Disney and more...

We went on a trip to the beach and Disney (I know, again). We did a road trip this time in the new van. We had 4 generations in one van and we did MUCH better than I expected. We went to St. Pete's beach first for a couple nights and then to Disney before heading home.


The van...


Loving the sand!


Malia, Jude, and Buzz


Malia and Belle


No fear on the water slides


Universal Studios and trying (twice) to see the new Harry Potter section



And celebrating Grandma's 60th birthday!





During the rest of the time off work we went to the mall







Finally we had Malia's 4 1/2 birthday celebration






Now, on to camping for the first time with Malia.... stay tuned in for updates as I am sure there will be many stories:)

Getting updated....

Sorry, I have gotten really far behind on updating my blog. Here is part of the update!

First, we got a new car - well van actually and we love it.


Malia had her dance recital. She rocked it again this year.




We celebrated memorial day - thanks Joan, Elizabeth, and Ella

Bathroom Remodel and Photo Class

So we have wrapped up the last elements of our bathroom remodel yesterday. I painted and installed the new shower curtain rod. It looks awesome and I am so glad even the paint is now done although I am really sore today.





In addition, I am taking an online photography class as something for me. It is such fun capturing moments with Malia but she is getting a little tired of me with the camera so it was nice that I had this week as a break from class. It is so cute because Malia is also a budding photographer. She loves to borrow my camera to take some of her own pictures. Her aim is getting much better.






In addition, Malia has been doing fantastic with her activities. She LOVES gymnastics. I realize that she likes dance but loves gymnastics. I guess I know what she will be doing next fall. Recital for dance is coming up in the beginning of June and she just tried on her costume (over the dance leotard/skirt) but you get the idea. Finally, she is still going great with swimming lessons. She can swim a good distance completely on her own. She can also swim and flip from her stomach to her back by herself. It makes me proud to see how quickly she is learning.





We also had fun today at the baby shower for our friend Kami. She will be united with her daughter hopefully by the end of the month. This has been a long journey since she has been waiting 4 years. Our single moms group only has one member left waiting for her referral which should be coming in the next month or two. We can't wait to have the shower for Deb so our group is complete. I feel for Kami and Deb since their wait has been so incredibly long. They have been troupers!

Chicago 2010 (212 photos), by Michelle Anderson

We had a great trip to Chicago to celebrate 2 years as a forever family and Easter with my sister and her family. As you can tell Malia had a blast!
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Hospitals, Swimming, and more

So recently things have not been very normal. First, Malia had a same day procedure at Children's Hospital Minneapolis for her ears. It has been amazing how quickly her hearing has improved. Then this weekend, her cousin Garrett was admitted to Children's in St. Paul for bad tummy issues. He unfortunately had to stay overnight but he was released this evening. In addition, my sister and her family was in town from Chicago this weekend to celebrate her birthday. Malia and her cousin Jude played extremely well together. I treated them to a new bear at Build a Bear today and they were so cute together. They nicely asked for strollers for their bears instead of clothes. Needless to say it was work to get them both across half of the mall of america pushing their strollers. We got a ton of laughs. It was so cute and it was a nice happy break from everything else.






Malia has still be loving her swimming lessons. She is learning so quickly and is not swimming with little or no help from the teacher. We are going to Chicago for Easter and I had to make sure our hotel would have a pool. It was be much nicer this summer now that she can swim better, I think:)





We also celebrated Chinese New Year at her school (daycare) and at an event. I helped Malia's class make Chinese lanterns and we read a couple books. Then at the event Malia made a hat, watches some acts, and tried ribbon dancing. Both were very fun.






I hope everyone else has been surviving this winter. It has been so nice to see the snow melting. I even was able to see grass this weekend in our yard. We will still have the one pile until the middle of summer....

Giving

So keeping with my Lenten promise I am looking for the same things to celebrate each day. Today it is around a conversation with Malia following a long morning (to many fits to count) and a full day meeting with vendors.

Malia: Is Chinese New Year done?
Me: No, why?
Malia: I think we should give candy to kids that don't have any.

