Oh Happy Day!

 What an exciting day it has been for our family.  Today we received our "Final Decree of Adoption," which is the very last step in our adoption process.  We are officially done....no more lawyers, social workers, or court dates!!!

Judge Friday and Frances

WooHoo!

Frances put on quite a show with Judge Friday - who, by the way is so wonderful!

Today we took down the pink bow from the mailbox (I'm sure our neighbors have been wondering why it is still up).  A while back when I couldn't decide when to take it down, we decided today would be a great milestone.  

This is one happy family!

We continue to thank God each day, that he handpicked Will and I to be Frances' parents.  What an incredible blessing she has been in such a very short time, and the joy in our hearts grows every single moment.  Thank you all for sharing in this journey with us!

Bella was so excited too!

"For from him and through him and for him are all things.
   To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:36

Mudbugs

Our good friend Ryan celebrated his birthday over the weekend with an awesome craw fish boil.  The mudbugs were creeping and crawling in the cooler when we arrived, and Ryan cooked them up with some corn, potatoes, and sausage, and it was soooooo good!

Ryan cooking up the craw fish

Don't get between me and the craw fish!

The birthday boy!

His wife and my best friend, Leslie, is an incredibly talented bass player, so she and her brother and dad provided some great music for the party.  

The Box-Simms music trio

First try in the pool= major fail (it was kind of cold!)

Frances tried out the baby pool for the first time and was not quite a fan.  We tried the pool again the next day and it wasn't so bad.  

Next try in the pool at Meme and Grump's = not so bad!

Oh, and Will built Frances a swing frame over the weekend and she has been loving swinging outside!  Way to go Daddy!

Lyndy's Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Lyndy's 11th birthday over the weekend.  She had a fancy Tea Party(complete with Milo's tea) with a few of her friends on Saturday....Will was not invited, but Meme, Frances, and I got to go as long as Frances wore a pink dress (we settled with a pink bubble). 

On Sunday night we had our usual family dinner at Mom and Dad's house to finish celebrating the birthday.  Yes, that is a Magic Bullet that Lyndy got as a gift.  I introduced her to "iced coffee drinks" last summer and it has been quite the obsession ever since, so Lyndy requested the blender so she can make her own now.  We gave her some boxes of decaf instant coffee and some chocolate syrup to go along with it...I'm sure my sister loves this gift!

So excited about the Magic Bullet!

Lyndy's sweet friend Maria gave her this pink chair, and Lyndy toted it over for Sunday night dinner for Frances to sit in during supper.

And what birthday weekend could be complete without a little family karaoke to Taylor Swift????

Happy Birthday, Lyndy!  Life sure would be boring without you- We love you!

3 Months!

Frances turned 3 months old yesterday, and it was the best Mother's Day present ever!...I couldn't post this picture yesterday and steal Will's thunder with his video:)

Happy Mother's Day, Momma. I love you!

Look At Me Now!

Frances has quite a few new exciting skills, and her favorite is rolling over onto her tummy.  She also loves looking at her hands, shaking her rattles, and has really started vocalizing recently.  One thing we learned very quickly is that Frances does not give up- check her out in this video.  Pure determination!

Frances will be 3 months old this weekend and is doing so well.  She weighed in at 8 lb 12.5 oz yesterday!  Her cardiologist appointment went great last week.  Dr. Carlo had nothing to day but good things and is very pleased with how Frances is growing and developing so far.  They are still shooting for about the 6 month mark for her surgery.  We will go meet with one of the cardiac surgeons on May 16th so that he can take a look at Frances and talk to Will and I about the surgery.

Frances loves being on her tummy, and is able to lift her head up for a few seconds at a time.

Frances is sporting her new "hip pants" these days....Somewhat like a girdle or biking shorts, but they are sewn up in the crotch to keep her hips/legs more together.  Babies with Down syndrome and lower muscle tone often have difficulty with that so Frances now wears these pants for about 30 minutes 2 times per day.