Alaina's Special Day

Today is Alaina's "Special Day" - it's been one year since we met her in China! We went to a GT basketball game, the Varsity and will eat spaghetti (wearing our Chinese dresses) and a panda cake tonight! She even was seem on the jumbo-tron a couple of times! She is very excited!






Alaina volunteered to say the prayer at dinner. She said, "I want to pray with words." (we usually sing the blessing) So cute! She even recruited Lauren to play a fanfare on her trumpet!

Santa is Over-rated

I've come to the conclusion that Santa gets way more credit than he deserves. I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Clause does most of the work while he gets the glory. Moms, you are welcome to "weigh in".

Our December is nearing an end and we have had lots of fun. At times I have reached a point that I felt overwhelmed with everything, but once school was out, it got better. Well, almost... we tried to fly out to Ohio (compliments of our Delta mix up last Christmas while trying to leave for China) on Friday night before Christmas, but once again, we had a cancelled flight after being delayed for about 4 hours. So, 2 rooms at the airport Westin, a little shopping and finally made it to Ohio 24 hours late. Had a great time - the girls loved sledding in the snow and playing with their cousins. Enjoyed seeing Grandma and all the family!

We returned home on the 23rd so that we could enjoy a nice, quite Christmas Eve at home. Santa was good to all and Alaina loved her first Chirstmas! Thankfully all of the girls slept well and we had a fun day!

Sara's big gift was an i-touch; Lauren's was a netbook; Alaina and Ally both got swimming puppies and scooters. Ally had a special request of Santa -- blue cotton candy. Alaina's special request was a bed for Dash!

The PIG!

It took 2 trips to downtown Atlanta to accomplish all we had to do! We joined the Hill family on our annual trip to ride the Pink Pig, see Santa at Lenox, and eat at the Cheesecake Factory! Here are a few pics!

If a Small Bottle of Lotion Gets Flushed...

it will make the potty overflow... Just in case you didn't know that, we can vouch for that being true!

Go Jackets!

Today is the BIG GAME for many teams; ours is GT vs. UGA! Doug and I are going to the game tonight in ATL; Aunt Amy and Uncle Ted are going to come over to stay with the girls! We are all excited and hopeful! Can't wait! Go Jackets....

November is National Adoption Month

My friend Shay posted this clip to her blog. I promise you that the guy talking could so easliy be Doug during our "decision" process to adopt Ally. So many things he said were exactly things that Doug said.. I guess it's a "guy thing" or a "dad thing"!



Everyone can do SOMEthing to help!!! I'm watching a show about families finding their adopted children. It's amazing to watch the reunions.

I Promise...

... that I took both of these pics in my yard TODAY!

That's right. Almost Thanksgiving and there is one bloom on my azaleas AND lots o' blooms on my geraniums! Gotta love this warm weather. I'm sure that ALL of the rain we have had contributes as well.

Now There are 8

We started a tradition 2 years ago. Santa with 4 little China girls in his lap (and 4 mommies standing close by). Last year the picture was similar. But, this year, Santa had 8 little China kids (7 girls and 1 boy) sitting close by with the same 4 mommies! It's amazing to see - all 4 families that we met prior to travelling to get Ally have all returned to China for another adoption.

Realizing that IT will never end...

For some reason, I think that I have a strange "block" in my brain.

Let me explain.

Please.

I tend to think in terms of "finishing" things. Like finishing the laundry, finishing the grocery shopping, finishing stocking up on things (paper towels, prepared spaghetti sauce, etc), finishing eating right, finishing exercising, finishing cleaning the house (cough, cough) ...

Then when I do make a batch of spag sauce and put it in freezer bags in the big freezer in the garage, I don't want to use them. The reason that I do this, is obvious -- to make life easier during the week! Then I get frustrated and want to totally empty the freezer - to "eat thru" everything (not me personally) so I can defrost it or something crazy like that.

I'm not that great of a finisher though. Just ask Doug - he will tell you that I'm a great starter of projects, but not that strong of a finisher... What does that say about me? What does all of "this" say about me? Maybe that is a rhetorical Q that I don't really want "you people" to answer!

I have to realize that I will never finish these things -- maybe that will make me a better person. This post is going no where...

Join Me

I know this isn't much "warning", but if you can, go HERE at 5 PM (Eastern time) to hear the "Cry of the Orphan". Nov is national adoption awareness month and this webcast will feature Steven Curtis Chapman among others... I'll be there -- will you?

