Shane's Senior Prom!

Ok. I just want to know where the time goes and can someone stop it please!!?? Shane is 18 years old and this is his last dance of High School--his Senior Prom. He has been dating Avery for over a year now and they went to prom last year too. So we started out at Avery's house to take pictures. We had to BEG Shane to take off the glasses!
Avery getting her corsage.

Aren't they so cute? Don't ask about the hair. Shane and I don't agree. Yes, he has beautiful curls but I'm ready for it to go!

Then we went to Georgetown College where they were meeting friends and getting in the limo.

My baby looks so handsome

Isabella giving her big brother a kiss

.........and Avery a kiss

They are such a cute couple! They all took an Excursion limo. That thing was HUGE!

Leaving for the night...........

They seemed to have a good time. He really is a good young man (not a kid anymore) so I didn't worry about him at all.

I have pictures of Isabella too but I wanted Shane to have his own post. I'll post them in a few days. Hope all is well and I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted and I'm sorry to the ones who follow this blog. I'll try to do better in the future. With that said, let me get Isabella's update out of the way. She is becoming so independent in everything she does. She really doesn't like anyone doing things for her that she can do herself. It's also easier to tell what she wants because she's talking more and more. She'll try to repeat anything you say which is sometimes funny. She has such a wide vocabulary now. She is also interested in the potty now. There are 2 other kids at the babysitters that use the potty so she likes to try too. She's not always successful but it's a start. Her hair is getting so long and her smile lights up the room. She is still a "people person" and doesn't know a stranger. She's also very into books. She carries them around, sleeps with them, and will sit forever on my lap if I read to her. She is such a joy and we are so lucky to have her in our lives.

She loves this keyboard. She was singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". She only knew half the words but it was still so cute to hear her sing it.
Smiling for the camera

Excuse the few longer wisps of hair in her eyes. They just didn't make it into the ponytails!

Now on to Alex and the Championship basketball game. Last Saturday they played at 9:45 in the morning in the semi-final game. They won that but I don't remember the score--sorry. So since they won, they were in the Championship game at 4:00. They played against the defending champs from last year. They were at a disadvantage because they had already played 1 game and we thought they would be really tired. But they played their hearts out. They really wanted that win! I won't reveal the score. You'll have to scroll down to the last picture.

Alex getting his trophy for that hard-earned win!

Alex and his trophy

The Champions!!

As you can tell, they won by 18 points!! Even after already playing 1 game. Amazing!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Isabella!!

We had family over for dinner, cake and presents. Isabella was getting hungry so we fed her a little early. She loves chicken noodle soup.

saying "cheese"

Ok. I thought she wanted the soup. She ate some then dumped the rest out. Then she used the bowl as a hat.

After washing her hair and changing clothes, she rocked her baby in the new rocking chair that Nana got her.

Shane and his girlfriend, Avery

blowing out the candle

Tasting her cake

I thought I uploaded a "pout" photo before this but I guess it didn't work. She had the biggest pout I've ever seen then started crying. She was upset that we took her cake to cut it.

Isabella got the first piece

opening her first toy

Another baby doll and color wonder markers.

Next toy with a bow in her hair.

I love this one because it shows just how beautiful her hair is and how long it's gotten.

Again in the rocking chair

It's hard to believe that Isabella is 2 years old. Maybe because we missed out on the first 8 months of her life. But that's okay. Her foster family loves (notice I said loveS and not lovED) her dearly. We still keep in touch and I'm so glad Isabella was with them. They are such a loving family. I owe them so much for the love and goodness they showed Isabella. I will be forever grateful.

Isabella is talking more and becoming more independent. We haven't decided about the big bed yet. She doesn't climb out of her crib in the middle of the night to much anymore. She will get out in the morning sometimes though. She just goes to her bookshelf and looks at books. She is a very loving child and we've never had one problem with her adjustment. She's just a well-rounded little girl that we all love so much. Happy Birthday Isabella!!

Christmas pictures

Forgive me that these pictures are in no particular order. I never can get that part right.

Isabella loved this little dog

And the big dog


And her tea set

And her shopping cart

This is by far the COOLEST toy that Alex got. My mom got him this zero gravity remote control car that climbs the walls and can also ride on the ceiling. It doesn't fall or anything. It spins and goes in all directions. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, the car is on the wall.

Hunter really wanted this fluorescent green hoodie.

Alex was really wanting these boots and he really does wear them.

My 2 brothers, Pat and Ryan, me, and Isabella

Alex with one of his toys

Ryan

Pat

Hunter

Christmas Eve we always go to my Mom and Dad's house. My brother, Ryan, was in from England so that was good. We ate, opened gifts, then went to church. After Santa at our house on Christmas Day, we go to Allen's Mom and Dad's house. I forgot my camera so I have no pictures of that but I will say that Alex got Rockband and he LOVES it. He already was really good at Guitar Hero but this has drums and a microphone with it and he's pretty good at the drums too. That is all the kids have played with since Christmas. It is pretty fun although I have to play everything on easy or medium. The kids make it look easy and I don't know how they do it on hard or expert. All in all it was a good Christmas. No one got sick like in years past so that was a plus! I hope everyone else's Christmas was good too.