Beach Day!

Even though we live so close to the beach, I have never taken Dorie. I'm not sure why...I guess the thought of sand in her hair just sounds miserable to me.

Today, on a whim, we drove down there for lunch. We went to Ruby's Diner on the Huntington Beach pier and then walked down to the water to get our feet wet. We didn't bring suits or anything...it was supposed to be overcast and cool. I forgot that we live in sunny southern California. The day was gorgeous! Needless to say, Dorie didn't exactly stay dry. She loved it! We just laughed and laughed. It was such a fun day!

The water was cold!

The waves were a little intimidating, too! I can't figure out how to upload the video, but here's a link...I love her giggles!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CpWbKtDQas

Heard At My House

Dorie is really developing a sense of humor. We were riding bikes in the park the other day. It was really windy, so she started singing "Dum-da-dah-da-dah-dum...Dum-da-dah-da-dah-dum..." like the scene from the Wizard of Oz where the witch is riding her bike in the twister. Then last night while getting ready for bed:

Dorie: Oh, I have a headache. It must be all that sugar.

Me: Sugar?! What sugar?!

Dorie: You...My Sugarbaby!

Oh geez. Total cheeseball. That's my girl.

Dorie's First Easter

Sorry for being late with this post! I only have a few shots, since BOTH of my cameras did not have fully charged batteries. Geez. When I was just the auntie I always had my camera and it was always fully charged. Not so much now that I'm a mom. What happened?

Anyway, Easter festivities officially started on Saturday with a combo egg dying and birthday party for cousin Maleah. It was Dorie's first time coloring eggs and she was so excited! She and Maleah were the last ones at the table...in it until the bitter end!
Very detail oriented! Dorie and cousin Makaela

After coloring eggs, Maleah and Dorie went with cousin Lily, Auntie Heather (Lily and Maleah's mom), Jaja Nana, and me for pedicures. So fun!

Sweet girl all decked out for Easter! I'm bummed the pretty pink-ness of her dress didn't show up in any of the pictures. Trust me, it was precious!

Dorie's Ugandan Easter basket. We had this especially made for her from one of the ladies at the local Friday market in Uganda. When we ordered it, Dorie had no clue what it was for!

Even on Easter, everyone has to be on the trampoline. Watch out for Uncle Mead!

Group shots are almost impossible...and Dorie was not helping much...well, she was trying to help get the little ones to smile, and she succeeded here. Too bad she didn't get her head up fast enough!

Another good shot of everyone except Dorie! Goof ball!

Happy First Easter, Sweet Baby Girl!!!

Tea for Two

This past weekend Dorie and I went on an adventure with some other women and their children. Dorie has been asking to go on a train ride, so we rode down to San Juan Capistrano. It was an absolutely perfect day. I had kept the whole day a secret, so it was great fun watching the surprises unfold.
First train ride...with new friend Juliana!

We arrived in San Juan Capistrano and made our way to the Los Rios Tea House, where I'd made reservations for "tea for two." The rest of the group decided to join us...uh, make that tea for 15! How fun is that?!

The tea house had pretty hats for the girls to wear. Dorie was so excited. Julie only wore hers for the picture.

Tea and scones are served....

She insisted on a picture with her tea. When the waiter suggested a nice, caffeine-free herbal tea, I knew it just wouldn't cut it with my Ugandan princess. She got the real stuff. Poured in the cream and sugar like a good Ugandan would. And loved it.

So overjoyed for her tea party! The tea house actually had a child's tea...pb&j finger sandwiches and fruit! Perfect!

Uh-oh...someone got ahold of the camera when mama wasn't looking!

After tea we walked across the street to this sweet nursery. Dorie wanted to buy some flowers to plant in our yard. When she very politely asked the price, the woman said she wanted to give both girls one for free!

Gotta do the goofy stuff sometimes...and yes, she asked to be the boy!

The grounds at the San Juan Capistrano Mission are absolutely spectacular!

All tuckered out on the way home...she missed most of it! What a fun day!

Heard At My House

Dorie: Mom, what did the wise men bring to Baby Jesus?

Me: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

Dorie: Oh. Which one of those means "diapers"?

Heard At My House

So tonight, amidst my busy-ness from coming off a full day at work and trying to get dinner ready, I nearly missed a precious moment with Dorie. She really wanted to have a tea party...I really didn't. I almost told her no. But the Lord prompted me and gave me the strength to say yes. At first I told her we'd just have juice. I could see the disappointment on her face, so I went ahead and made a small bit of tea. She filled up her tiny sugar bowl. She asked me for some milk for the pitcher. And maybe a treat? (Before dinner??? But I pulled out two Oreo cookies). As we sat drinking our tea, our conversation went like this:



Dorie: Mommy, would you like some more tea?


Me: Oh, yes, please. It's delicious.


Dorie: Thank you! While we're drinking our tea, let's write about what we like best about our tea party.


Me: Okay.



And this is what she wrote:

"I love being with my mommy."

Can you believe I almost passed that up??????

Confession and Heard At My House

I have a confession. Kind of embarrassing, actually. You know how I was waiting to see who was visitor number 20,000? Well, I knew it was getting close, so I jumped over to check and...

It was me. I was number 20,000. Duh. How embarrassing.

I never heard from 19,999 or 20,001, so the t-shirt will go to my sweet friend Yvana (#20,002)!

And just to throw something fun:
Yesterday afternoon, Dorie climbed up on my lap. She gave me a hug and...

Dorie: Mom, thank you.
Me: For what?
Dorie: For everything. For my bed, and my room, and all my toys, and for making me dinner. And mom?
Me: Yeah?
Dorie: Thank you for adopting me.