Fairy princess

We had a lovely weekend at Sea*World this past Saturday. Kylie was styling in her fairy princess outfit which she loved. And yes it was one of my bargain finds at under $5. We usually pass a DJ area with fun activities for the kids and this time Kylie got to participate in the hula hoop portion. She tried and laughed and tried some more to get that hoop to wrap around her little waist. The closest she got to hooping it up was when the hoop wrapped around her little ankles for approx. a turn in a half. Her look of surprise indicated victory in her own little head. Her smile was contagious. We met with Kylie's cousins from Tampa at Sea*World and again on Sunday at Downtown Disney.

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday fun

Today Kylie tried out in gymnastics for the 3yr old class. It would be the first time that she took a class without her mommy or daddy right at her side. She was so excited prior to getting there and once there she didn't stop smiling. She listened to the instructor intently and tried to keep up as best as she could the entire time looking over at us smiling and waving. We are so proud of her. I was beaming with pride and I couldn't take my eyes off of her at times I wiped away a tear or two. It was just tears of joy watching our little girl growing up so fast right before our eyes. She had so much fun and we hope to start her back up next month. After class, bet you can't guess where we ended up once again...this time sporting one of the bargain finds. Dress $10, hair bow made by me $3, shoes - hand me down from a friend Khatie. She loved her dress and walked around picking up her dress in her dainty way with one hand on each side lifting it as she walked by. All I can think of is that she must have gotten that idea from watching any number of princess stories. We also had the pleasure of catching up with the Zanegoods totally unplanned. Kylie was exhausted and fell asleep in her stroller which is a rare, rare thing. It was a lovely day.

Ghost*buster

Today while Sean was making dinner, Kylie grabbed on to his leg and said that she was afraid of ghosts. Since we want to ensure that we raise a fearless leader we encouraged Kylie to not be afraid because ghosts are not real. I realize though that some people may disagree. But for the sake of my story there is no such thing as ghosts:-) She insisted that there were ghosts all around at that very moment and she made the decision to confront them. Our little normally dainty girl caught a ghost. She then leaned over said imaginary ghosts and began to pummel "one" to the ground with her arms extending in and out, left and right her little fists clenched tight. I watched silently probably with my mouth open as she declared victory. I knew without a doubt that she must have learned this from a little boy or girl in class today. So let this be a warning to all ghosts, you are not safe in our house:-)

Sea*World Trick or Treating fun

I've been waiting with much excitement for this month because our favorite place to visit on the weekends started their trick or treating event. Every weekend Sea*World will be having a nice long section of the park dedicated with treat stations every few feet and photo ops with sea creatures and mermaids. Kylie's cousins spent the weekend with us and it was twice the fun watching the kids get so excited about the activities. I scored a huge sale on costumes which means Kylie will get to choose a different one each week if her little heart desires. Gotta love bargains! Kylie enjoys playing dress up on a regular day so imagine what fun it is for her to be able to actually go outside in them. The little luau outfit on the pics below where just put together Saturday morning. It wasn't one of the items I purchased recently. It came together as a last minute idea which drives my impatient hubby crazy because it didn't come together until right before we were heading out - lol! This is a special time of year including this month because it is hubby's birthday followed by Thanksgiving and then Christmas and it all includes spending time with family. Cheers!

Click image to enlarge

Visit from the Murphy's

This past weekend we were thrilled to have the O'Murphy's from Delray spend the weekend with us. We met thru our travel group as we were using the same agency and our girls are both from Wuwei. Although we do not have the opportunity to see each other often, we have kept touch and we have so much fun whenever we do get together. We went to Uni-versal on Friday, Sea-World on Saturday and even enjoyed a little pool time and water play on Sunday. The Zanegoods joined us for dinner on Friday. We all enjoyed getting together and the girls had a blast!

