New adoption hearing

We got a letter from the attorney generals office informing us that our new adoption hearing is scheduled for September 22nd. I must admit I'm still holding my breath and am leery of making plans. But.....it should happen in September.....the day before Mina's first birthday.

Remodel update

Our backyard was a mess after our remodel, as you can see by some of these pictures. We hired a landscaper to help us make our yard look beautiful. We love it! It turned out great and we spent a lot of time outside before the 100 degree weather came. We also have a garden now and have started composting. Geoff has done a great job keeping the yard looking nice. Thanks sweetie!

Before and after with the front yard. There used to be a semi-circle flower garden in the front and for a time I attempted to keep flowers there. But the soil wasn't very good and there were snails eating the plants, so I eventually gave up. I think now I'll plant flowers in pots. We have a beautiful, maintenance free front yard. Woo hoo!

These pictures are from our master bed and bath, except for the picture with the couches, which is in our computer room. We love our new room and bathroom and I've used the jacuzzi tub a lot already. It's our own little sanctuary.

the exersaucer!

We love the exersaucer! It's a great place for the two little ones to play while keeping them contained. Ethan is crawling now and Mina is scooting, and they're fast! I thought it would be fun to put them together, too, though that didn't last long, as you can imagine! They were so cute, though.

The saucer is now at it's highest level because of how tall Ethan is. Mina is on her tiptoes! She doesn't mind, though.

Mina's 6 month photos

Mina did so well for her 6 month pictures. She has developed "stranger anxiety" as the doctor calls it, so it takes her a while to warm up to people now. But there was an employee at the photo studio that Mina "took to" and we got some good smiles. I tried 2 different hair styles based on requests from Geoff and suggestions from Elisa as well as my own preferences. I think the two pony tails turned out the cutest. It's hard to see the little clips in the other pictures.

I found this cute dress at Goodwill. I think it's so cute! I've also found other great things there with the tags still on. I must admit I love shopping for baby clothes, so Goodwill is a good place to go because I can get a lot for a little.

Geoff especially likes these pictures of Mina sucking on her bottom lip because it is a look we see on her face a lot! She is now using consonants, and that sucking of the bottom lip turns into "ba, ba ba" and just recently, "ma, ma, ma." It's so cute!

bath time!

Mina is still small enough that we can bathe her in our bathroom sink, great for my back! She loves it, too, splashing in the water, playing with the faucet. She doesn't even cry when I pour water over her head to rinse out the shampoo!

Adoption hearing update

We got a call from our caseworker yesterday telling us the attorney generals office had called her requesting more information. Long story short, the adoption hearing has to be postponed, likely for 2 months. So our temple sealing and blessing are also being postponed, bummer because all of Geoff's family is in town this week.

The good news is that the adoption itself is not in jeopardy. It will just take longer to happen. I'll post our new hearing date when we get one.