Better late than never!

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. I wonder if anyone is still out there?

Last week was pretty bad for us, but it had a happy ending. My mom had a heart attack last Sunday night, (and drove herself to the hospital instead of calling me, but that's another story :-) After a heart cath on Monday, followed by a harrowing 12 hours of TIA attacks, a day in ICU and another couple of days in the hospital, she went home & is recovering fine. We're VERY lucky.

Other than that, life has been chugging along pretty normally (whatever that is!)

So I'm just going to post a few pictures starting with the most recent today and hope to stay more current with my blogging!

It was such a beautiful weekend here. March and April are the best months. Then it will be hot as blazes with 900% humidity, so we hauled out the kiddie pool for some fun for the girls and a few friends. They love to slide right into the water! Anna was constantly yelling "watch this!" as she slid down & splashed into the pool.

Anna loves to help Roger water the plants :-)

Natalie on her razor scooter....usually there is a scooter brigade in the neighborhood.

A little late, but finally managed to post a Chinese New Year photo.

Anna is consistently left-handed (just like her daddy) and loves draw and "write"

Yesterday I bought Anna a LeapFrog Fridge Phonics learning toy (thanks for the idea Debbie L.!) She cannot get enough of it and it is amazing how quickly she is learning to sing the abc song more clearly! Sometimes she takes it off the side of the fridge & puts it on the floor or even on the table. I LOVE to see my girls actually WANT to learn.....it is really a wonderful sight!

And finally, a few more pics from the weekend water adventure.....(and for those of you thinking Anna was sunburned.....NOT! She was just pink-cheeked from the heat.) They are so lucky to just turn the most gorgeous shade of toasty brown....Their pale, freckly mother is so envious of their beautiful complexions.

Oh well.

Mardi Gras Slideshow...

Guiping Sisters Slideshow

Guiping Sisters - Anna and LiLi

(A little revision was in order since I accidently messed up the slide show....now it is corrected & placed above!)

This weekend we were treated to a visit by my dear cyber friend Debbie L. and her family. It was so nice to be able to finally meet them in person, since we have shared a kinship for the past year. Our daughters Anna and LiLi also share a very special connection in that they were both born in Guiping and transferred to Mother's Love in Nanning. We feel certain that they had contact in Nanning, since Mother's Love is quite small and the children would regularly get together for parties and other visits to the orphanage.

Their son, Ian and our Natalie got along so well....I think of them as "peas & carrots" :-) They both share a special connection in that they "have annoying little sisters" (as they would tell you).

We took the kids to the park to burn off energy, and later in the afternoon we went to the Exploreum where the children actually allowed us grown ups to view the "Pompeii" exhibit that was in town. It was very interesting and the kids behaved exceptionally well! I'm very proud of all of them. Then they were treated to a visit to the "hands on hall", as well as the "wharf of wonder" for the littlest ones. Finally, after hours of fun play, we strolled over to a microbrewery and tasted a couple of the local brews (and no, the 4 kids did not partake in the alchohol delights....after dinner, they were treated to scoops of ice cream at Old Dutch!)

I'm so thankful to have made new friends and especially thankful that Anna has a Guiping sister, just like her big sister Natalie has her Jiujiang sister!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!!...

... That's "Let the good times roll!!" for those of you who are not familiar with the familiar Mardi Gras refrain! Mobile kicked off the beginning of Mardi Gras season with the first downtown parade tonight.

Here's some great info about it....."Mobile is not only recognized as celebrating the first-known American Mardi Gras celebration in 1703 (yes, even before New Orleans), but also as home to the "America's Family Mardi Gras" delighting both young and old from around town and across the nation. This magnificent celebration lasts for nearly two weeks and culminates on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent.