Moon Festival weekend

The "Geek Squat" lives in my house and I happen to be in love with him!! Woohoo, Sean had my laptop up and running the very next day even better and faster than it had been running before the whole bug incident. But I knew Sean would get me up and running in no time. He is so freakin' smart! I would love to back up my statement by sharing some of the intricancies of the bug but if I did, you guys would start yawning and you may even fall asleep and miss all of the wonderful layouts I decided to share below-lol

We had a really nice weekend. We met up with other adoptive parents at a Moon-Festival event downtown. It was really nice to see and catch up with families we've met before and some families we met for the first time. On Sunday we were invited to a princess birthday party. Although pics of little princess and pirates would have been cute, most of the kids and some of the adults spent most of their time in the pool. Ahhh have I mentioned lately how much I love living in FL? We still have a few weeks left for pool and water play for our little fish.

This week we are looking forward to Jim, Lisa and Madi spending a nice long weekend with us. We traveled together to pick up our Wuwei beauties two years ago.

In the meantime check out what's been keeping me busy this past week. I'm learning how to use certain elements like torn edges, paper curls, changing photos to black & white, sepia, etc. It's a digi thing and I'm hooked:-) Enjoy!

Laptop caught a bug

I was going to create a cute layout of our wonderful weekend but I decided to surf the net one more time for that must have embellishment. Then, it finally happened...we caught a bug. Never mind that I have the N*rt*n antivirus protection on. These nasty, pesky little creeps still figure out a way to try to ruin a fun little hobby for me. Thank goodness my wonderfully, handsome hubby (yes I'm sucking up big time) is also a computer geek. I'm sure he'll get us fixed in no time. In the meantime, I've jumped on my desktop for a quick blog update and then off to bed.

Hubby and I have been trying to catch a movie at least once a month. It's a bit easier to do now with his wonderfully wide open schedule:-) Last Friday we saw the new movie "Burn-After-Reading". It was surprisingly a dark comedy and I guess I must like that sort of thing because I found myself LMAO!! We really enjoyed the humor and surprising twists and turns. Friday night we met friends at the park for a family movie night. The featured movie was "CARS" and Kylie talked about how she saw a movie with her friend Amanda the next day - too sweet! Saturday my SIL came over for sort of a day trip "a kinda we'll see how it goes type thing" and next thing I know we finally said goodbye to each other on Monday morning - lol!! I sorta had a little something to do with that. She mentioned that she would spend the night if she ended up having a cocktail or two and I made sure to give hubby the gentle nudge to bring them on. We went to our favorite stomping grounds, Sea*World and then we had a little play time in the pool. Thank goodness here in FL we can use our pool for another couple of months. Of course we also went to the park and the kids enjoyed the water play area. The kids played beautifully together and we all had a blast.

Lately Kylie has been into Princess and Pirates all on her own. She TELLS her Daddy that he MUST be the Pirate.

Family movie night at the park

Sea*World fun. Not sure what my SIL was saying. Was she singing Opera?
Water play at the park. I love this pic. And if you are wondering, what's with the hat? Sean had a fancy, shmancy chemical peel and must protect his face from the sun for a few days.

New blog look

Today I spent most of the day neglecting my family while I obsessed over how to makeover the look on our blog - LOL! Luckily the instructions my friend BarbaraZ sent me who by the way is a wealth of information made it seem pretty simple. Is as if she was in the room holding my hand guiding me through step by step. Thanks Barbara! The longest time was spent trying to create the banner with the endless digi kits I've collected in the past year. I'm by no means done with the new look but it's a start. I have to figure out how to make it all fit nicely. Thanks to my hubby also for being so understanding and supportive and giving me a few hours to myself. He and Kylie ran some errands while I played today. Here is a video with Kylie singing her ABC's with what sounds like a slight accent:-)

Family Day Anniversary

Today we celebrated what is commonly known in the adoption community as "gotcha day" or our "forever family day". Whatever the preference is, today marks our two year anniversary of meeting our beautiful and precious daughter who has forever changed our lives in ways we would have never imagined. Kylie fills our lives with so much joy and happiness. There is nothing we wouldn't do to ensure her safety, health and happiness. We have become stronger and better human beings because of her. We value our family more than anything and our bond grows stronger with each and every day.

