Close up photos of our beautiful little girl.....

We just love the close up photos of Helaina. They show how adorable her little face is with her beautiful features. This photo was taken to show one of her boo boos (Helaina and her ball versus the deck!), but I love how you can see her dainty eyelashes.


And again, the boo boo.


Pucker up for a smooch!


Concentrating on her fruit snack after splashing in her pool on a hot day.


And this is our darling pitching a fit! She wanted the camera and I wouldn't give it to her. Can you say "terrible twos"? !

Father's Day - June 15, 2008

The long-awaited event finally happened this month - Jim's very first Father's Day! We celebrated in grand style (ha) by taking Daddy to McDonalds for breakfast. Helaina had her favorite - egg mcmuffin, hash browns and chocolate milk!

Sitting next to Daddy while having breakfast - nothing better!

At home we opened some gifts - a tee-shirt with Helaina's photo on it.

A shirt for Helaina that says "Daddy's cup cake" - how true.


Took this picture at Poppa's house during the afternoon cook-out and celebration.

Some ladybug sprinkler fun with big brother Josh.

Helaina looked pretty spiffy in her new outfit from Aunt Barb and cousin Beth. She was also sporting her favorite decorated crocs! Let's just say that the shorts didn't stay white for very long.

Boo boos and half moon cookies

Boo boos are a way of life for Helaina. She is the queen of scrapes and scratches, basically because she never stops running, climbing, jumping, swinging, etc etc etc. Just as soon as her knee begins to heal from a scrape, she takes a tumble in the driveway again and re-scrapes it. Here is a picture of her boo boo knee that was just beginning to look normal until her latest fall.


Thankfully, a half moon cookie will cure just about anything.

Helaina's first boating experience.

Helaina recently had her first adventure in Daddy's boat. She wore her new pink & green life jacket, and thank goodness she enjoys wearing it. We started out slowly and I will admit that I had a death grip on her - she was pinned between Momma's legs with one of my arms around her waist and the other through the safety strap on the life jacket! As Daddy sped up a bit and the boat did "bumpys" over the water, Helaina laughed out loud - she's a speed demon just like her Daddy! She also liked standing on the shore and throwing rocks in the water.

Driving the boat with Daddy - something they both have been waiting to do for a very long time!


This time was just a ride around the lake - next time Helaina will be trying her luck with her new Dora the Explorer fishing pole!!!


Learning to tie the right kind of knots is always important!

Some favorite photos of our happy little toddler.

This is one of my favorite photos of Helaina - at the park, wind in her hair, tongue sticking out, cutest little profile ever. Sheer toddler joy!

Making her way through the mesh tunnel.


She has mastered all the slides - even the big curvy ones.


Falling asleep in the carseat on the way home from the park has become routine!


Here's Helaina before we left for the park trying to tie my sneakers. She is a perfect example of "monkey see, monkey do" lately. She imitates just about anything that anyone does, which means we have to be very careful with what we do and say in front of her!


On Helaina's 2nd birthday this past February (while we were waiting for our LOA), we celebrated her birthday by going out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then having "ladybug" cake. We froze the piece with her name on it and saved it for her. Here she is enjoying the candles. She knew just what to do and started blowing at them the second we lit them!

Dora the Explorer sunglasses are sooooo cool,

especially when Heidi wears them.


Pink strawberry milk is the best, especially when it matches your shirt and pants.

Here's Helaina with one of her prized posessions. Her ladybug broom is her latest favorite. I swear she would have slept with it at night if we had let her. Notice she's brushing her hair. You must look good at all times, even when doing housework.

Helaina's first 2 years at the orphanage.

On our "gotcha" day, Helaina's caregiver gave us a CD and told us it had photos of Helaina on it. We assumed there would be just a few pictures, but we recently (finally) looked at the CD and there are 65 pictures of Helaina ranging in time from when she was found at the orphanage gate in March 2006 until just before we picked her up this past March. We are thrilled to have these photos and are so thankful that the orphanage took the time to make the CD for us. We now have a glimpse into Helaina's first 2 years of life at the orphanage - and it doesn't look too bad! Here are just a few of my favorites.

Looks like she was gripping that bottle for dear life! 10/06, just over 7 months old.


Her 1st birthday party. Talk about lots of frosting! 2/27/07


Love the clown-like outfit! 3/07, 13 months.


Looking through the leaves, too cute. I'll bet she tried to climb it next. 5/07, 15 months.


Not a happy face, even though she loves the water now. 6/07, 16 months.


Ahhhh, our beautiful little fairy princess. 7/07, 17 months.


Now this is more like it - a big pool. 8/07, 18 months.

Must have been dress-up day at the orphanage! What is that thing she's holding? A doggie-snake?! 12/07, 22 months.

Wait until she sees Central New York snow with snow banks taller than her! 1/08, 23 months.

Mother's Day - Being Helaina's Momma is the best!

Helaina selected the perfect card for her Momma and it even had a ladybug on it. Of course she "signed" it herself - it's a true keepsake!

A picture frame that says "I Love My Mommy" - what more could I ask for?

Helaina knows I like hippos, so the photo album with the purple hippo on the cover was my favorite gift.

On Mother's Day we had only been home from the hospital for 2 days with Helaina, so it was sort of a "take it easy" day for everyone. She was still in a lot of pain and completely off any schedule she was on prior to her surgery. Daddy and Momma were still exhausted from the trauma and stress of her surgery and our lack of sleep during her hospital stay, so it was nice to just hang around the house and try to recover a bit!

The doctor said "soft foods" for several weeks after surgery - thank goodness donuts are soft!!!