Happy Summer!

Beach with Jenny & Abba!

Ellie & I had a great time with Jenny and Abby at the beach. The girls LOVE the water. Abby would get knocked over by a wave and laugh and smile the whole time! Ellie seems to really enjoy tasting sand and saltwater! I didn't get too many pictures as I was chasing after Ellie and/or keeping hold of her in the water the whole time. Thankfully Jenny captured some great shots of the girls and posted them on her blog. Jenny & I had time to chat before and in between the fun which was really enjoyable. Thanks for inviting us!

Little mermaid!
Don't think Ellie's running away from the water-she's running to throw the sand. My girl loves to throw!



Sand angels!

Park Playdate

Looks like only two days of referrals this month. Supposedly those days are LID heavy, but that speed up? Nowhere in sight. Phrasing it positively, Catherine will definitely receive her picture of Hannah next month!

Ellie is keeping a busy schedule this month. She is growing more toddler-ish every day! She signed cereal to me out of the blue the other day. Surprising because we don't have cereal that often. Hardly ever in fact. She is still rocking out every time she hears music. Even tried doing it when I "mooed" to her when visiting the cows at the zoo. (Yes, we have a barn at our zoo!) I guess my mooing is quite musical! =)

Here are some pictures of our FCC park playdate. The older girls really tried to help guide their mei-mei. Ellie would usually have nothing to do with it. She is little miss independent! The jie-jies were great sports!

I can't believe they all looked up at the same time!
This one cracks me up!


The action shot. =)





Sweaty, happy baby!


See ya later, Mama!


Speed walking.

Making a run for it and loving every moment!

Kim takes such great pictures of my girl!

Another one, just 'cause!

Beach Baby

We went to the beach the other day. This was Ellie's second time at the beach but first "in" the water other than feet in and knees getting splashed. She *loved* the water! Even when splashed in the face and "knocked down" by a sneaky wave she would charge the water again. Holding her is tough! Here she is after a break from the water signing her version of water, asking to get back in there!



This is interesting.



Hey, this is kinda fun!



No, this is AWESOME!

Time to dig in the sand.


Ellie did a little sand tasting during our trip as well. Yum!



I get to go back in the water???? YIPPPPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!

Cleveland and Christmas with a little Sugar, Spice and Rice in the Middle

We had a great time in Cleveland but didn't take enough pictures. From the pictures we do have it seems Matt and Ellie were the only ones on the trip!=) Here are a few from the zoo.
Fell asleep in the car on the way to the zoo.
Woke up (kind of) just in time to see the giraffes.
Serious Ellie in front of bear.
Sea Lion.
Koala Bear.




Tyrannosaurus Rex.


Rain forest frog at end of the day.



Ellie met lots of Matt's family and friends and really enjoyed playing with his nephew J and niece J. Thanks to both of them for being so good with her! Ellie had some great plane flights and kept occupied watching her favorite Cl@ssic@l Music B@by DVDs on the portable DVD player. Such a good little traveler!

Since we've been back my computer has been down. I'm now slowly catching up on all the blogs. Debz and Shane are now waiting for approval and travel to meet their daughter Jazmyn! So exciting and Jazmyn is quite the cutie! Congrats to you all!

Also since returning we've been participating in a whirlwind of activities. One day we went to see Santa! Yes, you read that correctly! We celebrated Christmas in July with friends at the local quilt store. Ellie was not too sure about Santa but there are six more months before we try the meet and greet again!


We liked dancing and holding the jingle bells.


Ellie was really digging the Christmas tunes Santa was singing. We haven't heard them since our stay at the White Sw@n hotel in China. The "room radio" had them playing 24/7 during our stay! The yummy fruit that was available for snacking was also high on Ellie's list!

Now we're on the hunt for a new car and have several scheduled play dates and outings. We're certainly keeping busy this summer!

4th of July 2009

God Bless America
Enjoy your weekend everyone. We'll see you on the flip side.

And now it's July...

Healthy and positive thoughts to Mary and family as they are quarantined in Beijing due to a fellow plane passenger testing positive for that nasty flu. Not only does that delay their being united with Emily, but their son, Nathan is celebrating his birthday locked up in a hotel. Still on that adoption roller coaster for sure.
Ellie, Matt and I will be headed to Ohio for a bit to visit his family. First big trip for us since we arrived home 6 months ago. Trying to do a little packing (thanks for the packing list, Stephe!) and read up on blogs even though Ellie no longer wants to take naps! No naps is VERY BAD NEWS for mommy! Just wondering, what are your little one's sleeping schedule/hours out there?!?!