Go GT!

Today was "band" day at Ga Tech. Doug loves this day because he gets free tickets to see GT play. The only catch is that he has to take all of his teenage friends with him and be responsible for them! A small price to pay, I suppose!

Tech won (against Wake Forest) in OT. I took the little girls (no small task either since GT is right in downtown ATL) and we had a great time. Of course, dancing/cheering in the bleachers, climbing to the top to look over, and eating cotton candy topped thier list of fun things. In fact, once the big gi-normous bag o' pink cotton candy was gone, they were pretty much done -- I mean, really... why did we need to stay any longer once the cotton candy was gone? Actually, and thankfully, we did leave a little early and beat the crowds!

While we were all at the game, Lauren was running around a corn maze birthday party! She hated to miss the game, but had a fun time with her friends!

Ozzy or Donny?

Last night, Lauren and I were watching "Dancing with the Stars" for a few minutes. They scanned thru the participants and I said, "I forgot that Donny Osmond was on this." She said, "No mom, it's his daughter, not him." I told her that he doesn't have any daughters. She kept saying how weird and ugly he was! Now I realize that Donny is not a Jonas Brother, but he is not weird or ugly! The conversation continued until I realized that she was talking about Ozzy Osborne! Funny - she doesn't really know anything about either of Donny or Ozzy!

Overload on Treats!

Trick or Treat was a big hit with everyone! Our little neighborhood doesn't get many kids stopping by anymore, but Ally and Alaina joined Sara and Daddy in our neighborhood. Folks were quite generous with the candy! Ally had a hard time deciding on her costume; with so may choices, it was difficult!

"The Blind Side"

Sandra Bullock has been one of my favorite actresses since "Miss Congeniality". Although I'm not much of a movie-goer, I am hoping to find a way to get to the theater next month to see "The Blind Side". Based on a true story, an upper class family takes in a high school boy that has had a rough life... Here is a link to the clip... It looks amazing...

http://celebrationcinema.com/?pid=184&id=1690&calField=11/20/09&src=fb

Scroll down to see the trailer...

Sara's Homecoming

Last night Sara managed to spend time with her "old" friends from MCHS and to spend time with her new friends too! Thankfully, her date, Landon, was a great sport about all of this crazy running around we did!

It was dinner and pics with her buddies from MCHS, and then to the dance at DHS. She had hoped to go to both dances, but with them scheduled on the same night, that became impossible really quickly! She had a blast - she said they all danced to most every song.

On another note, we took everyone to get flu shots yesterday AM and saw SANTA getting his flu shot too! Good thing he is taking care of himself - he has a busy winter ahead of him....

Alaina's Trophy

Alaina entered the "Reflections" contest at her school and WON first place for the whole Kindergarten! She came home today with her trophy and a HUGE smile! She won for her "choreography" - she did a Chinese fan dance in her Kunming outfit; well, I don't really know if it was a Chinese fan dance, but she did dance around with a fan wearing a Chinese outfit!

A Little Something

There is a foster home in Xian (close to Ally's orphanage) that cares for special needs kids, many who need surgery. An American lady named Amanda runs the home, called STARFISH -- yes, she moved to China to begin fostering these SN kids - just up and moved! Well, she has asked for some help. It's really simple, too. Just send her some Children's Advil/Motrin and Children's Tylenol (or the generic stuff). Yes, it will likely cost more to ship than to purchase, but if you have ever had a little one with a fever, you know the value of these OTC meds... Please -- it's easy!

Here is her address

Amanda de Lange
Maple Leaf New City
Area C, Block B-502
Ke Ji Road
Gao Xin
Xian 710075 China

Please place the value as ZERO so Amanda won't have to pay customs tax on the box... I bought mine today and plan to ship it this afternoon! Thanks to ALL of "my readers" who will help these little people and this special lady that is passionate about their lives...

Look What/Who Came to the Football Game Tonight!

We FINALLY made it to one of Doug's/Sara's football games tonight! Alaina's first game - she went to a Tech baseball game and called that football, so we got it all straight tonight!

Aunt Amy (and Uncle Ted) and Aunt Sally (and Uncle Richard) showed up too! AND the Ramblin' Wreck made a special appearance too! How fun is that?

Happy 16th Birthday Sara!

