2nd Camping Trip of the Season

Today is our second camping trip of 2008! We are sure hoping and praying that it starts and ends with no one running into the back of our (2nd) new camper! Tim and Kathy picked it up from the RV dealer yesterday, and things went very smoothly. Funny thing is that we purchased the second camper just 6 weeks after the first, and this time we got a 2009 model! There are a few modifications in it that are definitely for the better. Samantha is in school, Kara is watching her Baby Einstein video, and Tim went to get a State inspection on the truck. Tim will be bringing the camper back from the storage location soon, and then we get to load it up! We are going to a Maryland State Park called Cunningham Falls. It's beautiful! The weather is also going to be great all weekend--low 70's to mid 80's! No rain, thank goodness! The camp ground has a beautiful falls area (hence the name), a large lake, and beach area. The campsites are very wooded, so it does get chilly in the evenings. That's not a problem because we love to sit around the campfire, and the camper has a heater. :-) We also have a full bath in this camper, so no more nighttime trips to the bathhouse. Yea! We are camping from Friday to Monday, Memorial Day. We are celebrating Samantha's 13th birthday tomorrow while we are camping, so we will have many pictures to post after we get back!

Kara is 10 months old today!!

We recorded several short videos of Kara today on her 10 month birthday. The warm weather finally returned today--yea!! Kara is actually wearing a cute outfit from her Aunt Anne and Grandma Lang. Just to let you know how petite Kara is...the outfit is size 6 months, and just fits her! In the videos, Kara is practicing her "army crawl" and is dancing to the music from her glowworm. Enjoy!

A Fun Weekend!!

We took some pictures of Kara surrounded by her toys and playing with Leo (he might call it torturing. :-)

Nana & Papa came up to watch the girls on Saturday while Tim and Kathy spent a fun day together. Samantha, Kara, Nana & Papa had a great time playing monopoly and basketball, and watching Kara crawl around! Tim and Kathy had a blast visiting two wineries, shopping and going to a movie!

Kathy had a wonderful Mother's Day! She received beautiful cards from her two sweet daughters and amazing husband. The big surprise was the gift she received...princess cut diamond earrings! On top of that, Tim fixed everyone a delicious brunch after church. We relaxed all afternoon and then had a yummy steak dinner (cooked by Tim also). Tim really did a great job of pampering Kathy all day!

A Day at the Park!

Tim and Kathy had the day off from work today, and it was beautiful outside! We took Kara to War Memorial Park to have fun at the playground. We all had a great time, as you can see from the pictures!

Camping at the KOA in Harpers Ferry, WV

Well, our first camping trip is over. We had fun, but it's good to be home too! The weather wasn't the best--it rained Friday and Saturday night, so we didn't have a campfire. :-( It was very wet and cold when we woke up this morning, so we ate breakfast and packed up and headed home. Tomorrow Tim is taking the camper back to the dealer we bought it from, so they can take a look at the damage and give an estimate to the insurance company. We took some cute pictures of Kara and Leo while we were camping. Kara played in her little tent so happily during the weekend!

1st camping trip of the season starts out with a bang--literally!

The title says it all--the bang was a woman driving a Toyota Corolla who hit the back end of our brand new camper while we were stopped at a red light! We just picked up the camper from the dealer yesterday, and we were on our way to the campground when the accident occurred. We had the camper for 1 day, and didn't even have a chance to use it before it got damaged! The pictures really don't show all of the damage. The rear bumper is completely pushed in on the middle, the undercarriage of the camper is bent, and the back outside wall of the camper is bowed. We'll have to see what the estimate is going to be regarding the damage, but we're wondering if they might just say it's 'totaled'. :-( On the positive side...we still made it to the campground, and the rear slide (bunkroom) worked, and the level went down the way they're supposed to--so we're camping this weekend! Unfortunately, we cannot use our bathroom because we're not sure if any damage occurred to our sewer tank, which is located at the very rear (underneath) of the camper. We have a full bathroom and cannot even use it. Oh well--we're going to try to enjoy the rest of our weekend.

More pictures of 'the sisters'!

We took a few more pictures of Samantha and Kara together the other afternoon. Aren't they cute together?!

Daddy & Kara's Day

On Saturday Kathy and Samantha went to a conference in Fredericksburg, VA called 'You and Your Girl' with other mothers and their daughters from church. It was a great conference and a fun day. In the meantime, Kara and Daddy got to spend the entire day bonding with one another! They had a good day too, and Tim took some cute pictures of Kara while she was eating. Even with food all over her mouth, she is beautiful!

Kara's 9 month well-baby appt.

Forgot to post the information about Kara's 9 month appointment with the doctor on Friday. Kara weighs 16 lbs and 2 oz, and is 26 inches long. The nurse said her height matches her weight--and yes, she is still a 'little' sweetie. She got one shot, so the crying didn't last as long. :-) Kara is doing very well, and her next appointment is at 12 months!

A little life vest just for Kara

Kara received her first life vest today. It will really come in handy when we rent the pontoon boat in Florida! Our sweet girl will be very safe.

Kara's new play tent

Since we'll be taking several camping trips, and making a trip to the beach in Florida, we decided that a play tent would be a great idea for Kara. It gives her a safe area to play and nap, out of the direct sun, but allows lots of air to flow through the front and large windows on the sides. Kara seems to like it!

