The day the music died...

Dance Camp has come to an abrupt end. We've had some serious attitude issues over the last 3 weeks and I had a sit down discussion with Mackenzie that if her attitude didn't improve we would take her out of dance. A couple days passed and she actually ended up asking us to go back to her old school. I think it was rough for her being in a group of girls that were mostly older than her and she felt left out. (She also admitted that most of her sassy talk came from wanting to talk like the older girls so she would fit in.) Normally we would make her stick with something that she had committed to, but in this situation we made the decision that it was best for the family dynamic to take her out. Hopefully over the next few days she settles back in...fingers crossed!!

Avery just passed 10 months! Crazy how fast is has gone. She's started blowing kisses and is very vocal now. Not much of it is understandable, but you can tell she is trying to communicate. She is also showing more of her personality. She is very stubborn!!! Maybe even a little strong-willed, but still such a happy baby! :@)

Time and date for the Pighetti Dinner are nailed down. It's officially August 25th at the First Baptist Church of Winter Park. Dinner will start at 5:30 and the Silent Auction will open at 6pm. We will also be having a 50/50 raffle and there will be some entertainment for the kids. Details on the Called to Adopt website along with a list of silent auction items. Email me if you are interested in helping out the day of or donating an item for the silent auction.

Post again soon,
~Jeny

My kids are growing up entirely too fast. Last night my baby girl took 2 steps all by herself! Eeek! She isn't even 10 months yet, I am not ready for her to be mobile. Today at camp, Mackenzie lost her 6th tooth! She even had the courage to put this one under her pillow. (Prior teeth have been left on the hearth of the fireplace because she wasn't quite sure that she wanted this fairy person in her room :@)

Father's Day around here was rather uneventful other than the epic 3 hour family nap we took. Daddy's only request for the day was lunch after church at Golden Corral -- this may have had something to do with the 3 hour nap. Even Avery had that glassy-eyed-I-just-can't-fit-any-more-in-my-mouth look.

We don't have a whole lot planned for this summer outside of our annual trip over Labor Day weekend. My birthday falls at the end of August so we usually try and plan a trip to Atlanta for Labor Day. We just started planning it, but I'm already getting excited. Our trip usually consists of a (couple) Braves games, the aquarium, Centennial Park, etc. We missed last year because of the adoption (SO totally worth it!!) so I'm excited to introduce Avie to yet another family tradition. Another plus is that we will finally get to visit the memorial brick that our family ordered for Jack. We went the year before last but they hadn't put it down yet. Sure to be a bittersweet moment.

Before we can get to that though we have a Pighetti dinner to plan!! Things are starting to come together. There is an ever-growing list of auction items on the Called to Adopt website http://calledtoadopt.org/upcoming-events-2/. I will try to get some pictures up also on the items that are available.

Post again soon,
~Jeny

Summer Happenings

Summer is in full swing around here! We had our first summer visit to Sea World this past Saturday. We have had annual passes since Mackenzie was little and it is wonderful to be continuing the tradition with Avie. She didn't care much for the shows but loved clapping when everyone else did (although she did not seem to understand what we were cheering for). She loved the aquariums and even enjoyed her first carousel ride. We tried out the new Turtle Trek ride. It was a neat little ride with a good message, but it made me a little motion sick :@(

Mackenzie is in her second week of dance camp and is definitely enjoying it! Not sure yet if she will want to stick with it when the summer is over, but we will see. So far she has seemed most excited about the cheerleading and vocal lessons. If she opts for music/vocal lessons we're going to try out this new place that is opening in our area. It's called The Music Box and it was started by a close friend of one of our adoptive friends.

DJ is pretty set in having her try softball next, but if she's anything like mommy that will not go in her favor! However, if she wants to give it a go I guess I'll be cheering by a baseball diamond come fall.

On the adoptive front, plans are coming along nicely for the Second Annual Pighetti Dinner. I'm hoping to get a listing of the items donated so far posted this week so that you guys can see what is up for bidding. We are still waiting on the official approval from the venue so prayers that everything will go smoothly with that. If you are interested in donating an auction item or interested in volunteering let me know. Also take a moment to like our new facebook page CalledtoAdopt.

I'll leave you with the new logo for Called to Adopt designed by my awesome friend Bessie.
Post again soon,
~Jeny