Adopted and Appointed: October 2010

Lily and her Blankie

In the early paperwork we received about Lily it said that she liked to sleep with a cloth. We guessed that this was the equivalent of a security blanket. So, when we sent her a care package while she was still in the orphanage I included the receiving blanket you see in the pictures below. On the day she was brought to us and we became a family, her nanny brought several of the gifts we'd sent her including this blankie. I don't know if she used it in the orphanage or not, but she sure latched onto it from the first day we had her...and has not let go since! She sleeps with her blankie and loves to crawl around with it in tow...frequently by carrying it in her mouth! She doesn't take a pacifier or suck her fingers, but she loves to hold her blankie and put it in her mouth. Her love for her blankie is especially sweet to us since Ally also loves her own blankie!

In her mouth...

Striking a cute pose...

In Him,

Grandma and (some of) the girls

One granddaughter...sugar and spice!

Two Granddaughters....twice as nice!

Add one more and now there are three
adorable granddaughters on Grandma's knee!

In Him,

Lily's 1!

For Lily's 1st birthday, we had a small family celebration. Grandma & Pap, Big brother, and our favorite neighbors and closest friends joined us for the shingdig. Her musically-inclined brother gave her a lullaby-playing elephant.

Grandma and Pap gave her what every little girl needs: a doll and femininely floral outfits!

And our male-dominated friends took the opportunity to buy some pink!
Like every one-year-old I've met, she liked the wrapping paper as much as the gift inside!

Next, it was time for cake!

She wasn't too sure about all of the singing at first, but then warmed up to the attention.

Mom had to blow out the candle!

Daddy fed the girlie her first true dessert! She loved it, of course!

How thankful we are to be celebrating this day with our Lily Rose Ji Han!

Rejoicing in Him!

Attempts to get all 4 girls in a picture...

Who'da thought that this first picture I took would end up being the best of the woefully large number of shots I took? Some say, "Save the best for last." I say (in this instance anyway)...it ain't gettin' any better than this, so the "best" might as well go first! I was so unsuccessful that even my English has gone out the window!

Okay...maybe that last one was the best?

Picture People here we come!

In Him,

The Exersaucer!

Lily's first birthday was October 7th. It is hard to believe that a year ago, we didn't even know she'd been born! What a blessing to be where we are and to be celebrating this little girl and the promises fulfilled that she represents! Makes my heart sing!

My mom and dad sent Lily an exersaucer for her birthday which has turned out to be a wonderful gift as she is extremely active and squirmy! The exersaucer has become my friend during school time and dinner prep time...and, thankfully, she likes it!

These pictures are of the day the big box arrived. My absolute lack of photography prowess is painfully evident here, but they're all I've got! In the first, they all had cute faces, but after several shots I realized there was a huge shadow line in the middle of the picture. So, for the next ones, we moved into a better lit area, but could not get very cute smiles. Sigh.

Do you see the girls hiding behind the box to hold Lily up?

Now this is my
favorite
picture of Miss Lily & her exersaucer!
Put her in a magazine...she's just precious!
(Back to that "it's my blog thing from the last post!)

The cake!
Store-bought...a huge step in overcoming mama-guilt for me. No...it's still there.

Praising God!

Toy Necklace

These are just plain cute! Maybe just to us...but it's my blog,
so I get to post whatever I want! And, these are on my too-cute-not-to-post list!

Auntie and Cousin Come for a Visit

My sister was in town the last week of September for a family friend's baby shower and we were able to spend some time together. They used to live just a "short" drive up I-!!!! but moved this past summer. It was a sweet treat for Lily to meet her and my nephew (my niece is in the womb...although you can barely tell on my svelte sis!)

The first meeting of the cousins!