WOW - - Our oldest turns 16 today. I vividly remember this day 8 years ago - when she turned 8 years old - I looked at Doug and said, "She's half way to driving!" And now she is 16. Of course, I remember this day 16 years ago. It was still 2 weeks before her due date, but that didn't matter! She was born just after dinner time... a beautiful little baby girl with blonde curls! We didn't know we were going to have a girl, so when the doctor made the announcement, we were thrilled!

So, we celebrated with a few of her new friends and a few of her old friends this past Saturday night. We piled into our cars and drove up to Alpharetta to Buca di Beppa (Italian family style restaurant). Luckily the rain that we were getting let up. The girls enjoyed their time together, dressing up in their homecoming dresses. Lauren went along with us, while Alaina and Ally enjoyed their first "friend" sleepover with Shelby Grace!

Out of Paper Towels ... Again

Yep, once again, I find myself saying these very words. It seems like I'm saying them more frequently than "before". Wonder why? One reason may be that we are making an effort to eat at home more often - thus more counter messes. Another reason is that there are 4 kids in this house that use them for anything and everything - even the littles drag a stool over to the counter to grab a handful with their spaghetti-covered paws! Yuck. And I was even at WalMart today and had a coupon! Oh well, I'm sure I'll be there this weekend.

The other thing is potty paper. That too, seems to vanish quickly these days... Hmmm, the reason seems to be the same (4 girl kids) and a dog that will eat it off the roll if he can get to it. Great.

Thankfully, everyone is well. Ally missed 4 days of PreK, Sara and Lauren both missed 3 days. Sara is almost caught up, but it has been really hard for her to get everything done. HS is so demanding!!! Her classes are tough, but thankfully her teachers are helpful and understanding.

No pics, you say? I know! I have been so bad - don't think I have taken a single shot in ALL of Sept. Crazy. Gotta work on that.

My friend Ellen has her new little girl, Gracie! Frannie is a big sister now! They are just so cute together!

An Interview with Alaina (6)

Favorites (direct quotes from Alaina):

Color - "I like blue because it's pretty. It's pretty like Cinderella's dress. And I like red because it's pretty too."
TV Show - "I like Dora and Princess because it's good."
Game - "I like to play 'cow racing' with Daddy and Ally on the Wii. I like kitchen and Candyland."
Animal - "A dog that I can play with is my favorite. I like a dolphin too."
Character - "Cinderella and Belle and Sleeping Beauty because I like their dresses."
Thing to do at school - "Centers, lunch and snack time"
Thing to do at home - "Play with Dash"
Toy - "Kitchen"
Food - "Noodles, soup, pizza, fluff sandwich"
Dessert - "Vanilla ice cream"
Drink - "Tea and chocolate milk"
Clothes - "A dress and skirt"

"When I grow up ... a dog doctor and a teacher ."

An Interview with Ally (4)

Favorites (direct quotes from Ally):

Color - "My favorite color is the same as you (Mommy) and LaLa (Lauren)- pink."
TV Show - "I just love Dora and Diego."
Game - "Candyland on the board and computer. I like the special cards."
Animal - "I love a puma, just a puma."
Character - "I like Goofy and Minnie and Dora and Diego. Goofy has long ears and he is missing some teeth."
Thing to do at school - "I love to play with my friends at school, but the kitchen is closed. I don't know why it is closed."
Thing to do at home - "I love to play with you (mommy), because I love you." :)
Toy - "I love the Princess water doodle toy on my wall. It writes with pink water."
Food - "Bannana because a monkey would like that, but I don't have a monkey costume."
Dessert - "My dessert is an ice cream. I love bananna ice cream."
Drink - "I love to drink white, white milk with chocolate or pink (strawberry)."
Clothes - "T shirt with panties."


"When I grow up ... I want to be a dolphin and a teacher."

Late Summer Flu

Sara, Lauren and Ally have had a rough week. All have had fevers, sore throats, and coughs. We aren't positive it's the flu that everyone is talking about, but feel pretty sure they have a mild case. Ally is finally feeling better, after getting sick on Sunday night. So, I figure that S and L have at least one more day of "yuck" before they are in the clear. Alaina, Doug and I have escaped it so far (knock knock)!

My friend Ellen and daughter Frannie are hopefully on their way to CHINA right now! They are flying to Shanghai and will get their new daughter/sister on Monday!!! I am so excited for their family, but I sure don't envy that flight.

Doug is ALL EXCITED about watching Ga. Tech on his Christmas present tonight (that would be the new TV he bought for himself a few weekends ago!!!)!

