All Dressed Up

My sister is getting married in October.  Both of our kids (and their cousin Haley) are going to be in her wedding.  I've finally hunted down all the items for their wardrobe, so we did a little dress rehearsal to see how they will look.  Wow!  I think they might just steal the show.  

9 Months with Marisa

We reached a benchmark with Marisa recently, nine months of her being home with us and she turned 19 months old.  Turning 19 months old is important to me because that's how old Kieran was when we met him.  So Marisa's first eight months with us was all new territory in a way, which felt a little weird because we were second time parents.  Now I'm at a place where I can say, "When Kieran was this age..."  However, it's like comparing apples to oranges because he'd just come home at 19 months and had a lot of catching up to do developmentally.  Marisa's done her catching up now and is zooming forward at a rapid rate.

Yesterday I took Marisa in for her well baby check up.  Marisa has gained nine pounds since January!  She started out in the 23rd percentile for weight and now she's at the 79th percentile.  The girl loves to eat.  A lot of her play now involves preparing, serving, and eating food.  "Dinner!" is one of her favorite words.  Marisa has also grown four inches taller since we arrive home nine months ago.  Wow!  She is tall for her age at two feet 10 inches.  I think God has a sense of humor when it comes to Marisa's height and mine.  I'm barely over five feet tall.  Already my daughter is nearly three feet tall, and she's not even two yet!  I didn't know what to expect when we set out to adopt from China, but I assumed the one thing my daughter and I would have in common is being short.  Well, that doesn't seem to be the case, but I'm glad for her and I'm enjoying watching her grow into the person God made her to be.

"Cheers!"  A funny little tradition we started with both kids to encourage
them to drink their milk.  

Sweet baby feet.  Marisa has burned through two shoe sizes this summer!

Our girl loves flowers and can be  quiet and curious when the mood strikes.

Feeding her bear some "dinn-oh".  Already a little mommy.  Love it!!

Enjoying a book with Gram after playing in the pool outside.

Exploring the zoo with Daddy.  One of her new
favorite phrases is, "Daddy home!"

Getting ready to go swimming with big brother.
They are two peas in a pod and can get so crazy
 together! (Thanks to Aunt Trish for the adorable
swimsuit!  Marisa is so darn cute in it.)

Our little helper.  She is so precious.

Sometimes quiet and serious, but more often silly and energetic, this is our
amazing daughter.  She is so much fun!  What a blessing God sent to us.

Kieran: Shepherd & Photographer

Kieran wanted to be a shepherd for the afternoon.  So silly!

Our shepherd decided sheep herding was not for him.
He asked to try out photography next.
Below are the pictures he took... and some by Mommy too.

Kieran's Mommy :)  Ok, I changed the color, but that's all.

Piglet, our cat, was a bit shocked by the young photographer, but she held still.

"Say cheese!"  (The pictures of Marisa were taken by Mommy.)

She just finished eating yogurt.  What a cutie!

Checking out her bug stickers that we "borrowed" from brother's bug book.

Kieran is back in charge of the camera.  Here he photographed Daddy's shirt.

There's Daddy!  He's just arrived home from work.  We are so happy to see him.

I think Kieran did an amazing job with the camera.  Perhaps he'll have a future as a photographer.  For now, he's a wonderful son and big brother.  We love him like crazy!

Family, it's a beautiful thing!