So the back story around this is that we have been talking more about how some kids don't have food like we do. They have also been talking about helping Haiti at school. It made me so proud that she was thinking of this on her own. Good job Malia!

Friday was nice. Malia went to grandma and grandpa's after work so I could go out to eat and to a movie with friends. I am still amazed at how much difference there is in Malia's hearing and speech after the surgery on Monday. She noticed one of my parents dogs barking for the first time. It reminded me to think of how fortunate we are to have each other now.

Today was crazy busy. Swimming, breakfast out with friends, party at my sister in laws house, and a birthday party for one of Malia's friends. We got home around 5:30 and collapsed. Now I am enjoying a movie and Malia is asleep. It was a good day with family and friends.

Time Together

Today our focus was on spending quality time together. I got to spend time at Malia's school this morning to talk to the class about Chinese New Year. I had an art project ready to make laterns, we talked about how Malia was born in China, and we read a couple books. It was a nice time to see Malia in her element and for the class to learn about this Chinese holiday.

My Lenten promise

Instead of giving something up this year, I am going to make it a focus to identify something to be thankful for each day. Today it was laughing with Malia. She loves to crack me up first thing in the morning which is saying a lot since it takes me some time to fully wake up.

Photos Jan 2010 (91 photos), by Michelle Anderson

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
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Happy 4th Birthday Malia

We celebrated Malia's birthday on Saturday since Christmas Day was pretty busy and we wanted to get back home to relax. Malia got to pick what we were going to do that day. First we went to the Mall of America and did some shopping and went on rides. Next we went to a party store to find Tiana plates for later. Then we got back home to get ready since the family was coming over around 4. She wanted pasta for her birthday dinner and of course a Tiana cake with ice cream for desert. I was pretty excited that I could surprise her with a Barbie house for her birthday. So far this has been the worst thing to put together and then hide it. She was completely surprised and it was a big hit.

Happy birthday sweetie. I don't remember what my life was like before were my daughter and I am so proud of you!

Love, Mommy

Wonderful Christmas!

We had a great Christmas. I was able to take some time of work this month and it was so nice to really enjoy the time and get ready for the big day. We still had a lot of events but we also did some things that we didn't have time to do last year.

Malia got to see Santa many times this season. I think her favorite was seeing him at the Mall of America. You can set up an appointment and Santa sits and really spends time with each kid. Malia was so excited that she even forgot what she wanted to Christmas. The moment completely reminded me of Christmas Story where Raphie forgets to ask for the Red Rider bb gun and says yet to the football that Santa brings up. In Malia's case it was a princess doll:)

We got to go to the Holidazzle in the middle of two cold sweeps. It was still chilly but not to the point that we had to skip. We were able to meet up with some friends. After the parade, we went to Macy's to see the exhibit - Day in the Life of Elves. Malia had a great time and of course we had to see Santa, again. It was nice to keep up this tradition.




Another highlight for the month is seeing the Princess and the Frog movie (not once but twice already). Malia wore her Tiana dress that we got on our trip to Disney and she had a blast. She didn't like the 'mean guy' but loved the rest of the movie.

On another note, we had a memorable time making Christmas cookies. For anyone that knows my cooking and baking skills this will not come as a surprise. I really wanted to take the time this year to bake some cookies from scratch. My idea was to make spritz cookies with Malia. We seemed to start out good. We mixed together all of the ingredients but the 'dough' was way to liquidy, So then we add more flour, and more flour, and more flour. It finally seemed to have the right consistency. So we proceeded to get the first batch ready. It looked like normal going into the oven but when I checked if they were done I was in for a big surprise. See the pictures below... Well, it seems like I refilled my flour canister with powdered sugar by accident! I can't believe it still but it really happened.




As for Christmas itself, it was special even with the extra snow. We spent some time at my parents house so we wouldn't have to travel back and forth. We loved spending extra time with my parents and my sister's family.




In addition, Malia got the long anticipated piano from Santa but her first comment was 'It is not very big'. Our response was that Santa brings toys and therefore she got a toy piano. I don't know where she got the idea that she was going to get a real full sized piano. At least she played with it after that. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and my thoughts go out to those still waiting to see their child for the first time.