GOTCHA day for Lainey!

Alli's cousin Lainey became an "official" member of our family this last Tuesday!!!!! Lainey has truly been in our family for well over a year, but this was the actual adoption day (or GOTCHA day as adoptive parents like to call it). The court hearing was short and sweet, but oh so meaningful. I'm so grateful that Alli and I were able to be there for it. Lainey, we all love you so very much and are truly blessed to have you in our family.

Lainey with mom & dad (April & Russell), big sister Maddy, and the judge

The whole happy clan from L to R: Lainey's Grandad, the caseworker, Great Aunt Elaine (Lainey's namesake), Gavin on Pawpaw's shoulder, Aunt Marcie, Aunt Julie holding Alli, Grandma, April, Russell & Maddy... and sitting on the judge's desk- that of course is our precious Lainey who was too busy ripping the gavel in two pieces to look at the camera! Good thing the hearing was already over by that point :-)

Bathing Beauty

As you can see, Alli has been practicing to be a swimsuit model. I must say, I think she's doing a fabulous job- she's got those moves down. Sometimes, she even wears a swimsuit :-)

We still need to work on the expressions a little, but I think you can tell she was having a great time anyway.

Easter!

Alli really enjoyed her first Easter egg hunt. After we showed her what to do with the first egg, we pointed her in the right direction for the rest of the eggs, and she would promptly pick them up and put them in her basket. She must have been thinking "I don't know what this is all about, but it sure is fun!" Oh, and of course she enjoyed the candy too- yes, we gave our 1 year old candy, but Daddy ate most of it. She just got a little sample of it each day until it was gone. By about the third day after Easter, she had figured out where we kept it and would point and ask for some each morning- does somebody have a sweet tooth like her Daddy? We'll try not to let that become a habit!

I must have done something good to deserve all this!

Alli with all her eggs after the hunt! And Chili checking it out.

Look what I got Daddy!

Mmmmm this sure is good stuff!

Mom and Alli

Spring is here!!!

Last weekend, we took a family day trip up to Marble Falls to visit Grandma & Pop (Dwaine's folks). Along the way we stopped at the Exotic Animal Park and petting zoo in Johnson city. I wasn't sure if Alli would be old enough to enjoy it, but she proved to me that she was! They pulled us around the park behind a tractor in a caged trailor with bench seats. The llamas, camels, zebras, buffalo, assorted deer, emu, etc (you name it) followed us around begging for handouts and they got plenty of them. Alli would get so excited and bounce up and down pointing when they would come near, but she was none too happy when one of the animals got a little lick of her hand. That was too close for her- she quickly pulled back and gripped onto daddy for dear life. It was hillarious. Then we visited the petting zoo where she finally warmed up to the animals enough to give them a little pet on the back. I'm sure we'll be visiting again when she's a little older and when baby brother can join in on the family fun!

While in Marble Falls, we were hoping to find some oppurtunities to take some spring bluebonnet pictures, but because we've been a little (or a lot) lacking on the rain this season, there were very few to be found. We found a spot to take a few scenic pics with some bluebonnets here and there, and they turned out great. But, because I was so used to taking pics in fields of blue as a kid, I would be satisfied with nothing less. So, we made a little detour on the way home through Fredericksburg to the Wildflower Farm (a little irrigation will get those wildflowers growing- not exactly wild anymore, but you get the same effect). Anyway, I was very impressed with the farm that included a butterfly house and fields of different varieties of wildflowers. I think it would have been even better if we had waited a couple of weeks as many of the flowers were just beginning to bloom. Anyway, I got the pics I wanted!

Doesn't she just look beautiful? Ok, so I'm a proud mommy, but you gotta admit that's pretty darn cute!


She sees a car going by on the nearby road! She just loves those cars!!

As most of you know, it's hard to get a 14mos old to look at the camera when you want her to- especially when she's surrounded by flowers that are oh so pretty! That's ok, I love candid shots!

I know some of you are wondering why there are no pics of Alli at the animal park(or maybe you weren't). Anyway,we decided to use the digital camera for video footage while we were there and busted out the ol' 35mm for the still pics. Still need to get them developed (remember when that was the only option- ahhh sweet technology). Maybe when I get them back, I'll scan them in- we'll see :-)

Here kitty kitty...

We have discovered that Alli absolutely LOVES cats. She spots them from far away and gets overly excited when she sees them. We don't have any cats, and I'm not much of a cat person, so I'm not sure what the fascination is about, but whatever. I guess some cats are cool and if she likes them, that's fine with me. Well, there were some cats wondering around at the wildflower farm. And upon spotting one, Alli promptly climbed out of her stroller, and the chase was on!

"I'll just take refuge in this tall field of flowers," the cat thought.

"Kichika (that's kitty cat in Alli speak), where did you go?"

"Are you in there?"

" Oh good, I found you!"

As you might know, the cat was less than thrilled when she found him and made a quick getaway shortly afterward. She probably would have continued to look for it, but daddy and I put an end to the chase- that cat was long gone by that point :-)

Alli & her friends!

Alli had a playdate with a few of her friends last week. The plan was to swim in the baby pool, but because the sun never broke through the clouds, we found other things to do. I think all the kids had a great time anyway and they ended up spending the majority of the day together. Although I think they were all exhausted by the time the playdate ended, we made it through the day without any major breakdowns. Pretty good!

From left to right: Alli(14mos), Carson (9mos), Blaine (14mos), and Callie (10mos). Aren't they adorable? OK, so Callie was not too thrilled with the wagon ride (I think she wasn't sure why she had to share her wagon with everyone).
Alli and Blaine- being the same age, they seemed to have a great time together. We'll have to do this more often. Too bad Callie lives way accross town- sure is a fun place for the kids to play!

Grandma & Pawpaw's visit

Grandma and Pawpaw came to visit Alli a couple weekends ago and we all had a great time! Alli really loved having them at her house and got some good bonding time in...

This is Pawpaw performing his famous flip trick that he does with all his grandbabies (and used to do with his own kids too). As dangerous as it looks, they all love it and usually beg for more! Alli wasn't too sure about it the first attempt or two, but once she relaxed a little and actually let him flip her, she realized it was quite fun!
Wow Pawpaw, you were right, that is fun! Grandma and Alli chillin' on the hammock.
On Sunday, we took a trip down to Nana's and had a great visit with her also. A little bonding for Alli and Nana too!

Wow, what a great visit! Thanks for coming out Grandma and Pawpaw. We really enjoyed our time with you guys. Love you very much Grandma, Pawpaw and Nana!