The weekend went too fast for me!

I can't believe it's already Sunday night and I'm off to work tomorrow. The weekends go by in a flash!

Friday after work I saw the new movie Julie & Julia...LOVED IT! If you love to cook and try new recipes, there will be something in this movie that will hit home with you. I saw it with my friend, Christine. We both love to cook and we get together occasionally just to try out new recipes and eat good food. The movie is two stories in one...both women live parallel lives and end up finding themselves through their love of cooking. This is the first movie I've seen in a theater in the last 10-12 months...at least it was a good one! Oh, another thing about the movie...it makes me want to break out my pearls from China and actually start wearing them. You'll know what I mean when you see the movie.

Yesterday morning we stopped by IKEA (one of my favorite stores), then off to lunch and home for Lauren's nap. I spent some time just snuggling and playing with Lauren when she got up from her nap. She's snugly for a good 15 plus minutes when she gets up and I love that time with her. After that, we were off to my in-laws for dinner. Lauren stole the show at their place and was smiley, happy, and friendly with everyone. She let both Aunt Mary and Aunt Peggy pick her up, which I think was a first. I finally remembered to bring my camera this time, so I snapped some pics and did a couple of quick layouts...




Today we took it slow most of the day, but while Lauren was napping I headed out to Target to stock up on things and get some groceries. It was nice because I got to take it real slow and look at anything I wanted! Usually I'm racing through the aisles trying to get out before Lauren has a shopping cart melt-down. Yes, shopping at my own pace is one thing I miss now that I'm a momma, but I'll trade in shopping for Lauren any day!

It's been a while...

since I posted last time. I've just been caught up on the everyday stuff and haven't taken much time on the computer lately. It seems by the time I get home from work and we have dinner and clean-up, there's so little time each night for me to connect with Lauren. She's with Joe all day long, so my evenings are spent playing and snuggling with my girl. Not so bad to see this smiling face after a long day at work...


Today I got two calls at work from Joe that Lauren had gone on the potty! We aren't "officially" potty training yet, but she always sits on the potty before taking her morning bath. This morning she actually went and this afternoon after her nap she asked to go on the potty and went again! She has been telling us for a while now when she has a dirty diaper, so we figured she would be ready for training soon. It surprised us today when she actually asked for the potty and then went. Way to go, baby!

This past Saturday we doggie sat at my brother's place, which is a pretty good gig since we get to use the pool. I shot this video of Lauren on the pool slide with Joe. She loved it and wanted to go again and again.



On Sunday we had another swim day at a friend's house. Here's Little Miss digging into her pool snacks...


Just chillin...


Diva...


Snuggle bug...


Last, but not least, a new layout with a favorite photo of mine from the past week...

Swimming fun...

As you all know, it's HOT here in Arizona!! This limits outdoor activities in the summer, so it's a good thing that Lauren LOVES the pool. Yesterday she got to play with her cousins in their pool and she loved it. Here's a few pics...


She only wanted to go in the boat with Josh...



Here's Katie and Lauren at the top of the slide getting ready to go down...


and here she is coming down with Emily...


She loved the slide and went down a bunch of times. I think next summer, we'll sign her up for swim lessons.

6th month anniversary...

We received our daughter in China 6 months ago today! It really does feel like she's been with us forever though. It's amazing the strides she has made since we've been home. She's like a little sponge just soaking everything up.

I'm SO proud to be her momma and I really do feel in my heart that she was born to be our daughter. She's beautiful and amazing and she takes my breath away! I did this layout with a photo from when we first met Lauren and one from today. I used Rebecca B's A Must for Rust set. It was a really fun set to play with.


Yesterday we got Lauren her first tea set, so of course we had to set-up a little tea party. Here's a layout, done with Scrappy Bug's White with One set

Happy 4th...

Hope everyone had a great holiday yesterday. We had a quite, but very nice day. My mother came over along with my brother and his family, who came by with lunch and we all hung out for a little while. Later in the night, Joe and I loaded up the wagon and took Lauren over to our community park to watch some fireworks that were going off pretty close by.

I did this layout with photos from the day. My mother made Lauren's adorable July 4th outfit. Isn't it the cutest?

Playing mommy...

Lauren hasn't really shown much interest in baby dolls until recently. Here's a video of her playing last night. It's long and unedited and I'm sure that only family will really appreciate sitting through it. The quality isn't great because of the bad lighting. I love my camera except for low light video...it can't really handle that.

So far this week...

Lauren had her very first ice cream sundae cup last night. You know, the kind with the cute little wooden spoon in the lid. She loved it and it was just the right size for her.

I've seen this type of layout done before and I decided to give it a try. I don't think I did a great job since I had a little trouble with the layering and having the photos look like they are tucked under the ribbons properly. Oh well, it's cute enough for me and it's all about catching a moment in time...


Today I took a vacation day so I could go on the Wednesday playdate with Joe and Lauren. They get together every Wednesday with other families with children from China. Now that the summer heat has hit (it's 102 degrees right now), the group is doing indoor activities. This week it was the Phoenix Children's Museum and Lauren had LOTS of fun. I did this two-page layout...nothing fancy, but it captures the fun of the day (click to enlarge)...