Two And A Half (Already)

Hard to believe our little bit is two and a half already. Admittedly so, I am struggling a tad with this. Two things describe our lives....busy and going by too fast!

To think that less than one year ago, she was living a different life, one without her forever family. I often wonder what she would be like without us....would she be allowed to explore her world as she does today, the jumping, the climbing, the outings....
would she laugh that deep, heart felt laugh that we all love to hear.....
would she have someone to play with her.....
would she squeal when enjoying herself....
who would she pick flowers (weeds!) for?.....
would she love peek-a-boo the way she does now?
would she pucker those precious lips when in deep thought.....
Today Maddox Ren is officially two and a half years old. And in our home, a half birthday calls for a celebration. Maddox was all for the cake part....
however, the singing wasn't stellar in her opinion, and there were a few tears shed....MK said, "What? You mean she didn't cry at her real birthday party but she cried tonight? That is crazy!" MK always has a way with words :)
No worries, as you can tell from the pic below, a big brother and a yummy chocolate cake were all she needed to bring back her sweet smile!
And as if that wasn't enough to get our baby girl smiling, bring on all of her siblings and let the silliness and laughter continue....

Happy Chinese New Year! The actual new year day was on Monday, January 23, and being that our family has branched out in the last year or five and begun to eat Chinese, take out was an essential part of our evening! The mere mention of Sweet and Sour Chicken gets all of my kiddos into a smiling fit.

The best part of Chinese take out? The fortune cookies.
The girls were all suited up in their best Chinese silks for the day. I will have to work on photographing them.....they had their own agenda Monday evening and it did not involve me and my beloved camera.
I suggested they have tea party, thinking that this would lead into come very cute photos. Alas, before I could get to their room, their tea party was spread all about their floor on their best blankets....not exactly what I was thinking but we went with it!
I love this photo of Maddox. Anytime she has a choice to make, she will sit and evaluate the situation while saying, "UMMMM???" and that is exactly what she is doing in this photo - trying to decide which cup to pour her love into first!
And she did not want Goldilocks to miss out on the new year tea so she spoon fed the baby a spot of tea.
Finally, Miss MK....this little one just doesn't stop growing! Five years old is hard for me to say....I am still stuck on saying she is four yet she is clearly growing up everyday!