Mommy and Daddy love you more than words can say baby girl!!

Gotcha/Forever Family Day 09-03-2006
Our Family 08-31-2008

Our 1st ER visit

Sean and I have been together for 11+ yrs and I can honestly say that we have yet to visit the ER for any reason (knock on wood) that is until this past Sunday night. Kylie came home from a wonderful playdate and complained on the ride home that her forehead itched. Once at home she kept scratching and upon close inspection it turned out she had a minor scratch on top of a little shiner. I was not alarmed at all instead I wished that I could take away any discomfort she was feeling. Poor Bean. The next day we had a lovely time visiting one of our favorite places Sea-World and the day went on as usual. Sunday evening in the middle of a movie, Kylie asked us for juice and I was a bit concerned at how different she seemed to look to me at that moment. I asked Sean in the faintest whisper as to not upset Kylie if he noticed the same thing I did. Once he confirmed that he did, we immediately went into action contacting our after hours pediatric nurse. Kylie's profile was no longer the one that we knew of instead it was a slightly enlarged forehead area. The little indent between her nose and forehead were no longer there. The after hours nurse suggested that we take her to the ER as the first 72 hrs were critical for head injuries. Sean and I immediately went into action as if we've done this a million times before.
DVD player...check
coloring book and crayons...check
snacks...check
and so on. We pretty much planned that we'd be spending several hours in the ER. We never panicked or let Kylie think there was anything wrong. When it was time to dress her into warmer jammies, Kylie asked "where are we going mommy"? I told her we were going for a ride. She then asked "where are we going Daddy"? She received the same response. Once we arrived I expected to fill out tons of paperwork. It ended up being just one page and I was barely done signing my name when Kylie was called in for the registration, blood pressure, heart check and all that jazz. We barely waited 10 min in the waiting room when we were called in to see the Dr. We couldn't believe our luck! The whole time Kylie was happy as can be. I guess anything was better than having to go to sleep. Have I mentioned how difficult it is to get her to bed each night despite the routine? But I digress... She was never scared or seemed concerned. It's almost as if she was enjoying the attention. The Dr. said it seemed that Kylie had a Hematoma and judging by how alert and happy she was, there was no need to put her thru x-rays or cat scans. He said that the Hematoma will continue to drain down and to expect bruising or black eyes and to notify our daycare of such so that they don't call the authority on us. Yes sir! That was it. We were on our way to the hospital at 10:30pm and Kylie was finally in bed by midnight. Is that amazing or what? I'd like to think that we will not have to visit there again but if we do, we are ready. Sean and I don't work well together on home improvement projects or even picking out furniture but I was really impressed with how we each instintively seemed to know what our roles were in preparing for our first ER trip and took swift immediate action. Wink.

On a precautionary note, if your little one experiences a head injury followed by vomiting or acts lethargic, seek immediate attention. Per the Dr. the first 24 hrs are critical rather than the 72 hr window that the nurse mentioned.

My little purse camera came in handy for documenting our scary event. I'm not sure that the pics really show the swelling on her forehead, over her eyes or even above the bridge of her nose as much. But believe me, it was a cause for concern and we would not have slept thru the night without having it checked out by a professional. Thank goodness all is well - whew!

Birthday and ramblings - long post

So much to do so little time!! I’m sure I’ve written before that I use this blog as my journal so the following are just ramblings and tid-bits on what’s been going-on around our household:

My external hard drive crashed and it really sucks. I guess it couldn't handle a little minor fall to the ground. I’ve spent a good portion of this past week recovering and organizing files. All is good now and much to my DH’s dismay I am now backing up my back up files and then some. Can you believe we do not have pics of Sean and me prior to our wedding? Yup that was due to data loss on his laptop caused by a leak at his work office. Somehow I’m overacting because it doesn’t seem to bother him any. So I’ll be hitting up family and friends for pics of us from 10yrs ago now that I have a better grasp of this whole digital picture, filing, backing up and scanning system thingy.

