Royal Wedding Fashion review by Maggie.

Maggie was inspired by some interesting hat choices from the Royal Wedding.  Hats are so fun aren't they ?

 I've never seen such creative and fun hats in all my life.

Here is her rendition of the blue hat worn by...well, I have no idea who this lady is. 

While I think blue is a beautiful color, I think this hat lacks a certain feminineness, don't you think ?

Oh! Much better. 

A wide brimmed hat is so beautiful and regal.

  Understated and simple.

I think Maggie agrees.  

You can't go wrong with a simple, wide hat 

( and four random necklaces). 

Thankfully, it's ok for a two year old to over accessorize !.

Tornado Update...

Alabama death toll now at 250... please pray for all the families.

The Alabama Tornadoes.

April 27th, 2011 was a day we will all remember.  Not because we want to.  There are 162 deaths confirmed in the state of Alabama and officials think the number will be rising.  There are still search and rescue operations going on.

Yesterday, I watched as a huge tornado went right  through Tuscaloosa and barely missed Chuck's parents house and his brother's house.  All we could do was watch in horror and pray.  Then, we watched as the same tornado went through Birmingham and the surrounding suburbs again very close to where my parents and my brother's live.  We watched and prayed and I was a basket of nerves.

That night the storms reached our area, but thankfully went just to the north of us and we were spared.  We did use our "safe room" two times when we went under a tornado warning.  I was so proud of the boys as they knew exactly what to do and Maggie thought it was "fun" to wear her pink bike helmet.

Join us in prayer for all those affected by the tornadoes yesterday in what is being called one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history.

Do you have a tornado plan ?

There is a high risk for a significant outbreak of Tornadoes in our area today.  It is a very ominous threat and the weather forecasters are calling it a "major tornado outbreak" and other words like "a well organized system" and "a great threat" and " a high confidence in the forecast".  In other words, be prepared to go to a safe place when you hear your NOAA WEATHER RADIO go off.

We have gone over our family tornado plan with our children, checked to make sure we have batteries in our radios, flashlights are near, cell phones charged and helmets available.  We take this threat very seriously.

We have personally seen what damage tornadoes can do and know that having a plan is wise.

This is our safe room.  It is on the lowest level and in the center of our house.  It also has no windows which makes it even safer.   We have lined the helmets up in case we have to seek shelter and the boys each have a job in case we have to put our plan in action.  Hopefully, we won't have any bad weather here.  But, just in case, we are ready.  Are you ?

Maggie and the basket.

Easter Weekend.

Happy Easter ! We have had The Best Easter weekend so far.  The weather has been wonderful and Chuck's parents spent the weekend with us.  We celebrated Good Friday at our church Friday night with a beautiful service.  The boys sang with the Chapel choir and our adult choir sang too.  It was a very moving reminder of why we celebrate Easter - Christ's crucification and resurrection. 

 Hallelujah !

 We spent Friday afternoon outside playing.

Chuck and his dad worked all weekend on our square foot garden.  They put in a drip irrigation system that is amazing.  Both of them are brilliant, and it was so fun to watch them put their heads together on this project. 

 Hopefully, we'll have some big, juicy tomatoes soon !

Saturday afternoon, we got ready to go to our church's Easter egg hunt.

Maggie really loved hunting for the eggs and she LOVED her Easter basket.

She couldn't wait to pour all her eggs out of her basket and see what was in each one.

Sunday, we went to church.  

The boys sang during the morning service and again blessed us so much.

Chuck's mom cooked a big Easter southern lunch that was divine !  We had ham, collards, green beans, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, cornbread and coconut cake.  Yum !

After lunch, Maggie did a little light reading.

  Oh how she loves a good book !

Side Walk Chalk Fun.

  There's been a big box of chalk sitting in our garage for years, just waiting for a little girl. 

 And she loved it !

And while she played and scribbled, I threw in some pre-school letter learning. 

( Thanks to Barney videos, Maggie knows most of her letters)

 I drew shapes in different colored chalk,

 And we reviewed shapes and colors.  

Maggie also made it into some sort of obstacle course, running and crawling through the shapes.

Then, we she got bored with that, she started lining them all up very carefully.

Of course, we had a lot of help from the world's best dog - Charlie !  Thanks for guarding the wagon and scooter Charlie. 

 You're the best !!!

Speech Update.

It seems Maggie's speech has just exploded recently.  She is repeating so many words now - some words only Chuck and I can recognize - and many words that are very clear.  

Here's a list of some words that I can think of that she is really saying good:

purple
blue 
yellow
ball
no !!!
bye bye
Hi !!!! ( she loves to wave and say hi to anyone )
Hello ! ( Maggie  loves to talk on the "phone" and say hello)
water
cold
hot
arm
elbow
uh oh !
dog - woof
cat - meow
monkey -oooo
oh !
ma ma
pa pa
apple
butterfly 
bird
hole
hat
out
I love you !
Will
Walker
Where's  ?
Home

Bye Bye.

