Walking with the big kids

Maya strolled down the walkway with Dasia and Christopher. They looked so cute walking together.

Four generations of Delapas

Here is Pop and Nema with Marie, their neice, along with Marie's daughters Tara and Frannie, and their children, Alexandra, Michael and Madeleine.
Chris, Patrick and Maya sat with them too.

Tara and Maya

Tara hosted a Welcome Home Maya party at her home for our NJ relatives. It was so much fun! Maya and Tara had fun playing in the sink together!!

Maya meets Kathleen

My cousin Kathleen met us in Princeton for lunch. It was great to see her. Maya got a chance to meet so many relatives on this trip.

The brothers Dunn

For the first time in over a year all three Dunn brothers were together. We had lunch at a nice little restaurant in Princeton. It was great having Maya's two uncles together with her Daddy.

Climbing the stairs

Maya spent over an hour at the children's library at Princeton. She had fun climbing in the tree house and up the stairs to the little hide-a-way.

Posing with the tiger

Maya, Chris and Patrick posed with the Princeton tiger. Maya kept trying to pet the tiger and give it a kiss!

Mama and Maya at Princeton

We walked around Princeton University while visiting New Jersey. This was taken in front of the art museum.

Sweet kisses

Maya gave Papa a good-bye kiss. Papa is in the hospital-hopefuly he will come home soon.
We love you Papa!

More photos to come

Since we aren't back from vacation yet--I still have more photos to upload. Check back in a few days to see the rest of our trip to NJ.

The twins with their babies

Here is Peter with Maya and Patrick with Colin. It was nice for the dads to spend time with each other and for the kids to meet their uncles.

Who needs the gym?

When you can carry 45 lbs of lovin instead! Maya wouldn't let me hold Colin without her.

Maya and Colin together

They were so cute together.

The next generation of Dunns

Maya and Colin are the newest Dunn family members. Their dads are twins-- it was great to have them together for a visit.

Maya's cousin Colin

Maya got to meet her cousin Colin. He couldn't say Aleisa, so he decided to call me Nina! So now I am Auntie Nina!

Swinging high

Maya loved swinging at the playground. We went there with Aunt Pat and Uncle Lou. Maya is the first Dunn girl in 64 years! Pat is Papa Jimmy's older sister--and the original Dunn girl.

Maya finally gets an Elmo doll

We had been looking for a plain ol Elmo doll for Maya. We finally found one at the mall in Toms River. She calls Elmo "na na".
She can spot Elmo just about anywhere including on her pampers.

WWWWWWEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL it's been 14 years

Sabu and Oochie together again after 14 years!
Jen and I went to Dean College together and have not seen each other since graduation. It was so great seeing her. She is pregnant with baby Max--who is due to arrive in October.

Let her eat cake-right before bedtime!

We had a birthday cake from Gallos--yummy! Kendra decided to let Maya have some chocolate cake since we missed her 1st birthday in March. Maya woke up at midnight and stayed up until 3 a.m.--it was worth it!

Cousin Kendra and Maya

Patrick's cousin Kendra and her fiance Duane drove down from NY to meet Maya. We headed to the playground at Patrick's old elementary school. There Maya and Kendra had a blast sliding down the slide together.

Pop and Maya

Pop is Maya's great-grandfather. He loved spending time with her this week. Here is his reading to Maya. Every morning he would wave hello and she would run over and give him a big hug and kiss.

Nema and Maya

Nema is Maya's great-grandmother. We spent the week at their house in New Jersey. Maya had so much fun. Nema cried today when we left to go home. Hopefully we will get a chance to come visit again.

Summer trip to New Jersey Photos

Maya and her cousin Madeleine cuddle up in their towels after taking a bath together.

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