Apple Sauce

Not a whole lot to say, but wanted to get some stuff up.

I am amazed by how quickly this kid is growing up.  Does having a child actually speed up time?  Seven months ago we brought home this cute little girl who couldn't walk and knew a couple of words of English (a few Chinese as well).  Now we have a running terror, but still VERY cute, who repeats everything we say.  I couldn't even begin to count her vocabulary these days.  Every day it seems there is something new that makes me wonder "where did she get that from?"

Of course, it isn't always perfect.  Her mouth is, according to her, her "mouse."  A lot of things end in Y.  When she walks backwards she is "backy."  She also knows that when I get up in the morning I "takey shower."

Anyway, there is your update for now.  Enjoy the stuff below and witness the reason for the title of this post.

Oh yeah, I think I attended my first tea party today.  Natalie likes lots of sugar in her imaginary tea.  I think that coupled with her love for grits and watermelon means she was destined to be a southern girl.

She found Ma Ma's lip gloss

Once a month?

Is that really the best I can do? It can't say there is nothing going on since Natalie keeps us very entertained and is really starting to show a lot of personality.  We have to just laugh whenever we think about her referral information that said she was quiet.  

Anyway, I have got some pictures below to talk about.  The first is from our Chinese New Year celebration at Green Bamboo.  The International Families group reserved the back room.  Good thing as we needed every bit of it.  I think everyone had a good time.  All the girls really seemed to enjoy themselves.  Below is a picture of Natalie with friends Lilly and Eli playing Ring Around the Rosie with Gina (Lilly's mom).  I did have noodles, so I am planning on getting rich in the year of the rabbit.

 This is Natalie in her CNY vest sent to us by Marvin and Julia.  This is a traditional clothing item for kids during CNY celebrations.  Thanks again to Natalie's Shanghai family for all they sent to us to help her celebrate.  It means a lot to us that they care and want to stay involved and that they help us keep Natalie aware of her Chinese heritage. You can tell Natalie loves it too.

Just Natalie being cute.  :)

I love this one.  Natalie just recently discovered her shadow.  She had a good time playing with it.  Now, in the morning when we know the sun is shining in just right, we know how to get her to come running: "Natalie, do you know where your shadow is?"

Finally, Natalie decided to do her own hair.  Nice huh?  She tried to put the headband on like her Mama does.  It didn't work quite as well.  She was eating chocolate too.  That is courtesy of her Gu nai nai (Great Aunt) Jannie.  The chocolate bar was intended for me, but Natalie wasn't having that as she brought it to me and was pretty insistent on getting some of it.  

Let me also say that I am so surprised at the number of people who still comment or tell me they read this blog.  I started it because I thought there might be a few people interested in following our trip to China to get our angel.  I had no idea that so many would be interested then and I never imagined anyone would still care.  Now, I don't kid myself into thinking people come here thanks to my charm and wit.  I know it is all about Natalie.  I appreciate it though and I will make an effort to keep it going.  Zai jian!

Pictures and a Video

I just wanted to throw some pictures up for you all to see. 

This is Jamie, Natalie's cousin from Denver via Korea.  Natalie hung out with him all night.  I don't know if she loved being with him because of the Asian connection or just because he was willing to cart her around all night.


Now, we have the video.  I wanted to post this for a couple of reasons.  First, you can see how far she has come with her mobility.  Since we had a video of her first attempts at walking, I thought it only fair to show her improvement.  Second, I got one of our favorite Natalie sayings on here too.  She gives you a "see you later" at the end.  She says it pretty well now, but it use to be much more garbled.  I apologize for the camera work, but I had to try and set it somewhere she wouldn't mess with it.  That didn't work.  Also, I know it seems like we are playing fetch, but she loves it.

Natalie didn't have to dream of a white Christmas.

Another Christmas has come and gone.  This one seemed a bit different for some reason. Also, our living room looks like someone set off a toy bomb.  That must be the work of a new child in the family.

Natalie dealt with all 5 Christmases like a trooper.  While it always took a her some time to figure out what was going on, she got into the unwrapping of gifts without difficulty.  Like any almost 2 yo, she was easily distracted by the toy in hand and didn't want to move on to the next gift.  We had to distract her for a minute and take the toy away so she would move on.  I felt kind of guilty about that because it was like "look at all these great things your are getting, now were are going to take them away."  It was all good when they resurfaced though. Now, on to the good stuff.

The picture below is Natalie walking down the "catwalk" in her new boots.  This was taken Christmas morning.  She got the boots from her Aunt Brandi and Uncle Landon the day before.  She insisted on putting them on first thing in the morning with her footed pajamas.  I think she looked like an astronaut for some reason.

