Swimming and Dance!

So Malia started swimming lessons and dance classes this week and did wonderful at both. OK I might be biased but I really do think that she did well. She loves water and swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house so the swimming lessons were no worry at all. We are taking this class with two friends (Genevieve and Tess). As for dance class, she looked SO CUTE in her outfit. We got there early to pick up her dance shoes and we watched the class ahead of hers. She kept asking her "her turn". Once it was time, she took her dance bag and headed right into the class. She followed along pretty well (especially since we have been home only 5 months today). She did better at ballet and tap than the tumbling but we can try and practice some at home. She is the farthest in the line in the pictures. I can't believe it is almost mid September and I also can't believe that Malia has been home 5 months already. Time is flying but we are trying to enjoy all of these moments.

More summer updates

Well, for those that have been watching for an update, I guess I don't have to say that things have been busy. Life with a 2 year old involves constant movement and discussions and I have been loving it. Needless to say my life of playing the Wii, cross stitching and watching all of the reality TV's shows has been adjusted. I am so fortunate since Malia is such fun to be around but she also has a really good bedtime routine so I get me time every night.

Updates:

- Libby's 2nd birthday party at the Children's Museum in St. Paul

Libby was part of my travel group. Her parents and I were in the first classes at the adoption agency together, lost track of each other in the middle of the process, and somehow ended up getting referrals and traveling at the same time as each other. The party was a lot of fun and it was nice to see the girls having so much fun.






- Sesame Street Live dress rehearsal (compliments of Greta) which was fantastic fun

This was Malia's first show and she did pretty well. She was a little concerns that the characters were so large but quickly got more comfortable and even gave one a high five. Our seats were awesome and it was special to see this type of show so close up. A special thanks to Greta and her brother for passing on the information. It was cool since Elmo is Malia's all time favorite character (except Kai Lan is quickly moving up this scale).








- First time to the Great MN Get Together (otherwise known as the state fair)

Today we went to the state fair so Malia could experience something that is such a part of MN life in the fall and she fit right in. I barely had her out of the car and she was asking for food. She tried mini donuts, pronto pup, cheese curds, Sweet Martha Cookies, shaved ice, and taffy. She also did a couple rides in the Kiddy Midway and saw some of the new baby animals. She touched a baby lamb, said "ni hao" to a baby calf, but wanted nothing to do with the horses unless it was at a distance. Thanks for Annette, Genevieve, Kirsten, Kami, and her mom for making her first state fair memorable. As you can see from the photos, she played hard and crashed hard in the car.







That is it for now. In two weeks we start dance on Thursday nights and swimming lessons on Saturday mornings so I will have more at that time. Also, I get to go see Little House with Melissa Gilbert in a couple weeks and I am pretty excited. As much as I don't want summer to end, I am excited for Wild hockey season to start and I get to go to the opener on 10/11 (thanks Dave). We had fun at the season ticket holder picnic last week and I enjoyed a night out while my parents watched Malia and even got her to bed without any issues. I hope everyone has enjoyed the summer and have a great weekend!!! I know Malia and I will enjoy having 4 days together.

4 months home and going strong

Yesterday marked 4 months that we have been home. Things in August have been busy still. Malia moved to the pre-school room at daycare this week (with transition over the past week). She has done really well with this change and I know that the influence of the older kids will be great for her. She is so aware of the people we are really close to and ask about them if we don't get to see them for awhile. Malia finally attached to a comfort item. It is her stuffed dragon from the Puff the Magic Dragon book signing that we went to in July. Dragon has gone everywhere with her since she got it (bed, dinner, bath, school, and even the potty chair (or next to it). On Friday she lost it before the Olympics Opening Ceremony party we were going to. We had to stop at the book store to pick up another one and luckily they had some. Her original was autographed and we did find it so that one is stored away for now and she has the new one to play with. It took her 4 months but she at least has that item that brings her comfort. He has been a help with the daycare transition since he watches her from her cubby. BIG NEWS ---- I got my first unsolicited "love you mommy" from Malia as we were walking out of the bookstore with the new dragon. I just melted and still do at the thought of her looking at my and saying "love you mommy". That is worth everything.

This past weekend we went to the China Reunion for my adoption agency. We got to see some people that I connected with over the wait but it was so busy we really didn't get to talk to anyone in depth. Malia also learned how to really ride her bike and tricycle on her own on Saturday evening. Good job Malia!

In addition last week I found out that I have tendinitis in my pointer finger and have to wear a brace for three weeks while I hope that it heals. What a month again! Here are some pictures but I have more to load from my camera but my computer is acting up..... again!!!

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.