For weeks, the streets of downtown Mobile are filled with the sights and sounds of live marching bands, brilliant-colored floats and of course teeming crowds of parade goers. The floats are glowing spectacles manned by masked riders festooned in satin and sequins, and armed with crowd-pleasing "throws" such as beads, moon pies, doubloons and candy. Mardi Gras must be experienced to be fully understood and Mobile is the perfect place."




Of course we had to go tonight and get Anna initiated with all our rituals, etc. She didn't have any problem getting in the groove and knew just what to do! It did not take her long at all that if she wanted to catch those sparkling bead and stuff, she better get those hands up in the air! She was so smart and watched for the floats to come....as soon as they were within 50 feet, up those arms would go!




She was handsomely rewarded with this jumbo-sized teddy bear! Go Anna!!

Anna also enjoyed her first encounter with a funnel cake. Yum....nice healthy carnival food! It made her lips nice & shiny with grease! At least she didn't need any ChapStik after eating that thing!


I tried to get a pic of one of the floats before it was too close (didn't want to get my camera beaned with a bag of throws!)...but this one was too far away to get a decent picture.....I'll do better next time :-)

The weather was pretty chilly, but we bundled up enough & it wasn't raining, so perfect Mardi Gras weather for us!



Here are the girls, display some of their booty (well.......maybe I should re-phrase that and call it LOOT......I'm sure they'll be displaying enough of their booty during their teenage years :-)

Oh and I ate my one special throw......I was lucky enough to catch a banana moon-pie! Yum! Now....I'm on a quest for the elusive orange flavored moon-pie......the holy-grail of Mardi Gras throws......Wish me luck!

January at the beach!

Well.....here it is....January (the end of January no less!) Christmas has come and gone with nary a picture or comment from me. And now that I have been in the mood to post, Blogger has not been cooperating. So, without further adieu...here are just a couple of pictures. I'll be sure to get lots more pics coming up.....it is Mardi Gras season here, so we have many many parades we plan to attend! It will be Anna's first experience, so that should be fun. She's already been wearing lots of beads (or neckies as she calls them :-) and our flag is flying!
We took a quick day trip to the beach a few weeks ago....it was such a beautiful day and the girls had so much fun just digging in the sand...... Just a pic of a happy hat wearing girl!

Lucky

December has been a very busy month for us, but I'm finally able to post a few pictures.

Anna doesn't seem to have a clue about all this comotion, tree inside the house and all the lovely presents under the tree. Luckily she hasn't been nosy about them & just leaves them alone. And as far as the tree and ornaments, she loves to play with the ornaments on the bottom section that she placed on the tree herself. Her favorite is a tiny furry kitten, curled in a ball (it "sleeps" on the branches.

Natalie DOES have a clue about all the comotion and is, of course, extremely excited about all the gifts and impending visit from Santa. She's out of school now, so we all have some time together. They just sat down to watch Mary Poppins, so I'll join them when I'm finished blogging.

We are so incredibly blessed to have both of our girls home now safe and sound. And we're even more thankful to have them, now that CCAA has instituted more stringent rules for their international adoptions. The wait for those new families will get longer and longer. We are SO lucky. And that's what I need to remind myself on those days when they're both driving me crazy! :-)

I really hope Santa brings Natalie the "real alive" Pegasus pony (and all the accoutrements, including a stable for the backyard)... :-) We would be the talk of the neighborhood! She said if Santa doesn't bring it, she'll ask the Easter bunny.


What can you say about this.....it truly speaks for itself.
This is probably my all time favorite photo of our girls.

You can see the protective love of Natalie, as well as the trust Anna has placed in her big sister's care.
Little trouble-makers!

No miscevious smiles here!!! Yeah, right!
Exuberant.

That's my most oft used adjective for Anna. (Well, that is when I'm not calling her an imp :-)

This picture really shows that side of her. It is so hard to capture her playful side on film.

This was a typical weekend breakfast time...Natalie is a voracious reader and Anna, well, she likes to "read" too. I managed to sneak the camera in to catch this moment!.