Kylie got her big girl bed a week before her 3rd birthday. She lu-uh-uvs it!
Kylie started her new class in daycare. Loves it!
Kylie is talking TONS!! Nothing within ear shot gets by her. She repeats everything and I do mean everything. Sean and I have fun trying to figure out where she got certain phrases. We often look and call out to each other “school, you or me”. A couple of months ago we were riding in the car and Sean and I were talking to each other as we usually do. Kylie yelled out to us “Be Quiet”! Sean and I just looked at each other and she said it again. This time she said it with a little southern accent “BE Quiet”!! I want quiet up in hea”. (not a typo) We tried to not laugh too hard so as not to seem like we are approving that little behavior. Sean and I knew immediately that she got that little phrase from her teacher Ms. Sharonda. Kylie often mimic’s and pretends to be Ms. Sharonda when she wants to play being the teacher. We like the teacher too as we often observe her giving Kylie big hugs and seems to be very attentive towards her as much as she can. Kylie usually runs to her and that is usually enough to tell my heart that she is going to be just fine for the day.

Kylie likes to be the leader. When we take our walks around the neighborhood or even play in our house, she wants/must be the leader. If our dog Bruiser ‘gawd forbid’ gets in front of her, she gets upset. She got to be the line leader in school for a week for being such a good listener and I think it kinda got to her head:-) She has become quite competitive. She still doesn’t like to go to sleep although she is now finally acknowledging and letting us know when she is tired. But silly us if we think it means that maybe she should take a nap. She would often get upset with me if I even hinted, suggested or asked if she was tired. Once she is in bed though, she usually sleeps thru the night. Occasionally she’ll show up to our bedroom in the middle of the night at least once or twice a week. It hasn’t really been an issue as it doesn’t happen very often. Last week we had a little Tropical Storm named Fay and I just assumed the winds were a bit noisy against her window and it may have woken her up once or twice. Heck it woke me up a few times but that doesn’t mean much as I am a very light sleeper.

Our girl is quite sassy but very reserved outside of our presence. I would describe her as the little Warner-Bros frog (still trying to find a clip of it). Very shy and gentle around others but quiet Sassy in the comfort of her home. I believe the word the Chinese officials used to describe her was “obstinate”. I can’t imagine why…sarcastic grin:-) Not to be misinterpreted as if I’m complaining. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are so thrilled that she is able to communicate and convey such a wave of emotions. After all, that is what makes us all the uniquely wonderful human beings that we are.

Now for some tidbits on the birthday party: The day started of partly cloudy but still fair enough to be able to enjoy the park and splash area. After hanging the balloons, bringing out a few chips here and there, we all went to the splash area for the kids to enjoy. Pizza arrived and within minutes it started to rain. No sooner had we gathered around the pavilion when the skies opened up and a monsoon came over us. Everyone held on to their kids and each other for dear life. Tropical bursts of wind gusts with rain made it difficult to see a few feet in front of us. I called out to whoever was listening that we are taking the event to our house. Luckily we are just minutes in fact we live right outside of the park area. Everyone scattered and the women and children headed towards their cars first. The wonderful men in the group came back after settling their families in their cars to help pack up despite face pelting rain. Our friend Joe grabbed the pizzas and cake, and the men help take balloons (which meant the world to Kylie) and whatever they could to help Sean get the stuff back into the car. I remember seeing mini marshmallows, chips and stuff splattered all over the ground. I’ll never forget my sweet baby whining “my birthday, my birthday, my birthday” as we tried to make our way back to towards the car. It made my heart sink. We reassured her that her friends were coming to her house to sing happy birthday. In her sweet little sad voice she said what she always says to us “okay”. Back at the house we dumped clothes and towels into the dryer, everyone settled into a spot with their families, enjoyed pizza, beverages and beer. We sang the Birthday song, served up some cupcakes, Sean poured Lauren and I an 'appletini' and all was right with the world. Everyone was such troopers and helped make Kylie’s 3rd birthday special. Despite the minor storm, we had a memorable celebration and we have the best friends 'evah'.

