Dance Like You Will Never Stop...

Malia had her dance dress rehearsal on Wednesday and the recital on Saturday evening. She did so well and you could tell she really loved it. She didn't freeze up but you could tell she was looking for me when she first came out. We even tried curlers for the first time for the event. It turned out but the only lasted through the recital with the rain and dampness in the air.

I am such a lucky mom to have such a wonderful little girl.

P.S. Ignore the fuzziness in the pictures. I have no idea what was going on with my camera... again.

June?

I can't believe it is June tomorrow. May just flew by. I keep thinking that the next month will not be as busy but we seem to continue to be running. We were able to play with our travel partners (Janice and her daughter Libby) at the Children's Museum. We have visited the playground, had a garage sale, Malia did the adoption walk (while I did the garage sale) went to her first Saints game in 95+ degree heat (including tailgating - note: she didn't have any beer), went to the Paperbag Princess play, and have been busy with her final dance classes before recital this coming Saturday. We also had my grandparents in town from Arizona so they got to meet Malia in person. Then I think it will calm in June but we have the dance rehearsal, dance recital, play group, family wedding, baby shower, and Malia's half birthday. We have something going on every weekend but at least the weeknights should slow down some.

Malia and cousin Aislinn


Malia and Libby


Saints Game



At Paperbag Princess

Happy Mothers Day

I can't believe this was my second Mother's Day with Malia. This year was so special because she got that it was Mama's Day and really was just so loving. She did awesome all weekend but was so cute that morning I was almost in tears. We went on the Race for the Cure walk that morning and she walked/rode with the girls. It was so crowded again so I felt bad for her but once we were farther on the walk then I got her out of the stroller and she walked with us. We were fortunate that our friend Kirsten could join us. Her mom also recently battled breast cancer so I was a nice way to spend the morning. Thank you to everyone that donated to me or Malia

After the walk Malia crashed completely in the car and then we went to my parents house for a BBQ dinner. It was a wonderful day with family. Even my sister and her family were in town for the celebration this year. I hope everyone else had a terrific Mother's Day regardless if you are a mom, soon to be mom, or a birthparent. We did a special prayer for Malia's China birthmom that evening.

Susan G Komen - Race for the Cure

Malia and I are doing the Race for the Cure again this year with the family. Since my mom found out she had breast cancer I have been actively involved with this organization. I would love to help them find a cure so people don't have to live year after year wondering if it is going to come back. It is especially important since this year my mom did have a scare that it came back. Luckily it wasn't cancer but it made me realize more that she will never feel secure until there is a cure.

If you can help by donating, there are two links (one for me and one for Malia). They both go to the same organization but it is funny that they gave Malia her own site so we will have a mini contest (ha, ha...). See the links on the right side of the page.

http://www.active.com/donate/komentc09/Malia2005

http://www.active.com/donate/komentc07/MAnders71

I love ice cream!

I just have to tell everyone that mom let me get a full ice cream cone to eat on the walk home from the mall. It was really messy but mom didn't seem to mind.



She took me to a water park to swim and that was fun until I hurt myself. I also got my big girl bed this weekend and I love it. It is a princess bed and it matches my blanket.





Love, Malia

Happy Easter!!!

It was a fun day. It was our first Easter together since Easter was so early last year. We also celebrated the first year home and Malia's citizenship with a trip to the zoo with friends yesterday. I don't have pictures from the zoo since my camera was acting up but here are some from today.

Malia was so excited this morning. She has been talking about the Easter Bunny coming for weeks now. As soon as she got up this morning she ran out to see if he was here. Once she saw the basket, she wanted to see him and give him a hug (thank you). When I explained that he was already gone, she was crushed. I have to mention that she has been the Easter Bunny 3 times this year so she wasn't deprived.

We later had Easter dinner with part of the family at my house. It seemed to go really well and I am glad the weather was still nice. The kids got to play out on the deck and they loved looking for eggs. In addition, lots and lots of candy was eaten by Malia today. It was a very memorable day!

Getting ready for Easter

Well, we kicked off the pre-Easter activities last weekend. We went to meet the Easter bunny and Malia wasn't too sure but she sat next to him on the chair. Then we went to an easter egg hunt for FCC (Families with Children from China). Malia had a blast and loved hopping with the Easter bunny all afternoon. Today we colored eggs with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jeff, and cousin Malia. Malia couldn't color them fast enough but spent forever painting and stamping on them for the finishing touch. I wonder what next weekend will be like with so many eggs filled with CANDY!





OK, you can also tell that I am experimenting more with digital scrapbooking. Any ideas or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

One Year Celebration

Malia, myself, and my parents were able to celebrate the first year with another family from our travel group. Eric and Janice were joined with their daughter, Libby, at the same time I met Malia. It was so nice to travel with someone that I got along with. I first met Janice and Eric in summer 2005 for the pre-adoptive classes. Here are some pictures of the girls playing like they have known each other forever!

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.