Hey! Hold still!

These girls just won't hold still and they're all so cute that I can't pick just one photo to post. So, there's all of them! From left to right, there's Gwen (22 months), Lizzie (13 months), Ryleigh (16 months), and Madelyn (18 months) We had a super fun lunch, yesterday, with Mary-Mia, Melanie & Madelyn, Stacey and Ryleigh, and Rhonda and Lizzie. It was the first time I've seen Lizzie and Ryleigh in person and I was really excited to finally see them with my own eyes instead of on my computer monitor! Lizzie is an adorable little chunk! She's sweet and mellow and you just want to kiss her all over! Rhonda said they got many comments from the locals in China about Lizzie's baby fat. I've really missed this aspect of parenthood since my son was a little pudge and I loved every kissable square inch of him! Gwen is a lean little monkey and wish she had a few extra ounces for me to love.

Ryleigh, in comparison, is a peanut! A lovely little peanut! She's dainty and delicate and pretty tall for her age. She has long legs like a super model! She was quiet (as most of the kids seemed to be during lunch) and she looked like a little princess in her pretty pink bow that her mommy made. I understand that she holds her own pretty well with her big brother, Austin!

Madelyn was the biggest surprise of all! Oh my gosh, how she's changed! Her mom and dad were in our travel group last year (one of the 38 families!). We've seen eachother two or three times in the last 8 months but Madelyn was just an infant during those visits. This time, she was a toddler! She was walking and talking and had her hair up in a little pony-tail like Pebbles on the Flintstones. I didn't recognize her at all and that made me forget who her mom was too! I'm first to admit that motherhood causes brain damage but I should have remembered who she was! But, embarrassingly, I didn't. Thank goodness Melanie has a good sense of humor!

This little get-together was fun but something was missing. Mary-Mia was the only one who was able to enjoy her meal and eat it with both hands. We hope that'll change really soon!