Grandma & Mei-Ling Enjoy Some Playtime

Grandma and I played with some very colorful balls today.

It's amazing how long I can be entertained with little round pieces of plastic!

Now I have a red one!

This is so much fun! Mommy probably wants a nice shot of me standing so she can take a good picture of my new dress.

Grandma and Pop Pop bought me a whole collection of Disney books! But my FAVORITE part is the book bag they came in. I love it, and I will now wear it around the house for a very long time. I also learned how to kick my beach ball and these little balls this weekend!

OK, this picture is a little fuzzy, because I'm RUNNING with my backpack on!

Grandma loves me! She only waited 73 years to be a Grandma!

And I love her. And my backpack too!

OK - it's playtime again!

Uh-oh. Where did it go?

I have one too, Grandma!

I'll give you just a minute's break.

Oh, a ball for me!

Throw it, Grandma!

Grandma loves to just squeeze me. Oddly enough, so does everyone else!

Thank you Grandma and Pop Pop for spending some time with me this weekend!

Splish Splash...Mei-Ling Enjoys A Dip In Her New Pool

Mei-Ling really enjoyed using her new pool this weekend and especially loved the "sea snake" that came with it.

The pool has a slide, a ball toss, a ring toss, the sea snake and then a palm tree that shoots water from it!

Hmmm. I'm not really liking that palm tree that shoots water. That's not too fun right now.

And even though there is some sort of string hanging down from my hat, Mama and Baba still thought this picture was too cute and posted it anyway.

But my hat is much more fun to play with in the water than to wear.

Why did you put that wet hat back on me? Seriously. Not fair!

Oh, and for any parents who like to live life on the edge, be warned. Mama and Baba thought a few minutes with just me and my bathing suit on would be ok. They said "who needs a swim diaper?" "She'll only be out there for 30 minutes or so."

Well, obviously I needed a swim diaper. We had to cut my swimming adventure short, and now they are "sanitizing" the pool. I suppose I'll be wearing a Little Swimmer next time!

Mei-Ling Meets Uncle Walker!

Uncle Walker from Tacoma was in Macon visiting Mei-Ling's grandparents for a couple of weeks, and we were able to spend some time with him! We also went to cousin Caylee's first birthday party, but Mama and Baba forgot to put the flash card in the camera! So this is all the photos we ended up with.

But at least we were able to get some pics of Mei-Ling and Uncle Walker. Also, remember that Mei-Ling very much loves the company of her Mama and Baba. And that means that she does NOT go willingly into the arms of anyone else unless she's known them for a LONG time.

She did finally warm up a little bit to Uncle Walker though. At least she wasn't crying in the pictures!

Oh, and for my friends who love baby couture, this outfit is from a little store on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, China where outfits like this and "squeaky shoes" cost the equivalent of about $4 USD.

Happy Mothers' Day!!!

For the very first time, at 38 years old, I am blessed with celebrating Mothers' Day in a way I had only dreamed of......as a mom. Although the path to motherhood was one with some bumps and some tears, I am so very grateful for where that path led me. I have been blessed with the baby I truly believe God hand-picked for me. She is everything I dreamed of and beyond.

And not only am I lucky enough to BE a mom this year, I'm equally lucky to still have my own mom in my life (and I'll be celebrating with her next weekend). She has been a wonderful role model to me and one of the most loving mothers a daughter could ask for.

Adam bought me a beautiful Mother's Day gift: a Mommy Bracelet! I have wanted one for years, but never had the courage to get one until we actually had Mei-Ling placed in our arms. So finally, I have my daughter and a beautiful bracelet which bears her name.

I also cannot celebrate this day without thinking of a very beautiful woman in China. I've never met her, and I don't know if I ever will. But she made it possible for me to become a mother. I can only imagine what she looks like. She must be beautiful, because our daughter is. And every time I look into Mei-Ling's eyes, I know I am seeing a little bit of this woman - her spirit, her courage, her love for this child that we share. I wish I could tell her how happy I am and how happy Mei-Ling is. Maybe one day I can. Until then, I will continue to honor her by how I treat our daughter. That's the least I can do for this woman who is so dear to me, yet so far away.

Mei-Ling & Ting-Ting: This Is The Story Of A Girl......And Her Bear

A very sweet friend of mine named Melissa gave Mei-Ling a beautiful stuffed Panda bear from the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Her name is Ting-Ting. Melissa has wanted me to get some good pictures of Mei-Ling and Ting-Ting playing, but each time I tried, Mei-Ling was in the stage where all she wanted to do was "dive-bomb" Ting-Ting and smother her with affection. All I could ever get a picture of was Mei-Ling crushing Ting-Ting, with only Ting-Ting's little Panda feet showing.

It appears that through Mama's and Baba's demonstrating first-hand how to "gently" love the kitties and stuffed animals, Mei-Ling is now doing the same. So enjoy the pictures of Mei-Ling and Ting-Ting.

Also, Melissa and her husband are on the waiting list to adopt a baby (or babies) from Ethiopia, and we wish them a very short wait and a magical trip to Ethiopia!