Flashback Friday: Easter

My sweet friend Jenn will often do Flashback Friday posts on her blog, and I am going to borrow her idea for our blog.  Please note that Jenn's flashbacks are fun, intentional, reflective looks back at the past.  My use of flashback Friday is an attempt to blog about things that have happened in the not-too-distant-past, but  long enough ago that they can't be considered current.  (This seems to happen a lot in our little corner of the blog world, so thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with us)!

The weeks surrounding Easter were a sweet celebration.  We did a lot of fun things, and a lot of reflecting on the true gift of our salvation through Christ.  Here is a quick look on some of the fun things that happened around here.

We dyed Easter eggs, which Mikayla LOVED...  

 

 

 

Our sweet girl on Easter morning...

 

A little bit of Easter basket fun...

 

 

We also had a mini Easter egg hunt in our back yard.  Mikayla was really good at finding the eggs and wanted us to hide them over and over again...

 

So thankful for a special day with our family!

Wordless Wednesday: I Can Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

*Photo taken by Jenn Hare*

Big Froggy

We have had tons of frogs around our house this spring, and Mikayla seems to spot them everytime.  A few weeks ago she got to hold a tiny frog at a friend's birthday party.  Ever since, if she sees a frog she gets as close as she can to it and giggles hysterically.  One evening, we found a huge frog.  She got really close to it again, and this time, she wanted to hold "big froggy."  Brian picked it up, and she inched closer and closer to Brian and the frog, excited to hold it, and unsure at the same time.  I think her face says it all!

  She finally decided that she did want to hold it...

 

And then changed her mind as soon as the frog got close to her hand (this happened several times)...

Her curiosity won in the end, and she held "Big Froggy" for what seemed an eternity, smiling, looking at it, giggling, and repeating "Big Froggy" over and over again.

 Folks, this was weeks ago, and we still talk about "Big Froggy" almost everyday!  No frog since has quite measured up for our sweet girl!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Our Big Girl

Our life has revolved around this lately:

She has done GREAT!  But, seriously, when did she grow up into such a big girl?

Happy Mikayla Day!

Hello?  Anybody still there?  If you are still hanging on with us even after a 3 month blogging break, you are amazingly faithful! 

On Saturday we celebrated a very special day for our family.  It was the one year anniversary of the day that we arrived home together, as a family.  I affectionately call it Mikayla Day. It is almost surreal to think about how quickly time has flown by.  Wasn't it yesterday that we were in Ethiopia just after their celebration of Christmas?  Wasn't it yesterday that they put this sweet little girl in our arms forever?  It hasn't been an easy year by any stretch.  I would  venture to say that it has been the hardest year I have ever experienced.  It has been a transforming year for all three of us, and change isn't easy.  We have stretched and grown in countless ways.  Even with (or perhaps, because of) these growing pains, this year has also been the biggest blessing imaginable.

In addition to extra snuggles, hugs, kisses, and prayers of thankfulness, we celebrated by heading out to a local Ethiopian restaurant.  The food and family time were great, and I love that we got another picture by the Christmas tree decorated for the Ethiopian celebration of Christmas.

One Year Ago

One year ago today I woke up as nervous as I ever had been before.  I knew my life was about to change forever because Brian and I were to meet a new member of our family.  One year ago we traveled across a busy city in a foreign country to meet a little girl who was already part of our hearts, a child for whom we had prayed long before we even knew her.  We stepped out of a van and walked up the stairs to a room with six tiny cribs.  One year ago, a video camera watched as we laid eyes on this sleeping beauty who was our daughter for the first time.  

 One year ago today, we fell instantly in love with our little Tamir.

Has it really been a year?  In so many ways it feels  like just yesterday we were in Addis for the first time.  In so many other ways, it feels like I have known Mikayla forever.  What a difference a year makes!

Mikayla Tamir, we are so thankful for the blessing you are in our lives.  We are so much richer for being your parents.

Mikayla...19 months

Somehow 18 months old slipped right by, so I wanted to share some thoughts about Mikayla at 19 months old.

She is growing like a weed.  She is 29 pounds...at least, and just over 32 inches tall.  She is really strong too.  You better hope that she doesn't get hold of something that you would actually like to get back in one piece because you might need the jaws of life to pry it from her!

She loves baby dolls.  She hugs her babies, feeds them, rocks them, and shares books with them.  She often throws her dolls over her shoulder like a "fireman carry" to take them from place to place.

She is a ham.  I know, I know...I say this all the time, but she is actually a riot.  Her sense of humor is really developed for a 19 month old, and she knows what it takes to get us to laugh.

She is gaining control of her facial expressions.  She can give us a look to crack us up, anywhere from furrowed eyebrows to the silly face below:

She is starting to LOVE to dance, and boy, does she have moves!  She bounces up and down and shakes her hips as soon as she hears music.

Her favorite place to be is outside.  She could wander around outside exploring, walking, and running for ages if we would let her (and if it weren't for that pesky little thing called sleep).  She loves to smell flowers, swing, drive her car, slide, play with balls, and walk the dogs.

We sure do love you Mikayla, and can't imagine life without you!

Wordless Wednesday...PeeK-A-Boo!

Wordless Wednesday: Family Photos at the Lake

A Tradition Continues

It is hard to put into words what a special place our family's little lake house is.  It has been in my family since my mom was a little girl, and I have spent my summer here for as long as I can remember...

Flashback:  Homemade ice cream is synonymous with the lake.  My sister, Julie and I were ALWAYS first in line!

Flashback: Racing out of the house with bread when the ducks showed up on the lawn is one of my favorite memories.

Brian also jumped right into the lake tradition as soon as we met.  He cares for it as if it has been part of his lifelong memories as well.  In fact, Brian and I got engaged at the lake!  We have dreamed and talked for years about the joy of sharing the lake with our child.  Introducing a little one of our own to the lake is something to which we have looked forward.  Finally, this was the summer!

While we didn't make it to the lake as often as we would have liked this summer, we enjoyed our time there (although the lake with a kiddo in tow felt MUCH less like a retreat and more like real life)!   Mikayla is such a water baby...just like her mommy and daddy, which made our time on the water so much fun.  By the end of the summer she was putting her face completely in the water and blowing bubbles.

Lots of sweet snuggles on the screened in porch

Ready for action

Such a ham

Checking out the water

Our little water baby

Her First Boat Ride

We love spending time on the water, and we are especially fortunate that we live in an area that is surrounded by lakes.  Earlier this summer, we took Mikayla for her first boat ride after Brian got home from work.  She was fascinated, and seemed to really love feeling the wind in her face.

A picnic on the water...can dinner get any better?

A little floating...High five, Daddy!  This is great!

You guys sit back and relax.  I'll be happy to drive us back to the dock.

I honestly think I was more miserable looking at her in the bulky life jacket than she actually was, but bless her heart!

Feeling the breeze on the water

Can't wait 'till she is old enough to get behind the boat for some fun!

P.S.  Yes, Mikayla is in  her pjs in some of the pictures.  After swimming, we got her ready for bed so we could transfer her straight from the truck to her crib since this was a quick trip after work.