Mommy's feeling crafty again! I finally finished knitting this little shirt for Lillie. She was so cute. She couldn't wait to put it on, so she wore it on Thursday to go to lunch with some friends from the ward. Such a serious look! But Lillie was just gearing up for the photo shoot that follows!


(Especially for Aunty Momi) When I told Lillie I wanted to take a picture of her cute outfit, she quickly said, "BOOTS! BOOTS! Wear brown boots!"


First day of preschool! Not really, but doesn't she look ready?!?!?


SMILE!


First day of Kindergarten! Okay, so I'm jumping ahead.



The wacky weather this week has allowed Mommy and Lillie to go galavanting all over the city. Wednesday's weather was nice and cool, so we headed to the zoo. Thursday, was still a bit cool, so we met some friends from church for lunch. Today was HOT and HUMID all over again. So...we headed over to a church members home for a fun POOL PARTY!!


The girls next to Lillie are Sophia and Mirabel. They are twins from the ward that Lillie sometimes plays with. Eli is also from our ward and he has his back to the camera. The boy with the bucket on his head is Noah. Noah is the grandson of the women who hosted our little party.


The little girl behind Lillie is Elizabeth. She was adopted from Guatemala.



Lillie not only mimics just about everything anyone says, but she has also become quite the copy cat, as you can see.


Along with the wading pools, there was a crazy little spraying hose that the kids LOVED! Lillie and Noah were the first to take hold of the little hoses. You'll have to watch the video below to see Lillie (and the hose) in action.



Lillie and Noah became fast friends. They played so well together.


After a GREAT time in the water, we changed into some dry clothes and headed inside for some lunch our "hostess" provided. We ate a great burrito lunch, which surprisingly, Lillie enjoyed. Well, she didn't exactly have a burrito, but she did have some refried beans w/cheese, hamburger, and she loved the tortillas. After lunch, Sonja, our hostess, prepared some peaches and cream. Lillie was lucky enough to be the recipient of a pre-dessert treat!


Licked CLEAN!

Pool Party!

All the adults agreed, we will HAVE to do this again!!

I took Lillie to the zoo for the first time today. She LOVED it!! We went with a friend from the ward and her infant. The weather has been pretty hot and humid lately, but the past two days it's been a little rainy, overcast, and cool!! So, with confirmation from the weatherman of only slight chances of a drizzle, we headed out to the zoo to check out some of the animals Lillie loves and imitates.

First stop, Ape House. Some of the gorillas were far away, and some were...

not! Lillie loved watching these gorillas. We also saw the orangutans playing. They were so cute!! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics.


After spending some time in the Ape House, we went to the Small Mammal House, where we saw this crouched over Armadillo. After coming home, I realized I didn't take as many pictures as I thought. Anyway, we also saw some lemurs, rats (YUCK!), a porcupine, tamarins, and more monkeys. Lillie was fascinated.


Here are a couple of horses that Lillie kept saying, "Neeeeigh" to. Maybe she was trying to communicate with them. ha ha


Next stop, the elephants. We also saw some hippos, but they stayed under water the whole time, so we didn't take pictures. Lillie was the most fascinated with the elephant. I don't think she realized how big they are. I'm glad she got over the trauma from the first time she saw live elephants from the circus parade through the city.

Like I said, she was mesmerized by the elephants. That's my cute little girl!!


We couldn't go home without seeing the famous pandas. Here's Lillie giving a big hug to the wooden panda.


Caught in mid laughter and excitement.


Then, the REAL pandas. We thought of cousin Na'i the whole time!!




I know she looks like she's being slightly tortured, but I promise she had a GREAT time. This was just her, "I'm doing it because you're asking me to, but I really just want to watch the panda" smile.

A two and half hour trip to the zoo, and we didn't even see half of the animals. Oh well, we'll just have to check the weather for another pleasant day to see more of the wild!!!

Last Thursday, we received a box in the mail for Miss Lillie. After carefully looking through bags of goodies, Lillie found what she was searching for...something for HER!! Aunty Momi sent two pairs of boots. They are a little big, but SO cute. Lillie wanted to wear them around the house all day. Thanks Aunty Momi!

Lillie's new BOOTS!

Lillie CAN'T WAIT for WINTER!!!!

Well, IT'S FINAL! This morning, the three of us took a trip to the courthouse to meet with Judge Chirstian. She signed the final decree to finalize our adoption of Lillie. It was quite a formal event. We took all kinds of pictures with the judge, the signing of the final papers, and the courtroom.







After the papers were signed, Judge Christian let Lillie pick out a book.



Then the judge signed her book, gave her some crayons, and put it in a little bag for Lillie to take home.


Of course, Lillie had to also give one of her signature "Big Hugs!"

From L to R: Peter Wiernicki, our adoption lawyer, Jennifer Riesch, our social worker from the adoption agency, and us.

After we left the courthouse, we decided to have a celebratory brunch at Old Ebbitt Grille. Lillie had her own short stack with some cranberry juice. It was a great day!

Singing Bee

Lillie loves to sing, but she doesn't quite feel like performing while on the phone with all of you. So, I decided to catch her in the act to prove to all of you that she really does know some songs. She sure loves her Primary songs.

Daddy is a musician

I can say more than what the video shows!!

On July 20th, the stake orchestra and other "acts" put on a concert for Pioneer Day. One of the musical numbers featured the stake presidency. It was a little of a comedy act, as the stake presidency played bird whistles, mini cymbals, triangles, and there was carrot eating involved as well. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the serious and mature stake presidency: from L to R President Frost (first counselor), President Page (stake president), and of course, Keola (second counselor).



This is just a random picture of Lillie. She decided to sit like this and I just thought it was cute.

Here's Lillie with Lilah, the girl I watch each week. They sure do have fun together.