White Christmas

Zach and I absolutely LOVE snow. I love how everything looks, it's just so peaceful. Zach loves the cold and driving in it. Ainsley seemed really intrigued by it, but Ellie not so much. Ellie liked the way it looked and the idea of it, but HATES to walk in it or touch it.


Zach did convince her to "help" build a snowman (I know, it's pitiful. It does have such a cute scarf though!).


We didn't get very many pictures of the snow, but it sure was a winter wonderland!

The Big Reveal...

Remember when I said that I was going to make a play kitchen that looked like this:


Well we finally completed it! It started back in August. I bought a night stand on clearance for $6+ at a thrift store and got to work. Removed ugly handles:
Sanded:

Then we painted, sewed, and drilled. THEN if you don't remember, at the end of the month we decided we were going to adopt! After that, the free time was only used for adoption paperwork. Well, December came along and we knew we had to finish it for Christmas. We finished painting (stove top credit to my sister Ashlei), put the sink and faucet in, and put on the back and hardware. FINALLY complete!

Christmas morning they got to finally play with it. Here is the big reveal:

The Kitchen Reveal from Laura Hanlon on Vimeo.

The girls love it. They constantly play with it. Ellie loves cooking all sorts of items, but she most of all loves giving us really hot things in a bowl that we aren't allowed to blow on (because they are too hot). Ainsley loves holding a cup in one hand and a utensil in the other and walking the whole house. What a great Christmas present it turned out to be (although we never planned it would take this long and end up as one)!

Christmas Morning

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We tried to do a really good job at emphasizing what Christmas is all about and tried to make it about Jesus and not about presents. Ellie handled it very well Christmas morning and she seemed to get it... until she started opening all her presents, and then opening more and more from family. Now she still asks me if she can open presents. It's just so hard...

Christmas Carol

We went out with our small group to go ice skating at North Hills Mall. Well upon arriving, we realized that the ice was some cutting board type substance, and not ice at all. We were bummed and decided to not spend our money breaking our ankles, but instead go hang out together somewhat shopping. We ended the night having dinner at Five Guys where a wonderful group of girls from Providence sang us a Christmas carol. It was such a special treat!

Beehive

This is how the rhyme goes:
"Here is my beehive, but where are the bees? Let's count and you will see. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... buzz, buzz, buzz (while you tickle)."

Ellie and Ainsley both love this. They have really started to play together, and it's so cute. Here is them with the beehive:

Ring a Round the Rosie with Ainsley

Naptime

Ainsley's Party

We had a great time celebrating Ainsley's birthday with family. Ainsley and Ellie both really enjoyed themselves. Ainsley was up walking around and climbing into her little chairs, she was too cute!

Here's the food setup:

Zach wanted us to make the cake for Ainsley's party. So the cupcakes and cake made by me, decorated by Zach and cousins, Juliann and Grace. I had so much fun staying up until 2am decorating with these girls! They did a fabulous job. Here's the cupcake for Ainsley:


Ainsley loved digging into it:


Birthday girl:
Sister pic:
Party hats. I made them wear them, I don't understand why nobody wants to wear hats. They are so much fun, Ainsley enjoyed wearing hers. I kept one on the whole time as well :)

Birthday girl with the host, Gigi:
Birthday girl with Nana:

After everybody left, Zach decided to have some fun with the helium balloons. Also in the video is a tour of the party scene:



We decided to have a trio of singing Happy Birthday to Ainsley:

Cute Girls in Pigtails

Ellie and Addison:







They didn't last long, but still got some cute pictures:

Ainsley's Dedication

"Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

and I will glorify your name forever."

Psalm 86:11-12

This is very late, but back on November 13 we, as parents, were commissioned to raise Ainsley up in the Lord. It's much like a baby dedication, but our church instead of just praying for the child, also prays for the parents to teach the gospel and love their children according to the gospel.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Ainsley with family. Our good friends, Uriah and Katie Dortch, made us a wonderful brunch and then prayed over us as parents. We forgot our camera (which has been the case for a bunch of events over this past month), but luckily they took some pictures for us!

Here they are praying over us:

Our wonderful family of four:


We did get a picture after at our house with Zach's family:

Ainsley's Bedhead

Sometimes she has some crazy hair.

Ellie Snoring

Remember when Ellie was really sick about a month ago? Well she snored like crazy and it was hilarious! We thought we would share:

Still Loves Her Chair

Christmas Crafts

I never got around to posting about the few crafts that I have done for Christmas. We really wanted to focus on the real meaning behind Christmas and so we decided to do both an Advent wreath and an Advent Calendar. I decided to make them myself! Here are the results:



Each night at dinner we pull out the Bible reading and a treat. We light the candle, read the scripture, then when we are done eating we eat our treat! Here is a peak at one of the first nights we did it (I hadn't finished making the wreath yet):

Mr. Potato Head

Ellie has fun creating new faces for Mr. Potato Head. She gets very serious while at work:




The finished product, such creativity:

Happy Birthday Ainsley!