This day she was very interested in reading the bird book I keep in the kitchen (to help identify different birds at the feeder). I saw a red-bellied woodpecker that morning!


I really don't know why it is called a red-bellied woodpecker, since it is actually red-headed, but that's what it is! It was quite large & scared off all the other birds when it decided to raid the feeder.

Earlier tonite the girls decided to try their hands at a game of "war" with Daddy.

I just love our family.

Lucky....that's us.

One BaoBao: Priceless

Anna has always been very affectionate and freely gives us lots of kisses. And she warmly welcomes lots of hugs and oodles of kisses from us.....but....maybe I was the only one who noticed that we didn't get a big, ouchy-squeezy hug in return. I would regularly say "QinQin, BaoBao" to her & from day one, we would get a kiss (QinQin, pronounced Chin-Chin).....but no hugs (BaoBao is "hug").

Today at naptime, as she lay in her crib, she gave me a billion-megawatt smile, held up her arms and said so clearly "BaoBao!" She said it with a mischievous look in her eye that said "I've known all along that you wanted a hug....I've been teasing you :-)" And she gave me a kiss and a wisp of a hug.

But tonight....it was something all together different. Maybe it was the hotdog she got for dinner.....who knows, but as I removed her from her highchair, she reached out to me and looked me squarely in the eye and said "BaoBao" and wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a big squeeze. Finally.....

I'll never forget that first real lovey hug Anna gave me.
Just like I have never forgotten the first hug Natalie gave me.

Some things in life are truly.....priceless.

Yes, we are still on the planet.....

I know it has been a long time....so sorry friends! It has just been a teensy bit hectic around our house lately. Nothing is wrong, just trying to get into the rhythm of our foursome. Maybe I'm the only one having more difficulty? But it really isn't bad. I still cannot believe how easily Anna has blended into our family. She's such a happy little tot (but she does know how to try to pitch a fit to get her way....but it doesn't work :-) I just dig in harder (well, usually!) The girls love like sisters, play like sisters and fuss like sisters! I hear the constant "sttooooop" from both of them....that must have been Anna's first english word. Speaking of english, she tends to pick up at least one new word each day. And the past few days she is easily putting 2-3 words together...."I got you", "hold this", etc. I still try to get her to say Chinese words along with her english words too. And she tattled on Natalie in Chinese tonight! It was pretty cute....they were in the bedroom & I could hear a bit of fussing going on....then Anna burst out of the room saying a mouthful of chinese, followed by "Natalie!" and pointing her finger at Natalie :-) The Roger walked in and she repeated the whole offense to him....Meanwhile Natalie was smiling and trying to defend herself. I guess tattling comes in all languages! We can tell that she speaks chinese in sentences, not just baby talk. I looked up some things tonite & she says things in chinese alot such as "take a bath" or "wash hands". It is really quite clear (if you can understand chinese that is :-)

Here are a few more pictures we took recently.....and by the way, thanks for the comments! I always enjoy them (and it is nice to know you're out there!)


Natalie and her cousins were having pictures made at the beach by a professional, and when she was finished, Natalie claimed a wave came up and knocked her down....hhmmmmm.....me thinks she msut have been in the water more than her ankles to get this wet! I was busy trying to coax a smile out of Anna....who was freezing at the time!

Aaaaggghh! A dingo ate my baby!!!!

Natalie hangin' with a few Melbourne buddies

" Yo! " or is that "Peace - Out!" ?? Anna is quite the Florida Gator fan, which makes her daddy SO proud! She can do a mean "Gator Chomp" and anytime she sees a Gator logo she screams "touchdown Gators" and throws her hands up in the air!

Just another day at the beach....

