Doodlebug's Dora Party!

DB’s been partying now for about 2 weeks! She has really enjoyed her 3rd birthday.
We received her referral about 7 weeks before her 2nd birthday last year. Sadly we weren’t able to get to China in time to celebrate her 2nd birthday with her, but we sent her a big cake and a teddy bear. The SWI sent us a few pictures of her “party.” This one just breaks my heart.

She obviously had no clue what birthday parties were all about. Perhaps no one had ever celebrated her birth before. Well, this year things changed considerably. We CELEBRATED the birth of this precious child who was “fearfully and wonderfully made!” Psalm 139:14 She is an awesome wonder, and we LOVE her beyond words!

I think she’s got the b-day thing all figured out now. She knew it was her special day…the cake, the singing, the friends, the gifts and fun were all in her honor and she loved it!

She received several gifts in the mail and we let her open them before her party…just to get warmed up.

Here are some pictures from her Dora party. She had a wonderful time and enjoyed the company of several of her friends. We missed you SpicyGirl and PandaGirl.

After eating lunch and birthday cake with ice cream…

It was time for a little fun in the sun. That meant playing in temperatures close to and possibly over 100 degrees. Thank you, Aunt Sherry, for the Slip ‘n Slide! It was great fun, but we didn’t stay out too long.

We went back inside to open gifts…I think this was DB’s favorite part!

To finish off Doodlebug’s birthday, we took the girls to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. DD and DB were really mesmerized by the beautiful colors, music and entertainment. Here they are posing with a trapeze artist. Daddy D wanted to have his picture made with her too, but I wouldn't let him. lol Desheng Darling immediately told me that she wanted to be a trapeze artist. As for Doodlebug, she began to perform in her seat with the Chinese Acrobatic Team moving her arms and head right along with them. Forget college! it looks like they may both run away and join the circus. LOL
Happy Birthday Doodlebug! We are so glad that we were able to celebrate it with you! We love you.

A Birthday Cake Fit for a King

Daddy Darling celebrated his birthday last week. His royal cake was prepared by his two youngest princesses!

Mmmm Mmmm Good!


Sister Darling and Future SIL came to enjoy Daddy D’s special day! DD and DB LOVE them SO much!

Sister D never misses a chance to teach the girls something new.
Such a joy!

Happy Birthday Daddy Darling! We love you.

It’s Time for Someone Else to Speak Up!

Now it’s Doodlebug’s time to have a voice. She’s made GREAT strides since joining our family 11 months ago.
She has developed from a quiet, reserved, unemotional toddler to a very smart and spunky little girl who is quite animated and opinionated. Her only problem is that she can’t express her thoughts and opinions in “words.” You notice I didn’t say that she couldn’t express her opinions…she can and does…just not necessarily in intelligible speech.

So yesterday, I took DB to be evaluated by a speech-language pathologist. DD went with me…If anyone knows about speaking…DD does! She never stops! LOL
The speech-language pathologist fell in love with the girls. DB was very comfortable with her. Her testing showed that Doodlebug could benefit from weekly speech therapy, so hopefully, it won’t be long before DD has to take a breath and let DB fill in the quietness with some words of her own!

STEP RIGHT UP!!!

Who wouldn’t if they had a step stool like one of these?? Aren’t they just too cute!!!
Santa Sandra made these for the girls. Actually, the white one was made for Doodlebug’s early birthday present

and the red one was made for DD, because sharing isn’t always easy.

We celebrated DB’s birthday early with SS. We won’t get to see her again until after the special day has already passed.

Santa Sandra and Ms. Billie also gave DB a beautiful card and birthday cupcakes,

along with several beautiful dresses and shoes.

Doodlebug couldn’t have been happier!! Can’t you just see it in her eyes(and in the pink frosting between her teeth?) She loves parties and she LOVES pretty things! She was still singing “Happy Birthday” to herself as she got ready for bed last night. Lol

And just think, she gets to do this all over again in a few days! I sure wish I still got this excited about birthdays…lol!

