Lucy Juggling

Christmas Part 1: Christmas Eve

There are an overwhelming number of pictures from all the Christmas events so I'm splitting up the posts into parts (I'm stealing your idea, Kim). The good thing about this is that I won't skimp on the pictures. The bad part is, I probably won't ever end up posting parts 2 and 3.....but I'm gonna try!!

We spent our entire Christmas Eve with the Campbell Clan, and we had a blast. I'm so glad my kids have cousins close in age (in Annie's case...EXTREMELY close!) It's so fun to watch them play together, even if its been months since they saw each other last, they pick up right where they left off. I have cousins like that, who I only see once or twice a year but I love them like they are siblings, and I'm so happy that my girls have a family like that too!

Get ready for the picture overload

Sweet babies checkin each other out. Annie and Campbell are only a month apart! They are just about the same size...but we are learning they are VERY different in personality. I think they'll love each other though :)

The Three Musketeers getting into trouble...throwing goo on Marnie's wall (shhh...don't tell)

My energetic, always smiling nephew, James

Calm, patient Laura

Sweet, funny Lucy

Three peas in a pod...Laura fit right into Lucy and James' little club

This boy loves him some Lucy

Waiting for food

Moms and babes

Our fam (this year atleast :) This will be our Christmas/New Years card pic I think. (Yes I realize I'm about a month late on that....cut me some slack)

Sweet girls

All the kiddos

The whole Campbell Clan

Sorry for the lack of pictures of Tim and Meredith...you guys will make the photo roll when you have kids :) Just kidding, we love ya'll!

Mark getting punched in the face by James with the present we got him. Wise choice.

Aunt Meredith helping Laura with her Cinderella crown

Could they be any sweeter?

Cinderella gowns from Marnie!!

It was a busy, but fulfilling and wonderful Christmas Eve! Part 2 to come....maybe....if I get around to it before it's entirely too late to still be posting about Christmas....

It's been so cold and rainy here lately the girls haven't really gotten a chance to enjoy the wagon we got them for Christmas (I mean other than driving it around in circles in the house....which I LOVE) so today, as we were getting a bit stir crazy, I decided to brave the cold and head outside!





Sweetest face ever


Apparently Laura enjoys pulling, so my job just got a whole lot easier

Quick update

We've been SO busy!! I promise to have a Christmas post soon, but there are too many pictures to go through right now, so I'll just update on what we did before we were bombarded with toys, clothes, and an endless supply of MESS at our house :)

Laura continues to do wonderfully, and I am still amazed at how well she has adjusted. She wants to be a part of whatever we are doing, and has just flowed so well into our family. I don't know how we will ever let her go! I am praying that the Lord has a family for her and Inese here. I pray His will for their lives is to be adopted into a loving, Christ-centered family. And I usually throw in a little "p.s. please make it someone we know so we can hang out with Laura forever!"

On to the photo roll.....

Annie getting attacked by Campbell (actually they play really sweet together)

Hanging out with cousins!

Making blueberry muffins one morning

Our refrigerator is covered in Laura's art work. She is constantly drawing, coloring, or painting.

She has opened up a lot this past week and is even playing with Annie now :)

Lucy teaching her some gymnastic moves

We made a gingerbread house with some friends

I think there was more eating than decorating going on....

The only child with an attention span longer than 20 minutes stayed to finish the project

Decorating Christmas cookies at my mom's house

Whew, what a week! Back soon with Christmas pics!

Christmas card holder project complete!




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Aquarium!

We took Laura and Lucy to the aquarium yesterday. Lucy woke up with a fever, but Mark had already taken the day off, and being the fabulous nurse that I am, I just dosed Lucy up with some Motrin and I took my child to the aquarium anyway! Don't tell anyone....

It's funny because whenever we get in the car to go anywhere, Laura has no clue what she's in for. We might be going to Target, or to get ice cream, or to go eat, or, in yesterday's case, she might hit the jackpot and wind up at an aquarium! She had a blast and it was so fun to see the look on her face at every exhibit.

Neither of them wanted to touch the rays or the sharks...Mark and I helped ourselves and the girls watched :)

Once I showed Laura that she could touch the glass, she wanted to lean up and touch every glass in the place!

Sweet girls :)

I think her favorite was the huge tank...I think it's in the Ocean Explorer?

I love the otters!

My favorite picture

More otters. I also got an adorable video of them playing with the penguins that I'll post later

We also saw the Dolphin Tales show, and it was amazing. Very different, but we all enjoyed it and it was worth it. By that time Lucy's motrin had started to wear off so she missed most of the dolphin show, and wiped out on the way home...

What a fun day! I hope Laura had fun...she seemed like she did. They both took long naps when we got home!

What we've learned about Laura so far:

- she can eat, a LOT. She prefers anything greasy, fried, and smothered in the word "American".

- she does NOT like broccoli.

- she loves shoes and is gathering up quite a collection. Her red sparkly flats from a sweet friend are her fave though.

- she can climb




- she can scare the crap out of her host mom by continuing to climb, higher than in that picture

- she thinks it's hilarious when Lucy pitches a fit

- she doesn't hate Heidi. But she doesn't love her either

- she loves anything girly: sparkles, jewelry, lip gloss, tiaras, and dresses

- she can polish off an ice cream cone pretty quick




- car rides are no longer scary and she is adjusting very well!

More to come, I promise. Laura is adjusting to us better than I am to having 3 kids and a house to care for. That being said, please close your eyes when you come to visit, as my house looks like I'm secretly hoarding about 18 children who whirl around like the Tazmanian Devil. I'm not, and they don't.

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Our first two days...

So far, Laura has adjusted beautifully. She rarely says anything, probably because she knows we won't understand her :) But she smiles and nods a lot. The only picture I received of her before hosting was her in boy pjs, but that obviously is NOT her at all, because she is loving all things girly and sparkly. Her favorite thing is to go through Lucy's jewelry box and put on everything.

Our First Day:

Up and dressed for the day! Laura likes to get dressed IMMEDIATELY upon waking. I, however, prefer to stay in my pj's half the day :)

She is a pro at Memory. I think Lucy has met her match. (no pun intended)

The swingset was a huge hit! I am so grateful for this beautiful weather!

Lucy has introduced her to the world of Disney Princesses. Laura put Lucy's Belle dress on while they watched the Princess sing a long.

DANCING! This was precious to watch.

Laura slept great, and even napped with Lucy for a bit in the afternoon. I think her clock is still off a bit, even though she hasn't acted sleepy at all. There were a few sad and awkward moments the first day, as Laura seems very unfamiliar with playing. She would stand in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do. With some guidance and leading though, she has improved a lot in just two days and has even begun to pull toys out on her own and play with them. (Seems like such a strange thing to say, as most children can completely destroy a playroom in 2 minutes flat)

We heard her laugh for the first time today :)

Day Two:

Craft time while Annie napped! I got these little wooden boxes for them to decorate.

The finished products. Laura's on the right. Hmm...looks like we need to work on Lucy's painting skills.

Checking out the tire swing for the first time! She loved it!

This cracks me up.

Swinging with new friends!

She counted to six today in English!

Laura is a very sweet girl and seems to be content and grateful for everything. She's a pretty good eater so far too, but especially loves fruit. At first she followed Lucy around like a shadow, but she has been a little more independent today and I think understands that she doesn't HAVE to do whatever Lucy is doing.

She is handling visitors VERY well, so please feel free to stop by if you want to meet her :)

Looking forward to learning more about this sweet girl!