfits that match the girl and doll. However, you could easily spend a small fortune in this store, so I am very thankful that Avery is still in the stuffed animal phase for right now! She loved it though, we will be back!!!!

Avery is going to be 2!

It's hard to believe our little angel will be 2 in May. Time is going by way too fast! We have been very busy with Blake's adoption paperwork, running to "choo choo" (aka Kindermusik), visiting the zoo, and enjoying the Indiana spring weather. So for your viewing pleasure is our Avery at her 2nd birthday photo shoot by her AWESOME aunt Sarah!

Easter and Spring has Sprung!!!

We had a great Easter, we went to a "Bunny Bash", then had 2 Easter Egg hunts. We were exhausted! Avery only stood by the Easter bunny because her cousins did!





We had such a great weekend, got alot accomplished! I painted Blake's room, Dan and I did some yard work, organized and re-organized things from "the move", and now trying to catch up on normal housework! It looks like this week is going to be beautiful!

Big Girl Bed and New Pic of Blake!

What a beautiful April 1st (no foolin'!). Avery has gone almost 2 weeks with only one accident! Potty training, check. Next attempt, switch out crib to a toddler bed. Here is daddy explaining to come wake up mommy and daddy in the morning,

Then Avery learned to slide out of the bed by holding on

After she mastered that, Benny decided to try it out too.



She has done so well with both potty traning and sleeping in her "big girl bed". We are so proud of her! We received a new update on Blake today too! He is "a passive baby, except when hungry". he has been smiling more, and is a flirt! He is growing in lenght too. They tell us he is a happy baby! It has been a little over a month, and we are at a standstill until more help comes in Taiwan. Four families will be with their children this week, so we hope that our paperwork can be started then. We know he is in excellent hands until we get to hold him in our arms!
Our bedroom/bath addition is almost done! Our furniture should be here tomorrow, so we could spend our first night in our new bedroom tomorrow night! Dan is excited to be done (so am I!). Then we are going to start Blake's room!!!! Happy Easter!

Fun in Indy!

We went to Indy to have federal fingerprinting done for Blake to become a US citizen when he "steps foot" on American soil. So we went to Indy and spent the day at the Children's museum, ate some yummy food, and spent the night. We had a great time, a much needed family getaway. The hotel pool was out of order, so we watched Purdue win in overtime (Avery loves watching basketball with daddy). We had our fingerprints done (got out a little early too!) and ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory before heading home.


Avery going down the slide at the Bob the Builder exhibit. She loves saying "Yes we Can!"

Using a table saw, just don't cut your thumb like daddy did!

On Bob's Bulldozer

A classroom like the one Ruby Bridges attended, daddy liked showing Avery where "mommy sat in school" then took her to the back desks and showed her "where daddy sat in school".

Riding a moped in Egypt

Hitching a ride on an alligator

Walking the catwalk at a Barbie fashion show, she stopped to pose for pictures,

Avery striking a pose

In front of a real "choo choo"

Back home, the princess policegirl!

Still waiting on paperwork from Taiwan, they are extremely busy and shorthanded, a couple of adoptions are wrapping up in the next couple of months, so hopefully when they are completed we will get ours rolling. Thanks for the prayers!

New Pics of Blake!

We received new pics and update of Blake last night. He is crying less, loves to snuggle, and started "cooing" a couple of days ago. We spoke with the directors granddaughters, they were so nice! We sent over a police outfit with the number 24 on it (Dan's number is 124), that we had purchased 4 years ago when we were trying to start a family. It is amazing how God works! The other picture is of Blake holding the puppy and our photo album that we sent over. We can't wait to hold and kiss him! We are going to Indy later in the month for fingerprinting to make Blake a US citizen when we arrive back in the states. We are going to the children's museum and have some family fun (giving Dan a break from working on the all most finished house!)
Here are pics of Avery, she is growing so much, and she is talking so much! The other day we read a book with giraffes in it, then at supper she was taking a bite out of her roll and said "look mommy, 'iraffe". This kid did that all on her own, what an imagination! I'm a little slow on blogging, so here is her Valentines dress, and a pic of her and Bentley cuddling on the couch watching "Happy Feet".

Winter Days...

Today we had a good snowfall. So I bundled Avery up for her first "snow play". She loved packing it and throwing it. We didn't stay out too long. Avery loves books. Her favorite one right now is "The Very Cranky Bear" by Nick Bland. She makes a "roar" sound then says "Anky Bear". When she reads the book, she kisses the bear to make him happy. We are getting a care package to send to Blake. Nana Kathy made a beautiful blanket and Nana R. picked out a cute, soft puppy. We have a picture book of the family to send over, and a little police outfit that I bought 4 years ago. We included snacks for the caretakers and paintings by Avery. Here is the latest picture of Blake, they say he eats well and fast, and when he cries, he waves his arms as if he is swimming. We can't wait to hold and kiss him!