Cousins & MS Walk

We had a short visit from Mary, Lilah & Sophia. Magnolia and Lilah were so excited to see each other, they danced in the rain, barefoot and all! Magnolia pinched me when I held Sophia at first, she's very possessive of me! Sophia is such a little dumpling, I love to hold her. :)
On Sunday we did a walk for Multiple Sclerosis. George's sister, Elizabeth, has MS and we did the walk in honor of her. Here's Magnolia at the end of the walk, wearing her medal and I think happy she's finally out of her stroller!

18 Months

Our sweet little Magnolia turned 18 months on Saturday. This was a big one for me. It means we've had her almost as long as the orphanage in China had her, wow! I can't believe how big she's gotten, how much she's changed, and how much she has stayed the same. I just looked back at pictures of her at 9 months and she was such a little baby. Looking at her expressions in those photos, I see more of her now than I did then (if that makes any sense). I see her in those photos now and it was Magnolia through and through, we just didn't really know her at the time.
I am so very proud of her. She's such a cheerful little soul with incredible determination and a big heart. She loves us as much as we love her. She hasn't stopped talking since she started almost a month ago. She's repeating more and more and seems to love new words. My favorite new words of hers are "airplane" & "moon" which come out as "ayerpane" & "muna." She can find and point to more things in her books now, things I didn't even know she knew. She loves the moon and books with the moon in them, especially Goodnight Moon. I also just found out she knows how to count, I had no idea! I said one, she said two, I said three and she said three, I said four, she said five, I said six, she said six, I said 7 and she said 9, I said eight and she said 9, I said 9 and she said 9. So that's it, she can count to 9 skipping 7 and 8 every single time. She continues to surprise and delight us in so many ways. I love her so very much and I am cherishing every day being with her. Sure I have my moments, I hate to sound like it's always perfect but in the grand scheme of things, it really is VERY perfect. Happy one and a half Magnolia, we love you to pieces! xoxo

Sunshine, Noodles, & Friends

The sun has been shining around here. Things are budding, the grass is green, daffodils are up and forsythias are in bloom. Spring is here and it's been a real treat.
Above Magnolia is wearing the apron I made for her out of leftover oilcloth purchased at Avalanche Looms that I used to cover Magnolia's portion of my sewing table. Below she's checking out the daffodils.
We've been taking long walks with my friend, Christine, and her little ones. Today they stayed over for some splashing in the pool and noodles on the driveway.


Hope it is spring where you are!

Spring is Here!

We had beautiful weather this weekend. We spent so much time outside I think Magnolia was actually happy to come in and she's never slept so much! George's new mower arrived and we got a lot of yard work done. Magnolia's swing got hung and I scrubbed the screened porch. We took lots of walks and bike rides and did some barbecuing. It was a great spring weekend.

Lulu Belle

Magnolia's Aunt Alicia sent her these adorable outfits custom made from her friend and creator of Lulu Belle. I just love them so much and they look so cute on Magnolia. I wish I could have gotten better photos of her modeling them but I know I'll have all summer because I have a feeling she'll be wearing them a lot! If you get a chance, visit Lulu Belle's website here. It's really a fun company. You pick the fabric and style and then it's custom made just for you! Thank you Alicia, they are adorable! xoxoxoxo

Lilah & Sophia

We had a visit today from my sister, Mary, and her two daughters, Lilah & Sophia. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun playing at the park and going shopping. I hope it won't be too long until we see them again! Thanks for coming girls! xoxoxox

South Carolina

Here is our trip to South Carolina. We had SO much fun and miss it already. Magnolia loved the sand, the water, & the sunshine. We ate some seriously good southern food but we've agreed that John's homemade pizza was the best thing we ever ate!

We're Home

We had a WONDERFUL time in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. I'm trying to sift through all of our photos to put together a slideshow of our trip. It may take me a day or two. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy hearing what Magnolia thought of her trip. She really did have a lot of fun but I think her favorite parts were seeing her cousins, Caroline and Peter.
(To hear this video without the music playing, go to the very bottom of this page where you'll see our music playlist and click the pause button.)

Going To the Beach

We are leaving for vacation tomorrow. It will be Magnolia's first time to the beach. We're also going to see my brother and his family who have yet to meet Magnolia! We're very excited to get away for some warm weather and sunshine!

Magnolia had a cold this week. Other than a really runny nose, she hardly seemed affected. In the above photo she's LOVING the banana milkshake I made her. The temperature continued to rise this week and by today we were in the 50s. Here she is having a little snack on the patio.
And coloring the front porch.
Have a great week everyone!

April

Oh happy day. It's April, 4 days until vacation, and my grandpa is doing better.
We spent the weekend cleaning the garage in which I unearthed my bike and took Magnolia for a ride. She loved it so much and didn't want to get off so when I finally had to leave to get my hair done, George took over. We were both pretty tired and sore for the rest of the weekend. :)