Christmas continues

oops, I forgot to add a couple of pix. Here's the grocery cart one(Thanks Aunt Ronnie, she loves it!) and my favorite one of her sleeping under the tree...I'd add some with other people in them but, well, hmmmm...don't seem to have any of anyone else!

First Christmas

Hi everyone, here are some photos of Laina's first Christmas. We spent the whole weekend celebrating with both Jimmy and Nancy's families and that was loads of fun. We were very wiped out from all the festivities and as it turns out, Laina got sick on Christmas day and spent a good part of the day sleeping under the tree. I got all weepy when I was looking at her there and all I could think of was that she was the only present we could possibly need. It's been an incredible year for us, bringing home Laina is really a dream come true. 2007 will always be my favorite year, although I realize that there's lots more amazing times to come with our daughter! Here's a few photos, and I am including a couple of "runners-up" Christmas card shots too. By the way, if you are friend or family and did not receive a card, please don't take it personally. I ran out of steam, but not out of cards! Feel free to ask for one. Let's see...there's a picture with Daddy under the tree, a picture sleeping under the tree,a picture of just how much energy she had to open her stocking, and just for an action shot to liven things up, I will add a running photo with her new grocery cart. She is a very fast shopper! Happy New Year !

All I want for Christmas

These 2 photos speak for themselves...we went to see Santa for the first time this past Sunday. All Laina wanted to do was climb the little stairs to the Santa chair, as we waited in line we had to keep retreiving her. I also got a cute shot in her fish tubbie. We've found that this inflatable fish works out great as a tub for her, it is safer and smaller and FUN. She has always loved the water and has no problem getting her face wet(or drinking it!). The hard part is getting her out. Enjoy the photos, more to come...

Firsts and Funnies

Laina has been doing "firsts" everyday now, it is hard to keep track of them, especially new words. When she gets hold of a new word, she likes to practice it and she does this by SHOUTING IT! For a while, she was Baa-ing like a sheep really loud,and still does especially when you drive by a field. Then it was "apple", everything was an apple until we almost couldn't wait for the next word. But one day, she had pulled my hair that morning and I said OW! She thought that was pretty funny and did it again. So...we had a nice little talk about bodies and boo-boos, etc. End of lesson. Then we went to the grocery store...She started yelling OW,OW,OW until customers and employees were looking down the aisle at me with daggers. A store worker came up to me and asked "Is everything all right?" I was mortified but also trying not to laugh as I carefully explained that it was just the "word of the day". Laina was smiling so I think they believed me..and it helped that there was a big milk poster in the dairy aisle and she decided suddenly that yelling MOO would be fun too! Here's some new pix for you..one is of her when I gave her a whole banana to hold and eat instead of cutting it all up. Another is of her first touch of snow with Daddy. We only got a dusting but she really liked it and now she checks out the sliding glass doors all the time to see if there's any out there.We are supposed to get a little tonight so maybe tomorrow there'll be a little to play in. I will also include a photo of her with her Day Caregiver, Nancy, who she likes very much. We are lucky to find a really great place where she goes 3 days a week.Laina has really blossomed since she's been playing with the other kids, doing organized activities and learning from the older ones there. We both just wish that we could be flies on the wall so we don't miss anything.

Tunneling for Trouble

Hi Everyone. We have been recently assured that, yes, someone is "out there" still looking at our blog. All viewers have not been lost! Hi to my sister Kathy and her friends at work who check in with us regularly.(Don't tell the Boss!) Laina is becoming such a personality. She is having fun in tents and tunnels, jumping on pillows and much more active play. She also is showing her imagination by marching her animals and pretending to feed us, etc.(Yummy, ABC food, if you know what I mean...) Tonight at dinner she had a big half of a slice of carrot and was driving it around on her high chair tray like a little orange VW Bug, complete with engine sounds, it was very funny. We attended a potluck party with the AFTA group we have here, that stands for "All Families Touched by Adoption", it was a lot of fun and we feel so lucky to have this kind of group to get together with. Laina was one of 4 new kids adopted, and they got a cake with their names on it and lots of attention. I am posting a group photo of most of the kids at the party,Laina is the teeny red person in the middle, surrounded by 5 other little ones also from China and many other incredible kids from all over the world. There's a nice close-up of her beautifulness, and a couple of her recent tunneling adventures. One we made from the couch at home and one is at the Family Center where the party was held. Now, Get back to work Ladies!!