Ainsley is 1 year old! I can't believe it, and I can't believe that she's walking either! Here is the proof:

She started taking some steps about 2 weeks ago. However, she has not been interested in walking until about 5 days ago when she just picked it up all by herself. Today she has barely crawled! I absolutely LOVE watching her walk (it's somewhat like a duck). She is just too cute, and she gets really excited for herself.

She also has gotten her first tooth! On November 28th, Zach and I finally felt something poke through those gums of hers! We still are waiting for some more teeth, but we are glad we don't have to worry about those teeth now! (The dentists say that if she gets one, she should get the rest, even if its really late).

We didn't go anywhere today except the doctor because of the rain/sleet/snow. Yes, I took her to the doctor on her birthday. And yes, she got shots on her birthday. She did great and we treated her to a sucker after which she LOVED. Here are her one year stats: weight 21 lbs, 9.5 oz (60%), height 28.25in (25%), head circumference 46.5cm (90%).

We are throwing a birthday party at Gigi's (Zach's grandmother) house on Saturday. Today, we celebrated her birthday at home. It started off with some singing:

Then we opened her present (bumble bee pet pillow), which she adored but hasn't touched since. We decided on this pet pal because everywhere she saw it, she got really excited and wanted to hug it. This is unlike her, so it was extra special and I thought it would be a great gift! Well, she was super excited after opening, but I think I have played with it more than she has.

I made her a key lime angel food cake (delicious, recipe by betty crocker). After lunch we sang a little more:

Then Ainsley enjoyed some cake:

We had so much fun just laying low, but we're excited for the big bash with all the family on Saturday! I have the cutest outfit for her that I can't wait to put her in! Pictures to come after the big day (I promise also to update this blog in the next few days).

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl! She is such a joy and such fun to love. She has captured our hearts with her sweet, cuddly little self. I hope to watch this little one grow up to be a wonderful woman (many, many years from now)!

Depraved Indifference

We can no longer be indifferent. We have been changed by Jesus Christ, and we are letting him use us as his hands. All who are Christians can't sit back, we must do something. Zach and I are NOT trying to be heroes but instead letting Christ be the hero, just following where He leads us. We're asking you if you will be indifferent? Will you help these precious ones who have been abandoned? Will you adopt? Will you give to help an orphan? Will you give to help an orphan come home?

Please watch this ENTIRE video:

Homestudy APPROVED!

Our homestudy was officially approved on November 30! We just received our certificate and copy in the mail, we cannot be more excited! It's great to have this huge step done.

From Zach's iPhone:

Now on to finishing the dossier...

Advent Conspiracy

It seems to be hard to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Zach and I have had many discussions about how we can truly remember what the Christmas season is about. We decided to do an advent wreath with an advent calendar, reading scripture everyday. This definitely helps. However, this video has also sparked some thinking in my head. Check it out...




(I promise I'll be updating the blog soon... I've been very slack, just not been myself lately.)

A Free Gift For You...Kinda

Here is another way you all can help with our adoption process. Thanks to a design created by our friend Jonathan Edwards that was printed with a lot of help from a couple in our small group (our great friends the Dortches) we have t-shirts!

The design below is based on the childrens song "Jesus Loves the Little Children". Get it? "Red and yellow, black and white, Jesus loves the little children of the world." Thanks to the Dortches the design is printed on awesome super-soft American Apparel tri-blend shirt. We mention the shirt style and manufacturer because if you have ever felt an American Apparel tri-blend shirt you know how soft they are, not to mention the heathered gray look is really cool.


So I said that we have a free gift for you. We are a family of our word and that is technically true. For a donation to our adoption fund of $25 or more you can get a free shirt! What madness is this? What a deal! You get to partner with us in living out the gospel through adoption and you get a really cool shirt to boot?

If you want a shirt and we see you on a regular basis we will have them in our car so leave a comment, e-mail us, twitter DM @zshanlon or @mywifetweets, or call us and we can reserve your shirt. We have adult S-XL. If you are a family or friend that we don't get to see very often or live far away you can make a contribution using the Pay Pal button on the top of the blog of $25 plus shipping then send us a note and we will mail you the shirt! We hope you like the shirts.

11 months!

One month until Ainsley is 1 year old! I'm definitely going to be sad to say goodbye to these sweet baby months, but I know she must grow and more fun will come. Previously I have forgotten to mention a few things about little Annie, her personality has definitely come out a lot more over the past few months. One thing about her is she is quite the explorer, she loves to get into things (which might be because her older sister now gets into EVERYTHING). One of her favorite things to do is to take a rubber bouncy ball and take it around the house, placing it and dropping it in all sorts of places. I'm not quite sure why she loves it so much, but it occupies her!

