We're Back

We had such a good time in St. Louis, the wedding was beautiful! I'm sifting through photographs to post but in the meantime I thought I'd post these pictures. We had the chance to have lunch in one of my old neighborhoods we lived in when I was in high school. It was a beautiful afternoon and I really enjoyed seeing our old house and stomping grounds. Check back soon for more photos!

Westminster Place.

T.S. Elliot once lived in the red brick house.

The Central West End.

St. Louis Bread Company is now Companion Bakery where we had lunch.

Check back soon!

We're Off

We're heading to St. Louis for a VERY BIG wedding! We're so excited and it will be Magnolia's first wedding. Of course I thought she should have a garment bag to hold her party dresses so I made this one for her. Before we go today, we have to go to court for Magnolia's re-adoption! I'll post more about that later! Today Magnolia received the most beautiful hand knit sweater from her Aunt Emily. It fits her perfectly! It is just gorgeous, thank you Aunt Emily!!!

Washington Island

Mother's Day

I wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember. I always knew nothing in this world would be more important to me than being a mom. I never dreamed it would take me 8 years to become one. People used to say that I would soon forget all of the pain and heartache of trying and waiting as soon as that baby was placed in my arms. That didn't happen to me and frankly, I don't know how I could forget it. I actually remember it all of the time when I hear Magnolia call me "mama" and I think, wow, I'm a mama and I'm HER mama! I'm constantly reminded how long it took me to become a mom just by being one. My mom said it best when we came home from China and I was telling her how amazing all of this is and she said, "you always knew what you were missing." Boy was she right...all those years of wanting and waiting and now I have it. It feels like a dream come true! Magnolia is the most beautiful gift I could have ever imagined and it is such a privilege to be her mother.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there and especially to my own dear mother whom I love so much! Thank you mom for all of your love & support! Love you.

Strawberries, Mulch & Molars

We've been having so much fun playing outside this week, the weather has been perfect. This picture was taken when Nana & Papa were here because I haven't had the camera out all week. She loves her new swing which was a real score for a $1 at a garage sale. Much better than the faded plastic one we had. We've been busy getting ready for our first trip up north this season. I've been to Walmart 4 days in a row and I think today will be my 5th! I keep forgetting things we need and then I decided to paint our front door a "terra cotta" color but it came out ORANGE! So, today we'll be back again looking for the right color...sigh. Magnolia has been following me around as I clean up the flower beds and pulling weeds and she can now say "mulch." I also made chocolate covered strawberries which she loves and calls "straw-wa." What I thought were Magnolia's incisors coming in are actually her 1st molars. Her top two are through and she's cutting her bottom two now. Surprisingly, she has hardly complained!
Another beautiful day here, I think I'll get out the camera. :)

Dr. McKenzie, Nana, Papa, & Daddy

We started off the weekend with Magnolia's 18 month checkup. On the way to the appointment I kept telling her we were going to see Dr. McKenzie and that she should say hi to him when she saw him. Sure enough, when he walked in the door, she ran and jumped into his arms and said "hi!" I couldn't believe it, he was even shocked! She continued to climb in his lap playing with his stethoscope and attempting to get his cell phone. She weighs only 21 pounds and is 30.5 inches tall. She's in the 8th percentile for weight and 18th percentile for height but she's growing along a nice curve so there's no need for concern. George had his annual trip to Orlando this weekend so Nana & Papa came to stay and keep us company. They actually stopped by the doctor's office on their way into town and Magnolia remembered them right away. We had a fun weekend together, shopping and eating out. Magnolia's Aunt Elizabeth is getting married very soon so we had fun shopping for dresses for the wedding. She really loves her Nana & Papa, so much that she didn't even care if I was in the room or not. I even went to Walmart by myself and she didn't even notice that I was gone. I think we're ready for a babysitter! Here's Magnolia waiting for her daddy to come home.
Daddy's home and boy did she miss him!
Here she is hanging out with her Papa.
Thanks for coming Mom & Dad, we had so much fun and Magnolia really misses you! xoxo

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. :)

Our Friday

We had such a nice day today. I love Fridays. We went to the library story hour, out for lunch, & did some shopping. When we got home I got this little Radio Flyer out of the basement and Magnolia loved riding it. We also blew bubbles and ran in the grass. Yes, grass! The snow is almost gone. Then I learned of my Grandpa's failing health. It saddens me so much so my thoughts are with him and all of my family.

