'twas the night before Cora's birthday...

But somewhere in China a mother is waking up with empty arms, and I can't help but wonder about that. Adoption does not come without complicated emotions. Tomorrow we will celebrate Cora and her special day, knowing that somewhere around the world another mother's heart might very well be breaking. I wish she could see what a beautiful girl Cora is. How she smiles and makes funny faces. How she loves to dance. And sing. How smart she is. How quickly she is learning English. How she plays with her sister. And loves family.

I wish she could see moments like these...







She would be proud.

5 months

It has been 5 months since we met Cora. That day seems so far away, and yet it also seems like we were just in China. I can't remember what life was like without her, but today in church I was remembering all the Sundays morning services when I would sit there, just wondering when we would bring our little girl home. She was no more than a couple pictures and a mystery to me at that time. I didn't even know what she looked like, as all I had were a few baby pictures of her.

But now here we are on this side of the adoption. So I thought I would reminisce a little - go back to that day. I haven't looked at some of these pictures since we were in China. Wow.

Here we are just minutes before meeting her. It's our "before" shot.


Olivia had a blast playing with all the toys. Of course, when did that kid not have fun in China?




And here she is.


Olivia absolutely adored her!


And as you can see here, Cora was just as excited to meet her new sister. ;)


She did laugh and play a little with Olivia on the slide. But as you can see, smiles were a little hard to come by that day. Understandably so.








See how red those cheeks are???


And here we all are!


The end of an emotional, exciting, life-changing day for us all.

nap time

The other day, Cora woke up from her nap in an incredibly good mood. A well-rested, happy baby makes for great pictures, right? I ran for my camera, not sure how long the cuteness would last...


Augh! Not enough light. Too blurry. Get the blinds open.


Too late.









Finally.

I think I asked if she wanted ice cream.

i did it!

After a little switcheroo of the bedrooms, we had enough empty space to finally set up my (I mean, the girls') beloved play house. We really had no room for it initially, and for the longest time I've wondered where or even when I could squeeze it in somewhere. But I got it for such a good deal; I couldn't resist bringing it home. (It really was a great deal!) And Brendan was just as thrilled with my purchase.

So maybe Brendan wasn't as excited about the house... That meant I got to assemble it. The reason it was such a great deal was that it was a floor model. (Fine with me - the cover is machine-washable and the frame is easy to wipe clean.) But the store had thrown out the assembly instructions. No problem - guess what! The instructions are online! Now that is thinking ahead... Way to go pbk!

So here I am ready to go... Assembly instructions on the laptop and a mess of pieces.


There must be several versions of this playhouse, because my pieces did not match the online instructions. Not at all. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get the thing put together.

But I did it.

And WE love it!

a lil' famous

image credit goes to mjc

You're probably not stalking the Matilda Jane blog like I do (unless you're Mandi) so I wanted to point out a pretty cute face that just showed up there!
http://matildajaneblog.com/435-art-fair/

Her picture is also featured on the blog header, but since the pictures are occasionally switched out in that location, I wanted to make sure we kept record of something a little more permanent.

What's even better? Her buddy, Mylee, is the little ladybug sitting right next to her!

sum... sum... summertime

It is so hot. And it's only supposed to get hotter. We are beating the heat indoors. Which is boring. But we took the girls outside last night to play in the sprinkler for a little fun.

Olivia was game the moment she stepped outside.


Cora wasn't so sure.




But she warmed up...






Haven't seen this move in a while...

(head down, arms back, charging ahead)





Monkey see...


Monkey do...














They loved it. And I will miss this weather in about 6 months.

her first haircut

Cora's hair was starting to look a little shaggy. Fortunately, I have a personal hairdresser who comes to my house and cuts hair for me. (aka a really, really good friend who also knows a thing or two about cutting hair!)

Good-bye crazy mullet whatever thing...


And here we go!


We did have to bribe her with a milkshake. It kept her distracted for a little while. (But look! That cut is looking so cute!)


And the final result... Pretty adorable!