Forgot the cutest words

The two funniest words or rather phrases that Kamryn says now is whoa! when she gets excited about something, and ugh-o used appropriately if she spills something or if the movie on TV is over and the screen is fuzzy. Her little mind is always working and she is sooo smart.

Rah Rah for Words!

Kamryn is really trying to talk up a storm! It's wonderful to hear her sweet little voice. She will mimic us and try to repeat everything. Her vocabulary has included momma, dada, gege and hi for awhile now, but here is a list of her new words: bye bye, ball, duck, back pack (because she takes one to school), baby, no (which she says with attitude!) pop, eat and more.

After moms morning out today, Miss Laurie said that Kamryn will point to the kids' pictures (which she has up in their room) and she tries to say their names. She agrees with me that Kamryn is really trying to talk. I'm glad it's not my imagination;) Miss Laurie just laughs and says that Kamryn is alot of fun, that she is full of character.

We had our 12 month post placement visit with our home study agency on Tuesday. We brought Kamryn with us and she played while we were asked questions about her eating and sleeping habits, how she interacts with us, whether she has bonded, if she shows jealousy with her brothers, her health since we've brought her home, how she interacts with others, etc. It was only a half hour visit and we were done! Finally, we are done with the paperwork! We had to provide 6 pictures which they send to China with their report. Of course they were happy smiling pictures. Not this picture . . . this is how we brought Kamryn to the visit on Tuesday. Over the weekend, she slipped on my neighbor's wood floor and got a major boo boo, yes, on her face. This is the 3rd scrape/shiner she's had on her face. She's either clumsy or accident prone. I feel so bad for her. When she gets hurt, she doesn't really cry very loudly. It's more like a whimper. Poor girl. The only time she cries loudly is at 3 am when she's not tired. Good thing they will let us keep her, even after seeing her look this way:)

Kamryn's First American Thanksgiving

We are so thankful for many things; our family, our friends, our health, and that Kamryn has now been with us longer than she was in China. This was her first American Thanksgiving and our last holiday in this house. My parents came down to celebrate with us, and Delilah and her family came over bringing delicious desserts. It was a very nice day.




Kamryn "helped" me that morning by stirring the stuffing. She didn't really enjoy the turkey feast and the trimmings but she LOVED the chocolate French Silk pie. She is just like her mommy:) We kept remembering that last year we were sitting among suitcases half packed and this year we are loving on the sweet little girl we've always dreamed of. Sending thanks and praises to God for bringing her into our life.

Florida? Why not?

A couple of weeks ago the boys had "fall break" and days off from school. In the midst of all this relocation stuff going on, we went to Florida to visit Kevin's dad & Dianne and Kevin's sister, Kathleen. We had planned this trip months ago and decided there was no point in cancelling it. The only minor change in our plans was that Kevin was not going to be able to fly with us there because he had work to do in Chicago the day of our departure. So yes, I had to fly solo with the three kids, a stroller, car seat and luggage. Thank goodness for wonderful friends like Rob (Carol's husband) for taking us to the airport and making sure we were all checked in before he took off for work. Thank goodness for Matthew who was a big help on the airplane taking care of Kamryn. Both boys helped carry as much as they could. Thank goodness Dad & Dianne met us at the Orlando airport because getting the luggage from the baggage carousel can be time consuming especially when you are waiting at the wrong one due to a lack of communication from the airline:)

The boys enjoyed swimming in Grandpa and Grandma's very nice pool. In fact, they were in there for 5 hours one day. We went to the Magic Kingdom and the look on Kamryn's face during It's A Small World was magical. She was in awe of all the music and stuff going on. She was a good girl that hot day and tolerated the park well. She loved the parades and someday when she's older, we will have to take her to meet the princesses.





We went to Silver Springs and the glass bottom boat ride and the alligators were the biggest hit of the day. Brendan volunteered for the reptile show and had a huge snake on him! The day before that he was feeding cows in Aunt Kathleen's "backyard" and helping her name them. Then after all that animal affection, the boys ate alligator tail at dinner at a restaurant in the Villages.

The Villages is this quaint town that is self contained, and they were celebrating Octoberfest the night we were there. Bands were playing, people were in the streets, and Kamryn stole the show down by the dock as she danced to the music. It warms my heart to see her dance, and I think how lucky we are to have this happy child in our family.

A Happy Halloween It Was

Thank goodness it wasn't raining like the weatherman predicted. The sun actually came out somewhat too even though it was pretty cold. Kamryn actually wore her costume and after a couple of houses and getting candy, I think she really understood the whole idea of it all. She clutched onto her candy and wouldn't put it in the cute ladybug bag she was carrying. When I brought her in the house and dumped the goods on the kitchen table, she just ate away and was loving it! The boys had a great time too and say that it was one of the best Halloween's ever. They dressed more scary as a zombie and phantom. The picture is of them with their friends Sarah and Julia, sisters who live behind us. My three kiddos actually got dressed in their costumes at their house because we had a showing on Halloween. That would have been the best treat of the day if we got an offer, but no such luck.