Kylie's 3rd Birthday Celebration

Thank you to all of our family and friends who sent Kylie birthday wishes and those who were able to join us in making Kylie's birthday celebration a special day. We are humbled at the outpourring of love and support from each of you. Listening to Kylie tell us her version of her birthday party is absolutely priceless. I will post more pics and details during the week. Had a busy weekend and I gotta get to bed soon. Enjoy the layout.

Fun with family & friends

On Saturday we went to New Smyrna to visit with family. Sean was having such a great time he decided to spend the night. Since we have a little doggie at home, Kylie and I came back to look after him and it turned into a lovely girls night at home. On Sunday we had the pleasure of having Ellie over for the day. Kylie LOVES hanging out with Ellie so we had a wonderful day together. Once daddy got home early in the morning the activities started. The girls played in the bounce house, went swimming and baked cupcakes with Sean. After the girls had their nap time we went to our favorite hang out Sea*World. We love that place! The hospitality suite is a nice bonus for us grown ups to take a little break while the girls enjoy feeding the ducks. This past Wednesday we also had the pleasure of looking after Natalie while her parents went on a much deserved date night. After a long day, bounce house and swimming the girls were still bouncing off the walls! I cannot believe that I forgot to take pics of our wonderful evening.

All in all it was a busy week and the following week will be even busier. We are preparing for Kylie's birthday party next Saturday. Our baby girl is turning 3 and growing up way too fast (sniff, sniff).

Pics and things

Is it really the end of July? Every month seems to be flying by. I know I'm always saying the same thing but that is exactly what it feels like.

I'd like to say a quick congratulations to Don and Be who are finally home with their beautiful china doll. We look forward to meeting Joanna Mei very soon. By the looks of it you guys are already giving her the tour around town.

Congrats to Tammy for jumping in the Sean band wagon to spend time with family. It has been and continues to be an awesome experience for us. I know it won't be long before Caris becomes the world traveler with all of the traveling you guys do already. I hope that means you will frequent FL more often:-) We will definitely come meet you and will probably wear out our welcome mat at the Bonita Springs Estate, lol!

Barb - I am so thrilled to hear that you continue to follow our journey. The girls are growing up so fast. I loved seeing the reunion pics and Emily is beautiful! I use the Foto Fusion software as it is by far the easiest program to use for the simple layouts. It does not require a learning curve. I'll send you the link soon. Thanks for posting to let me know you are checking in:-)

Now for some pics:

I love this pic of Kylie with her Daddy. She adores him and so do I:-)

Our big girl!

Future blogger:-) Kylie has now successfully learned how to navigate the right handed mouse although she is left handed. We may eventually purchase a left handed mouse.

**Can one of you bloggers out there help me figure out how to enter double spaces in between paragraphs? I've tried several options and nothing seems to work. Thanks!**

Weekend outings

Wow, I didn’t mean to wait so long before my next post. We have been incredibly busy enjoying quality time with our family and friends. We are having a fantastic summer and we don’t want it to end.

Last weekend we attended Lily Keefer’s 3 yr old birthday party. Geez Krista can you believe you are the mom to a 3yr old?!?! The theme was Strawberry Shortcake and the decorations were oozing SS all over. It was beautiful and Ms. Shortcake herself made an appearance. Kylie had a blast and kept inviting SS to her house. It turns out Kylie wants everyone to come to her house now. It’s her new thing. The party was all beautifully planned and executed. Great job Dave & Krista! It was also my niece’s 4th birthday. She lives in Tampa and we were sorry to have to miss it. Happy Birthday Ani! We love you!!

This past weekend, Kylie got to enjoy Saturday afternoon with Jeanne and Ellie for lunch then the Orlando Art Museum for a little culture and story time. Sean and I enjoyed a nice quiet lunch and we were able to breeze thru some errands. What a huge difference when you don’t have to strap in a sassy 3yr old each time. Then around 5pm Kylie came home and in turn we got to watch Ellie and Sagan so that their parents can enjoy a nice relaxing dinner. Sean of course cooked up a delicious meal which the girls ate every bit followed by an ice cream treat with their choice of sprinkles. Sunday we met the Zanegoods at Aqua-tica in the morning and then we met the Keefer’s at Ep*cot in the afternoon. My new “extra” day off a week, Sean and I try to catch a movie.

