I have baby pictures!!!

I was so excited to get my mail once I realized there was an envelope from Half the Sky. This is a non-profit organization that helps train orphanage workers on how to care for the children and implement a practice to write up quarterly progress reports on each kid in the program. Once you complete the adoption with a Half the Sky orphanage you can petition to get a copy of your child report. This is what I received! I now have pictures of Malia as young as 9 months old and more information on her progress from her time in the orphanage.

At 9 months


At one year


At 16 months


At 19 months


At 22 months


We also had the dentist appointment this week. She did fantastic. She loved the chair and her dental hygienist, Jenni, was wonderful. Malia let her count her teeth and even clean a couple, including flossing. OK, I forgot to take Malia's picture in the chair but I got one outside of her holding her prize bag (a sticker, toothbrush, and floss).



Finally we had a Single Moms get together at the Maple Grove Community Center on Saturday. This pool was great fun and it was nice to have so much space where Malia could touch so it wasn't even that crowded feeling.

Chicago Trip

Well, we had a nice anniversary of the day we came home from China. I can't believe that we have been home 3 months already. Time is flying but we are taking advantage of our moments together.

Friday we went to a book signing and concert at Barnes and Nobel. It was for Puff the Magic Dragon. My uncle Jim is good friends with Peter Yarrow (from Peter, Paul and Mary) and he was performing to promote his book. His music was so much fun for the whole audience and he was fantastic with the kids. Malia even got to go up on stage to dance for the one song (This land is your land).







Then Saturday morning we flew to Chicago to visit my sister, her husband, and my nephew, Jude. Malia did great on the flight. This was our first flight since coming back from China and my first time flying with her alone. People were fantastic helping out and talking to Malia. Even the TSA people were super cute with Malia. We went to a fun kids museum on Saturday (www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org). I would recommend it to anyone in the area and it was very inexpensive. Malia was in heaven checking out all of the interactive areas (cars, dolls, Potbelly Sandwich area, water, art, and even a mini grocery store). Then Sunday we went downtown shopping and of course had to go into American Girl store. It was busy but not crazy. Malia loved the bitty baby area and got a new dolly that looks like her. Today we flew back and didn't even have any issues flying out of O'hare. I guess we might be ready to tackle a Disney trip this fall or winter. The DVD player helped a lot... Elmo always works.












Thanks again to Auntie Susie, Uncle Ryan (also known as Mo Mo) and Baby Jude for sharing your house and weekend with us. We had a lot of fun hanging out and seeing the sites this weekend!

Happy Belated 4th

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. We celebrated with my brothers family and went to the parade in Eden Prairie (correction - Apple Valley, he, he....). It was a nice day but got a little hot at times. Luckily they were smart and bought a canopy thing so we could cool off in the shade at times. Malia caught on quickly how to pick up the candy the floats threw out.

We also spent the 3 month anniversary of being together at the Mall of America for Toddler Tuesday. There was a performance from "If you give a mouse a cookie" by Children's Theater. We got to see some actors that my sister used to perform with when she was an actor there. It was fun and Malia got to also see her cousin Garrett.

Happy Half Birthday Malia!!

Well since Malia has a Christmas birthday, I decided to celebrate her half birthday with friends. We had a blast at Build a Bear. It was really cute because they had each kid put a heart in Malia's kitty. They also had a bear that all the kids (well the parents) signed for Malia. It is a great memory of her first birthday celebration as a family.

Then we came back for hot dogs and Elmo cupcakes. Malia loves Elmo now (Backyardigans is taking a back burner to Sesame Street). She had fun opening the presents and seeing the new toys, books, and art stuff. After nap she took everything out of the boxes and had to try each item out.

Sunday we tried to go to Wall-E with her cousin Garrett but after such a busy Saturday it only worked for an hour. If she had more popcorn she might have lasted longer. We went home for a quick nap and then off to the splash pad to have fun in the water with some of the girls. Finally dinner out at Wagners Drive In. What a weekend!

Today marks 3 months together for me and Malia. I can't believe how well she is adjusting to being here. It is like she has always been part of the family and she is really starting to talk up a storm. She is into a shy mode and gets really quiet at first when with new people or at new places. I think she is just processing so much new stuff but she takes it all in stride. She is a fantastic little girl (even when she is whining). I love being her mom and I look forward to the years and years ahead.

Happy Birthday Grandma and Uncle Jeff

We got to celebrate Grandma and Uncle Jeff's birthday this past weekend by going to the MN Zoo to see the new grizzly bears. Malia liked the bears and would put her hands and say "roar" when we said bear. She also loved seeing the otters swimming around. Then it was to Garrett's house (well Amy and Jeff's) for nuggets and cake. Garrett and Malia had a blast chasing each other around. We headed home for a nap and off to Once Upon a Child in search of some cheap daycare clothes. I was looking around and Malia spotted a ride on toy just like what they have at daycare and she was so excited. It was pretty cheap so I got it and she rode on it for an hour straight when we got home. Sunday we had some fun at the outlet mall with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma. Malia is obsessed with Elmo right now and they had a ride with Elmo there that she went on. She giggled the whole time it was going. This weekend is Malia's half birthday party at Build a Bear. Since I missed her first two birthdays and her third is on Christmas Day, I wanted to do something special for her half birthday. However, this should be interesting with 10 kids making bears.

I hope everyone has a great week. It has been emotional lately with two co-workers losing their children in car accidents. It puts life in perspective and I am trying to enjoy every moment I can with Malia. Give you kid a hug and kiss tonight and every night!!!

Finally, I would like to say congratulations to Cristina H. on winning "Master of Dance" on TLC. Cris is a college friend of my sister and I am so excited to see her win last night! Great job!

Busy, busy...

We have been so busy this month. First we had my god daughters (and cousin) graduation party. Malia had a blast putting on lei's and playing basketball. Last weekend we had Malia's baptism with her cousin, Aislinn. She did really well considering this was after church service. She also kept her white dress clean during church and even at the party afterwards. She was in good spirits even after I had to fix her dislocated elbow (again...). Thanks to all of the relatives for coming.

This weekend we enjoyed the nice weather and spent time with Grandma and Grandpa. Today we went to my god daughters dance recital. She is a graduating senior and it was kind of sad to see her last recital. We all joked that Malia will have to start dance now so we can continue the tradition. Malia loved the dance recital and even sat for the whole first half. She bobbed and nodded to the music and waved goodbye to the dancers at the end of each dance.

Here are some pictures (mostly from the baptism).

Getting ready in the morning

Blessing with the oil

Now the water

With her god mothers
Group photo

The two girls
Getting tired of photos

The whole family