Happy Birthday Belle

Belle at 9 weeks
Belle,5 months old
Happy 1st birthday,Belle!

Belle is one year old today! We adopted her in November,but she was born on or around Sept 1st. We love her so much,even when she is being naughty. She is very social,and playful. She comes and greets the boys after breakfast snuggling up with them. She sleeps at the foot of the bed like a watch dog,Every night without fail! and whenever we go out she is always at the door waiting for us. Belle is the best cat we could ever hope for. Happy birthday to Belle!

The toddler years...

Rory at 6 months old.
what a big boy I am now!

Rory is going to turn 2 in just a couple weeks. I was watching him play this afternoon,and it hit me that he is going to be a toddler. He is no longer my little baby. He has grown so much since we first moved here. He was only 6 months when we left Florida. And already he is a ruff,tough little boy. He has jumped on board potty training, he talks more and more every day, and he loves playng with his big brother.(he also loves climbing!) I am so proud of both of my boys. Rory is absolutly fearless,since he has a big brother to look up to. We love you very much Rory!

rainy days

As everyone knows, it has been raining here for what seems like a year. It is great because we REALLY need this rain. At the same time my kids are going crazy!Dakota kept saying he was cold,and wraping up in my robe...I thought he just looked so cute. And Rory just wanted to eat all day.Even if it was just play food!
Dakota wrapped up in my robe.
Rory and Dakota playing chef.

Brookgreen Gardens

We got a chance to go to Brookgreen Gardens this time. It is about 45 min. South of Myrtle Beach. It was so great. There is a sculpture garden which has over 1200 sculptures around the gardens. It is alot of fun if you enjoy them. Dakota loved almost every single sculpture. There was also a zoo attached to the gardens,which has a huge otter exhibit,birds and foxes.The boys loved it! And Dakota made a friend named Gavin. They went through almost half of the gardens together. We had a fun vacation and love spending the time together as a family. Fuad and I get to see the fun little things that make each of our kids unique.
Dakota and Gavin
Dakota and the bear sculpture

Beach time

As you can see, we spent ALOT of time at the beach! It was beautiful just about every day. Dakota had fun trying to "win" a fight against the waves,and built sandcastles with daddy. Rory just sat in the ocean,and would get knocked down by almost every wave...he shook it off and went again! It was so fun to watch. Fuad did some boogie boarding and I just enjoyed a bit of everything.

Dakota turns 4!!!

Dakota is 4 years old now! We had a great party with lots of friends and family. Dakota had alot of fun playing with friends and watching fireworks. He is still going on about his Kung Fu Panda birthday cake. Another year older, alot more lessons learned. How time flies when we are having fun.

For Mema and Grandpa Jack

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids in the shirts you sent. They love the cars also. Rory's favorite,however is the meteor shower kaleidoscope. He goes everywhere with it, looking into it and saying "mama,look!" Well, we love you both very much and are glad to have such great family.