Proud of this idea

Oct. 29th: Just had to put another picture of this because I loved making this costume.

Halloween church party

Oct 29th: We went to my parents house to let Brien sleep in peace at our house since he is working graveyards. I had begged Josh to dress up as a water cooler, but he refused. Turns out my niece needed a costume and she agreed and was excited about making a water cooler costume!!

As cute as the store costumes are, I just can't get myself to purchase a halloween costume. One of my mottos is "money can buy pretty much anything, except creativity". I LOVE working with the kids and coming up with creative, original costumes that we can have fun making together. It is so much fun to create. Josh was going to be a lego man, but then he came home last week and said he wanted to be a scuba diver. His costume cost all of $6.00. We purchase sponges, spray pain, tubing, and nylon straps. Bella's costume cost $3.50. I purchased the fabric, traced one of her sleepers and sewed this shiny green outfit. My mom help me with the flower. Abby the water cooler=FREE! With a few boxes, paint, duct tape, and a water jug, this costume was a hit. My parents helped with her costume. We made it in about 1 hour. I don't care for the candy, but Halloween is definitely one of the most creative holidays.

climber

October 28th: She can climb pretty much anything. She discovered she can roll her cart anywhere and use it as a ladder. We put a weighted ball in it to prevent it from tipping over on her. She has also discovered that she can use her crib bumper to give her leverage to ALMOST climb out of her crib. Once she grows a few more inches, the crib is no longer a cage but a jungle gym!

A Fabulous Day!

October 15, 2011. Today is the day Annibella was sealed to us in the Seattle, WA temple. The adoption agency that we all used was LDS Family services, which is part of our church. Latter-Day Saints believe in the importance of families and that families will continue after this life. I love this truth.

Bella's dress was made by my friend Mot who is from Thailand. It is all Thai Silk. I made the flowers and the shoes. She looked like a little cupcake. I posted so many pictures because I couldn't choose just 1 favorite.

If you go to www.lds.org or www.mormon.org you can learn more about sealings. Here is a little definition from the one of the website: in the temple, a husband and wife can have an ordinance performed that helps them be together forever. This is called a sealing or a temple marriage. If a couple is married outside the temple for this life only, they can go to the temple and be sealed so that they can remain married for eternity. Their children can be sealed to them and are then a part of their family forever. This special blessing is given only to those who are sealed in the temple and keep the promises they make there.

Also the website www.itsaboutlove.org is also a good resource to learn about the agency we used and insight into the adoption process.

Mom's little helper

Sept. 29, 2011: Have I mentioned she loves the vacuum? She uses it as a walker. She also thinks it is so funny to hit the off button. Even though it takes longer to vacuum, I laugh a lot more and actually enjoy it when she plays the game of turning it off on me. She sure figures things out quickly. While Josh is at school, Bella and I are able to spend time together. It is fun to play with her and her toys. She loves knocking over the block towers that I build. She has even started making the car sounds as she moves cars across the floor.

I love afternoon kindergarten!

Sept. 29, 2011: Since Josh has afternoon kindergarten, we have a very relaxing morning. If it is not raining we always go on a walk after breakfast. Josh rides his bike up and down the hills while I push the stroller. Bella is so entertained watching Josh ride his bike and watching all the things around her that she could walk for hours. It is quite the workout. This hills are steep, and she is almost 19 pounds plus a stroller. I think this counts as exercise too!!

Tongue discovered

Sept. 25, 2011: Bella loves her tongue. She is always sticking it out and licking everything. It is so fun to watch their new discoveries.