Snaggle Tooth Smile

Alaina really bounced back from her surgery quite well. She stayed home from school on Tuesday, but went back on Wed and was fine the rest of the week. She is just about back to eating anything - she was sore for several days and just ate soft things, lots of soup and noodles; which according to Alaina, is a good thing!

Tuesday afternoon, the doorbell rang! Standing there was a man holding a teddy bear with 7 balloons tied to his neck. Ally and Alaina were both so excited. I signed for them and told Alaina they were for her from Aunt E and Uncle Paul (fondly known as Umpah Caugh). She was beyond excited. She asked me so many questions (as she tends to do). "Mommy, I didn't know there was a man that was a balloon man." "Why the balloon man not come to our house everyday?" "How did Aunt E get the balloons to the Balloon Man?" etc... This totally made her day!

So, she now is a snaggle toothed kindergartener! I am so excited that she will be snaggeled for her school picture!! How cute will that be in the yearbook?

Just for Kicks

Here is a picture that my friend Ellen sent me a while back. Ally (far right) is wearing her "Naturally JoJo" T'shirt (to this day, she will choose a T shirt over any clothing item - who can blame her?). I like it that her shirt already said Ally (well NaturALLY) even before we knew her! Her buddy Frannie (sporting an off the shoulder red tank top) is the second one in the picture. Aren't they precious? Again, I am nothing short of AMAZED that these little girls now live within 20 minutes (OK, 30 with traffic) of each other! How can someone look at this and NOT believe in miracles??? Go ahead, tell me how!!!

(the little boy in the middle lives in Sweden; I don't know about the other two children...)

Alaina's Surgery

Today was Alaina's dental surgery at Scottish Rite at Children's Healthcare of Atl. She couldn't eat after midnight last night, so by the time they gave her the first drink of "special sleepy medicine" at 1:30 this afternoon, she was pretty much over the whole thing! Who can blame her?

She totally collapsed in my lap within 10 minutes of her special meds; I laid her down on the bed and they came and wheeled her away. Prior to her med, we had a string of doctors and nurses come thru the room - anesthesiologist, OR nurse, "her" nurse, the dentist, etc... All of this combined to make her uneasy and nervous (coupled with being hungry and thirsty) and whiny.

She left the room at 2:00 and returned about 3:40. She came back to us in tears and was inconsolable for about 25 minutes - crying, thrashing, kicking. Glad she is tiny; I couldn't have held her and kept her from hurting herself if she was any bigger or stronger! She tried to pull out the IV and kept trying to put her hands in her mouth. Finally, she began to drink a few sips of gatorade and slushie once she calmed down. We got her a big Cinderella balloon that she didn't pay much attention to (until we got home).

They had to pull her two front top teeth - the doctor said there was no real reason to fill them since they would likely fall out by the time she turns 7; and the nerves were damaged already. She got silver caps (fillings, I guess) on ALL of her molars - every one of them. AND had 2 or 3 other cavities filled. She thinks she has braces! It was worse than I realized! Poor little girl - almost every tooth in her mouth was decayed. I just hope that this will take care of things and that, going forward, we can work really hard to prevent any further damage.

Thanks to so many of you who said a special little prayer for our girl today. God was with all of us! For that we are thankful. It still sometimes amazes me that she is ours - just one of our little miracles!!!

The pic (taken by my phone) was before she went into surgery. She has what I like to call her "worried look" - we saw that look in some of the baby pics we got from China! Afterwards, she was looking pretty beat up, swollen, bruised and bloody -- no pics for a few days! She will have a precious school picture this year! I just LOVE snaggle toothed kids' smiles!!! So cute!

Ally's Stats

As of her 4 year old check up, Ally weighs 26.4 pounds and is 36 inches tall. Pretty big girl, huh? She is still not on the US growth chart for weight, but is on there for height (1st %'ile - wow!); but she is steadily growing, so her doctor isn't concerned. She did fine for the hearing and vision tests too. That was her ticket into Pre-K!

All of the girls are doing well and settling into their new routines. Sara is into marching band and is still lifeguarding a few days a week. Lauren is playing and ref'ing soccer. I'm thinking about getting Aliana (and maybe Ally too) into some sort of dance class. Our pediatrician suggested that might help Aliana's feet to turn out more naturally w/o any medical intervention. We'll see. It's hard to toss another activity into the mix.

