Favorite book

Maya's new favorite book is "Happy Adoption Day!" She picks it up everyday and has us read it to her.

Special people to Maya

Ally and Dennis Spellman


Jim and Jill Straka


Kim Yoho and Sara Schumacher


Auntie Jo-Jo and Uncle Paul


The three grandmas
Nana Birdie, Granny Linn and Nona

Disney with Nona

Maya and Nona spent the afternoon at the Magic Kingdom before Nona went back to New Jersey. They rode on the Sleeping Beauty ride, Dumbo and the carousel.

Picking pumpkins

Maya had a ball picking out the pumpkins. It is amazing how much fun we have just watching her.

Fall Festival

Maya enjoyed this weekend's Fall Festival in Celebration. We finally got her the pumpkins she has been pointing at!

Pictures of Maya Lily

Thanks to our dear friend Jim Straka--we have amazing photos of Maya Lily on her first day home from China and her baptism.
If you would like to view the photos--you need to go to jstrakaphoto.com
the current password is Lilly--Jim will change it to Lily later today.
The photos are beautiful!
Thanks Uncle Jim-we love you!

Maya's baptism

Maya was baptized on Saturday at the Corpus Christi Church here in Celebration. Paul and Kate Fiore are her god-parents. Kate was unable to attend because she recently gave birth to their second daughter, Cassandra. My dear friend Allison Spellman filled in for Kate and did a great job!
Maya was so funny with Fr. Gregory. She started clapping when he picked her up and introduced her to the church.
We were so happy to have our family and close friends here with us to celebrate this special event.
Tomorrow we will be having our final post-placement meeting with our social worker. We have also received a court date to have Maya re-adopted here in Florida. This will be done on October 18th at the Osceola County Courthouse.

I will post pictures of the baptism later this week.

The best birthday gift ever

Maya certainly is the best birthday gift ever! She is daddy's girl and loves him very much!

Happy Birthday Daddy Dunn and Uncle Peter

Today is Patrick and Peter's birthday!

We spent the day at school with Patrick. The teachers and students all made/bought him cards and gifts. They had cake and cupcakes--it was so much fun and so thoughtful.

Happy Birthday P and P! We love you both!

Home for four months

Can you believe it? Maya has been home with us for four months today! Where does the time go? Maya will be baptised next weekend. I can't wait for her to wear the dress we bought for her in China--it is so beautiful.
We will also be doing her re-adoption on Oct. 18th. We will be able to get her birth certificates in English that day--very cool. We are still waiting on her US Passport--we applied for almost three weeks ago and paid extra to get it sent back sooner--however it still has not arrived.
Thanks to all of you who continue to follow our journey--we're happy to share our joy with you.

The Dunns

A future chef

Who knows? Maya was too little to bake cookies at EPCOT but they let her have a chef hat anyway. She is so darn cute.

Hanging out in her room

Maya has just discovered the window seat in her room. She can climb up and hang out with the stuffed animals and dolls that are on there.

Oooh la la

Maya was too cute wearing this pink Parisian hat at EPCOT the other day.

So long summer

Hard to believe that summer is over, that Maya Lily is 18 months old and that we have been home for almost four months!
Here is our sweetie trying to walk in my shoes--she loves putting on our shoes and trying to walk around the house.

Maya turns 18 months old today

My gosh--she is getting older by the minute. I beg her everyday to stay my little baby--she of course just laughs at me!
We had her 18 month check up today. She had to get three shots--not fun. Maya is now 22 lbs. and 27 inches tall. So she basically has only gained three pounds since being home--all it is pasta :) and she has grown three inches as well.
We tried to get her hair cut yesterday--she screamed so we ditched the idea for now.

It's a boy!

Our dear friends Jody and Ronnie Robinson shared the good news that their son, Robert Thomas, was born today. They live in Indiana. RT weighed 10.8 lbs. and is 21.5 inches long--oh baby! Ronnie said both Jody and RT are doing well. They also have a two year old daughter named Amelia.
We miss you guys and hope to see you soon. Ragazzi!!!

Four months since Gotcha Day!

Where does the time go? It was been such a crazy summer since we got home from China. Maya Lily continues to amaze us. Our love for her is deeper than we could have ever imagined. She lights up our day and has brought so much joy to our family.
I still can't believe it has only been four months since Maya was placed in our arms. I really feel like she has been with us forever.
We have finally gotten her social security card and applied for her US Passport. We also hired an attorney to assist us with our re-adoption. We should have a court date in October.
Maya Lily will be baptised on Saturday, Oct. 6th. Her god-father Paul will fly down from Boston for the ceremony.

Pizza Pizza

Maya Lily enjoyed her pizza at MGM Studios. She did not want the pieces I cut up for her. Instead she wanted to pick up a slice and eat it like Mommy and Daddy do.

Dancing to the music

Whenever Maya Lily hears music--she begins to dance. We were at MGM Studios and a band was playing. She immediately started bouncing up and down and clapping her hands. The girl has rhythm.

Moms and babies

Colin and Cara played in the yard with Maya and I while we were at Nonnie and Papa Dunn's house.

The Dunn babies

Maya Lily and Colin were together this past week as we mourned the loss of their Papa. The babies were so sweet and provided such comic relief to all of the adults--especially to Patrick's mother.
We will miss Papa Jimmy. It was a miracle that he got to meet Maya and spend quality time with her. We promise to honor his memory and let Maya know how much he loved her.

The cheese face!

Maya loves pasta! She is eating Marty's baked ziti at Nonnie Dunn's house. It was so yummy. Maya had it in her hair, on her face and her hands.

Happy Birthday Papa and Happy Anniversary Nonnie and Papa

Papa Dunn celebrated his 61st birthday on Thursday and on Friday he and Nonnie celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary!
We love you both and hope to see you soon.

Maya will be 17 months old this week

She is getting taller, wiser and cuter each day! We just love our little angel.

Love being a family of three

Three months ago today, Maya Lily was placed in our arms. As you all know by now, she grew in our hearts long before that special day. We often have to remind our selves that she has only been with us for a short time--it truly feels like forever. Each day she brings us so much joy. Without sounding mushy and sappy--there is nothing better than to see her smiling face, holding her close to snuggle and her little kisses that she gives to both of us. We are thankful everyday for this gift we have been given.

Swimming with Auntie Jo-Jo

Maya and Jo-Jo donned their diva shades as they swam in Nana Birdie's pool yesterday.

Maya meets Mickey Mouse

At dinner the other night Maya got to meet Mickey Mouse for the first time. She wasn't afraid of him--in fact she wanted to shake his hand again and again.

She truly is Daddy's little girl

Maya loves her Daddy so much. She yells Da-Da and laughs when she sees him when he gets home from work. They have so much fun together.

Maya gets so excited when she goes to Disney!

Maya was so funny in her stroller as we were getting ready to go into MGM Studios. She loves cracking herself up!

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.