Baseball, Bubbles, Twins and Ice Cream

Wow...what a week it's been...mom and dad are working hard to pack in plenty of summer fun. Pictures really tell the best story so here goes...

I don't think I look good in heels but at least they match my shirt!

I am working on my base running technique...might need a little coaching.

Aunt Christina got me this cool bubble lawn mower...Dad isn't sure why the grass isn't shorter but I am sure having fun with it!

I got to hang out with Austin and Logan again this week too

Mom took me to pick flowers and I saw my first butterfly.

This stuff is cold...but man it's good and you can add rainbow sprinkles to my food anytime!!

What do you mean by use the spoon?

Trying to get back on track with the posts and photo updates. I promise more after this weekend but figured I'd share my current favorite...

Pool days are so much better than school days

Please pack some snacks, all that swimming makes me hungry!

Quick, get Daddy the sunscreen!

Isn't this a great day!

The NJ vist

Finally, the photos of the grandparent visit...
It was a great week...Van had Nanie and Beepa wrapped around his little finger in no time. It didn't hurt that they came armed with plenty of noise-making toys...Van's absolute favorite. The batteries seem to be going strong so far on our new barking puppy and our Old McDonald farm set. If it were possible for Van to make every sound device operate simultaneously he would. He can play a keyboard with his foot, while walking his barking dog and have his guitar play continuous loops by strategically setting up blocks to play it for him. He is a regular one man band of sound...we can only imagine what will happen when he actually starts to talk.
Signing is going well and so far he has figured out plenty of ways to tell us what he really wants. He's got plenty of facial expressions to charm the pants off of us too.
Happy viewing...

Sharing the Love

So our wonderful pal and super star blogger, Cheryl has challenged us to spread joy to those other bloggers we've come to know and love...here goes...

Of course I've got to return the love to Cheryl at Twinfatuation in full circle fashion. Thank you my friend for the many many ways you touch our lives and inspire us!


Donna at Our hearts journey for helping us through the adoption wait and bringing so much joy to our hearts with the arrival of Austin and Logan and their blossoming friendship with Van.

Sharon at Baili makes three for sharing our adoption journey in China and being one fantastic blogger and photographer.

The girls of Back for Betsy for helping us prepare for the amazing China experience.


One Blessed Nest for their support and encouragement in China and for their fabulous blog we love to follow.

And how about the parents to be at Baby Carmen who are probably very ready for the arrival of Leroy!

Here's to hugs and love!!!

We hear you all...more photos, more updates please!

I know...it's not the same as the China days where we were up late at night and had lots of time to post. So here's the long awaited update for this week...Nanie and Beepa are here visiting so we've had lots and lots of extra special attention plus fruit loops and cookies!! Our visit with the MCV Cleft Team was a long morning with six different doctors checking us out, but we survived quite nicely. Next step is the plastic surgeon consultation in late July and then surgery scheduled asap so the little man can get to talking. He's making all kinds of sounds already and uses every sign language sign we've taught him so far...we need to quick learn some more cause he's got plenty to say. We had a great pool play date with our friend Caroline of Back for Betsy blog fame, we went out to dinner not once but twice and left the
restaurant patios mildly unharmed (notice we aren't attempting indoor dining out...just yet!), we semi-participated in Story Time at Barnes and Noble, we played and played and played. And today we got an amazing train set from our friends at Rainmaker that Beepa has all set up for us and we had a fabulous and oh so tiring play date at the pool with our Twinfatuation pals, Darren and Sarah...oh what a week it's been and tomorrow is the first day of summer...life is so very very good!

The newest family in our neighborhood pond

Sometimes we love the swing

Fun in the sandbox

Ready to ride

Our newest pool pals

They are good swimmers

Swimmers needs snacks

Daddy gets the laughs

Happy Daddy Day!!

Happy Almost Father's Day!

We're behind on posting since Van's social calendar was chock full this week. Tuesday we had our first pediatrician appointment where Van proceeded to charm the medical staff and earn a Thomas the Train sticker and a surgical glove balloon. He was a trooper with one vaccine, one finger prick and a big ole vial of blood...three band-aids later he was unphased by the experience. We made our first appearance at The Superior Exchange building where running, falling and laughing out loud were the main events of the Van variety show. We got to meet lots of production friends who were following our journey and hammed it up for them.
Wednesday was our first official "play date" with our twin buddies, Austin and Logan who are Van's unofficial "brothers" already. If you haven't checked our their blog, Our Heart's Journey listed as one of our favs, you really need to do it. These cuties came home from Guatemala last July and they are one month younger than Van and almost identical in size and features. Donna and I have decided to keep track of how many times we get asked if they are all related...so far the score is one play date and two inquiries. "Are they triplets?" and "Oh they must be brothers". Just the beginning of a great friendship we hope! We went to Deep Run Park where it was impossible to get a photo of the three of them together but they did have a blast and we are already looking forward to playing again soon.
Thursday Van turned on all the charm for the broadcast folks at Martin. They threw a wonderful breakfast party for his arrival and he enjoyed the chocolate donut and the balloon hats (thanks to Uncle Jim Vaile!) and running with his playmate Jack. We also had a visit on Thursday from our friends Susan and Kathy and Van showed off many of his new toys and his running, falling and laughing again.
Friday started out a bit grumpy but it was the last day of school and Van needed to be at the bus stop to wish all his new friends good-bye. We played with our friend, Francis Ann and then enjoyed our very first Icee and a fun sleep-over visit from Aunt Christina.
And today we attended a Dragon Boat Festival at the Children's Museum sponsored by the Organization of Chinese Americans http://oca-cvc.org
And here's what we managed to capture in photos from the week...
And tomorrow is Daddy's Day and Van and I can't wait to celebrate with the best daddy ever!!

Day at the Park

Van and Austin

The Big Noggin

Of course Amy got to hold him!

Our friend, Jack shows us some fun

Back Yard Fun

Best Neighbor Friends already

So much for not liking cold stuff!

Oh that's pretty...

Red Belly

Dragon Boy

Our Carmax product placement check is in the mail I am sure!