I was away all weekend at UGA for yearbook camp. We had a good turn out and all went well, but I came home pretty tired. Meanwhile, or should I say "once again", Doug surprised me with a little project at home. He cleaned the carpet in the family room, bought a new rug, rearranged the furniture so that we could all enjoy the brand new HUGE TV he also bought! Early Christmas for him, I say!

Day 1 -- Success!

We managed to get all 4 girls to the correct school and on time... 1 down, 179 to go... ugh!


Sara and Doug (she is going to his HS - that makes a few things easier) left at 6:20 AM.



I took Ally at 7:45 AM for her 8 AM drop off at Pre-K. Alaina rode with us. We were a bit early, so I dropped back by the house (I had forgotten my purse). In the mean time, Lauren had gotten ready and got in the car with us. Still early, we got gas then drove to the elem school and dropped Alaina. That was at 8:20.



Then came back home to get L's stuff and I dropped her at 8:55 at her new MS. Then I went to work! WHEW! What ever happened to the old "Leave it to Beaver" days of sending all of the kids out the door at 8AM to walk down the sidewalk to school together? I guess Ward and June didn't live in Gwinnett County!

Reactions:

Ally "I ate beans for lunch". We didn't get much more, but she said she did not fall asleep at rest time; they went outside but didn't play on the playground and came in to get water; she used the potty and there is a boy named Diego in her class!

Alaina "I had a sweaty head on the bus. I forgot my card to buy my chocolate milk and it took a long time."

Lauren - Had good friends in every class and lunch (this is a big deal after last year!) No classes with best friend, but is OK with that (they see each other all the time). She got band and PE and likes all of her teachers!

Sara - Good (new) fiends in each class, too. Learning that using time wisely is easier said than done. She had to go to work (lifeguarding) after school for 4 hours tonight. Let's just say that I will be sharpening/refreshing my geometry skills this year!

Here is a "bonus pic" of Alaina getting off the bus!

4 Years Ago

I vividly remember one specific event 4 years ago. Sara and Lauren had gone to bed, leaving Doug and me alone in the family room. Our conversation went something like this:

Doug said, "So, if I told you I was ready to do this (adoption), are you saying that you are 100%?" That is about all I remember, because at that moment I could hardly breathe, much less think. I was not 100% because I had not allowed myself to "go there" totally. Obviously, it didn't take long for me to be totally on board with the idea, since it had been in my heart for several years already....

Meanwhile, a little girl was born that same exact day in Xianyang, China. We had no idea when we made the decision to adopt, that our little Ally (aka Qin Rui Yun) was born! Throughout the entire waiting process, I always wondered if she had been born yet. To me, this is one of my very favorite parts of "Ally's story".

So, today is Ally's birthday. It is also the day she was born in our hearts! Happy Birthday Ally!

Alaina tells us more...

More about her life in China. Here are a few things:

She had a yellow dog - he was bigger than Dash. She apparently had another dog that got sick and died - she cried.

She thinks her China Grandpa (that is what she calls her foster father) is older than Daddy, but not as old as Mema. Same for her China Mommy (or Grandma). He had short hair and cut it with a buzz cutter that sounded like an airplane. Also, he cut her hair with it. They told her she could have long hair when she turned 6.

She said that her China Brother was 7. And that she had a China sister that was older, but she isn't sure if she is older than Sara. She was not married. (We don't know if these were also foster children or if either was her foster parents/grandparents bio kids.)

Her house was big, but not as big as our house now. She said it was 4 buildings with an open area like a garden in the middle. She said she could ride her bike inside, but I think she means inside the garden area. Sounds like she is describing the hu-tongs we saw in Beijing. She slept with her China Mommy. China Daddy slept in his own bed.

She liked a TV show with a very smart boy that had no hair.

They had to ride a bus or train (not sure) to get into Kunming. She told me she lived in XXXXX (I'll ask her again and try to spell it as best as I can). It was never cold there, but only warm or hot, maybe cool some days if it rained, but never cold. She never needed a big coat and never saw any snow.

She did not know Ally when she lived in China. (isn't that cute?) She continues to ask why we got Ally before we got her. She said she had to stay in China a long time before we came to get her. She smiles when I say that we went to China just to get her!

I asked her what her China Mommy and Grandpa (yeh-yeh) would think about her now and she said they would tell her to cut her hair and they would not call her Alaina. I'm so glad she is telling us so much. I HAVE to get her to draw a picture of her China family and their home! I think she is ready to do that now. I don't want to forget any of it!!!

