Summer - L'ete est la...

I can't believe school's been over for two weeks. The school year sure went by fast! Both girls had an excellent year. Margaux ended her first year of preschool (pre-k2) and is spending her summer with our sitter, who took care of her last year while she was in-between daycare and preschool. I was planning on leaving her at the preschool for their summer program, but they turned out to be very expensive. This bossy little lady is now busy trying to rule over a new bunch of little boys.

Sophie had a great first year at her new school (Richland elemenentary for 2nd grade) and got all the highest honors in addition to receiving a special recognition for her exemplary behavior. To reward her, she's going to a special camp this week at a farm in Collierville. She's loving it, they have horses, bunnies, a swimming pool, moon-bounce etc. I wish I could afford to send her for more than one week... :( The other weeks, she'll be going to the Y camp or Central Camp (church really close to my work).

At the end of the week, we'll be heading to the beach for a cheap vacation. We decided (sadly) that we could not afford to attend our China travel group reunion and are just driving to Destin instead. We are hoping that the economy will start recovering soon and that things will be looking up by this time next year. We are way overdue for a trip to France, too. Thankfully, both of us still have our jobs, so we count our blessings.

Hope everyone is having a fun-filled summer. I will be posting pictures soon, including tons from the beach!

The girls professional Easter picture

Cute... even though we could not get Margaux to smile at all... She still really enjoyed holding the bunny though..

Sophie's professional picture from her ballet recital

Love this, and the costume is perfect for her...

Margaux's 3 year portrait

These were taken at the new JC Penney on Winchester. I brought Sophie to make her laugh and it worked. The collage was a 10*13, so I could not scan quite the whole picture. The Hello Kitty outfit is perfect because her referral pictures included a pic in a Hello Kitty bean bag chair.

Margaux's birthday party

We invited all her friends from daycare and part of our China group, plus all our friends. Chuck and I had the great idea to do it at the house and we ended up with a rainy day and 45+ people in the house! Yikes! You'll just have to trust me on that since I'm not posting pictures of our guests to respect their privacy.

Everyone still had fun though and the cookout was a success. The theme was of course, Dora and Diego. I found a pinata of Diego, which was no small fiest. Some of my guests thought he looked like he had swine flu (see picture) Too funny! That was something else we had to deal with, the birthday party was on the same weekend as w.hen all the panic was going on with swine flu and the media were telling people to stay home all weekend. I was worried no one would show up!

Next year will NOT be at home!

Margaux's birthday

These are some pictures taken on her actual birthday (4/29). I can't believe my baby turned 3! We had a small cake and she got several books and DVDs. Her sister got her a Diego puzzle. The biggest hit was a set of a Diego shirt and underwear!

Dragon Fest

Every year we celebrate Dragon Fest with our local FCC Group (Families with Children From China). We had a great time this year on Mud Island where the reproduction of the Mississipi river is. We had a picnic by the river and then the girls enjoyed racing their ducks down the little river. The end of the riverwalk is a pool representing the gulf.

Saint Patrick's Day

I kind of cheated this year since Chuck broke my camera right before Saint Patrick's Day, but here are my gorgeous little ladies sporting their green

More Easter Pictures - encore quelques photos de Paques

Random Easter Pictures - Paques

In no particular order, some of our Easter pictures from several events. I think Margaux ended up participating in 5 or 6 Easter egg hunts and has become a pro.

Quelques-une de nos photos de Paques et de tous les evenements ou nous sommes alles. Margaux a participes dans au moin 5 a 6 chasses auz oeufs, elle est devenue pro et adore ca.

Field day pictures - journee sportive

I am way behind with posting pictures, so they won't come in order..

Here are a couple from field day last Friday. Sophie took second place for second graders in one of the events and she always enjoys the sack race. Also, a picture of Margaux just modeling a new outfit.

Quelques photos prises la semaine derniere a la journee sportive de l'ecole ou ils font des competitions par classes. Elle a eu la deuxieme place dans une des courses. Elle adore les courses en sac. Voici aussi une photo de Margaux, fiere de son nouvel ensemble.

Sophie's piano recital

I am so proud of my girl. I can't believe how well she is doing after only a few months of piano. Let's just say she did not inherit any musical talent from her mother... :D

Funny things Margaux says

She has been saying absolutely hysterical things. My favorite is she refers to her classmates and her teachers as "her people". So, she comes home and says "My people all here today" and then she proceeds to tell me the name of everyone in her class.

I'm told she's bossy (no surprise) and a leader. All the kids seem to adore her and like to follow her around. Chief trouble maker is what she is. I don't want her to be over the top, but I'm glad she's assertive. Makes for some tough parenting, though...

The other day, she saw some baby crocodiles coming out of their eggs and pointed to the TV and said, "Look mama, they're hatching!" I had no clue she knew that word.

Of course, we're potty training, and that comes with some pretty funny descriptions... :) She likes to explain how she "had to push that poo poo out hard".

Now, for your viewing pressure, our little miss passed out on the coffee table while eating lunch yesterday. Can't see how that's comfortable?

Diego undies

I am very excited to report that we are potty training Margaux. Her teacher said she was ready, so we started last weekend and she's been doing very well. Only hitch is she had to have Diego underwear and they do not make Diego underwear for girls. So, I got her a big pack of Dora underwear and a small pack of *boy* Diego undies.

I have to say this child is obsessed with Diego. I did find one (boy) Diego T-shirt and she wore it three days in a row. I could not get it off of her. Now I'm looking for another one (so I can have a clean shirt on her) and have not been able to locate one so far.

Ballet Recital

Sophie had her recital on Friday, and I'm happy to report it went very well.
Margaux was very concerned about where her sister went and very anxious throughout the program but did not throw a tantrum! Of course she had to steal some of her sissy's flowers!

Better late than never... Big snow day pictures!

Gotchya Day 2009

2 years ago we were handed a screaming little girl. She was so angry and sad. Now, our Margaux has blossomed into a beautiful headstrong toddler and we can't imagine our lives without her. We celebrated yesterday with her favorite food (potatoes from Taco Bell) and a cute cupcake with two candles. She got a kid DVD to learn Mandarin and some adoption books: a mother for Choko, A blessing from About, How I wished for you, and my favorite "Made in China". The reason I like this one is it represents our family perfectly with an older bio sibling and a little girl from China, plus it's dad talking to his little girl.

We love you Margaux!

Happy Valentine's Day!

From our house to yours! :)

Another Chinese New Year picture

Just got this one back in the mail. It was a professional one done that night. I can't believe how good it turned out, especially since Margaux was in one of these moods! Just goes to show how good the photographer is. I only bought the cheapest package because I thought they would be so so, but now I wish I had ordered more...

Anyway, aren't they gorgeous? I think this is one of the best ones I have of the two of them together!