I'm back!

So sorry for the lack of posting...  Truth is, I haven't taken too many pictures lately and just haven't had much to post about!  Things are good here, but just REALLY busy.  Lots of things going on right now with our family..  hopefully I will be able to share more soon...  Zoe continues to do wonderful.  She has transitioned so wonderfully that it almost seems like she's always been here.  Hard to believe that tomorrow marks the 3-month mark of her being home with us!  In some ways it seems like it's been much longer than that and in others I can't believe 3 months have passed already.  Looking back it's so hard to believe that she came home not knowing ANY English, not walking, and only eating bottles.  Now she can say so many words, understands soo much of what we're saying, is RUNNING all over the place, eats table food like a champ, and just acts like a completely different girl.  AMAZING.  Just proof what LOVE can do.  And she gets PLENTY of love, believe me :)  I haven't taken very many pictures lately, but here are a few I have taken.  I have some videos of both kiddos showing off their latest tricks that I will try to upload in the next couple of days for those of you who haven't seen them on Facebook...

 Loving on her baby doll- love her little dimple in this one!

 Cutest fish lips EVER!

 Kisses- love how Zoe's tongue is sticking out.  She LOVES to give slobbery kisses :)

 Playing together happily- Evan can always make her laugh :)

Just have to brag a little on Evan- he was playing restaurant the other day in his kitchen.  He was writing down my order (pretzels) and this was what he wrote.  I was so proud!  

Flesh...

A friend posted this on her Facebook wall yesterday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day....  I loved it and wanted to share on our blog... 

Update in Pictures!!

Things continue to be busy around here....  I often wonder how working moms do it- I have such a hard time keeping up with these 2 and taking care of the house.  But life is good and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Zoe is continuing to transition wonderfully.  She has had about 6 or 7 nights where she has slept through the night in the last month.  The other nights she only wakes up once (which is a HUGE improvement from when she first came home, so we'll take it!).  She is eating great- she is down to only eating table food during the days and a bottle before bed and in the middle of the night if she wakes up.  This is also a huge improvement, as she had only had bottles until 12 months.  She knows quite a few signs and is learning new words all the time (which is soo much fun!).  She is a SUPER HAPPY baby as all the pictures show and is ON THE MOVE CONSTANTLY (she hardly ever crawls now and walks/runs everywhere).  I am amazed at how much more mischevious she is than Evan was- she keeps me on my toes for sure.  Here are some pictures of my 2 littles..

Cutest little strawberry bum EVER!

 Just too cute :)  Love the little squat she does- I don't know how she can hold that position for long, but she does!

 Evan put on a puppet show for us last night in his new puppet theater he got for Christmas from Aunt Laura and Uncle John.  He loves it!! 

 We still have a ways to go with teaching him how puppet shows work, but he is improving...It's been great for his imagination!

 Big huge cheese!

 Love the tongue :)

 This is a mischevious smile if I've ever seen one- she's getting ready to empty the bookshelf and knows she's not supposed to!  But how can I say no to that face?!?

 Evan being goofy in his mismatched jammies!

 Love this smile :)

Oh- how cute is this? 

These 2 just bring so much joy to our lives and we are sooo thankful to have them both...  Thanks for checking in on us!!

I'M BACK!!

So sorry it's been so long since I posted!  We got super busy with the holidays and have had a round of sickness go through our house.  We are all healthy now and getting back into a routine...  

Just a quick update on our Charity:Water campaign-  We have raised over half of the money needed to fully fund a well so far and it's not too late to contribute. In case you haven't heard, Drew gave up his 30th birthday and asked only for people to contribute towards building a well in honor of his birthday and our Zoe's first year of life in Ethiopia.  As of now- 139 people will have CLEAN drinking water from all of the generous donations people have made!  HOORAY!  Won't you join us in funding a well so that we can give a total of 250 people CLEAN water?!?  I can't think of a better way to spend your money.  Every little bit helps- it only takes $20 to give ONE PERSON clean water!  We would love for you to visit this link and JOIN US!

And I know a lot of you are wanting to see pictures of my 2 little people...  We had a great Christmas at our house.  Both Drew and I were pretty emotional thinking back on all that has happened in the past year and overwhelmed with LOVE watching our TWO children experience the joy of the Christmas season.  Words can't describe how much in love we all are with Zoe.  She has just transitioned into our family beautifully and so many times I just stop and am in awe that she hasn't even been home with us for 3 months yet.  It truly seems like she's been here with us forever.  She truly is a JOY to have around the house and is ALWAYS smiling, laughing, and hamming it up.  We are amazed to think back to the little girl that we first met in Ethiopia and how very SERIOUS she was- it literally took us a couple of days to even get her to smile.  And now she never stops smiling! Here is a little of what we've been up to...

 My favorite individual pics of the kids on Christmas morning... 

 She loves pushing her baby in the stroller!

 Can you tell this boy loves blocks?  All he really wanted for Christmas was more trio blocks and legos... I love watching his imagination work when he plays with them...

 This picture just says it all- PURE JOY on this girl's face- and not even over the presents, just the paper and boxes are enough to make her happy!

 Opening their Christmas pajamas before the Christmas Eve church service...

 All excited about the cookies, carrots, and milk for Santa and his reindeer...  Love his smile in this one :)

 Zoe signing ALL DONE.  She knows about 5 or 6 signs now and it's so stinkin cute :)  She can also say a handful of words too.  Amazing when you consider how far she's come in just a couple of months.

I made a parking lot for Evan to practice his letters and words (thank you Pinterest!).  He loves learning... 

 I tried to get one of both kids in front of the tree, but of course little Miss "on the move" wouldn't cooperate- so I just got my little guy who is more than happy to pose instead.  :)

This was the best picture I could get of both of them in their Christmas Eve outfits...

 

Just have to end on a picture of this girl and her famous smile!  LOVE HER :)