How the kids enjoyed Mexico

Here are some pictures of how the kids enjoyed their time in Mexico.

The kids in the pool, one of my absolute faves. They really do like each other and make each other smile all the time. Makes me realize that I am so happy we were able to finally give C a sibling:


Me, my mom, and Miss M in the pool:


Miss M lounging on the chair under the Tiki Hut (Did I tell you how much I loved the Tiki Huts and chairs on the beach?)


We got to see and hold baby Sea Turtles. They had hatched at the resort so they gathered them up for the governement to come and get and deposit in less populated areas. They were so cute and small. You can also see in this picture that Maya had her hair braided while we were there. A lady on the beach did it and it was super cute!


A great picture of daddy and the kids in the pool:


We went to the Mexican Fiesta night at my mom's resort and the girls paid a lot of attention to C. She gave him a kiss and left lipstick on his cheek that we were not allowed to wipe off.

Mexico

We took the kids to Mexico last week for a family vacation. We originally had planned to go for Spring Break, but because of M's adoption we had to postpone the trip. Pesky little things like birth certificates and passports kept us in the country.
So we booked the trip for November 6th through the 13th. I hadn't been to Mexico since I was 20 and hubby and the kids had never been. We didn't know what really to expect on the vacation, but loved it and would definitely go back.
We went to Puerto Vallarta which is on the West Coast. It is surrounded by mountains and has very pretty beaches. The water was a little chilly but we did go in the ocean swimming some. C and I even snorkeled while hubby and M sat tight in the boat. The flight from NC was really easy about 2 hours 20 minutes to Houston and then another 2 ½ hours to Puerto Vallarta. It seemed easier than or just as easy to get there as it is to get to West Coast of US.
We booked our vacation at Paradise Village which is just north of Puerto Vallarta in Nuevo Vallarta. The resort was great for families. You can do pay as you go or an all-inclusive package. We opted out of all-inclusive since we had a kitchen and would be spending some time with my mom at her resort, Villa Palmar de Los Flamingos. The food was pretty good at the resort, but glad that we were able to cook some as C wasn’t a huge fan of the food. M loved having guacamole every day though. Paradise Village had great kid activities like pool volleyball, beach soccer, pool basketball, bingo, water polo, bocce ball tournaments, and dancing lessons. C loved playing with the activities staff. I played the pool volleyball, too. The pool was great, it had two large waterslides lots of area to swim, a kiddie section, and nice hot tub. The beach was great and the resort has a ton of little Tiki Huts to sit under while you relax on the beach, very nice for me since I burn so easily so it was nice to sit in the shade while M napped on the beach. There was a market, dominoes, McDonalds, café, and Starbucks a very short walk right outside the gates of the resort. The resort also had Tigers on site and a few exotic birds. Our building had a pool and hot tub right outside. The room was really nice, too, it was a 2 bedroom, 2 baths with full kitchen and washer/dryer.
My mom’s resort seemed a little stuffier, but also had a fantastic pool. Our resort had a bunch of kids and there were hardly any kids at hers. But the rooms were really nice, too. We did do a theme dinner night, Mexican Fiesta, at her hotel and that was so much fun, the staff was very entertaining and the food was great.

Happy Girl

I made this outfit a while ago and being it was summer, I wasn’t ready for her to wear it. It is not quite Fall, but cool in the mornings so I finally put it on her. It was super cute on her and I set her on the bench outside day care to snap a few pics.

She was so stinkin adorable. I asked her to say cheese and this is what I got:

Then I eventually got the “I am tired of you taking my picture” eye roll:

She is such a happy girl in the morning. She is bouncing by the time I get to her crib and then jumps into my arms where I am greeted by huge hugs. She fusses for her diaper change if I take too long to get to her bottle. But, after she relaxes during her bottle, she just sits up and is so happy and ready to go. So much fun! My spunky little girl.

