An Orlando Reunion

Hi all!

We just got back from a fantastic time in Orlando with friends Theresa, Ken, and Jaidyn! Theresa is one of the parents we met in our travel group to China. We adopted our little girls together, on the same day. "Cen Fu Ming" (now Jaidyn Fu Ming Dillon) and "Cen Fu Pei" (now Emily PeiPei Lewis) spent the first year of their life together in the same orphanage.

We relaxed at the pool and spent a day at Sea World. The girls clicked again and had a great time together. Here they are at Sea World. Emily spent the first hours at Sea World sleeping, then woke up for the second Shamu show, and just loved watching Shamu splash the crowd with his enormous fin. She still talks about it, and about Jaidyn.

Here are more photos from the park. We fed watermelon to a too-friendly squirrel at a cafe. Note Theresa's beautifully clad foot--courtesy of her mom Phyllis, who made the fuzzies on the sandal--to show you how close that little squirrel came up to us.

Thanks so much to Ken, Theresa's boyfriend, who never met us before yet warmly welcomed us in his condo. We stayed for several days in luxury, with our own beds and bathroom, and pretty much ate constantly. It was great fun, and wonderful to watch the girls bond again. Thanks, Ken, for your generosity, and the matching Tinkerbell beach towels for the girls as a keepsake of their time together.

The girls spent a lot of naked time together, and at the kiddie pool. They're also both potty trained (YEAY!!!!!), so they spent just as much time trying out Jaidyn's kiddie potty, which made lots more noises than Emily's. (Emily and the family dog burned out the batteries sticking things in the potty, including the dog's nose.) Take a look. No potty pictures, sorry, 'cause we were too busy cleaning out the potties to pick up a camera. It was a regular Potty Party, that's all I'll say.

Theresa, I can't tell you how much it meant to me to see you again. You know what a bond we share, having these precious girls. And to have become mothers together, within seconds of each other, and enjoy our first weeks as parents together, these are memories I'll treasure forever. You're a wonderful mother. You're so strong, independent, and determined, that I know your daughter will cherish you forever. Thank you for our time together.

Take care, everyone,

Love,

Caroline

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!! We had a great weekend, which started on Friday with a trio of stripped-down toddlers coloring Easter eggs at Miss Nicol's house (Delaney and Dylan's mom). It was great fun, complete with a dress up fairy (Arial, Delaney's cousin), who taught the girls how to dance ballet to a musical toy harp.

A Coloring We Will Go...

Here are some shots of all the fun. Check out Delaney nursing Baby Elmo. It was just adorable. The last shot is of Emily and Summer back-to-back, fighting over their seats on a toy stool. Neither one would budge...too funny. It looks like Estelle might have been laughing when she took it--she rarely gets a blurry shot!

Beachside Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday morning was a chilly day for the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt. Emily must have been prepped at preschool, because Daddy did a trail egg run before the hunt in the living room, and Emily ran around tossing eggs in her basket like a pro! It was great fun, although someone was pretty grumpy until she was allowed free reign in the bounce house. Then she wouldn't get out! Check out the size of the neighborhood Easter Bunny! He's over 6 feet tall, wears sandals, and can't hop...but he's a really good sport. Although, one little toddler screamed every time she saw him!

And here are some other shots of Emily's girlfriends. Delaney made the local newspaper--how exciting!! Delaney's baby brother Dylan is a year old (and can already climb up a slide, yikes!). Cousins Kristy and Tony and big sister Regan welcomed baby Connor a month ago. And sister-in-Law Tracey is due to have her baby on May 1st!

Easter ended with a nice dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Lee's, where Emily peed twice on the potty! We're wearing big girl Dora and purple underpants instead of a diaper, although we did have one accident and peed in Grandma's shoes (which we always wear when at Grandma's). Grandma was a real trooper about it. We had an Easter egg hunt in Grandma's living room, which was great fun (Uncle Dave and Aunt Jackie hid the eggs).

Sadly, Mommy took lousy photos and forgot them at Grandma's. We'll post them tomorrow night, sorry. I did get a good one of the incredible eggs Jackie hand painted for each of us. The photo doesn't do them justice--they're gorgeous! They say (from left to right) "Emily" (purple), "Kevin" (golf), and "Caroline" (pretty designs). Thanks, Aunt Jackie, you ROCK!!



Thanks to everyone who sent Easter cards--Emily especially loved the silly, online ones. Great fun! Oh, so you think we didn't a real good closeup of Emily? Ok then, take a look at this one!! Thanks, Miss Estelle, for your great photography work!

Take care,

Caroline