Last set of zoo pics....

More zoo pics....

Okay, you all better start commenting or.....OR ELSE!

Day at the zoo....

Going on a short trip...

I will post the long-awaited zoo pictures after I return on Sunday. Believe me, they are worth the hyped-up wait.

In the mean time, here are a few pictures from when we recently went to the aquarium. We had a blast with a friend of mine and her daughter, who is Brooklyn's best friend. Josh read every single piece of information about every animal and could have spent hours watching the otters. Too cute! Brooklyn was truly studying every creature with great awe. I loved watching her soak it all in.

I know you are giving an odd look to the flamingo picture. There they were with their bent up necks loudly threatening to peck the other. I couldn't resist laughing and taking a photo.

Candid Camera...

No time to chat, but I knew you would appreciate photos....

Zoo photos up next time, then in the following posts I will borrow an idea from a friend. (I would link, but her blog is pw protected.) It is her two year anniversary of becoming a family so she decided to detail each day she was in China with photos and commentary. I thought this would be a great idea for me to do since I wasn't able to post much in China (sloooow computers and restless baby :) ) and there are SO many photos I've been wanting to show.

~~please note the prestine clean kitchen floor. Miracles do happen.

Why, yes it is a new post.....

I knew all of you were tired of looking at my mug, so since all of you come here solely for pics of the children, I can say I have now appeased the masses.

Obviously by the pictures, it was Brooklyn's 2nd birthday a few weeks ago. It was her first bday with us, and the last of our "firsts" with her. Then August 29th was the anniversary of when Brooklyn was placed into our family. Of course the day after that was also significant- she had been with our family longer than she had been in an orphanage. So boomboomboom non-stop celebrations. This year has been full of joy, but also a long year of adjustments for both her and I. I promise I will elaborate more on the adjustments at a later time. It really is hard to believe that one year ago we were in China. It truly was the trip of a lifetime.

So the birthday party. It couldn't have been more beautiful. We had family and close friends over to celebrate with us. She enjoyed chowing down slice after slice of pizza, playing with her friends, making sure she socialized with the adults, and ripping open presents. She now fully understands the concept of opening presents. Christmas will be even more fun this year.

She has played with every single toy she received and has worn every outfit given to her. Not to my surprise, her favorite toy was the asian baby doll we got for her. (Don't get me started on how difficult it was to find an asian babydoll!) She will not put her baby down. In fact she is the only baby Brooklyn will even hold now.

Stay tuned because shortly (!!) I will be posting more pictures of the day we had today---the zoo! My favorite part of the day was watching my kids and hearing them laugh, play together, and then break out in little screams of excitement. Can't get any better than that.