I know I have mentioned how sweet she is, but I've seen it a lot more in her interaction with Ellie this past month. She likes to take Ellie's new favorite item, Dolly Madison (a stuffed doll), but when Ellie asks for it back, Ainsley almost always gives it right back (although sometimes they do play tug-a-war, Ainsley doesn't respond well to taking from her). She is always willing to share, and loves to make us laugh.


more things about Ainsley:
-word she likes to say: doggie, dada, kitty cat, thank you (most recent)
-waves hello and bye bye
-points at objects
-drinks from sippy cups, but still doesn't drink from a straw
-stands alone
-walks while holding onto one hand (I think she'll take those first steps soon, we'll see)
-refuses baby food, loves to eat table food (starting to refuse some veggies now)
-feeds 3-4 times a day. I just decided to try to nurse her only 3 times a day, I'm hoping to be consistent about this so I can wean her at a year easily.
-sleeps from 7p-5:30a. About to change this soon though. Right now she is waking up in habit at 5:30a (used to be 6:30a before the time change), I'm going to try to break this habit and wait to feed until she wakes up for the day. She did it this morning!
-naps usually twice a day, 20-40 minutes in the morning and 1-2 hours in the afternoon.
-STILL NO TEETH
-very expressive, her whole face shows what she's feeling (mad, frustrated, happy, sad)
-loves her thumb
-loves to play in the dog water bowl
-LOVES to sing, dance, and clap. Whenever I sing a song, she claps and frequently even sings along
-still loves to bounce
-plays independently, will play for a long time by herself (I find this quite odd because Ellie didn't do this well at all, she always wanted me to play with her. Ainsley even has an older sister to play with, but seems to like playing alone and exploring by herself, although she does love to play with Ellie too)
-likes to read books (short ones), take apart puzzles, and play with the farm animals
-LOVES the chair, she absolutely loves to sit in the heart chair (I think because it's just her size)
-keeps her socks and shoes on, also keeps bows and clips in her hair (Ellie can't do either one of these, never has kept any of these on very long)

I love this little girl! She has been such a blessing to my life and I look forward to many more years watching her grow into a beautiful girl.

Sick Again...

Ellie has been sick again. We just can't stay well around here! This time she was really sick... She had a very high temperature (Friday night and all day Saturday it was up at 104-105 degrees, she threw up a few times, and was very lethargic (which has never happened to Ellie, even when she is sick). All she wanted to do was be in both mommy and daddy's arms (at the same time), she wanted to be wrapped up in a blanket, cuddled in our arms, and not moving. She has slowly gotten a little better. She now acts mostly fine during the day, but gets worse at night (fever comes back and has some trouble sleeping). I'm hoping neither Ainsley or I get sick, we'll wait and see.

So something about Ellie when she is sick and not lethargic, she is the best behaving little girl ever! She has manners consistently, is very obedient, kind and loving, and very sweet. Zach and I actually enjoy it when she's like this, although we wish she didn't have to be sick to act like this. I guess she doesn't have the energy to fight back, be mean, or get mad.

Ainsley and the Chair

Ainsley and the chair from Laura Hanlon on Vimeo.

Ainsley has grown a fond love to this little chair. It really cracks me up how much she loves to just sit in it. She seriously will sit in it for over 5 minutes, just sitting there sucking her thumb.

Ellie Singing

Ellie loves to sing and dance. We have a CD with the songs that we sing at church, Ellie LOVES them. She gets especially excited over Hosanna, and she ALWAYS asks to listen to that song in the car. Let's just say Zach and I are a little bit tired of that song. I love hearing her sing, although sometimes I wonder if I should even call it singing. She has started making up her own songs recently, and that is my favorite.

Here is a taste of her singing and how excited she gets:

Ellie singing my God is so big from Laura Hanlon on Vimeo.

Addison & Ellie

Addison and Ellie get to hang out quite frequently. Currently Addison is coming over 4 days a week while her previous care provider is on maternity leave. We love having Addison over, Ellie is definitely learning how to interact with friends for extended periods of time (which is not so easy). We have many time outs for hitting, pushing, not sharing, and being unkind. For those of you that do not know Ellie that well, she is non stop. She is strong, going all the time, and absolute LOVES to play with someone. She loves having Addison over, but is learning how she should treat her friends. She doesn't have that gentle, kind spirit like some kids, she's more like the outgoing, let's do crazy things child. I love her to death, but she brings many challenges!

Although they may have some bad moments, there are many good moments between the two girls. They love running with each other, doing puzzles together, reading together, and most of the time sharing! I love seeing them interact, especially on their good days. It's really hilarious to watch 2 year old girls interact with each other. They don't have the concern yet about others liking them, they just act without any care of what the other thinks. We get to have a long car ride on Wednesday mornings to church for my bible study. They always converse with each other, and I get to just listen. They love singing songs, and also arguing with each other. One will ask a question, the other will answer with yes or no, and then the other will respond with the opposite. They just go back and forth: no, yes, no, yes, no, yes... until I tell them to stop. I try to teach them about arguing, but they are not really getting it and they enjoy it too much. I know Ellie definitely gets it from both her mother and father. Addison, I'm not quite sure which one. Here's a cute video of them having a conversation, it is just a glimpse of their interaction:

Ellie & Addison Conversation from Laura Hanlon on Vimeo.

The other day I caught Ellie reading the Bible to Addison. It was so cute, and they were actually talking about the story of Jonah and the big fish. I ran to get my camera, and when I came back and was taking pictures, Ellie immediately decided she should pray. She does this quite often when Addison is around, she is always very thankful for Addison coming over and she must tell God thank you. Too cute! This is the only time I've seen her pray without our encouragement except for meal times. Ellie sure does love her friend!