From Movie Theater to Story-Time Theater and Beyond

Desheng Darling and Doodlebug started the week off with a trip to the movie theater with our play group to see Wall-E.
It was a cute movie, but DB just couldn’t sit still throughout the whole show. She began to whine and squirm. It soon became obvious that we weren’t going to pull this one off. Doodlebug was crying because she wanted to leave and DD was crying because she wanted to stay! What’s a mom to do????
Well, this mom handled it just like I do every other crisis…

I BOUGHT ICE CREAM!!!!

Works miracles!!! LOL We stopped by Chic-Fil-A on the way home and both girls soon got over their trauma.
The girls moved from the movie theater to the Story Time Theater at our local library Monday night. The actors presented “The Story of Pecos Bill.” They LOVED it! Unfortunately, my camera battery went dead after I took the first picture.

We had a chance to meet with our play group again this week at a neighborhood pool. It was SO MUCH FUN! Doodlebug obviously enjoyed herself.

I think she would have stayed all day.

DD had a great time too! She even managed to catch a ride on a friend’s back.

Sorry you weren’t able to join us today SnowBunny, Cheerleader, and Baby M. We missed you. Maybe we can do it again soon!

Just Cruisin'

Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been having trouble getting the pictures to load, and WHAT'S A POST WITHOUT PICTURES?
While Daddy Darling cleaned out the garage Saturday morning, Doodlebug decided to cruise around the driveway, singing a little tune as she went. She was in “her own little world.” I don’t know what kind of mother would actually allow her children to run around dressed like this. LOL
Then, the girls decided to watch a little bit of Jungle Book. We have furniture, but why use it when you can both barely sit on a utility latter? Can you see a little resemblance to Mowgli? Lol
Later, we went on a short shopping trip and stopped at Wendy's for a Frosty.

Here's DB doing what she enjoys most…eating!

And DD doing what she enjoys most…reading in the Children’s section of Barnes & Noble.

Lastly, the girls enjoyed playing in the fountain in front of the store where I was shopping. These pictures were made just minutes before the security guard came and told Daddy D that they couldn’t play in the fountain.

Not quite 3 yrs. old and already in trouble with the authorities. What a bummer!

Fun on the 4th!

Like most other holidays, Desheng Darling and Doodlebug traveled to visit out-of-town family on the 4th of July.We started out with a visit to Auntie Anne’s where the girls enjoyed meeting Hondo, the horse. DD enjoyed petting Hondo while...

DB had an interesting conversation with him. After dark, the girls enjoyed the fireworks show.

The pictures make it look like we just let the kids run around with explosives, but they actually only got to play with the sparklers. On Saturday, DD and DB went to see Nanny Darling. She had saved the huge cardboard boxes from her new washer and dryer for them to play in.

Here’s DD in her cardboard house talking on her phone. Doodlebug is next to her in the cardboard garage. They had a great time pretending!

The trip wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to PawPaw’s where the girls enjoyed a trip to the store and a ride on a bull. Well, DB enjoyed it. The look on DD’s face is not exactly one of joy. On the way home, we stopped at Burger King for a bite to eat and lots of fun.

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

A Blast with "Lil Ms. Firecracker"

Yesterday we met with ‘Lil Ms. Firecracker and her mommy at a mall to play. We've been trying to get together for almost a year and we finally managed to meet. I somehow feel like we have a special connection with Mommy Firecracker. Not only is she a sister in Christ, but she also has a daughter adopted from China who shares the same name as Desheng Darling and shares the same birth province as Doodlebug. DD and ‘Lil Ms. Firecracker are also the same age. Here are some pictures of our day:

An hui Girls 'Lil Ms. Firecracker was very sweet and shared Oscar, her stuffed dog, with DB.

The toy in the Chick-Fil-A kid's meal was a book. That suited DD just fine!

DD and 'Lil Ms. Firecracker got along great and played well together, while Doodlebug entertained the crowd by singing on her "pretend stage."

We really had a great time! Hopefully, it won't be another year before we meet again.