Having a snack

Maya loves her goldfish crackers. She looks so cute sitting at her little table.

Cool Chic

Maya looks cool wearing her sunglasses! She loves to take off and put them back on.

Maya knows there is "no place like home"

She loves her ruby red shoes--but they are a bit too big for her feet! She loves to wear them around the house and tries to walk in them. I keep looking for a pair in her size-but haven't found any yet.

Happy 84th Birthday Nema!

Happy Birthday Nema!
Maya can't wait to meet you this week.
We love you!

Three China beauties

We also got to visit my cousins Katie and Caroline while in Boston. Maya kept running and falling into Katie's lap. She even let Caroline hold her.

The next generation of cousins

We were able to get down to Hull while home in Boston so that Maya could meet her cousins. She and Finn are 11 months apart. Julia is 10 months older than Maya and Jack is the oldest of them all.
Maya loved playing with her cousins. It was great having all of our kids together. We also had our 24th annual summer birthday Lobster party. It was great!

Maya meets Uncle Jay and Auntie Jo-Jo

We celebrated our birthday in Boston and Maya got to meet her Uncle Jay. All five siblings were together for the first time in almost five years.

Happy Birthday to me and Jason

Today is our birthday-my brother is seven years younger-gosh to be 27 again!
We are leaving for Boston today. It will be great to have everyone meet Maya Lily. She is the best birthday present I could have ever wished for.
All five of us were together for the first time in almost five years. Here we are, Paul, Joanna, Eric, Jason, myself, and the kids-Maya, Chris and Dasia.

From bottle to big girl cup

Maya still is attached to her bottle. I've tried the sippy cup-but she refuses to drink from it. The other day Patrick was drinking water from this cup and she wanted it--there was no more water in it--so she pretended to drink. Maybe she was skip the sippy cup and go straight for the big girl cup!

Happy 2nd Birthday Kelsey

Maya attended Kelsey's birthday party today. It was Elmo themed--so Maya kept singing "na na na na" from the Elmo's World song.

Two months since Gotcha Day!

It has been two months since Maya was placed in our arms! She is thriving better than we could have ever imagined. I took her to get her ears pierced yesterday. She was a trooper.

Portraits of Maya

Maya had her first professional photos taken the other day. We chose to have her wear a Chinese outfit to celebrate where she is from and a USA outfit to celebrate where she lives now.
She did a great job "posing" for the camera.

Our Pal

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of my stepfather, Al Julian. We nicknamed him Pal during our adoption journey. He had been sick since December and had complications with his lungs. Pal was so excited to meet Maya. We brought her to see him on Monday and for the first time-she walked up to him and rubbed his arm while he laid in bed--it was so sweet.

Pal and my mother were married for only two years--even though there time together was short--it truly was special and the memories will last a lifetime.

Patrick and I loved and respected Al and will miss him dearly.

May God hold you in the palm of his hand!

Cassandra Annabella Fiore enters the world!

Hooray! We are so excited to announce the birth of our "fairy god-daughter" Cassandra Annabella Fiore. She was born at 7:08 p.m. in Boston. Proud daddy Paul said both Cassie and mom (Kate) are doing well. We excited to see them next week. Gianna is now a big sister. Congratulations Fiores-we love you!

Maya loves to read

Maya loves to read. Tonight she chose Cinderella. Usually we read to her when she sits on the couch with her bottle. However she decided to sit at her table and read herself!

Maya meets Uncle Chris

Maya got to meet her uncle Chris this past week. He came down with Nonnie and Papa for a visit. She had fun playing with him. He bought some baby legos for her to play with. She loves them!

Maya has graduated!

Maya finished Kindermusik this week and will move on or I should say "graduate" to the next level in August. She will be in the class for 1.5 to 2.5 year olds. Patrick got to come to Maya's last class. She was proud to show him how to bang on the drum.
We will miss Ms. Erin-Maya's teacher--she is moving to Oklahoma this summer. Ms. Katherine will be her new teacher in the fall.

Parade photos

Maya attended her first parade today. Our favorite waitress from Market Street Cafe was dressed for the 80's themed celebration!
Patrick and Maya looked so cute together watching the parade.
Nana Birdie was very patriotic wearing red, white and blue. We both agreed that Papa Iles would have been in his glory watching Maya today with her flag. He loved the 4th of July.

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday Jack

Maya celebrated her first 4th of July today! She was holding an American flag while sitting in her highchair--it was too cute.

Happy 4th Birthday Jack--we hope you have a great day and we will see you soon.


The Dunns