Trip to Charlotte's 50th Birthday Party (March 20-23, 2009)

My Aunt Charlotte turned 50 this year, so we drove down to Florida for the party my Uncle Jamie threw her. Maddie, Wesley and I took Thursday off (well, okay, Maddie did) and drove over to my parents' house in Florence, SC so I wouldn't have to make the 8 hour drive by myself.

We went down on a Thursday night and spent Friday hanging out at a little carnival/festival that the local Toyota dealership was sponsoring. They had the big pump-up slides, free pizza and an amazing petting zoo that had more animals than most small zoos. We had a ton of fun--and we hadn't even left for Florida yet!

Maddie with Poppa on his motorcycle.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever!

Dancing at Nonna & Poppa's (Their favorite thing to do!)

Everyone loved the big jumpy slide! (Including the poor guys that Nonna ran over when she fell down the steps--backwards!! I've never laughed so hard!)

Cookie the Camel

Maddie with the cute kangaroo before it fell asleep for the rest of the day. (Did you know that kangaroos are nocturnal?)

Wesley was scared to death of the goats. (They were pretty aggressive.) It took hours--literally--for him to work up the nerve to feed them.

He never did warm up to Cookie.

Maddie, the Goat Girl
(After we left, that's what she told us she wanted to be when she grew up.)

Maddie, loving the pony ride.

Wesley, not loving the pony ride.

He lasted about 30 seconds. He would've jumped off had I not been there to grab him.

Wesley, on one of the animal handlers seats. When the man asked for it back, Wesley told him that it was his (Wesley's) seat.

Wesley Woo

I love both of my children equally--differently, but equally. However, when I take the time to think about how blessed I am to have them, I tend to get more emotional when I think about Wesley. Maddie's journey to us was easy--I got pregnant and that was that. But adding another child to our family was a long, painful four-year trip that makes having Wesley in our family that much sweeter.

I can't believe that he is two today!! I look back at pictures and he has changed so much! He started out as a little peanut and by no time, he was a chunky monkey with a 'fro. And now, he's a skinny little stinker who talks in complete sentences and uses words like actually, completely, how 'bout and comfortable. He is also the most polite kid you've ever met. He always asks before he does something and it usually ends with "please." He has a great sense of humor and laughs easily. And his smile completely melts our hearts.

How did we get SO lucky to have such an amazing, sweet, smart child?? As always, I can't help but thank the Lord and LiTrease for the blessing that he is in our lives. He wouldn't be in our family if it weren't for them.

(To read our adoption story click here.)

September 2008

October 2008
Trying on Dad's new glasses

December 2008

February 2009

March 2009
(Maximize the photo to see that faceless--priceless!

(It took Wesley hours to work up the nerve to feed the goats. He is the biggest scaredy-cat we've ever known! He says all the time, "Mom, I skeered.")

(Loving the bouncy slide, which he was surprisingly not afraid of.)

At Aunt Charlotte's in Orlando
(He didn't want to get in the cold water, but he wanted to wear goggles and a swim diaper. Just in case, I guess?)

April 2009

Watching Maddie perform in her school play. He sat just like this the entire time!

At the children's museum, where he had to learn very quickly that shopping carts ARE NOT bumper cars.

Church Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Morning
Could he be any cuter?
At the G-Day Game
That boy LOVES his Bulldogs (much to his Mama's dismay)
May 2009
Being GOOFY

Pure excitement as we make our way to Zoo Atlanta

File this one under...

"It's a DANG good thing you're cute!"

I have no idea where he got the Sharpie and I was only on the phone for a few minutes.


Thank goodness for hairspray and patience, other wise Mr. Wesley would still be scrubbing the floors!

You can't win...

If you don't enter!

I'm shamelessly advertising my webstore by hosting a giveaway. This month's prize is a cute "Mommy" (or "Grandma" or "Nonna" or whatever bag).

How to Win...

*If you haven't already signed up to be on our mailing list, sign up.
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*Tell your friends about the giveaway! Every friend who mentions your name means another entry for you!
*Giveaway ends APRIL 26, 2009 at midnight.

March-part III

More Visits from Special People
It's always fun to see old friends. The Scoresbys lived in Athens a little over 4 years ago (right, Mary?) so we were happy for them to visit Athens. We met them at Memorial Park and had fun catching up. What happened to Little Maddie and Baby Grace? They're growing up WAY too quickly!

USA Gymnastics Competition
Maddie's first meet as a Level 3 gymnastics was a big USA Gymnastics Competition right here in Athens at UGA. After only 9-10 weeks of learning routines for all four events, Aaron and I were nervous for Maddie!! But she did so well and had a wonderful time. Maddie is very determined and always happy, no matter what her score. We're proud of her for all of her hard work!!

All Level 3 Gymnasts

I love this picture! You can see how excited she is.

Marching In
(The lighting was really bad, so I didn't get any good pictures of Maddie competing.)

Warming up on the vault (Maddie placed 5th overall on the vault)


Maddie with Ms. Tina, the program director

Ready for School
Wesley asks at least 100 times a day "Where's Maddie?" When I tell him she's at school, he almost always responds with, "I wanna go to skoo." One day he saw a school bus and said, "I wanna ride the skoo bus." I told him he can't ride it until he's big enough to go to school. He tsaid, "I in skoo." When I asked him what grade he was in he said, "First gwade."

March-part II

A Visit from a Special Guest
In the midst of the Snowstorm 2009, Maddie lost her first tooth.Unfortunately in all of the craziness of the snow, the tooth fairy couldn't make it through the bad weather. She came the next night and left $3 and even dipped her fairy wings in the glass of water Maddie set next to her bed. The water was red and she left beautiful red glitter in her note!


It's TOO Quiet for Anything Good to be Happening
One afternoon during Spring Break, Maddie and Wesley played outside for a long time. Here's what I get for letting a 7-year-old watch a 22-month-old.

The snotty nose totally completes the look!

NOT Happy Campers
I made the kids matching "Big Sister/Little Brother" shirts so we went to the park one afternoon to take pictures. No one was in the mood to cooperate.

Attempt #1

Attempt #3

Attempt #4
Attempt #7

I gave up.

Dress Up
I LOVE it when my kids get dressed for church. They're so cute in their Sunday best. Here's my attempt to capture their cuteness. Can you tell Wesley doesn't want to sit still for a minute? Maddie, on the other hand, would pose all day if she's in the mood.

March-part I

SNOW DAYS!

Yes, it occasionally snows in Georgia, but I have never seen this much! Once it started, it didn't stop for almost 12 hours. It was a lot of fun! Wesley wasn't feeling well, so he didn't enjoy it as much as Maddie. He wanted to go outside but he didn't like being cold and wet. And we certainly don't have the gear for snow. (Knitted mittens just don't work!!) It was fun to have Robyn and Steve "spend the night" since they didn't have power. Maddie was out of school for two days.

The snow was beautiful, but it made me even more grateful to live in the warm south! Our laundry room was completely full of wet jackets, gloves, socks and clothes. I can't imagine having to deal with that every day for weeks at a time. I love my sunny Georgia!!

Our attempt at a snowman. :)

Wesley wasn't quite sure what to do in the snow.

I love this picture because you can see how HUGE the flakes were.

Robyn, trying to appease Wesley, who wanted to play in the snow but didn't want to wear a coat and didn't want to get wet or cold.

This was at 8:00, I think. I'm sure there was at least two more inches by midnight!

Our ghetto attempt at sledding. Wesley was NOT impressed.
(It's the top from the sandbox that didn't work. )