Wecome to the world Baby Emily!!

Lily's baby sister, Emily, was born on 10-16-08.  She is one week old today. She weighs 5 lbs. 8 oz. as of yesterday and is 19 inches long.  Lily is not too sure what to make of her new baby sister, and is definitely showing signs of jealousy.  Emily is with us because I felt that keeping the sisters together is the right thing to do.  We are not sure how long we will have the girls, but we are enjoying them while they are here. (except for my lack of sleep at night) I took them to the doctor's yesterday for check ups and I am so pleased to say that Lily is now in the 50th percentile for height and weight. She isn't walking yet but real close. She turned 13 months yesterday.

The Pumpkin Patch

We took Lily to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend.  It was so hot there so we didn't stay too long. Lily looked so cute surrounded by the pumpkins. 

Carter & Lily

Lily and Carter are really beginning to interact with one another now. They play peek-a-boo with each other and follow each other all around the house. Lily is still taking most of the toys away from Carter, but he doesn't seem to mind yet. Carter is pulling himself up to a standing position while holding on to furniture. He will be eight months old in a few days. Lily is ready to walk but is afraid to. I find her standing on her own and then she sits down. Soon she will be cruising around on two feet instead of two knees!

The past remembered

I came across these pictures of Rachel and myself the other day.  I just had to post them, she was the cutest baby girl and so happy all the time.  These were taken in 1980. Rachel was two years old.  Larry thinks I looked like I had a Farrah Fawcett hairdo...it is truly frightening!  Thank God the styles have changed.  Wonderful memories of the two of us though. 

She's Baaaaaack!!!

We got a call from Orangewood last night that Lily was being taken from her home again.  She is back with us and we are so happy!  She was exhausted and dirty when her social worker drove up to our house with us. We gave her a bath and bottle and put her to bed. She was very upset and cried for quite a bit.  Larry rocked her and she finally settled down and went to sleep.  Her dad had her up until 10 PM each night I guess.  Her main food there was Gerber Graduates Puffs.  It will take a few days to get her back into her schedule but we know that she will adjust soon.  We are just really thankful that Lily's social worker was really looking out for her.  

Bye bye sweet Lily!

This morning we returned our foster baby, Lily, to her birth dad.  We had such a wonderful time with her for the past three months.  She is truly a wonderful little girl.  While she was with us she learned to crawl, eat with her fingers, stand up and cruise around holding on to furniture, three baby signs (fan, lights & gentle), speak three words (moo & duck, and uh-oh), play with puzzles, lego's, and beads and raise her hands when Larry asked her to in German!  Not bad for just three months. We are awaiting our next foster baby who is one and half years old and a girl.  We should probably have her in our home next week sometime. 

Mary's 3rd birthday party

Mary celebrated her 3rd birthday last Sunday with lots of her family in Illinois where she and her mom moved to recently.  It sure looks like she was having fun.  The cupcakes sure look yummy! Her mom sent us some great pictures in the mail of our last visit with Mary before she moved.  We sure miss her, but we do talk to her still on the phone from time to time.  She is always excited to hear our voices.