RE-LEGALIZAION

Today we re-legalized Leila's adoption in the Suffolk County Probate and Family Court. It was a nice ceremony and we were lucky enough to have the same judge that finalized Olivia's adoption. She was thrilled to see us back and excited to see pictures we had from Olivia's US adoption day.



This is one of the final steps of our adoption process. It gives Leila the right to an ammended United States birth certificate with Tommy and I listed as her parents. We did a legal name change to Leila Yi Ren Keaney making our adoption complete.


After the ceremony we returned home for a small celebration. After brunch we stripped Leila of her beautiful Chinese dress and let her enjoy eating cupcakes in her own way.

End of Summer

We had lots of fun at the beach this summer. We were at every beach from Ipswich to Falmouth. Leila loves the water and will walk in until she's taking it in her mouth and up her nose - and still continues to go deeper. She has been knocked down by waves and fallen in the pool head first but that has not put any fear into her. She is a daredevel at the playground and loves to attempt everything Olivia does. I can't believe we made it through summer with no broken bones. I thought for sure she'd have us in the ER at least once. She's very coordinated, very strong and quite confident. She has us in stitches with her antics and her great big devilish smile. The perfect addition to our family.

Nobska Beach in Falmouth, August 2007


Emmett (Livi's BFF), Olivia and Leila at the Lantern Festival, Forest Hills Cemetery July 2007








Leila at White Horse Beach, Plymouth - August 2007

Roof decking it!

Summer Outing

In August we had a gathering of our China family, the group we traveled with to bring Olivia home in 2003. We spent a glorious day at College Pond in Plymouth. It's always so wonderful to see the girls and how much they have grown.

Leila's Christening

Well, we finally did it. She walked into the church on her own and I thought it took us so long that she might have a date for her own Christening but...we finally baptised our wee little Leila. She can know enjoy a lifetime of guild and shame like the rest of us Catholics. It was a lovely ceremony by Fr English, a friend of the family. Although, it was 100 degrees that day and the church felt more like
HE-double hockey sticks, we all managed to hold it together. Leila's Godparents, Dan and Lisa, each our long time best friends, did a fabulous job of making promises and saying I do's. The baptism was followed by a wonderful party at a local restaurant.

Summer Holiday

Our big summer vacation was spent in NH complete with a trip to Story Land. The girls loved it. We spent Father's Day taking a trip on the Conway Scenic Railroad and having our car towed away after our ride - starter was gone. But we didn't let that ruin our trip. We jumped in a rental and off we went. But not before stepping out of our condo door to be met by a bear - yes, I said a bear! It was quite and exciting evening.

We headed to Story Land the next day and ended our trip with a drive down the Kancamangus Highway - my old home away from home when I was a kid. Had a great time showing the family all of the swimming holes and hideaways that I spent so many summers exploring.



Olivia documented our unfortunate car towing incident.










Lower Falls along the Kancamangus River - the water was icycles.