Kara's 1st haircut!

Kara's hair is growing so fast that it was covering her eyes--and keeping hair clips in a 9 month-old's hair is impossible! Teri, the wonderful lady that does Kathy's and Samantha's hair, was happy to give Kara her first haircut. The first picture is the 'before', and shows you just how long her hair was; the middle picture shows the haircut 'in process', and the last picture is the 'after haircut'. Isn't she a cutie?!

Another adorable picture

Just had to share the picture of Kara playing on Nevaeh's slide (Cammi's daughter)! What a cutie!

It's Official!

The finalization of the adoption in Pryor, Oklahoma went off without a hitch yesterday morning! In fact, it wasn't even a 'hearing' in the traditional sense. We arrived at the courthouse and met with the attorney at 9 am. The attorney told us to have a seat in Judge McBride's courtroom while she went back into the judge's chambers, and would come back to get us in a few minutes. About 10 minutes later, the attorney came out and told us, "You're done!" The judge didn't even choose to meet us or Kara, but the paperwork was signed, and just needed to be certified by the Clerk of Courts. It honestly was a little anti-climatic, but the end result is all that matters. Kara is now officially a 'Lang'--although she's always felt like one to us!

It seemed a little ridiculous for us to fly all the way to Oklahoma, just to sit in an empty courtroom for 10-15 minutes, and pick up a piece of paper that could have been mailed to us. All in all, the weekend was absolutely worth it (even all of the headaches with the airlines) because we got to spend precious time with Kara's birth family. We commemorated the day by taking a picture with a sleepy Kara, who had just woken up from a nap.

FYI...we didn't get home from Oklahoma until 2 am this morning. Needless to say, the three of us are still recuperating. :-)

Spending time with Kara's birth-family

Kara is 9 months old today! We spent a nice afternoon with Cammi, Kara's birthmother, Cammi's parents (Micara & Daniel), and Codie, Cammi's sister. Of course, they were all excited about seeing Kara and how big she's grown! Kara had a good time playing with Nevaeh, Cammi's daughter. We took lots of pictures that will be great to show Kara as she gets older.

The first picture is Tim, Cammi, Kathy & Kara. The second picture is Kara and Nevaeh. The third picture is Cammi & Kara. The fourth picture is Codie & Kara. The fifth picture is Micara, Kara & Nevaeh, and the last picture is Daniel, Nevaeh & Kara.

Flight to Oklahoma

Everything started out just great! We left Baltimore on time and landed in Detroit on time. Unfortunately for us, and all the other people that got on the plane in Detroit to fly to Tulsa, the pilot was a 'no show'. We got the news after we waited for 30 minutes on the plane, when the flight attendant told us we had to get off and wait another 1 1/2 hours at the gate. We were told not to leave the area, because there was always a possibility that we could leave earlier. Then, we were told that they would not give us Kara's car seat and stroller back--b/c it was already on the plane! No problem with taking us off...but wouldn't consider the idea of accommodating families with children who wanted their strollers. There were only two families on the plane that checked strollers at plane-side. So, we finally took off 1/2 hour after we were supposed to have landed in Oklahoma. Kara was happy on both plane trips--until she got tired. Then she cried herself to sleep, which is uncomfortable when sitting in such close quarters next to complete strangers. Poor thing! We landed in Tulsa at 10:30, and it was midnight before we arrived at our hotel. Kara slept in the rental van, and was an angel when we finally got her into her PJ's and fed her the last bottle of the day. She even slept in until 7:45!

Another video of Kara!

Kara is making all kinds of "talking" sounds in this video while playing with her stuffed animals. It also shows how well she rolls over to get to wherever she wants to go. Today was very warm outside--around 76 degrees. When Kara got home from the babysitter, we changed her into shorts and a t-shirt--which just happen to be size 12 months! Our sweetie is getting chunky, and we love it!

Bathing Beauty!

Kara is all ready for the pool and beach! Just when we think she can't possibly get any cuter--she does! We have reservations for camping in late-April, the 2nd weekend of May, Memorial Day, and over 4th of July. All of the campgrounds have pools or beaches around a lake, so we had to make sure that she was prepared. We'll also be going to the beach in Florida in June. Our sweetie is going to be the best-dressed baby at the pool, or on the beach!

Sisters!

Sorry it's taken so long to post an update. Things have been a little crazy since Easter. Kara has been sick and had to be given breathing treatments with a nebulizer. The good news is that she's all better! No more coughing & wheezing. :-) Kathy has been sick too, and is still trying to get over a sinus infection. We are really looking forward to warmer weather and no more sickness!

We have an exciting trip coming up this Saturday. We are heading back to Oklahoma for the finalization hearing for our adoption of Kara! In so many ways, the past 8 1/2 months have gone by so quickly, and in others we feel like making Kara a 'legal' part of our family is long overdue. Even though the courts haven't seen it the same way we do, Kara has felt like a part of our family from day one. We will be getting together with Kara's birth-family while in Oklahoma, and I'm sure we'll have pictures to post and stories to share when we get back home.

Cute as a flower!