Proud

Before we head out on a family trip to Jamaica, I feel the need to express how proud I am of my little girl.  Natalie has needed a hair cut, or at least a trim, for a little while now.  It was getting long and there is the aforementioned trip to the beach.  I for one had no desire to brush that hair every day with the beast mode of tangles that would inevitably appear after 5 minutes on the beach.

Well, Natalie took it upon herself to grow her hair long enough so that she could donate it to a charity.  How cool is that?  I kind of tear up thinking about it--not as much as her mother likely teared up seeing her little girl get a big girl hair cut though.

Did I mention she starts school next month?  *More tears from Mama*

Before

Handling it like a champ.

After. Obviously.

Celebrating Life

May brings lots of celebrating around here—Mother’s Day, Natalie’s birthday, Match Day (the day we were matched with Natalie), our wedding anniversary. It’s been an extremely busy month, so all three of us are ready for summer’s slower pace.

I've been wanting to put together a slideshow documenting Natalie’s first five years (can’t believe how quickly this point has arrived!). Not having much to go on to capture her infancy is just part of the deal. We do have some precious photos of her taken during her first 14 months in China, but those belong to her and are not ours to share. While it doesn't encompass everything or everyone and doesn't quite do her justice, I’m sure Natalie will enjoy watching this compilation. I hope you will too. ~ Amy

So...

In the not so distant past, my mother asked me if we had just abandoned the blog altogether.  At that time, I said that wasn't the case.  However, appearances tell a different story.

Sorry, folks and faithful followers (you're out there, right?); it was never our intention to drop off the face of the blogosphere.  We always had good intentions of making holiday posts and whatnot.  It just never happened.  Call it laziness if you must.

Anyway, I am here again, posting something.  No big news to report.  A year's worth of events would be too long.  I can throw a few pictures up though.  I can tell you that soccer season is about to start back up and Natalie is very excited.  I can confess that I am too.  I enjoy watching her play and coaching the team.  I can tell you that her mother and I are dumbfounded and stricken with grief when we think about her starting kindergarten at the end of this summer.  Is that really possible?

I guess the the most encapsulating thing to say is that she is growing up fast.  She was 14 months old when we met her on August 2, 2010.  She will be 5 in May.  She is a smart kid.  Behaves most of the time.  Is trying to perfect her lying techniques but we are currently still able to thwart them.  She still has a stranglehold over our hearts and the hearts of most people she meets.

So...that is it.  The blog has not been abandoned.  We are still alive.  I am still lazy, but will endeavor to post more often if I know someone is reading.

A Daughter, a Mama, and a Birthday

Last week we celebrated not only Mother’s Day, but also Natalie’s fourth birthday. We celebrated her birthday so much that we did it twice. On her birthday we had dinner with family, and over the weekend, at Natalie’s request, a playground party with some of her friends. We’re so grateful for everyone’s love, generosity, and time and are thankful for everyone who plays a part in her life. As Natalie’s mama, sometimes I can’t believe my good fortune to have the honor and privilege of calling her my daughter. We love you too much, Natalie.

PS (Baba here) Amy wrote the above before she was awoken about 6 times last night by our little doll.  We are all suffering from colds (thanks to said angel constantly touching things in public and not sanitizing) and we should have given her something last night before bed. I think Mama still loves her, but the comments might not have been quite so glowing if she wrote them this morning. ;)

A big girl and a little girl all in the same package.

Should we look into a modeling career?

We are currently surrounded by Hello Kitty.

She appreciates the cash.

BFFs hugging it out.

Soccer

Natalie is really enjoying soccer this season.  She is playing pretty well too.  Four goals in two games isn't too shabby.  I think it has more to do with her amazing coach than anything though.

Hope you like the shots.

We’re Still Around

As another major holiday has just passed and we've yet to document any in the past few months, we thought we might share a few thoughts and photos. First, some random shots from Easter…

The first egg of the year.

On the hunt.

That Baba is always saying something funny.  

Meet Cabinet, the solo cup with a head of grass. This little guy needed a haircut, and Natalie was more than happy to oblige.

The salon owner needed her own appointment.

Chinese New Year weekend ushered in a big change for Natalie—her big girl bed. Now, I knew this was coming and was needed since she kept bumping into her toddler bed at night and waking up, but this mama wasn’t ready. There’s no turning back now. And she loves it.

In a previous post, we listed some of Natalie's favorite things. We thought, as she races down the stretch toward four years old, we should update you all.  

Natalie’s current career choice is to become a pediatrician, but she’s keeping her options open: salon owner, plumbing inspector, auto mechanic, veterinarian, teacher… Trust me, we've pretended she’s been all of these things.

Book: Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Song: "Tongue Tied"  by Grouplove

          A few others include "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers, "On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons,        

          and "Over the Rainbow" by Mama

Bands: Mumford and Sons (LOVE hearing her sing “I Will Wait” as she plays her air banjo) and 

fun. (I had to chuckle when I walked into the bedroom to find Natalie picking out a bedtime story and singing, “What do I stand for? What do I stand for? Most nights I don’t know anymore.”)

 Food:  Mashed sweet potatoes.

Restaurant: Moe's. Basically she likes that they yell at her when she comes in.  

Game:  She loves hide-and-seek. She especially loves the part where she is about to find Baba and

             he jumps out and scares her. Good times.

TV Show: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

Sports: This girl loves soccer. She put on her cleats with pajamas the night before the first practice, wanting  to wear them to bed. She couldn't wait! More to come on this front, as the first game of the season is this weekend. Stay tuned!

Thanks for taking the time to check in on our family. We are sorry to have made you wait so long. We promise to try harder. I think we have said that before to no avail. We always mean it though.

                

Chillaxin'. Whatevs.

   

I am thankful for...infertility

I thought I should jump on the bandwagon and list what I am thankful for this holiday. Infertility might seem like a strange thing to list, but what am I if not different?  Many people struggle with this diagnosis on a daily basis.  They often do so in silence. At one point, you could count Amy and me among that number.  Not anymore.

*Hold your horses.  We are not pregnant.*

You can't count us among that number because we don't struggle with it anymore.  Without infertility we would likely not have this lovely young lady in our life.  

Many people long to hold a biological baby in their arms and I do not begrudge them for that.  Not at all.  What I can say is I cannot think of any greater blessing on this earth than to have Natalie Xue Er Hill in our life.  So, on this Thanksgiving, an American holiday that Natalie sees solely as yet another opportunity to run around like crazy with her cousins, I am thankful for failure.  In this National Adoption Month, I am thankful for CCAI, for China opening their borders to this process, for having enough money to pursue our dreams, for a birth mom who (for reasons we will never know) decided she couldn't do it and made a choice tougher than I ever want to know, and most of all, I am thankful for Natalie.