The Next Step

Maiya has been  home nearly one year and we are still in the middle of adoption paperwork. It doesn't seem to ever stop! We have finally gotten a few copies of her new birth certificate, naming us as her legal parents and with her "new" name. Tomorrow, we will go get our little peanut a passport and then we'll be applying for a social security number. After all of that, we'll apply for her Certificate of Citizenship and THEN we will be done.

There sure are a lot of governmental hoops to jump through to get things finally final. Lots of papers to read and sign and lots of checks to write. Maiya is worth every single step, but I'm ready to be DONE with paperwork and check writing!

Veggies

We have a good supply of zuchinni and different sizes of tomatoes coming from our garden right now! We are eating lots of zuchinni bread and salsa!



Watch Me Grow, June 28

Maiya was playing with shoes on her hands and sat down in our "watch me grow" chair. Cute picures of my big girl.

Big boy Evan.

It's VBS week at church. Pandamania is our theme. Evan and Maiya made Panda Ear Headbands today.

Maiya likes to play with pegs.

Lost Tooth

Luke finally lost his tooth! His top tooth has been wiggly for quite a long time. In the past week, it has been hanging on by just a small piece. He was hesitent (as most kids are) to do the final pull to get it out. But, tonight, pizza did the deed for him! He took a bite of pizza and spit out his tooth. He was so excited that he got on the phone and called Daddy (who is on a trip) and anyone else that he could think of!

We had told him all week that if he pulled his tooth, we would go get ice cream. So, tonight we all went to celebrate Luke's victory over his tooth with some TCBY.

NC v. TX

Now some pictures from our camera.

Four of the five grandkids riding bikes.

Maiya and Evan sharing a rare moment of just sitting near each other without hitting, screaming, biting, or grabbing each other's toys.

Evan getting annoyed with all the picture taking.

Maiya giving out kisses.

She got sleepy.

Uncle Jeremy trying not to fall off of Luke's Rip Rider bike.

Uncle Jeremy helping Maiya on the scooter.

Aunt Steph took Noah on a Rip Rider ride.

CAAARR!

Meilyn and I had a challenge going... I tried to get a picture of her and she tried to hide from me.

The kids and Dads. (This one's for you, Grandma!)

The brothers.

Cutie Noah riding the bulldozer.

We went swimming. Evan loves to jump in.

Maiya loves to jump, too.

Luke jumped off of Uncle Jeremy's shoulders.

Luke and Meilyn sat on the swing for quite a while... talking about "things."

The kids hid a treasure box and went hunting for it around the back yard.

Swings!

TX v. NC

Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Stephanie, Meilyn, and Noah visited us this past weekend and we had a GREAT time with them! The cousins loved playing together and the grown ups did, too.

Here is a recap of some pictures from Jeremy and Stephanie's camera. I'll do a post with pictures from our camera soon.

We spent a lot of time riding bikes in the street. Every time a car would come, the grown ups would yell "CAR" and the kids would hurry to the side of the street and wait for the car to pass. It was pretty cute.

Noah doing what he does best. Running!

Meilyn is a great bike rider. She's fast!

Putting gas in the car.

Maiya riding a bulldozer.

The Dads were helping Meilyn and Luke put some cool stuff together. Luke and Meilyn are alike in so many ways. One of those ways is that they like to figure out how to put things together.

Noah became my snuggle buddy. He has the best giggle. I love it!

Jeremy and Noah hanging out outside.

Evan making silly faces at Aunt Steph.

Some water slide fun.

Luke's Poetry

B ringing sand toys
E ach are sandy
A nd some are wet
C ome and get sandy
H ave fun at the beach

S ummer is fun
U p the sun goes
M unch, munch we eat the food in our garden
M mmmm, we say when we eat them
E ating good food that the sun grows
R unning in the summer sun

Some Bear

Every time we go to Costco, the kids beg us to get them a giant, soft, cuddly bear. We always tell them no, even though I really, really wanted one.

Today, while shopping at Costco without the support of Dan to help me stay strong (he's on a business trip)............ I caved.

Meet "Ted Ed Wagner." (Luke's choosen name.) Also known as "Some Bear." (Evan's choosen name.)

They are so happy to have Ted/Some Bear at home.

Here they are using Ted for his intended purpose.

Cuddling up together while watching The Magic Schoolbus on TV.

We just hope Daddy isn't too upset that Ted has joined the family!

Water Shadows

I found this fun idea in Family Fun magazine. You get your kids swim suited and sunscreened and line them up super close to the fence. Turn on the hose to "shower" or "mist" and take pleasure in spraying your children from head to toe. When you finish and your child moves away, they reveal their shadow!

Have fun making all kinds of different body shapes!

Endless entertainment! When they dry you can do it all over again!