BOO

Laina's first Halloween was a busy one. We borrowed some costumes(Thank you Holly, aka the Halloween Queen), tried on some old family favorites, and had a great time. Here are some pictures. First she was a puppy but alas, the costume was too short and she said NO. Got a photo anyway...Next, she was a bumblebee for a birthday party, we put the hat with antennae on her and she said NO. We took a photo anyway...Next she tried on a hat herself, got a cute photo of that. Then finally we realized that we had received an awesome lamb costume at the baby shower and although it was too big, she said YES! And what a cute lambie she was. We went to the pumpkin patch and she picked her first pumpkin and she was also a pumpkin herself at Day Care where they made Halloween cupcakes, had a singalong in costume and she came home one tired out li'l punkin.

Beaded, Beautiful, Beachy and Brilliant

Laina has been keeping us so busy, Wow. She moves really fast these days, and she's curious about everything. Her 8th tooth just finally came in after a few sleepless nights. We've all recovered now, and things are back to our usual comfortable chaos. I have a few new pictures for you. She's just so beautiful I can hardly stand it. There's a new pink coat shot, one of her in her beads that she likes to wear all the time, a picture of her in her hippie vest on the grass, and a cute one of her on the beach just yesterday. We have finished our post-placement requirements this past Friday when we had our final Social Worker visit. Next, we are going to re-finalize the adoption in the local court so she has a U.S. Birth Cretificate. This is not required and she is "officially " ours already. She even has a U.S. Citizenship certificate and a letter from President Bush. We got her a SS number too. I think the re-finalization will give us a sense of closure and a sort of "ceremony" here. The birth certificate will, of course, make it easier to enroll her in school, etc. This past Sunday we visited with Laina's friend, Bella. She is a child from the same orphanage as Laina and we traveled together to get our babies. They had a good time playing and we all enjoyed the visit but we forgot to take a picture of them together, RATS. But here's the photos I promised..

Twirling

Wow! October already. On October 20th, Laina will have been home for 6 months. It's hard to believe. Feels like she has always been with us... As you can imagine, Laina is growing now by leaps and bounds. She is not only running around, but also can walk backward, and twirl in a circle. The big kids at Day Care are great for her to be around, everyday she learns more just from watching them. There are new words all the time, I'd say she has at least a dozen now and she's mimicking all the time. There are 6 teeth in and more on the way. She'll eat anything, and I mean anything, but she is learning to put things in the basket when we tell her it's trash. We have given away the first batch of clothes that she's grown out of. Here's a picture of her with her favorite articles of clothing..SHOES! Also one of her with her Grandpa(Bampee) and Grandma(Mamma), and a cute one of her in her Saturday jeans and sneakers. I have had trouble finding time to post, but will make a better effort. One thing is that our computer is in a guest room and we have had a lot of people visiting lately. More arrive tomorrow and I'll be taking some new pix with her Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tom and cousin Robert to post next time.

Bubbles

Laina received a "gazillion Bubbles" machine and we tried it out one day. She loved it of course, although she wanted to put her mouth up to the gizmo and eat them! Here's a shot of her playing in them. We've been very busy with guests and will be until after Columbus Day. Laina is in Day Care for 3 days a week and I am getting back to work. She loves the Day Care place but we wish she could tell us stories of her day. It feels very wierd not to know what she did every minute!Oops, she's awake..gotta go!

Daddy's Little Girl

We're ba-ack..sorry for the long break between posts! Laina is busy, busy. We have had a fun month of August, Laina has had a couple of birthday parties, we had a China Reunion with the families that we traveled with, we've had house guests and of course, the little one is running everywhere. Today I am posting a couple of cute pix of her with her Daddy. One is of them watching TV, he gives her an old remote and she thinks she is changing the channels, it's pretty funny. Another is of when she just suddenly fell asleep on him. There's a photo of her with her cousin Jacob at the window in their diapers and a great one of her on a Rocking Horse. As you can see, she controls the world with her pointer finger and is leading the charge! I have also included a picture of her in her new duckie slippers that she loves, from our friends Stephanie and Annabelle. She is doing so well. There's 2 new teeth coming through on the bottom, she is mimicking a lot of words and is really cruising around steadily now. I am starting to dread Day Care starting in a couple of weeks, it is so fun to be with her everyday. We'll only do 3 days though and I guess it will feel good to get back to work and be with grownups once in a while. I guess...