Next is a video of Natalie not quite grasping what to do with her gifts just yet.

Once she figured it out, she loved the tea pot.  She got two tea sets and loves them both.  She walks around serving tea for several hours a day.  I see that as a sign that she is ready to start working and contributing some income to the household.

More shots of toys.  We are working on the concept that this stick is only for hitting the xylophone, not the cat, table, or whatever else is in sight.

She loves anything "Ni Hao Kai-Lan."  Just ask her cousin.  She tried her best to steal her Kai-Lan toy from her.  The picture below is her new ride along.  The poor dinosaur from previous videos has gone extinct like his brethren.

Finally, a video of some holiday cookie decorations.  Aunt Brandi baked some cookies for the kids to decorate and leave out for Santa.  You will see, they all did an excellent job.

It really was a wonderful Christmas as Amy and I finally had the "gift" we had been wanting for so long.  I have said it before, but it doesn't stop being true, this girl has changed our lives so dramatically and we wouldn't want it any other way.  She makes us smile, cry, and pull our hair out, but she is awesome beyond belief.

It is pretty special

last year i got Amy an ornament for Christmas. it read "i will hold you in my heart until i can hold you in my arms." we certainly had hope, but didn't really think it was possible that the next Christmas would be so much more special. we can hold her in our arms now and we couldn't be happier.

Natalie going to town on her first ever gift wrapped Christmas present.

i hope you can figure out who put this outfit together. those would be her pajamas, her tutu (a gift from her great aunt), and cat hat. she is also holding a gift bag that she likes to pretend is a shopping bag. if we are missing items around the house, it is a good idea to check there.

i promise to put up some Christmas pics very soon after the festivities. we have about 4 Christmases and they should all be very fun and a new adventure. Merry Christmas everyone. Have a safe and very happy holiday!

"No."

While Amy was holding Natalie last night I attempted to lean in and give Amy a kiss and Natalie would have no part of it. She actually put her hand to my face and pushed me away. Great, now I have two women rejecting my affection.

I will get some pictures up again at some point, but I just wanted to drop a note. Natalie is doing pretty well (just a few sleep issues really and that is all). She had a great Thanksgiving with her family. She seemed to really enjoy herself. She is a big fan of traditional Thanksgiving food.

The Christmas tree is up and she is doing a great job of being gentle with it. She really doesn't want to bother it much unless Ma Ma is "playing" with the ornaments too. No presents under it yet, so we will see how that goes.

November

So, November is Adoption Awareness Month. This is a fact I knew nothing about in years past, but for some reason I find myself acutely aware of now. I had not been exposed to adoption much in my lifetime until Amy and I decided to find the love of our lives through it. Everyone who has gone through the adoption process has their own reasons, but I would like to thank them for trying to make a difference in the life of a child or young person. Adoption or foster care touches the lives of so many people, not just the adoptive parents or child. I believe my family and friends can attest to that.

So, on a more personal note, please see the pic below of our Natalie playing with her BFF Lily. OK, we don't know that they are going to be besties for life, but I certainly hope they can become good friends. Lily is the daughter of Joe and Gina Saltsman and the little sister of Lauren. They went and returned from China about a week ahead of us. Lily is just a bit older than Natalie, but they are very close in size and, it seems to me, in personality. Amy and I are very happy to have met the Saltsmans and hope that we can watch our girls grow up together. It would be great for both girls to realize that even though a family is not based on looks, there are ones out there that like just like theirs.

Also, it isn't just for the girls benefits. I know I enjoy talking to another family the gets the difficulties and joys that go along with raising a child of International Adoption.

That is Mr. Potato head they are "playing with." I think this picture was probably taken amidst a lesson of sharing for both girls. Lily was protective of her toys and Natalie wanted them to be hers. I think they worked it out by the end of the night. Lily did graciously share one of her tutus with Natalie.

As far as life with Natalie goes, everything is moving along without much difficulty. Well, change is always difficult, but we manage, right? We think Natalie is going through some attachment issues right now. While these might not be fun for the parents, they are essential for Natalie and ultimately healthy for our family. Also helpful is that Amy is no longer bombarded with work and we can spend more time together as a family. That may mean Amy and me watching TV while Natalie runs around pulling all of her toys out and drooling, but at least she sees that we are all there together. FYI, she is drooling because she has some more teeth coming in. We have been lucky in that department as she had most of them when we got her and has had no fever or, as far as we know, serious pain with these four coming in now.

Finally, below you see Amy and Carla with Natalie. Carla stopped by to visit for a while to remind me how scarily similar her and Amy really are. Thanks for stopping in Carla. Hopefully in December we will get a visit from Olivia Proulx Smith, if her parents can work us into their schedule that is. :)