In Love with my new Canvas

In June, we got our family pictures taken by Katie McAnally. She was wonderful with the family and took some great pictures of the whole family and of the kids and even a really cute one of hubby and I. I bought her package with the CD and then she even added one more in there that I specifically could make into a canvas. I loved working with her, she was so great and gets back to you quickly.
I finally took that image and ordered a canvas from Canvas on Demand. It is a local company, but they ship all over the country. I talked with the customer service rep and she assured me that the canvas would turn out perfect and they would center the family picture on the canvas. I was very nervous just uploading the image and not getting a "preview" box. They do all the editing after you upload and decide how the picture will look best. Wow! I was so impressed when we got the package. I am so happy with it!!!!!

If you click on the canvas picture of us, you can get a coupon for Canvas on Demand. I will also have to post some more of the pics Katie took of us. She took the one on this post of me holding Maya that is black and white.

So frustrated

I am beyond frustrated right now. We received our adoption decree and our Social Worker told us it will take 1-2 months to get a Birth Certificate. My mom had been planning a trip to Puerto Vallarta that I had been telling her that we need to see what the timelines for adoption are before we confirm that we are going. After we got our decree and found out from Social Worker it would take just 1-2 months to get a Birth Certificate, we told my mom we could go.

Well, I went to Vital Records on Friday and they hadn't received word from the Adoption Review Unit that reviews adoptions after final decree and before it goes to vital records. What?!?!?! I was never told about such a thing. Adoption review Unit received it August 8th. So, they gave me the number for the adoption review unit and told me to ask for the supervisor and ask to get my adoption review expedited. Simple enough, right? I was optimistic calling. I left a message for the lady who does it for our county and she called me back that day. She said they are working on a 4-6 month timeframe to review and approve adoptions and get them to vital records to obtain a Birth Certificate. She said vacation is not an important reason to expedite and to call her at the end of September to see where they were. I was so mad but stayed calm on the phone, explained that this was a big family trip, we really want to take Miss M with us and need a Birth Certificate to get a passport issued. She blew me off and said I could contact her supervisor who is on vacation until the 13th and plead my case with her but realistically we are looking at getting it maybe by the end of the year. It is not like I asked for it tomorrow, I asked if I could have it by the beginning of October, a MONTH away. The trip is in November.

I don't see what other alternatives we have. I don't see not taking Miss M as an alternative. I am so mad, had we been told this up front we wouldn't have gotten excited and said we could go. I am mad. I got my hopes up and was excited about this trip.

I understand that we jump through a million hoops for adoption, but I thought we were done once we had the decree and now it is just a new set of hoops where these people don't care about us and she made it very clear. I hate that we are going to miss an opportunity to see my mom if we don't go and that means we wouldn't get to see her until next year.

Second Grade

It seems like just yesterday that my baby started Kindergarten. But in reality, it was 2 years ago. Wow, does time fly. He is almost 7, getting so tall, looking like a big kid. These are the times that I really wish I could freeze time. I keep saying each year he just gets cooler and cooler. But he really is so cool right now! He is at an age where he still loves mom, not quite too afraid to show it, but just around the corner he will be. He has developed his own personality. He is a sports fanatic; he will even watch ESPN almost as much as he watches the Disney Channel. He spent the last few weeks watching the X Games on the DVR and then the Little League World Series.
I think he is more ready for the school year and it isn’t as terrifying since we know the routine, the school, and the kids. He has his little buddy from Kindergarten in his class so that made the morning super easy.
I look back today and he is looking so much older. He is growing so fast.

Kindergarten:



First Grade:



Second Grade:

Our Precious Daughter

Our precious daughter
On August 5th, the adoption of our sweet Miss M became finalized. We didn’t find out until August 10th, our Social Worker called to tell us we had the final decree of adoption. I had already realized it would be a little anti-climactic. You spend months jumping through hoops, signing paperwork, getting things notarized, being available for any last minute social worker visits, while we were also juggling our everyday lives and watching with amazement how quickly she was growing up. Then one day, the paper comes and she is ours forever. It was still an amazing feeling. My Social Workers were happy for us and we are ecstatic. We love the little lady with all our hearts. We were on a family vacation in Las Vegas with family so got to celebrate with our extended family.

Here is our filing day picture, June 2:

Here is my sweet lady: