handsful

Ridiculously behind.

Sorry.

Can’t believe Summer is over!  How did THAT happen?  We’re in school mode, with the big kids beginning their Mitchell CC classes tomorrow.  We will begin a couple of things with Lainey and Dylan this week, with their official start on August 24th.

So, what DID we do this summer?  Testify concerts, Testify tour, summer day camps, Acrofitness day camps, 5 birthdays, two kids got their braces off, family and friend visits, a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, sewing camps, boating time, sleepovers…

I realize that’s a lot to include in one blog post.  But, time is of the essence.  So below are some snapshots of some of the above.  I’ll add the rest in another post.

Enjoy :)

Almost forgot to post pics of Dylan’s 4th Gotcha Day with us!

As is our tradition, the special kid gets to choose where we eat out…he chose a nice Italian place that we’d not yet tried yet.

It was a very good decision!

We also choose a book to give each year, one that “fits” for the previous year.  And, this year, Dylan’s favorite movie was The Lego Movie.  I found a DK book that tells you everything-you’d-ever-wanna-know about it.  He loved it.

When I look back at pictures of when we first adopted Dylan, he looks SO small.  Lately, he’s been busy turning into a big kid, more specifically a big BOY.  Loves to wrestle with his older brothers, box with his dad…anything rough and tumble and he just asks for more.  However, he’s also my kid who can sit focused on a coloring sheet, staying completely in the lines, loves to build with our magnet pieces and blocks, and can also sit for hours watching TV.  Ahem, that last one we need to work on ;)

Dylan is a joy, no doubt.

Happy Forever Family day, big guy!

Of all the sports that our big kids ever tried, soccer was never one of them.

But, it’s the sport that Dylan has had his heart set on for a few years now, so he’s giving it a shot.

This Y league is just two short months long.  We think it will give him a good taste of the sport to see if he really wants to play it longer term.

As any good soccer mom, I went out yesterday and bought 5 camp chairs.

Today was their first game.

He’s on team Mexico.

He’s had 3 practices so far.

He loved playing goalie.  Got a few great blocks, let a few balls sneak by him.

It’s a learning process.

He’s definitely scrappy, and not afraid to get in the middle of it all.

I can’t say yet that I loved watching soccer more than, say, baseball or basketball.  We’ll see.  Another sport he’d like to try is baseball.  I’m psyched that.

But, for now, I’m a happy soccer mom, cheering my little dude on from the comfort of my camp chair on the sidelines.

Go Mexico!

Forgive the late post, but we’ve just had 5 birthdays around here. Let’s start with our Independence Day kiddos…

Lainey 8

Dylan 7

Bags over their heads so they wouldn’t see what we were bringing in the room….big kids idea :)

We got Dylan a bike and had it fitted with a left pedal clip and straps.  As long as Randy gets him going, he can keep his balance and ride for quite a long way!

Lainey wears out our carpet on a daily basis with all of her tumbling…so, we got her a gymnastics mat.  She’s now wearing IT out.

Their choice for Birthday dinner?  One of our fav Asian places :)

These two are growing up quickly, it seems.

Our July 4th “littles” are blessings!

Three years?  Since this frightened boy was told that we were his Mama and Baba…since his nanny told him to give me a kiss on my cheek, and he obeyed….since our world was changed for the better, forever.

If you want to read about his Gotcha Day, go here

As is our Gotcha Day custom with both Lainey and Dylan, we let them choose where to go out to eat.  Dylan’s been telling us for a long time that he wanted to go back to the same place he had his first gotcha day, so that’s where we headed!

He enjoyed his meal of shrimp, fried clams, fish, hushpuppies, and fries.  And, raw oysters (yuck).

After dinner, we gave him his gotcha day present.  Each year, we give a book that fits for that year…maybe it’s about adoption, maybe it’s just something he/she is really into that year.

Last year, his book was a pop-up book about all the DC characters.  This year, he’s become a HUGE Batman fan (I give credit to his big bro, Payton, for that), so I found an early reader with 5 short stories, all about the Dark Knight.

I expect Payton will be reading some of these to Dylan :)

We lost him for the rest of the night.

In fact, he didn’t even notice we were leaving…

On the way to the van, he told me “Mom, I love, love, love, love my new book”…and, then he proceeded to kiss the front cover, over and over.

I think we nailed it on the book.

Happy 3 Year Forever Family Day, sweet boy!  We love you to the moon…

Did ya’ll think I totally forgot we had a blog?

About 2 weeks ago, we hosted a birthday bash here for Marley, Payton, and Ethan and their friends.  I was going to blog about that…and, then remembered that I failed to blog pics from Lainey and Dylan’s party with THEIR friends a couple of weeks before that.

So, we’re going back in time a bit.

There’s a cool place in Charlotte called Bounce U, with lots of indoor bounce houses, slides, and climbing walls.  Perfect place for a bday party with 6 and 7 year olds!

This was a big hit…the kids climbed through layers of fabric straps (kinda like webs) inside this very tall structure, and then slid down a slide.  Out of all the kids there, Lainey, Dylan (prosthetic leg) and their friend Anna (born with spina bifida) were the only ones to make it to the top…several times!  So impressed with their “never give up” attitude!  (that’s Dylan at the top in the pic)

The cupcakes were Batman theme (the kids choice), so this was just right for the party :)

Marley joined in the fun, too!

Make a wish!

Batman mask…loved it!

Thanking her friends for her presents…

Everyone agreed, it was a fabulous place to “party” for your birthday!

Approximately two weeks later…the trips finally found a date where they WEREN’T busy, and we had their birthday party.

They started the evening with a neighborhood scavenger hunt…oddly enough, no pics of that.  They were divided into 3 teams with about 6 kids on each (Marley, Payton, and Ethan as a captain on each).  We drove them to a near-by neighborhood with a list of things they had to either find and bring back OR take a picture of on their phone.  They experienced some very friendly neighbors (all three teams came back with a t-shirt) and some very unfriendly ones (a couple of doors slammed in their faces).  In the end, EJ’s team won.

Once back home, they scarfed down 6 pizzas (the kitchen looked like this, or worse, the whole night) and then it was time for the game Marley planned…

We put out sheets to cover the floor, paired everyone up guy/girl (a couple of girls paired up because several guys said “no way” to this game), and broke out the make-up and blindfolds.

Girls blindfolded, guys endure the agony…

This next part we’ll call…”the guys revenge”

After filling a trashcan full of make-up stained baby wipes, it was time for…Cake!  As usual, EJ wanted a cookies and cream ice cream cake, Marley wanted a vanilla with buttercream frosting (that her and her friends made that day), and Payton wanted a warm apple dessert.   They requested a “group” bday song this year :)

M’s cake close-up…tie dye!

Anyone up for charades?

It was around this time (midnight or so?) that I was fading fast…Randy always takes the “night shift” with these late nights, so I bid everyone goodnight.  The kids split up into two groups…one watched a movie, while the other went down to the Shop and had an impromptu dance party.  In the morning, I was up early(ish) and put out a quick breakfast for everyone cause most of us were due to be extras at a movie set at 10am.  :)

So, with July gone, the 5 birthdays are over and done with.  The next family birthday will be Jack, the top dog around here.  He’ll be 11 in September…or 77, however you wanna look at it.

July is basically birthday-palooza around here…Lainey and Dylan share a birthday on July 4th, and Marley, Payton, and Ethan share theirs on July 7th.

Let’s start with Lainey and Dylan

Present time…

Lainey had made her wishes known…she wanted a new game system.

Dylan was a puzzle, but knowing how much he loves watching Lainey play her old one, we got him one of his own.  Thank goodness for finding pre-owned game systems!

As you can see, they were a hit.

The rest of the 4th was spent getting ready to have our friends over for dessert and fireworks.

Before the pyromania began, Lainey and Dylan had some wishing to do…

Sugar cookie cake, decorated by Marley (with the assistance of me to write their names)

And, then it was boom time.

It sounded like a war zone all around us.  Guess that’s what happens when you live in the country…lots of land, means more room for fireworks.

And, what’s July 4th without sparklers?  Boring, I say.

Lainey and Dylan think it’s extra cool that their birthday is on an American holiday…

I mean, how many people can have a guaranteed firework display every year on their birthday?

God bless America…and, happy birthday to my Independence day babies.