Celebrating The Moon Festival

On Saturday, we attended the Asian Children's Mentor Program's Moon Festival celebration. This celebration is always scheduled near the Fall solstice in celebration of the coming season. We always enjoy this event. When I first arrived, my sweet mentor Ji In had a beautiful pair of earrings she made me! I'm showing them off here. They are clip-ons since my ears are not pierced yet. Mama and Baba are allowing me to make the decision when to pierce mine, and I'm not ready yet.

Here I am posing with Daddy.

And now with Mama.

Here I am with my friends Grace and Nichole.

Then, we spent some time with our mentors making crafts. I'm not sure yet what we are making, but these are the sheets of paper we'll use.

Ji In is helping me cut the paper.

I'm doing really well with the scissors!

Now, Ji In is painting flowers and a butterfly on my arm.

I have a pretty blue flower now!

Here is our whole group - the mentors, parents and the kids!


This young man is about to play a Vietnamese string instrument.

The music was just beautiful!

The 2009 Moon Festival was a LOT of fun. Be sure to check back later for pictures from our upcoming Gotcha Day celebration. It will be our 3-year anniversary of the day we became a forever family.

Referral Anniversary & Great Labor Day With Friends

On August 25, 2009, we celebrated the 3-year anniversary of the day Mama and Baba received my referral. What that means is that on that day, they received the call they had been waiting for - that a little baby girl (me!) was waiting for them in an orphanage in China. Later that day, they received pictures of me via e-mail. A week later, they received all kinds of information about me that documented my abandonment at the orphanage and then my development over the months. During the time between the referral and the day they met me (October 9), Mama and Baba were preparing for the trip. Each year, we celebrate these special days. This year, for our referral anniversary, we went out to dinner at the place of my choice. I wanted "rice, noodles and FIRE" which meant that I chose to go have some delicious Japanese food at a hibachi grill where they prepre the food in front of us. We will also be doing something special for "Gotcha Day" but Mama and Baba haven't told me what that will be yet. I think they are planning to surprise me. Another fun thing we did recently was to celebrate Labor Day with our friends Nichole and her mom Stacey. Nichole is also from China and is a couple of years older than me. They visited our house, and we grilled delicious food that day and ended the meal with hot fudge sundae cupcakes! We had a great time. Here I am with my friend Nichole.

I have a doctor's kit at home, and Nichole had fun giving me an exam. Here she is checking my teeth! She said they looked fantastic.

We also had a great time playing in my princess tent. Nichole is hiding in this picture.

We have a very busy few months coming up. Next weekend will be the Asian Children's Mentor Program's (ACMP) Moon Festival. Then, Gotcha Day (October 9), then Mama's Birthday on October 22, then another ACMP event, Halloween, and then we'll move on into the holiday season. I can't wait!

Pop Pop's 77th Birthday & A "Princess" Party

We've had a few busy weekends recently! This weekend, Grandma, Pop Pop and Doe came up to celebrate Pop Pop's 77th birthday with us! We went out for dinner that evening and then spent some time in the gardens near where Baba works at UGA. Here's a nice picture of me with Mama sitting on a bench in the gardens.

Baba loves taking pictures of my Mama.

I love the sound of these wind chimes. Mama explained to me that they have lots of these in China too, and that I probably first heard wind chimes over there.

This is a pretty color and makes a very pretty sound.

It gets louder when you push this harder.

I sat down with Pop Pop and Grandma for some pictures inside the gazebo. It was a little too shady, but we still were able to get a decent shot. At least it was cool inside!

And then it was Doe's turn since the four of us couldn't all fit on the small bench.

And here's a picture of my Mama and Baba.

I love playing with my Pop Pop. He acts like a very young man sometimes and NOT like a 77-year-old.

We are dancing!

We had some delicious food at Siri Thai. It's everyone's favorite place to eat - including Grandma, Pop Pop and Doe.

This is the first time we've been able to get all our Thai friends in one picture. From l-r: Lala's Mom, Lalapat, Jang, Joom, Mama (of course) and Ratana. They were so sweet to ask Mama to be in the picture with them.

And then a couple of weekends ago, I attended the birthday party of a classmate. We had a tea and "dress up" party! Here I am having tea and some finger foods.

And I dressed up in many different costumes. I was so busy and moving around so much, Mama and Baba could hardly get pictures of me.

A ladybug!

Another princess gown with a tiara!

I brought my friend Addison a veterinarian's kit complete with a little white puppy to work on. That gift was the hit of the party!

Well, that's it for now. Happy birthday, Pop Pop! We enjoyed your visit.

Happy Anniversary To Mama & Baba!

Mama and Baba celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this past week! They had a "date day" on Friday while I was at school but then took me for a very fun outing the next day. I always want to look like a "princess" now, so I chose to wear a new blue and white polka-dotted dress that Grandma bought me.

I love being all dressed up. By the way, that writing behind me is my name in Mandarin. I'm covering up the "Mei" part, but you can see the "Ling."

Here are Baba's polka-dotted ladies.

Baba chose something besides polka dots.

The first thing we did was take my picture outside of PF Chang's. That's a BIG horse!

We took a ride on the train inside the mall. Sorry for the extreme close-up. The train car was not that large.

I also enjoyed the carousel.

Baba rode with me while Mama took pictures.

And now, I'm going to get strapped into a harness, connected to bungee cords, and then - well, I'm not sure what will happen next.

This is getting interesting! I'm not sure what to think just yet.


Woohoo! Bungee!!!!!!!!

In case there is any doubt, look at this smile. I am having a BLAST!

We had some lunch at PF Changs, and then I spent some time in a play area. Here I am atop a caterpillar.

I also enjoyed seeing Ice Age 3, and then having some delicious ice cream. Happy anniversary Mama and Baba!

Father's Day Weekend - A Week Late & In Macon

We had a wonderful Father's Day at home but also had a great weekend a week later at Grandma's and Pop Pop's home in Bolingbroke. We went out for a delicious dinner that evening and then spent some time outside at their place. Here I am with Baba.

Baba took this nice shot of Mama outside.

And a close-up of Mama. This is the same backyard she played in as a little girl.

And here we are together.

Grandma and Doe have been best friends (and sisters) for more than 70 years.

Here I am with my grandparents and Doe. I love them so much.

And here I am again in Baba's arms.

I had a great time with Baba on Father's Day and with Pop Pop this past weekend. And Mama had a great time seeing her daddy too. Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men out there who are fathers, who hope to be fathers, and who may not have children of their own but who act as father figures to little girls and boys they love.