We travelled to Vero Beach, Florida to visit Roger's parents during the Thanksgiving holidays. Here are some teaser photos we took at the beach. I was going to post alot of photos tonite, but when I started looking at them, I realized I had taken over 70 photos over the few days we were gone, so I need more time to pull together a decent posting. In the meantime, here are some of my favorites! (P.S. We are doing great and the adjustment is going well too. Anna is an amazing bundle of energy and Natalie is the best big sister in the world)

Great news and bad news

Sorry I've been not posting for so long. It was both a great week and a terrible week. I have been sick with pneumonia this week and it has been a long horrible week. I'm finally feeling a tiny bit better but still tired, but I wanted to get some recent pictures posted.

I also wanted to update everyone on the GREAT news we have about Anna. She had her cardio appointment this past week....her EKG was perfect, as was her heart rate and respiration. The cardiologist could not detect any murmur or anything with the stethoscope, but when we had the echocardiogram performed, they did still find evidence of her VSD. But the great news is that since her last echo, the hole has reduced in size and is now only open about 1mm! It has been closing over on its own, so our cardiologist said surgery is not indicated for her and the only thing we need to do is have her come back in one year for another look. With hope, it will be completely closed by then! But even if it stays like it is, she will have a perfectly normal life! It is the wonderful news we were hoping for and we are so blessed!

Anna and Natalie continue to do great and still no problems. They are both doing fine & getting along very well. Halloween was quite a treat for Anna!

I'm going to post some pictures and try to catch up before time slips away!

Princessa of the Sea - Anna

Happy sisters on a beautiful day

You can see why we always say "monkey see, monkey do" around our house! Anna copies everything Natalie does......which is not always a good thing :-)

Poor Simon is now the constant center of Anna's universe. He tries to stay away, but she always finds him!

Natalie was "Little Red Riding Hood" at the Fairytale ball at school last week. Too cute!

Anna the princess figured out really quickly that it was pretty cool to get candy handed to you at each house! She has a sweet tooth and would love to eat the entire bag if possible! Natalie the queen was in charge.

Back to the land of the awake...

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been posting in a few days....I was stricken with a horrible case of jet lag and pure laziness I guess! I have finally recovered (I hope...we'll see if tonight brings another solid night of sleep for me).

Roger and the girls have been sleeping just fine and on a normal schedule, so that's good. I have forced myself to get up at the normal time (just like work) to get my shower, dressed & some makeup before taking Natalie to school at 7:35 each morning. It would be so easy to just be lazy & sleep later but I want to try to keep on as much a normal schedule as possible. Even Anna doesn't mind getting up that early to have her breakfast and get dressed for the day! Whew!

She still amazes us every day. She has given up on us learning Chinese, so she just gives us the hand or head motions & points out clearly what she wants. She's not a fan of Southern American food (imagine that!?!?) But we're figuring it out together. She did drag me to the pantry the other day to let me know she wanted something in there. I pointed out several things to which she shook her head....then she grabbed a bag of Ramen noodles....she saw that Chinese looking food and went for it! She couldn't get enough! ha! She's learning English every day & can now say stuff like NO :-), hello, hi, bye bye, more, thank you, Hi Simon, one, two, three. She calls Natalie "Nat Nat" or Jie Jie and she calls us Mama and Baba (in a cute almost French sounding accent).

Natalie is doing great in school and had good test scores this week. She was glad to get back, but boy is this a busy week for her! She has dance on Monday and Friday, along with Trunk or Treat at church Wednesday evening, Friday at school she will perform in the Fairy Tale Ball (Little Red Riding Hood), followed by the Fall Festival at school, and then cap off the evening with a big Brownie event.....a sleepover at the church to celebrate Juliette Lowe's birthday (founder of the Girl Scouts). How am I going to keep up? Next week she starts basketball practice.

We took Anna (and Natalie too) to the pediatrician today. He proclaimed her healthy as a horse! She's a whopping 23 pounds of kiddo. They poked her toe for a blood test....and then she got 4 shots to which she protested loudly (as my eardrums can attest!) As soon as I grabbed her off the table to comfort her, she quit screaming & glared at the nurse. But a few seconds later when offered a choice of sugar free lollipop, she amazing calmed down, never to cry of fuss again! The doctor said he couldn't even detect a murmur in her heart, but we'll still see the cardio next week or so. And he said she had the best hemoglobin he's seen in a long time! He also said she was also obviously very well taken care of, as evidenced in her teeth and overall good health. Yay!

