Photo of the Week: First Braids!

As we end the month of July - which I still can't believe - I'm sharing this week's Photo of the Week, which is sort of a milestone photo for us.  Anna has gorgeous, curly hair - which is both a blessing and a curse in her eyes, especially after a bath or shower when it's time to comb it. In those moments, she always wants a haircut.  However, there are plenty of other times when she wishes her hair was long enough to put "ponies" in it or do other fun things with it.

So, when it was time for a trim last week, she had me ask her stylist if she could do something "special" with it to make it more fun. Here's the result:

Loving my braids!

Anna was SO excited about her very first little braids (complete with pink and purple sparkly beads of her choosing) as we drove away from the salon, and she loves to show them off. She may want to get them all over next time - this time, we just got a few to try them out. We're all excited to see what awesome things she will be able to do with her hair in the future. Her smile says it all - she's thrilled!

What gets me, though, is that this photo makes it even more apparent that she's growing into such a big girl so fast. She looks older in this picture - and beautiful as always. Sometimes I wish we could freeze time!

Friday Fun: The Secret Life of Dolls

Anna is in the throes of her Disney princess phase. So, recently when we were at a friend's house for a play date, Anna's friend let her borrow Rapunzel and, in return, Anna let her borrow her talking Ord the dragon.

Our schedules have prevented us from getting together since, so the girls haven't yet had a chance to trade back their toys. So, Rapunzel has decided to settle in and keep herself entertained until it's time to go home. She retained Uncle Keith as her stylist and decided to branch out into edgy territory....imitating Lady Gaga.

Check her out! Does Gaga have some competition in the weirdness department here??

Why Are We Still Just Talking About Gun Control?

Last week's deadly shooting in Aurora, Colorado at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" is fresh in our minds. As we watch the media coverage of grieving families and shocked residents of a peaceful town, and as we begin to watch the legal fallout play out as the gunman faces criminal charges, inevitably, people start discussing gun control. What I want to know is, why do we even still have to discuss this?

Why don't we actually DO something about it??

Photo from saf.org/lawreviews

Photo of the Week: Smart Sheep!

I recently chaperoned Anna's day care class on their field trip to a farm. I love hanging out with those kids! They had a great time seeing goats, chickens and roosters, pigs, cows and sheep. One of their favorite parts of the trip (aside from eating ice cream at the end) was seeing the baby sheep and their mom.

On this farm, there are various feeding stations where, for a token, you can get a handful of yummy (I hope?) stuff to feed the animals. Sometimes they can eat out of your hand, and sometimes you have to put the food down a chute instead. Obviously the animals love to get as much of the food as they can.

One, in fact, was so eager that she bypassed the kids feeding her altogether and went straight to the goods herself!

Hey, who needs tokens?!

Hey, I guess if you're a new sheep mom, you can do whatever you want! Watch and learn, babies, watch and learn.

Friday Fun: Photo Shoot Bloopers!

As anyone with a young child knows, picture time is often difficult for little ones. Anna typically is a ham - she loves to pose and say "cheeeeeeese!" with a giant, toothy grin. But we had never had real family photos done until we had a photo shoot with a pro before the adoption. And boy was it.....fun.

I am NOT having my picture taken!

It's In The Way That You Use It

No, this isn't just one of my favorite Eric Clapton songs. It's something I'm trying to work on in my own life when I try to turn lemons into lemonade. It's advice I would give to a friend, it's something I need to remember for myself, and it's something I need to model for my daughter.

Life throws us a lot of curve balls, and that's putting it mildly. Some of us have more than our fair share of challenges and sorrow. But, no matter what kind of issues we may have - some decidedly beyond our control - the one thing that is NOT beyond our control is the way that we react to them, manage them, accept them, cope with them and maybe, just maybe, better our lives, not in spite of them, but because of them.

It really is in the way that you use it.

Beautiful rainbow (taken 7/1/12)

Photo of the Week: Order in the Court!

I'm (belatedly) going to start this week off with our Photo of the Week, which comes from Anna's recent adoption ceremony.

She LOVED being in court (not many people can say that! haha), and especially loved being the "bailiff" who escorted us to the witness stand. After it was over, she then got to meet the judge, sit in his chair, and use his gavel! She was so excited.

After it was over and the judge left, she was sad that all the excitement was finished. Then, Anna asked to go hug the judge, who was already back in chambers. He obliged. I imagine it must be nice to preside over such happy days in court rather than the all-too-often contentious ones!

In the elevator on our way out, we asked Anna if she might want to be a judge someday. She looked distressed and exclaimed, "But I can't change my body!!" Heidi and I looked at each other, puzzled, until she clarified that she thought you had to be a boy to be a judge. Didn't we set THAT one straight, and quickly!

The Wisdom of Dr. Seuss

Recently, I came across an article on the Huffington Post entitled, "Dr. Seuss: 10 Life Lessons from the Legendary Children's Author."

Now, I don't know anyone who's not, at least on some level, a fan of Dr. Seuss. And that's good, because I'd seriously wonder about someone who hasn't been entertained or touched in some way by his amazing children's stories.

From The Lorax, which teaches about human impact on the environment, to Oh, The Places You'll Go!, a popular milestone gift at, for example, high school graduation, Dr. Seuss' messages are uplifting and meaningful and, yes, fun.

So check out the list and then let us know - what would you add?

Happy Friday!

Photo of the Week: Our Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Anna and I were both very excited that Uncle Keith came to visit us last weekend! We had a great time swimming in the lake and playing outside in the yard.

At one point, we brought out Anna's tunnel, which usually takes up space in our hallway. Anna's Grammie gave it to her, and for awhile, our cat Tika actually used it more than Anna did! But Anna now loves to crawl through it. So, when she asked Uncle Keith to carry her, he willingly obliged. As he carried her and she wiggled, she became our own little Very Hungry Caterpillar!