FF Pool Party

We travelled up to Hartwell to spend the day with some of our First Friday friends. Sharon and Scott invited us up for a day of swimming at their beautiful home. Great to see all. Here is a pic of most of the kids that attended (a few had gone home when this pic was taken). Can you find the one little boy in the group? I look at this picture - at all these precious children from China - and am amazed how God placed each one in his/her family! What a blessing each one is!!!

Goings On

This is traditionally one of the hardest weeks of the year for our family. Doug and Sara are at band camp (from 7 AM to 9:30 PM), and work is picking up for me quickly. On top of that, Lauren is at camp with her friend Amelia. SO, the little ones and I are home with lots to do.

It seems I am always inspired to begin a project this week - maybe it's a good bit of time at home; maybe it's trying to hold onto the calmness of summer. Not sure. This year is no exception, as we are FINALLY re-doing (well, just doing) Lauren's room. You see, she moved down to the guest room in our basement just before we left for China last December. With the whirlwind of getting ready for a trip to China, a new daughter and Christmas, she was pretty much just dumped into the basement.

Now it's not all that bad. She has a BIG room (16' x 16') and her own bathroom and a blank slate of a room (we had never really decorated it). She had gone through several variations of what she wanted "her room" to be and it evolved into a zebra and hot pink/lime green theme. GREAT! Looks cool - just right for a tween, almost teen, girl. She and I had shopped for a few room things, we found a zebra comforter set on ebay and had a plan. The problem seemed to be finding the time to put the plan into action. She was planning to go to camp in June, but things changed with that broken arm she had! My plan was to surprise her with her new room when she got home from camp. I had promised her that we would do her room this summer - before school starts back. Of course, she didn't know my intentions of surprising her, so all summer she has "reminded" me of my promise. I have been buying time with her and she has been OK with it (or has given up on me!).

SO this was the week. She went to camp on Sunday and we started the new room. I began by moving the furniture out and sewing. Sunday night we had the walls painted. Monday (yest) I did a little more sewing and painting. Last night after band camp (mostly outside in the not-so-forgiving GA sun), Doug trimmed out the paint one more time (I'm the roller, he is the trimmer).

Today I put a coat of paint in the bathroom, finished the curtains, made 2 initial towels and plan to paint a bookshelf after A and A are in bed. Tomorrow the carpet man is supposed to come. Honestly, I'll be surprised if he comes. Each time I call, he needs a reminder of what we want. Who knows what he will show up with or if he will show up at all! This (the carpet) will be the biggest surprise for Lauren. We told her that the dark red carpet was only a few years old and didn't need to be replaced. Now (6 years after finishing our basement) I wonder "What WAS I thinking?" with that carpet color!!!! Oh well.

Assuming the carpet guy gets it installed tomorrow morning, we'll move her furniture back in and get things set up. A few months ago, she drew a diagram of how she wanted the room to be arranged, so I know what goes where. She will (hopefully) be surprised and pleased with the things I have bought that she hasn't seen. She has no idea there were plans to "do" her bathroom either...

Before (well, not really a true before pic, but close enough)

Dash checks out Lauren's new STUFF!

Today is the 4th day of Ally NOT taking a nap -- intentionally. She is at that inbetween stage of sort of needing one, but when she does nap, she cannot settle down at night. I'm trying to get A and A back on the 8 PM bedtime for school, so I need her to transition. Boy, does that do the trick - she has fallen asleep within 2 minutes of laying down. AND, the best part, she is not that grouchy in the late afternoon or early evening! I just have to watch her carefully if/when she slows down to make sure she doesn't collapse! I don't dare put her in the car after 3 PM or she will snooze quickly!

I took A and A to Walmart to get Alaina some of her school supplies. One of the items on her list is a water bottle. As we rounded the corner of the lunchbox aisle, we saw 4 designs that caught their eyes (yes, Ally "needed" one too). Alaina waivered between 2 bottles - a pink one with Sleeping Beauty and Belle, and a light blue one with Tinkerbell and Ariel. She chose the pink one. Ally immediately knew the water bottle for her -- Spiderman. That just cracked me up - their personalities are truly showing through.

Anyway, more on the room as we progress (no, she doesn't have internet at camp - I don't think Lauren reads the blog all that much anyway!)...