Live it!

A final farewell tribute to the THUMB!

About a month ago Shaune and I started to notice Chloe was never sucking her thumb anymore. It surprised us, to say the least. Since the time Chloe found it as an infant (I think she was about 5 - 6 wks old) it has been part of her. Soothing her and making her happy. She was an extremely easy baby and I owe a lot of that 'thanks' to her thumbie probably. A few months back I talked to her about her thumb (she is approaching her 4th birthday) and how she was getting 'too old' to be sucking her thumb all the time. She was resistant and I let it go for now. I figured she would give it up when she was darn good and ready, just as she is with everything in her life.

A couple weeks back... when I noticed her not sucking her thumb anymore (even when sleeping) I asked her about it and she told me "I'm not a BABY, I'm a BIG girl now!" and that was the end of it. I must admit it seems weird to see her without it in her mouth. Over the years it has become such a part of her, with complete strangers coming up to her and commenting on how adorable she is with that thumb in her mouth. I looked through photos last night and had to giggle. I have them sorted on my computer by month/year and every month held MANY photos of Chloe with her thumb. I selected a "FEW" for the fun of it.

So, we are saying goodbye to an endearing little habit that Chloe is through with finally. I will never forget how totally kissable and sweet she looked as a baby/toddler with her thumb firmly planted in her mouth. :)

What a fun long weekend we had!

Busy and fun and the weather was wonderful. We planned our first 'official' pool party of the season for Sunday and invited all our close friends and their children. The weather ended up being so-so... but at least the rain held off and the kids didn't seem to mind the chill and the cloudy weather. (Can't really complain about the weather especially since Saturday and Monday were so gorgeous out!)The kids all love each other so much and they get along really well. I am very fortunate to have the group of friends I have and I love all their kids a ton too. The whole weekend turned into a big pool party. We ended up having Anna, Brooke and Ben for a sleepover and then the party continued today because the weather was too darn beautiful to resist another pool party. So, another bbq took place tonight. I can see it is going to be a fun summer ahead of us.

Yesterday pool party:

Today's Pool Party:

and in other news... I just cannot believe my baby Adah (niece) is one and STANDING... i bet she will be walking any day now!

Hijacking a few of Kerri's photos

My friend is good about always having her camera. I've gotten lazy lately and have not taken one photo in May or of the kids around the pool, etc. BAD ME.

Stole some of Kerri's photos off of her site. Thanks for remembering the camera.

This weekend we entertained both days of the weekend. Pool season has begun. Kerri and Matt came with the kids and John and Michelle stopped in with their 2 youngest (including Miss Newborn Sophie Girl). It was a fun day of pool swimming and hot tubbin'.

On Sunday we had Lori and Chris over with Curt and Erin, and Ang and Elm were able to visit for a few hours with thier kids. So, we are getting lots of use out of the pool and hot tub.

We brought the pool temp up from 55F to 86F in two days time so you can imagine the propane bill. ACK. It was worth it though and with the glorious weather we've been having we will continue to enjoy the pool every day.

MIA ...and some news

Yes, we are still alive. Spring comes and I am not at my computer as much (which is probably a good thing). We have opened our pool and it is wonderful. Chilly still when the wind is blowing but we have the pool heater going and the water is nice and warm. The kids are having a ball and making us so happy we decided to put the pool in last fall. It was a long winter looking at it but not being able to try it out... so it truly is a glorious Spring at our home.

We have also been busy with other things. A few months back our family began a very exciting journey. We are adopting a little boy or girl. He/she will not join our family for a while... it is a long process. We hope hope hope and pray that he/she will be able to come home to our family next year... probably Fall 2008. We have started the process and we are excited and extremely happy to be going down this road as a family. It is something we have thought of doing for many years and to finally come to the decision to persue it is very emotional and exciting. The kids know and are excited too, although I 'm sure it will be a long wait and will not seem 'real'  to them until we are a family of 5.

I have been updating a small lil' blog with our adoption journey and feel ready to share it. We feel truly blessed to have this opportunity and I am documenting all the steps along the way for both my memories sake, as well as to be able to share with our child someday.

http://www.lightfoots-witharmswideopen.blogspot.com/