Maggie gets a birth certificate.

Do you hear it ? A big sigh of relief.  I finished my last adoption paperwork and I now hold in my hands an Alabama Certificate of Foreign Birth ( aka a birth certificate ).  

The mother's name is Kathy and the father's name is Chuck.  So awesome ! Now, all you adoptive parents are nodding your head ands saying "yes" !

This is what Maggie thought of it.  

She was not impressed, but I was.

 This picture has nothing to do with her beautiful birth certificate.  

She was just telling me she was cold. Cool !

More Story Book Farm

Cowboy Jack fitting Maggie with her riding helmet.

I think Maggie was saying "hi" (with her cute southern accent) 

to all her friends at the farm.

Maggie finally got to trot on her horse "Tom Sawyer" today and loved it !

One tired little girl...

Passed out !!!

Improvising.

We take Maggie's hearing aid off for her bath ( it can not get wet) and then usually leave it off  while she plays a little before bedtime.  This gives her head a rest from the elastic band she has to wear everyday and from the constant amplified noise she hears through her hearing aid.  But, this means that she can not hear one of her favorite things - music.  The girl loves music !! She even has started asking for her hearing aid so she can listen to music while she is in her crib ( she does not wear her hearing aid for naps or bedtime).

 

One day, she stumbled upon a way to listen to her music without wearing her hearing aid - the baby monitor.  The receiver is in her room and was picking up her cd player playing her favorite signing times cd.  She could hear it faintly through the baby monitor, but when she held it up to her ear she could really hear it clearly.

She played and played while she listened to her music.  Maggie was so happy to have found out this new way to hear.  I don't think she will let anything stop her from experiencing life to the fullest !  

Maggie continues to amaze us.  Sometimes we just sit and watch her and are in awe that this is the same silent baby we met in China.  Before and After pictures constantly run through my head as I hear her tell me she loves me and that she is thirsty.  This little one that is so smart and determined. A miracle right before us. 

Art.

Maggie got to do some crafty art work at speech yesterday and she loved it ! 

 I think she loved using the glue stick the most.

 ( and yes, she is posing for this picture and showing a hint of a smile- love, love, love it )

She is working on the sound "p" this week, hence the "pop corn tree". (love the fish lips !)

 Maggie is doing great with her "p" words. Her favorites to say are : papa, open, up and pop. 

(More posing and smiling for the camera)

Posing.

I was just clicking away and taking pictures of Maggie, when she stopped tilted her head and posed.  She waited until I snapped the picture and then she went running away, wrinkled her nose and smelled the flowers. 

 I don't remember reading that posing for pictures was on the two year developmental milestone checklist.  But, we certainly think posing is a big milestone for Maggie.

Her Best Friend.

 Maggie was given many gifts before we even left for China to bring her home.  Little did we know how special this one gift would be.  

Our good friends from The  Employee Pharmacy gave Maggie a stuffed Minnie Mouse and it has become her very best friend.

 She hugs and kisses her all the time.  She makes her crack up laughing and Maggie drags her around everywhere so Minnie won't be left out. 

When I lay Maggie down for her nap, she will play with Minnie for about an hour before she gives in to sleep.  We usually hear lots of loud laughing from Maggie's room during nap time because Minnie is hanging upside down or turning flips in her crib.  It is so funny !

 And, while most parents take for granted that their child has a favorite stuffed animal, we don't.  We know that Maggie went fourteen months with out a special friend, toys or much interaction.  

The only thing she could sleep with or have in her crib was a white wash cloth in which she comforted herself by rubbing her lower lip on. ( This is a fairly common practice in Chinese orphanages).

So, we love Minnie and we're so thankful Maggie has a sweet best friend that's always around to play with and comfort her.  

Disney World will be so fun to go to one day !!!

Storybook Farm

Maggie is participating in equine therapy at Storybook Farm this year. She has only been two times, but already is loving it ! ( in a cautious, but excited kind of way)

The volunteers are so sweet and really love what they do - helping and loving children.

 I am so excited that Maggie has the opportunity to learn how to ride horses, make new friends and work on building her core muscles/posture !  The weather has been so nice too.  I am sure I will post lots more pictures as she gets more accustomed to riding.  Isn't she so cute with her little, tiny riding helmet and look at her holding onto the saddle.  Adorable and Amazing !!

It's fun being two.

Are You My Mommy ?

I am a member of several adoption advocacy groups and am always seeing these beautiful children that need to be adopted.  And my heart aches so bad for them.  I want to go and adopt all of them.  Seriously. But, as of today, we are not adopting any time soon. It's killing me....

So, I plan to start advocating for waiting children on my blog.  I am not sure how I will go about it.  But, I figure that is the least I can do if I can't adopt them.  Please join me in praying for these children and advocating for them if you so feel led.

Please go here and see " Molly".  She is an adorable little girl with a complicated ( but not hopeless) heart condition.  She is bright, cheerful and developmentally on track.  Are you her Mommy ?