Summer Days

Remember the darling the Baby Boy shower that Adam's family put together for us?
Here I am writing thank you notes for all the wonderful gifts we were blessed with. Willow didn't understand why she couldn't write thank you notes as well. I tried to explain that I only had enough cards for each person I needed to send a note too. Apparently coloring books are not as good as stationary.

These pictures were taken with Adam's little point and shoot camera. Here we are again at his grandparents' home, visiting with his Aunt Carmen and her five kids, plus his Uncle Marshall and Aunt Mindy and their three kids. Willow was in kid heaven!

We ate outside on the back porch and enjoyed the beautiful and unusually cool July weather. The fish, at the end of the table, was caught by Adam's grandfather while they were wintering in Texas. There were so many other delicious contributes, like cheesy potato casserole, green beans, and fresh fruit. Not to mention coffee and pie for dessert.

Probably the best part of the evening from Willow's perspective, were the cats. Adam's cousins brought their cats along to keep them safe from their neighbors. They were the friendlies cats I've ever encountered. Translation: They let Willow torment them without retaliation and didn't run away from her over ambition and fairly ignorant advances.

Willow got promoted, once again, to the 'little kid' table. So weird to have my baby eat with the kids and not on my lap! She ate a ton of fish, beans, potatoes, and berries---before she donated the rest to the cats.

Willow literally fell in love with her cousin-once-removed. She just thought he was the greatest to be around.

Examples of Willow tormenting the cats.

Willow kissing the cat.
Currently, Willow is actually sitting on my lap 'helping' me write this post. She is demanding the return of these cats into her life. She is naming people in the pictures and yelling about how everything is 'mine'.

How many times did we have to yell at Willow that night, "Don't hold the cat by the neck!" I'm so glad that the cats survived playing with Willow. They were so calm, and their family said that they are used to playing with kids like this.

Carter drinking a cup of decaf--he looks like a little old man stuck in a 2.5 year old's body.

Special desserts Great Grandma Johnson made for her grand kids and great grand daughter. I think it's an ice cream cone with a cookie base, baked with a cupcake inside. Covered in frosting and sprinkles and with a chocolate candy garnish (spoon), and a twizzler handle. It's supposed to look like a little frappuccino.

The kids LOVED the dessert!

The last one....who will eat it?

One thing that America does 100x better than China is sunsets. We've been enjoying plenty of pretty skies and sunsets/sunrises here!

Eating brunch at Baker's Square one Sunday morning.

Willow is getting into the swing of things of how American restaurants work. She understands looking at the menu, expects a coloring page with crayons, and likes to take exploration walks while waiting for food. Once her food arrives, she is very appreciative to the server ("WOW!!! Xie xie!) and wants to pray right away. She is no longer trying to join other customers' tables to eat their food.

Play-dough, Dinner, & Bags

Some nice weather rolled in when Adam arrived. We were given a bit of a break from summer's intense humidity for a few days--so much so that Willow even needed to wear a sweater and long pants.

Adam and Luke reconnecting over golf clubs in the front yard--not everyone has the ability to do this in their front yard!

Daddy is more fun because he can run fast! Willow had been gazing at him longingly from the porch, and then finally went to join him. It just wasn't safe for her to be around Adam and Luke though. So she was returned to the porch.

Just in time to learn how to work with play-dough for the first time! Apparently, the play-dough tools are from Adam, Hannah, and Luke's childhoods, so it wasn't long before they were playing too.

Talking/Babbling up a storm. I took some cute videos of her non-stop chatter about play-dough.

Eating dinner at Adams' grandparents house. Adam's Johnson grandparents live just down the road and they had us over almost every day for a little visit or for dinner.

Willow ate dinner at her own table with Maggie. It was pretty weird to have her eating independently and apart from the rest of us! It was super fun for her though--since she wasn't even 2 yet and was enjoying the extra freedom of a little table, a little chair, her own tiny silverware and no parents!

But you have to watch her like a hawk because she'll climb up at the big table and try to rearrange the table settings or eat the food.

On this particular night, we ate with Adam's family, his grandparents, and his Uncle Marshall's family. Adam's cousin, Drew was also there. We demolished a platter of fish, and I think around ten pounds of beef. There were also potatoes--so Adam was in heaven.

Playing Bags with Hannah and Josh on July 3.
Willow also wanted to pick berries off a small tree and put them into her pail. While we were at the farm, she learned how to pick green beans, corn, and blueberries too.