Fall is upon us

I love summer so much that I've always been sad when fall rolls around. This year is the first time I have ever been excited for fall. I am looking forward to getting pumpkins with the kids, taking them to the Apple Fest, playing in the leaves, and most of all- HALLOWEEN COSTUMES! It is my first time having kids to enjoy the season with, and I am loving it!

Now for what the kids are doing:

Zari: You have changed so much over the last month. You sit by yourself for as long as you want and when you want to go after a toy you cautiously lean over until you're on your tummy. Then you reach for things and turn around in circles to get what you want. I can tell you will be crawling soon! Once that happens there will be no stopping you! You are still what we like to call "energy efficient" but you are getting much more active. You get super excited about things and you bounce up and down and stick out your arms when you're excited. You are so happy and you laugh all the time. When we stand you up, sometimes you start dancing and moving your head around, which we call the Ray Charles. It cracks us up every time! Also you could set a record for how much you drool! You soak through about ten bibs a day and still not a tooth in sight. You are pretty consistent with sleeping through the night, but still on occasion you want to party around 2:30... please quit the partying for good!

Teanna: You have gotten quite attached to your Dada and "Mommy Cay-len", which is a very good sign. Especially if there is a dog around, the only place you want to be is in our arms! You have figured out that the word "please" gets you stuff so you try to use it to do things you shouldn't (Us: "Teanna, do not touch the garbage." You: "Garbage... please?"). You have become a bit of a bossy older sister lately. This morning you said to Zari "No! That not yours!" when he was chewing on his rattle. He tried to tell you that is was in fact his, but you wouldn't hear it! You have decided jumping is way more fun than walking and you jump everywhere. This adds a few minutes every time we go to leave the house but it is cute! You still love to be read to and now you always request your favorite books by name. You also love getting new clothes and you will put them on over your clothes if we don't let you try them on fast enough!

Now for some pics:


Busted! Zari LOVES Teanna's little people house!


Teanna loves gray hoodies just like Mommy!


Z man with his trademark drooly chin


First we hold hands...


Then we hug...


Then we claw each other's faces


Animal-watching at the Hebron Fair


Teanna in some cute new fall clothes


Zari's first pair of shoes!!


He even SLEEPS with his legs crossed

Zari meets baby AJ

Never before has Z looked so HUGE! Cousin AJ is a mere 5 days old here!

Growing up fast

Teanna and Zari are growing up very quick...

They hang out on the couch together...



They experiment with different hairstyles...





They even write emails....



They are almost getting too big to fit on Daddy John's lap!



They rock out to music on their own CD player



Zari says, "I'm a big boy!"

August pics

Just a few pics from the last few weeks:


Zari pimpin' on the princess couch


Teanna berry picking (aka berry eating)


Attempting to pick blueberries


Big Z


Bro and sis lounging at home

What the kids are doing

So the big news of the last few weeks is that the kids were assigned a permanency worker (read: adoption worker) to their case. We were told that it is likely that DCF will file for Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) in December. We have been asked if we would like to be the adoptive resource for the kids, and of course we said yes. We are trying to temper our excitement because we know things can always change, but it is definitely a good sign for us.

Now for what the kids are doing:

Teanna-
You are talking more and more. You say a lot of 2 and 3 word phrases now. "More snack please" is a common one. When you want a different snack, you say "sing else" for something else. You are so funny with Zari. Now that he grabs things more (like your eyeball) you are very wary of him! When he grabs your face you shout "NOT NICE!" and when he grabs your toys you say "let it go!" One time you even told him "easy, honey!" Some of our favorite words to hear you say are applesauce (just because it sounds cute), pancake (panty-cake), and flower (flaffer). You can sing the ABCs on your own and count to 10, although you sometimes leave out 5 and 6 in order to get to your favorite number SEVEN faster. You are working on your colors, shapes, and animal sounds now. So much to learn! After a couple weeks of boycotting the potty, the other night you went over to the bathroom and said "pee pee potty" and when we sat you down on it, low and behold you peed! It was pretty awesome. You were very proud of yourself and thoroughly enjoyed your M&M.

Zari-
This weekend you will be 8 months! You have almost doubled your weight in the last 4 months. We are anxiously awaiting the day when we can say you have been with us for most of your life. You are still the most smiley, sweet, and cuddly baby. You have finally gotten interested in toys, and your favorite thing is to chew on them. You have a rattle that you love but we need to be careful because you get so excited with it, you inevitably whack yourself in the face with it. You are rolling from front to back and back to front now, but you don't do it very often. Some people would call you lazy, I prefer to say you're "energy efficient". You are getting better at sitting on your own. You can stay sitting for a minute or so but sometimes you fall straight forward onto your head. Instead of crying you just decide to start playing on your tummy. You have finally started letting us sleep at night. After going to bed at 7 you get up once for a bottle around 10/11 and then you sleep until 6:30. We are trying to get you to eat more during the day so you can sleep straight through the night, but you are stubborn!

Princess Teanna turns 2!

Teanna turns 2 this Tuesday and we had her birthday party yesterday. The theme was Princess Tiana from Disney's The Princess and the Frog, which she has never seen but is obsessed with nonetheless. Once we started cleaning the house and blowing up the balloons, she totally knew something was up and she was PUMPED. When the guests arrived she got excited about all the presents but she was good about waiting until it was time to open them. Teanna LOVED all her presents! She was very skeptical of the cake (maybe because we've never given her any?) but after she tasted a tiny bite she discovered it was good and ate her whole piece. At that point it was after 8 and she was on the verge of meltdown city from fatigue so the birthday girl bid all her guests "night night" and after prying her new toys from her hands she went to bed.


Trying on her "birthday girl" shirt


Balloons!!!


In full birthday attire


Little brother with Auntie JJ


Princess Tiana cake


Finally time to open presents!


Oooh, what is it?


A Princess backpack!


"Happy Birthday to you..."


Blow out the candle


Yummy!

Fun in the Sun

We just got back from a week in Maine with our friends Crista and Bryan and their baby girl Laila. There were so many awesome "firsts" during the week: Teanna going in the ocean, Zari swimming in the pool, both kids going to restaurants and trying new foods. Teanna discovered the joys of seafood! She loved lobster and calamari. Zari also had some new foods as he is now eating baby oatmeal and baby food. They are both growing so quickly. Now that we are back from vacation Teanna is missing her "Uncle Bry" and the rest of the Cauley crew.


Teanna "reading" to Laila and Zari


The first picture we have of all four of us!


Teanna and I (with identical facial expressions) at Billy's Clam Shack


John, Crista, Zari, and Laila


Big Z beachin' it up


All of us on Ogunquit beach


Walking Marginal Way


John building sand castles with T


Zari snoozing in the beach tent


Beach Plum farm


Teanna and I on the deck before dinner


Zari and I at dinner


Playing tug of war on the beach


Best buddies hanging out by the pool


Mommy, Daddy, and Teanna taking a dip


Zari having a big boy bath