Big Boy/Dance Recital

Kyle is getting so big. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. This is his latest trick. He loves standing. It took a lot of practice but finally he got it and now loves it. We will hold him up and say "big boy" and he always gets a huge smile on his little face. He knows how proud of him we are!

Well, it is that time of year again and Makayla had another dance recital. I don't think I will ever get tired of watching her dance. She loves it so much and has improved quite a lot from last year. She was so excited to wear her pretty pink ballerina nightgown and to show us all she had learned. She was especially excited that her daddy was able to watch her as well!

The first (and probably last) snow of the year!!!

Makayla was so excited last night when it started snowing. Daddy told her that in the morning she could play in the snow. So this morning I was sleeping in my warm cozy bed and I hear in my ear, "Mommy, can I play in the snow now!!!?" We pulled out the snow clothes, put them all on Makayla, and she had a blast in the snow!Yesterday at church we were finally able to have Kyle blessed. Ben gave him a wonderful blessing. Afterward when Ben held him up Kyle gave a huge smile to everyone in the audience. What a happy little guy. We were so excited to have our good friends Craig, Carrie, Caleigh and Briston there with us. Thanks so much guys for coming and sharing in our joy!!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Utah this year... Family, Friends, and FOOD!!! By far the best part of the trip was having Kyle sealed to us. He was so good during the whole thing. I think he really knew that something very special was going on!

Makayla had so much fun with grandmas, grandpas and cousins. She is such a friendly little girl and wasn't shy at all. Everyone loved seeing Kyle again. He had changed so much since the last time they saw him.

What adorable little Harward side cousins!

Kyle and Makayla with Grandpa Harward. Kyle absolutely loved the camera. Every time he'd see the camera he'd break out in a huge smile. Makayla is doing one of her favorite things...holding baby Zoee.
Kyle with Grandma Harward.Kyle with his new cousin Zoee. I am not sure who is bigger though???Makayla loved her cousin Benny. They had so much fun together. At one point they were just a little too quiet so we had to check and see what they were up to. Ben found them watching a movie in Benny's bed. How cute!!!

Snuggling with Grandpa Shawcroft.

Makayla had fun teaching the Shawcroft cousins how to make apple turkeys with Grandma Shawcroft.Makayla has turned into quite the poser. Not sure where that came from!I just love this picture of my Ky Guy. What a cute little boy!Kyle got his first haircut. Thanks Meg!!!
Makayla had a lot of fun with her cousin Addy. She loved showing Addy how to do "big girl" things and Addy just followed Makayla everywhere. If Makayla would disappear Addy would come to everyone and say, "Layla?" Makayla loves her long hair and has informed me that she is never cutting it. She told me she wants Rupunzel hair. She is always asking if it is Runpunzel hair yet. This was a great picture to show her how long her hair really is.

Thanks everyone for a wonderful trip and see you soon!!!

Funny Girl

Makayla keeps me laughing everyday. This is the latest... She loves the show So You Think You Can Dance. I had recorded it so today at lunch Ben and I were watching it. Makayla was in eating lunch and I told her to hurry and drink her apple juice so she could come and watch with us. This was her response, "What is Cat Deeley wearing today?" She keeps us laughing!!!

Kyle's 6 Month/Sealing Pictures

The Dungeon

Lately Makayla has been obsessed with daddy's job of putting the bad guys in the dungeon (thanks to the Barbie movies.) Each night at dinner she asks Ben if he put anyone in the dungeon that day. The other day she asked the questions and Ben said he didn't that day because he needed to find him. Makayla decided to make a map for daddy on where to find the bad guys. This is the map. She told Ben to follow each line to find the bad guys. What an adorable little girl!!!

Hat Day

The other day at Makayla's preschool it was Hat Day. She was so excited to be able to wear her new hat to school. That morning when we were getting ready for school I turned and looked and found this...

My little elf!!!What a wonderful day!!!

ALL OURS!!!

What is that you say...I am officially adopted?!?! Yippee!!!!!!!

Today was the day we were able to finalize Kyle's adoption. What a wonderful day it was. Everything went so smoothly and now he is ours. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful little spirit in our family.The judge was such a nice man. It was so funny because he said something about "Kyle Benjamin Shawcroft". Makayla started laughing really loudly and told him, "He's not Kyle Benjamin you silly goose - he's Kyle, my brother." I guess we haven't really discussed his middle name with her. Afterward, I was able to explain to her why he is named Kyle Benjamin. It was pretty funny! What a precious, sweet, amazing little boy. Ben, Makayla and I are so happy to have this little guy in our family and we love him more and more every day. Thank you so much Brooke for making this all happen. We will remember and love you for the rest of our lives.

Halloween Fun

We all had a wonderful Halloween. Makayla was the prettiest princess in the land and Kyle was our sweet bundled up baby. I am sure that Kyle will enjoy things a lot more next year. Hope everyone also had a great holiday!!!

Shawcroft Family Update

I can't believe that October is almost over. The time is going by so fast it's crazy! We are having fun getting ready for Halloween. Makayla has had a few Halloween parties this week and been able to dress up which has been nice. It is probably going to be freezing on Saturday and she will have to wear a coat. I always hated that as a kid. I always had a cute little costume and then it needed to be covered up with a coat. At least she has been able to wear it for her parties. We all had a lot of fun carving pumpkins this year. They were ones that we grew in our garden which made it even more fun. Makayla refused to clean them out so daddy did that and she drew the faces on them. Then I cut out the faces. It worked out great! Kyle slept through most of it but woke up right in time for pictures. PERFECT!Makayla is still loving preschool. She is so cute. I love to hear the things that come out of her mouth. The other day she told me that she is always going to be a princess for Halloween. The funny thing is that I can totally see that happening for years to come. Every year we send a letter to Makayla's birthmother. This year she was so excited to draw her a picture. She drew one and then just kept drawing. This is my favorite one. It is Krista and Makayla holding hands...Kyle is doing great. He just had his first tooth pop up. We are so proud of him!!! When we first noticed it Ben and I just kept telling him how proud we were and what a good boy he was. Finally Makayla piped in and said, "I have teeth too!" I think that is the first time since we brought Kyle home that she got a little jealous. He is just the cutest sweetest little guy. He loves to talk and hear himself talk. He also loves to growl at us. I will growl in his neck and then he grabs my face and growl back at me. It is the cutest thing ever!!!Ben and I are doing great. Busy, busy, busy! We are still counting down the days until we finalize Kyle's adoption and can get him sealed to us. He is such a huge part of our family now. I can't even imagine life without our little Ky Guy. Ben and I are so blessed to have the best little kids in the whole world!!!

Makayla's 4 year old pictures have arrived...

What a beautiful, sweet, precious, smart, loving little girl!!!

Kyle Growing Up...

Kyle is getting so big. He is now eating cereal and jar foods (although not very well) and he is sitting up. I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing a tiny 6 pound baby home. How fast the time goes by...

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