Summer Review

This summer has been wonderfully challenging.  The days have seemed long but the weeks/months have seemed short. We have all had big adjustments to make with the addition of sweet Lottie to the family.  Abigail and Luke have been troopers this summer and happily accommodated Lottie's needs.  Mommy has learned that there is NOTHING we can do quickly at this stage and it might take us an hour to get out of the house for a 15 minute errand. 

These sweet three have kept me on my toes, driven me crazy, made me happier than ever, tested my patience, kept me laughing, and redefined "exhaustion" for me.  For instance, below you see the best picture I could get of all three of them together early this summer, but...

 the vast majority of shots I got looked more like this.

 They have definitely bonded as a new trio and it has been so fun to watch.  Their cute smiles and funny personalities make every exhausting minute totally worth it!

We spent a lot of time playing at home this summer since we needed Lottie to become comfortable with  her new territory and not overwhelm her with too many outings.  In the adoption world, this is called "cacooning."  You basically stay home a lot, limit visitors in your home, and make sure Mommy and Daddy are doing all of the caregiving for your newest member.  Not easy for a Mommy with three kids 4 and under at home!  Some days we took "stir crazy" to a whole new level.  I am happy to say we have survived the cacooning stage and had a lot of fun (mostly) along the way.  Here are some pictures of our fun days at home:

The kids liked taking turns being the doctor and the patient.

Luke continued his obsession with all things truck related.

Found Lottie cozied up on the kitchen floor one day with her makeshift pillow and blanket. 

Spent a few days being entertained by the roofers in our yard.

Luke traded in his pacifiers for the only thing he loves more - Buzz Lightyear!

Our backyard pool substituted for trips to the club pool this year.

Dress up fun never gets old!

Super Luke made many appearances.

His partner, Super Lottie, was spotted a couple of times too.

Showing off their "HUGE" muscles.

Bob the Builder took on several projects around the house too.

Abigail attended Princess camp at Coach & Nana's church and got to attend a special tea party the last day.  She could not have been prouder of the look she picked for the party!

She also led our family in cheering on the Bulldogs in the CWS (and took her job quite seriously as you can see).

Lottie Bug has amazed us this summer with her adjustment and we are so proud of how well she is doing.  Since arriving home she has grown two pounds, learned to crawl and pull up to standing, picked up enough English to communicate her needs to us, and shown us more and more of her sweet personality each day.  She seems to have built healthy attachments with us and has bonded well with our whole family.  We can't imagine loving her more!

Lottie endured MANY doctors appointments over the past three months and did better than we expected with most of those visits.  Her specialists have helped us learn a lot about her condition and form a plan to address her more immediate medical/physical needs.  Please continue praying for her as she faces some hurdles this Fall and Winter as we start treatment for correcting her feet and as she faces a significant surgery at the beginning of the year.