17 Months

Magnolia turned 17 months yesterday. Her vocabulary is growing everyday and she is constantly repeating things she hears. Just in the past couple of days she has been "talking" nonstop. She's really trying to tell us something. We just listen and beg for more....what is she is she saying, we would love to know! She is also growing much more independent. When she's in a social situation she doesn't cling, she's off exploring but will periodically come back to us. We consider this to be great attachment with a lot of trust. She still loves salty and spicy but has recently experienced chocolate and REALLY likes it. She LOVES her book Hug by Jez Alborough and the reunion of baby and mother in the story frequently gets acted out in this house. She is becoming more and more of a daddy's girl. She goes crazy when he walks in the door at night and looks for him first thing in the morning. During the day she asks for him and I tell her he's working so now she says "dada wo wo." She just cut her 9th tooth, her canine tooth. No sign of those 1 year molars yet. She loves to recognize the letter "O" anywhere she sees one, I'm sure because I was SO impressed the first time she did. She also tries to draw "o"s too. She can hold a pencil very well, all the way at the bottom and she can make tiny marks on the paper. We have yet to see what hand will be the dominate one. I love seeing the world through her eyes. She does the sign for butterfly when she sees a large bird flying...that does make sense. I filed my nails today and when she saw the nail dust (gross), she exclaimed "snow!" :) Looking at a jewelry kiosk in the mall she did the sign for butterfly. I had to go over and see where she saw the butterfly and sure enough in the middle of a hundred tiny little gold charms, there was a butterfly charm! It is so much fun to watch Magnolia grow and reach all of these little milestones with her. She delights us in every way and we just love her like crazy. Happy 17 months Magnolia. xoxox

Magnolia's First Easter

Nana & Papa's

Outside Finally

We've had nice weather all week. Sunny skies and upper 30s & 40s. Feels downright warm for us northerners. Magnolia has LOVED being outside, I mean LOVED. She goes to the door and cries to go out. She loves the slush and puddles, she also has loved taking long walks in the stroller. Our cul-de-sac has been filled with lots of kids which has been fun for Magnolia too. In other news, Magnolia's sense of humor is really shining through. She giggles at things on t.v., on cue too. She's very dry and very much a little ham. She said "door " the other day when a closet door swung towards her. Today she shut the dryer door for me and said "door" so that's her new word of the week. She also says light, paper, purple, bye bye, hug, and pretty much anything you ask her to say. She says "no" to me but it's a very sweet no, like "no, I don't think so but thanks for asking."

My Sewing Room

Soon after we came home from China I moved all of my sewing stuff into this room, the office, but never took the time to get rid of the office stuff. Needless to say, it was very crowded. I realized since having Magnolia home I was standing and using the ironing board as a work table because it kept everything up high and out of reach. That's when I asked George to build me a big work station. We got the general idea for this table from Pottery Barn but I asked for bins rather than shelves for all of my fabric. I also asked for a table for Magnolia that could fold down when she wasn't using it. To make it even better, George put in the paper holder so her paper was always at hand. We emptied the books from the shelves and that gave me a ton more storage space. We painted one wall coral and George made me a frame that I covered with a vintage curtain to make a bulletin board. I just love my new space. I love everything that's in it. From the old chimney cabinet my mom gave me, to the old frame that was in my grandparent's basement that I covered in muslin, to the couch George bought me 9 Christmases ago. Everything in this room makes me very happy. Now I'm ready to dive back into whatever little project inspires me.

Happy Daylight Savings

Daylight Saving Time

In Spring when maple buds are red,
We turn the Clock an hour ahead;
Which means, each April that arrives,
We lose an hour,
Out of our lives.

Who cares? When Autumn birds in flocks
Fly southward, back we turn the Clocks,
And so regain a lovely thing-
That missing hour
We lost last Spring.

-Phyllis McGinley

Friday Magnolia and I drove to Oshkosh, WI to go to the Oshkosh B'Gosh outlet mall. She wore her Oshkosh B'Gosh sweatsuit our neighbor gave her. It was an Oshkosh kind of day.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We stayed busy recreating my sewing room (photos to come). Yay for daylight savings. We're happy to have that extra hour of light in the evening!

Moo, Baa.

Just the other day I asked Magnolia what a sheep says and she belted out "baaaa!" Then I did the same with cow and got a "mooooo!" We read a book about animal sounds but I didn't know she knew the sounds. Here they are along with some other animal signs and sounds. We just learned the sign for owl. You make circles with your hands and twist them over your eyes so that's why Magnolia is rubbing her eye here. :)

Flu Be Gone

George and I are finally done with the flu. Somehow Magnolia avoided it. I don't know how, but she did (knock on wood). With that said, there hasn't been a whole lot of picture taking but here are some random shots I did get. Magnolia got her first goldfish this weekend! We have them on the coffee table which I know seems risky but she doesn't even attempt to knock it over and this way the fish are really at her eye level. Sunday we went out to lunch. She loved the bean dip and she ate half of my lunch.

Hoping everyone is staying healthy and the snow is melting in your neck of the woods. We still have two feet on the ground!