We went ahead and got Natalie a flu shot (she knew she had to be brave and not cry in front of Anna :-) She did great. I had the dr. also look at her hand....it seems the night before we left China, Natalie was bitten on the hand by some spider. We didn't know it until we were at the airport. I remember her saying her hand hurt, but we were too busy to even look (bad parents!) Then we noticed her hand was really red and swollen. I put itch cream on it & then later when I looked closely, I saw two big puncture wounds! Like fang marks! I kept antibiotic cream and a big bandaid on it. The next day the swelling went down, but even now, almost a week later, you can see the 2 holes and the area around it (approx 2" in uneven diameter) is darker.....almost like a bruise, but brownish not blueish. She's obviously not in mortal danger, but it is creepy to think of what was crawling around in the hotel room that night! A big hairy tarantula?? Ewwww!

Overall, we're really doing just great and we couldn't be happier that we finally found our second daughter! It has been a very long road, but it was all worthwhile. She is a complete joy to us and she is definately the funny one of the family! I predict she will be the class clown in school! She is our monkey (and that's actually her favorite word...MONKEY! She will pat her monkey's head, say Monkey, then pat her head, say Monkey and laugh like it is the funniest thing in the world! :-) I know everyone who has met her doesn't believe us that she is so silly....because when she's around anyone else, she clings to me and just gives her stoic expression. The only time she'll speak is when it is time to say goodbye.....then she waves happily...ready to get away from all those admiring strangers.....and says "bye-bye" with a smile.

Pumpkin patch time!

Baby and BaBa on such a beautiful clear day! So nice to see blue skies again!

She's really digging the backyard swing....good thing it is a bit cooler.

This was the first morning in her crib....she was pretty sacked out!
Can you even find her amid all the animals? The girls are 2 peas in a pod when it comes to sleeping.

Safely Home at 3:16 a.m.

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are safely home and the girls are tucked into their own beds at home. When we arrived in New Orleans at about 11:30, we decided that we were all wide awake enough to make the drive home.....we couldn't stomach the thought of another hotel room! So we stopped at a McDonalds for a couple of big cups of coffee and a couple of Happy Meals since both girls slept on so much of the flights they missed their meals. After we pounded away the food, I remarked...."Boy, that was the best McDonalds meal I've ever had....to which Roger replied "me too!", followed by Natalie remarking "me too!".....and then, our sweet Anna followed along with her own "ME TOO!" in perfect English! It was the cutest thing and we were all laughing so hard! A memorable moment for us all.

So....off to bed to try to sleep for a few hours and then try to act like tomorrow is a normal day for us.

Our new normal.

Goodbye from China!

We're finally pretty much packed and ready to go home tomorrow morning.

We had a very busy day of shopping and of course our consulate appointment which went fast and now as soon as we land in Newark and the immigration officer stamps her passport, Anna will automatically become an American Citizen. Yay! I heard that some airports even issue the Certificate of Citizenship paper right then.....boy, that would be nice!

She's still doing great, just testing her boundaries (which are pretty limited some times with me :-) She's really funny to us after she gets in trouble, she just ignores us (like we'll disappear or something! ha!)

Roger actually got in to the shopping fun this evening....not normally his thing.

It is late and we're beat....just a few hours until we need to get up, so I'll close from China with these last few pictures. See you on the flip side!!

As you can see.....her devil horns manage to stick out when her hair is wet :-)

Anyone want to guess how much Roger paid for his genuine Tag Heuer watch???

Sometimes a girl just has to have her ice cream.....even on the commode (or is that a'la mode?)