One Year - I can't believe it!

I really just can't believe that it has been a year already. One year ago today Malia and I met for the first time and became a family. In celebration of this moment we enjoyed a special day together - just the two of us.





First, I gave Malia her special Forever Family gifts. The first item was a silver toddler bell bracelet that I bought on the adoption trip. The other item was a new outfit for her Bitty Baby. Her first reaction to the presents was to say that "it isn't my birthday". So I explained that this is a special Malia day. Her next question was "can I open"? It was so cute.



Then we went a place we both enjoy... the Mall of America. It was Toddler Tuesday so we got to meet Curious George, go on about 20 rides, and had a wonderful lunch at American Girl. Tonight we had a nice dinner at home, read Curious George books, and are watching Ni Hao, Kai Lan. We were excited today to see that the Nick stores at MOA now carry Ni Hao tee shirts. It is the first item we have seen based on this show. It was great to spend quality time together without the rush and stress of everyday life.















On Saturday morning we had some quiet time so I pulled out the video from forever family day. Malia was funny watching it. Her first question was where is Malia (it was before she was brought into the room). Once she came in a year ago, she cried for a minute or two. She asked me why she was crying and why the other kids were crying so I explained how she was probably a little scared since she didn't really know Mommy yet. Then she noticed the stuffed dog that I send her and brought the second one with me on that day. When she realized it was her dog she had to stop the video and go get her dog. She was called out that Grandma was there and asked where Grandpa is. I told her he was taking the video and laughed because he talked on the video about then and she told me "see there is Grandpa" like I was the one confused. It was nice to watch part of it with her to see her reaction and help talk about the adoption. It is hard to know that I took her away from China but we were definitely meant to be together. Happy Forever Family Malia!!!!

Spring is here

So we have continued to be busy which seems to be normal for us. Malia has started her swimming lessons. This is different because she goes in with the teachers and not mom but she did fantastic. I want her to be more comfortable with swimming before this summer.



She is also doing great at dance class. They have been working on their recital dance to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo (from Cinderella - her favorite). The recital is coming up in early June and I can't wait to see what the kids do on stage. For an early St. Patrick's day, we had some moms and kids over for party. It was crazy and it was a blast!



Finally, we loved that my sister and her family came to visit this weekend for Garrett and Aislinn's birthday party. It was such a nice day Saturday to all hang outside during the party and let the kids run off the energy (and sugar from the cake). Needless to say Malia was exhausted from the fun this weekend and crashed on the couch for a little after dinner yesterday. Chloe even jumped up on her and she didn't even stir. Happy Spring everyone!

Referral Anniversary

So I missed posting the photos I took of Malia to celebrate the one year anniversary from referral. I am slow because of vacation and these photos ended up in that same file on my computer so they got lost in the shuffle. I can't believe that on March 31st that we will have been together a year already. At times it seems like we have been together forever and other times it seems like just yesterday. It is also hard to believe how little LID's have been matched in one year. With my referral batch in Feb 08 they got through 12/27/05 and now they are just matching through 3/6/06 (we think). I just pray that the children are getting the homes they deserve and not just sitting in orphanages. I also pray that my friends waiting get their referrals quickly (well as quickly as this process is allowing).

Enjoying the snow

Malia really loves to shovel snow. This is one trait that makes me wonder since we are so alike in many other ways. So Thursday with the 6+ inches of new snow, she helped shovel the yard while we let Chloe investigate.




In addition, we spent Saturday morning cleaning up and Malia even cleaned up her crayon from the walls. It was sad that she seemed to enjoy it.




Also, here is another picture of Chloe.