Laura was able to sled on a small hill by the house by herself...she had a huge smile on her face the whole way down. 
Sydney and I were able to go down some bigger hills and Laura would stand at the top and say "I go too!" Finally Shawn took her down...
and on the way back up the hill, Laura said, "I happy, Daddy!" She can just melt your heart!
Laura had a fun Christmas morning. She got lots of cool presents, including the magna-doodle lap pillow you see in the background, a miner's light (just for fun!), a Leap Frog toy, lots of books, a few games, a Barbie and tons more. But the big present was still sitting behind the tree after all the other presents were opened and Laura looked at me and said, "I wanna op-en da big pwesent! I wand my doll-houshe!" (She has been asking for a dollhouse since September).
She was sooo excited when she finally opened it and she hasn't stopped playing with it since! On the drive back home, she said to me, "Mommy, whewe my doll-houshe is?" When I said it was in the trunk, she smiled and said, "I pway wit it when we det home?"
Laura had a really nice time playing with Mema and Aunt Kelly (or Telly as Laura called her). Mema tried to teach her how to play Memory, but Laura just wanted to move the cards all around!
Our attempt at a self-taken family photo. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
One of the things we ate was bacon -- and Laura loves bacon. She can eat a piece faster than most adults and then promptly says, "I want mowr bacon, peese!" We had to cut her off at about 3 pieces or she would have eaten it all!
Laura was very excited to open her first present...a big red wagon with a little baby wagon she can use for her dolls! After she opened it she said, "Fank you, Nana! Fank you Danddad!"
Laura sitting with some of her favorites. The guitar plays Dora music and every time it starts playing, Laura starts dancing and singing. The sledding disk will be a lot of fun at the next snow, but for now, Laura thinks it is a big bathtub. She wanted to go get a baby to give her a bath. And I'm opening her new Fridge Phonics in the background...a great way to learn letters!
A great picture of Granddad, Nana, and Laura. Laura was a little concerned with the cast on Nana's hand (she broke her wrist a few days ago after falling while shoveling snow). Laura didn't know what to do when she saw it...cry or run away! She eventually made peace with the cast and now she and Nana are good friends again:)
A beautiful picture of the gardens.
This area in the summer is the children's garden. I love how they light up the big veggies for the kids to see!
A family picture in the conservatory. It was so warm inside with all the tropical plants, but we were still so cold from being outside that everyone kept on all their winter coats, hats, and gloves!
We got our first snow of the year the first weekend in December (a rarity in Virginia!). Laura loved looking at it, but it wasn't quite enough to play in:(
Laura, Nana, and I had Christmas Tea at the Jefferson Hotel and had a wonderful time! Laura tried a little bit of everything but ultimately decided that a bowl of fruit was the best. You can see that she is talking in this picture...something she does non-stop! She always has stories to tell and tales to share. It keeps us all entertained!
A slightly overexposed but still cute picture of Nana and Laura with the beautiful hotel and decorations in the background.
A fun self-portrait!
Laura riding on the alligator's back. There are alligator statues all over the hotel and she had fun finding them. Whenever she saw one she would say, "Can I touch the aldator?"
"Can I wide da twain?" Laura would ask me that every time we passed this train at the mall. Finally Mommy and Daddy agreed, and she had a great time!
Daddy and Laura having a good time on the porch swing. I love that her little hand is in her pocket! She's becoming such a big girl!
We volunteered through our church to ring the Salvation Army bell for an hour last Saturday. We all had a great time. We sang and wished people "Mewwy Cwistmash!"
Laura, Nana, and Granddad with Laura's Tres Leches cake. It was delicious! One of the little girls who came to the dinner asked when she got there if there was going to be birthday cake for Laura. Needless to say...none of the kids understand adoption yet!
We got Laura a small Colombian trinket for 18 of these celebrations. This year she received these fun crayons that are in a tree limb/stick. All the kids loved them and they colored everything they could find for quite a while (fortunately I didn't find any marks on the wall, though!).
A nice family picture to commemorate 2 years together. We can't imagine our lives without Laura. God truly blessed us when He brought us all together.