Laina's First Birthday

Wow, our first kids' party. It was a lot of fun, a bit chaotic but in a good way. About 20 kids came, although some left and others came as they needed naps, etc. The kiddie pool was a huge success. I am posting a picture of Laina in her party dress at the very beginning of the day and then the only one I have of her eating cake. Jimmy moved the cake a bit too close and she dug right in! We did give her a piece to eat with her hands, as tradition goes but I need someone else to supply a photo of her in all her chocolate glory. There's a picture of Laina and me with our friends, Silla and her baby, Isabelle, whose bday is this month also. There's one of kids watching the cake show. Another is of some kids in the pool, and there's one of our new kid in town, Cameron, who was recently brought home from Vietnam. She's a real beauty and already knows how to turn a camera into a phone! I didn't have time to pick up my camera much but we all had a great time and everyone gave Laina really nice presents too. We opened them that evening, after her long nap and want to thank everyone so very much for them and for making the effort to pack up the kids and come over. We all had a really fun time!

More Laina

Oops, I missed a picture that I said was there yesterday of her and I at the beach so here it is. Also added a funny one of her cousin Jacob, who is actually about 19 months old when he was feeding her a huge bite of breakfast. I handed him the spoon when he indicated that he wanted it, thinking that he wanted to try her food himself, instead he gave it to her! She ate it and thankfully didn't choke, and he gave her some more. What a big boy!

Baby Girl Walkin'

Today, Laina took her first steps! There were about 4. Lately, she had been doing a new crawl, sort of a hop-a-long with one leg tucked underneath and one stretched out. She has now decided that crawling is just not the way to travel. Her cousin Jacob was visiting with his grandparents for one night and she saw him walking. He's about 16 months old. We all saw her do it so it was good family excitement, and boy, was she proud of herself! We didn't have our cameras for the first time but I am posting a photo of her standing all by herself that we took only moments ago to verify her achievements. There is a photo of Jacob at the beach, one of Laina and I as she was trying a drink of my vitamin water. Another is of her and her friend Taylor(the boy she kissed on the 4th of July,xxoo) They had a playdate and I guess all the fun in the kiddie pool was pretty exciting because this is how they ended the lunch date at the table. I think there's 2 more..one of her with her first raspberries, YUMMY! And one just to confirm with all the other mommies that we shouldn't let Daddy pick out the clothes for her to wear when we are out. Stripes and plaids?!

A Girl's Best Friend

Before a girl gets diamonds, she also likes things that are soft and cuddly.This is a cute photo of Laina and our big, nice kitty named Nick. They have really bonded. He lets her poke and inspect all his body parts, even when she pulls his tail pretty hard. He cries when she cries and sometimes it's like I have 2 babies!The second is of Laina and her stuffed flamingo, aka Pinky. She was originally scared of him, and cried when we took him out of the gift bag, but as you can see, he has proven to be a great pillow. Also, we have some major progress in the crawling department. Laina has invented a sort of inchworm technique where she kicks her feet so her butt is in the air, then pulls with her hands to move forward. She still wants only to walk, and can do that pretty well holding someone's fingers. It is difficult now to get her to sit down and play, just always wants to be on the move.I don't have a crawling photo yet, but hopefully I can get one soon.

More China, At your request

On our first 3 days in China, we were in Beijing. This is before getting the babies. They kept us very busy every day; this is when we went to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City among other things. Here are some photos; one is of Jimmy in front of the massive portrait of Chairman Mao, another is of some guards that posed for me(a couple of them got all serious and puffed up their chests).One is of our agency guide and Pediatrician,"Dr. Steve" with our friend Peeps and a guard. That photo was taken at the Guard's request. There are a couple of the Forbidden City too. One, not a great photo but it shows the imperial chair at the "Hall of Supreme Harmony" and above it hangs a bronze ball that looks like a giant pearl. Supposedly, the ball will fall on any "Pretender" to the throne and crush them. There are many Halls and many thrones, used for different functions and ceremonies. We were zoomed through the whole place at a frantic pace, following our guide, just barely seeing him sometimes up ahead of us. There is a photo and in it you may see a pink flag way up ahead, that's what I am supposed to be following. Our guide, Tom was very nice and informative but FAST. The 28 families were divided into 2 buses. The other bus group actually did lose some people! They made their way back to a restaurant that we had been to the evening before somehow and made their way to the hotel from there. We managed to stay with our group, but felt as if we didn't absorb half of what we saw. It was all very impressive and the history just wraps around you. We just recently watched the movie "The Last Emperor" just to see all the places we had been. The movie was filmed on location within The Forbidden City and really gives you a sense of what it was like for the Imperial family to live there, and never go outside the walls.