Kylie’s favorite things to say:
“That’s my favit” (favorite)
“What’s that? what’s that? what’s that???”
“I need to” We’ll ask why did you do that and she’ll say “I need to”
“You come to my house”
“I no wanna nap”
“I no wanna rest”
“I no wanna sleep”
“I no wanna quiet time”

And she shrugs her shoulders…a lot. Very entertaining our little one…she knows way too much. Also, not that there was ever any doubt but we do not need to get her hearing checked. She can hear us just fine…trust me. She hears Sean and I whispering to each other or she must have somewhere along the way learned to read lips. She has mastered the art of selective listening. Oh and we can no longer say things to people in front of her, about her. She completely understands EVERYTHING we say and it has come back to haunt me. My little girl is growing up way too fast…

Sean is enjoying being a stay at home dad for the summer. I believe that the one on one attention Kylie is getting from her Daddy have both helped develop her vocabulary and it has spoiled her rotten! Kylie enjoys her cooking lessons with her Daddy and I do believe she can crack an egg better than I can – lol! DH on the other hand enjoys adult conversation now more than ever! Ha, ha! He is a loving and wonderfully attentive father. There are a few and “interesting” employment opportunities presenting themselves but we are not ready to give up our summer vacation just yet…or are we…?? Stay tuned.

Going to bed now. It's late, I'm tired and blogger is not cooperating with me tonight. I'll post more pics later.

Holiday weekend

We had a fun filled holiday weekend. My SIL & family spent the 4th with us.

We went to Sea W*rld in the morning where Kylie and her cousin Ani had lots of fun. After nap time the girls showed off their swimming skills in the pool. The girls had a great time and played well together. Saturday morning we met up with family and friends for a little fun in the sun and water play for the kids. Judging by this pic I think Kylie had a nice time:-)

Saturday night Sean, Kylie and I went back to Sea W*rld in the evening. It was great to see the shows in the evening. After one of the shows we came across loud funky music and "mermaids & mermen" in an area usually dedicated to pearl diving. We were delighted in Kylie's excitement in interacting with the swimmers and dancing to the beat of the music. It is tough to tell from these pictures I placed into a collage but I thought I post them to give an idea of what it looked like. I took lots of video and they all turned out pretty dark and blurry - ugh!Sunday is such a blur. We are enjoying our summer and Kylie & I love having her Daddy around. It feels like summer is flying by way to fast. Kylie will be 3yrs old next month and I still can't believe how fast time is going by.

Playing the violin

Kylie joined her friend Ellie for Violin lessons last week. Kylie seemed to really enjoy it so she is getting the opportunity to join Ellie again today. Here is a little video our friend Jeanne took of the girls practicing some notes. Enjoy!

Two years ago this month we received the most exciting news from China. We had been blessed with the most beautiful baby girl. I recall asking our case worker "is this the call" and she said "yes". She went on to give me the details as I nervously wrote down every word. That is until she got to the part of were Kylie was from. "She is from Gansu"....Me - Gan what? Where is that?? I was prepared for her to be from any other part of China, I had done my homework. But no blog or no one ever mentioned Gansu. Little did we know how fortunate we would be to visit a part of China that most people will never get a chance to see. It was an incredible place full of beautiful tall mountains on the border line of Mongolia. The tall mountains where in the colors and shades of teracotta and rust. This was no Beijing. Looking back this place was no Guangzhou. It was different and it was our daughter's home. What an incredible experience. Fast forward two years and no matter how many times people told us having a child would change our lives forever, you have no idea exactly what that means until you go through it. Sean and I looked at Kylie's picture together for the first time and tears of joy ran down my face. I still get very emotional when I look at Kylie's referral pic. Sean and I could not have planned nor prepared for the most beautiful, smart, happy, well behaved and sassy girl. We love you Kylie and you fill our lives with so much pride and joy.