Thursday, January 1, 2009

Holiday Happiness







Happy New Year! The Benoits have had a terrific Christmas and winter so far. Laina enjoyed the holiday much more than last year when she was sick all Christmas Day. Some memorable moments this season: We read some Christmas cards to her and explained that "Peace on Earth" is when everyone likes each other and everyone is happy and that it might be a good thing to ask for from Santa. We were in the Post Office and someone came up and asked "What do you want from Santa this year,Laina?" and her response was "Peace on Earth and a couple of toys", and added "an alligator and a duckie". It was very cute. She made her first snowman, as last year we didn't get much snow where we live. After we came inside, we looked out the window at him and she said, "That's my first snowman in the Whole Wide World". On Christmas evening, we went to visit with our friends next door and their daughter had a new pet gerbil named Dolly. Laina asked to hold her and was very gentle with it, petting her with one finger and talking like a Mommy.."It's okay, Dolly, I'm holding you". Very sweet, she is not afraid of animals at all, sometimes teases our cats a little too much but is generally very gentle. One of her special gifts this year is a toy horse barn and paddock made by her Uncle Rob and Aunt Betsy.One of the photos is of when she flipped the roof open and put the horses up there.They also made her a Super Girl cape and accessories that she likes a lot. She played some new musical instruments while wearing her cape, it was a good show.There's also a photo of a really nice balloon puzzle that her Gampa made and a couple of other shots. Photo opportunities are many but I am often just too busy with her to pick up the camera.Today I am unable to crop or brighten or edit the photos for some reason so they are not as good as they might be. We'd welcome any good pictures from the family. We hope that all our friends and family are weathering the storms, and that 2009 will bring good fortune, health and happiness to us all.

1 comment:

Carmen and Dante Pagano said...

hey nancy, jimmy and beautiful laina

I have not looked at any blogs recently been pretty busy with the 3 kiddos: ) laina has hair ! so adorable! I miss u guys so much. Jianna has grown so much , about 7 inches since coming home , she talks nonstop , she has changed so much . She laughs , sings ,dances all day and always tells each and everyone of us how much she loves us . Can u believe that soon it will be 2 years! Sometimes it feels like just yesterday we brought her home , and other times , it just feels as if she has always been in our lives..... How lucky are we, to have such beautiful children, I am just amazed everyday by her as I am sure u and jimmy r of laina..... Well happy Chinese New Year! We all love and miss u guys ! Give laina a huge kiss from all of is and some extra hugs from her Guangxi sister Jianna can't wait for the next reunion.

Carmen and FAM