A picture to cute not to post....

This is a picture of Jetta in Arland's cowboy hat. When my mom and Arland came, Arland had his hat sitting on the floor and Jetta was curious, so we put it on her and got this picture. I think she looks adorable.....

A visit to Grant's Farm

Yesterday we headed out to Grant's Fram. When we first got there it wasn't real hot, but as the day progressed it got very warm. However, we still had a great day.

When we first arrived we visited the Budweiser Clydesdale barn. They are such beautiful animals. We got to see many foals and they are so darn cute. Jetta got to pet one of the horses and seemed to really enjoy that. Her face lit up. After that we headed over the main park.

We boarded the tram and made our way through the Deer Park and she seemed to enjoy seeing all the different animals.

Once we got off the tram, she just seemed to really light up. We headed in and went to the carousel. She is still unsure if she likes it or not, but as our ride came to an end, she seemed to want to stay on.

Then we made our way to elephant show and she just loved that. She was clapping each time "Bud" did something. It was very cute.

After the show we headed over to the courtyard, where we all sat down and cooled off a bit with a complimentary Budweiser sample (of course not Jetta). Very nice on such a hot day.

Grandma and Grandpa shared a snow cone and also shared it with Jetta. She seemed to really like that. We all agreed that it was about time to call it a day, as we were all sweating and getting pretty wore out.

We had one more stop to make. We had to feed the goats. We got our baby bottles full of milk and headed over to the fence to feed them. I was a bit worried that Jetta would see the "ba, ba" and would want to stick it in her mouth since we're only about a month out since she stopped taking a bottle. However, she didn't even seem to care. We tried to have her feed the goats, but they were a bit agressive and sucked on the bottles a bit hard. Both Grandma and I helped her feed them and she seemed to enjoy it.

All in all it was a great day and nice family outting. We enjoyed the day and I think Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed seeing Jetta so excited about all the different stuff. I'll include a few pics from the day.

Great Grandpa Jack turns 80!

On Saturday we traveled to Peoria for Grandpa Jack's (Shannon's Grandpa)80th surprise birthday party. We left Saturday morning and drove up for the day. We all loaded up in the car and made the trek. My mom and Arland were troopers since they had driven in on Friday. However, we all agreed that an 80th birthday only happens once and that we shouldn't miss it.

We got there a little early and patiently waited for Grandpa Jack to arrive. They had created a story in order to get him to the party location. Shannon's dad had the pleasure of bringing him there without him figuring it out. When they pulled up, he looked very surprised and very happy to see everyone. Most all of the family was there and many of his long-time friends as well.

We were very happy to be able to celebrate with him and hope he had a great day. I'm gonna include a picture of him with his great grandchildren.

Grandma and Grandpa Peters visit....

This past weekend Grandma and Grandpa Peters came for a visit. They drove down on Friday and left this morning. We had a very nice visit.

It was Grandpa's first time meeting Jetta and they seemed to take to each other very well. It had been five months since Grandma last saw Jetta, so she got to see alot of new things. I think she was pleasantly surpised at how big Jetta has gotten and how much she has changed in just the short time since she came home.

Not sure when our next visit will be, but fortunately we are able to Skype each other and they can see her any time. I'm sure the next time we see them Jetta will have changed a ton again. Attached is a picture from our visit to Grant's Farm that has all of us together. Thanks for coming to visit and we already miss you.

The Guangdong Sisters - Then & Now!

With the permission of all the other families, I decided to post a "then & now" post. The picture of all the girls is from our last day in China before we headed home. It was the last time all the girls were together. However, we hope to get together in September and to reacquaint the girls. It will be nice to see all of them and how they have changed since we left China.

The picture of the girls on the couch from left to right are: Claire, Lydia, Jetta, Miriam (WeiWei), Eliana, Melania (Bing), Desneiges & Lyndsey.

Then the "Now" pictures are Jetta, Melania (Bing), Desneiges & Claire, Lydia, Eliana, Miriam (WeiWei) and Lyndsey & Lynnelle.

They all look so good and have changed so much. I've been in recent contact with most of the parents and it seems that most all of the babies are now walking or are very close, feeding themselves to some extent and saying several words. It is great to hear they are all doing so well and can't wait to see them all again. I love seeing all the smiles!

Thanks to everyone for agreeing to let me post pics of your girls and to have this comparison to see just how much they've changed.