Happy Halloween!!!

Last weekend, we continued to celebrate Mama's birthday with her mom, dad and Doe coming to visit. We started off Saturday going to get some lunch. Here we are waiting on our food to arrive. I'm not sure what kind of looks we both have on our faces.

And now I'm obviously trying to eat the camera, while Mama just sits there smiling. That food needs to get here quickly!

And now for some shots with Baba. I'm all about the silly faces when pictures are being taken. Mama says my sense of humor is really developing.

Now I'll actually sit still for a moment and smile.

After lunch, we went to a toy store to start doing some Christmas "looking" with my grandparents and Doe, and guess what they had outside? A fire truck! I just happen to love fire trucks. The nice fireman let me sit up inside of it.

Wow, I am really sitting up high in this seat!

So then we went shopping for some clothes. For some reason Grandma and Doe always want to get clothes for me when they visit. Here I am trying on several things at once that don't match!


This is so much fun!

And now for the shoes. A girl cannot go shopping for clothes without getting some shoes too. :) And those teeny tiny Crocs behind me are actually Mama's. She has very small feet. She can't wait for us to wear the same size so we can share.

After trying on every piece of clothing they bought me AND everything in my closet, we went out to celebrate Mama's birthday. Mama, Baba and I all love Thai food and particularly this restaurant in Athens called Siri Thai. Here I am eating a Thai spring roll. I also enjoyed some Tom Kha (coconut milk/lemongrass/lime/chili oil/tofu/veggie soup), some of Mama's Tofu Gra Prow and some of Baba's Siri Fried Rice. I ask for Thai food every day. And we really love our friend Dang who owns the restaurant. She is so sweet to me! She gives me boxes of raisins when I eat all my dinner.


After we got home, I treated Grandma, Pop Pop and Doe to some music and dancing.


I have become quite the entertainer!


Sunday morning, we all went to church. Here are Pop Pop and I before we left. I'm making more funny faces, of course.


And let's have one with Grandma too. How do you like this face?

And I'm not sure what I'm doing here. But it looks cute, doesn't it?

And here I am with Mama and Baba. Mama thinks he looks so good in that purple shirt.

After church, we went to a Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch. I couldn't wait to find just the right pumpkin.


Ooh, here's one!


There are just so many to choose from Grandma!


Wow, look at these!

And there are even more over here!


Hmmm. How do you drive this thing?

Oh, you RIDE. That's much better.

I found a perfect little baby pumpkin.

See, this is MY baby pumpkin. I love it!


And now for some pictures. Mama is really trying to get me to smile, but I'm distracted by all the pumpkins!

And now one of the three of us. I'm still distracted.

Here's a good one of Pop Pop. That little train depot in the background is where Mama and Baba will vote on Tuesday.

And here's a nice one of Grandma and Pop Pop.


This year for Halloween, I decided to be Stephanie from the show Lazy Town. I am getting ready to go to the Asian Children Mentor Program's Halloween "Runway" Contest and Party.

I think I'll sit down for a few minutes.

I really love this outfit - the pink hair, the purse - all of it!

And now for a close-up.

And another one.

And now we are at the party. I am contestant number 1, and I'm waiting on the judges. Before the contest, we enjoyed some delicious Asian-inspired snacks and drinks.

And here we all are. Don't we all look cute?

Guess what? I WON the contest for best costume!!!! Mama, Baba, Doe, Grandpa, Grandma and my mentor Ji In were so proud of me. Also, I am getting a second mentor. There were so many volunteers this year for mentors that I get to have two. I will be spending some time with Catherine soon as well. She is from the Philippines. You can see her in one of the pictures on our blog where she was performing the cane dancing at the last Asian Mentor event.

Well, that's it for now. We sure had a busy week and weekend. Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

My Mommy turned 40 yesterday! We started celebrating the night before, when I walked in from school with a bouquet of cream and pink colored roses for her. She sure wasn't expecting a dozen roses from me! Here they are:

Today, they started opening up. They were completely closed when I first gave them to Mama.


They smell really nice too!


Then we all slept late yesterday. I went to school for a few hours while Mama and Baba went out to lunch and to do some shopping. And then after school, we all went out for pizza. Here we are waiting on our Margherita Pizza.


Oops - Baba took a surprise picture that time! We were NOT ready.


And a close-up of my Mommy - not too bad for 40. ;)

And now one with Baba (that pizza sure is taking a long time to make).


And then we came home to a little birthday cake for Mama -- and we do mean little since none of us really NEEDS any cake. Believe it or not, we had enough left over for all 3 of us to have a
piece again tonight.


Happy 40th Birthday Mama! Last night, after we read my bedtime story, Mama told me what a wonderful birthday it was for her to spend her day with me and Baba and how truly blessed she feels to have us in her life.

Now, we are in for some FUN this weekend. Pop-Pop, Grandma and Doe are coming up. We are going out for Thai food for dinner on Saturday to celebrate Mommy's birthday with her parents, and then we are going to church on Sunday, to a Pumpkin Patch and then to the Asian Children Mentor Program's Halloween Party, where I will be sporting my costume - Stephanie from Lazy Town. We will be taking lots of pictures!

Happy 2-Year "Gotcha Day" Anniversary!!!

This post will be from the point of view of Mommy today instead of Mei-Ling. This is a very special day for our family. Two years ago today, Adam and I walked into the Civil Affairs office in downtown Chongqing, China, to meet you, Mei-Ling. We had waited so long for this day, and it finally arrived. We were accompanied by our wonderful adoption guide, Mable. We walked into the main room, and there were babies everywhere! We arrived early and knew we would have to wait awhile for you to arrive. A few minutes later, we spotted you from across the room, as your nanny (we later found out was the actual orphanage director) walked in with you. Within a couple of minutes, she placed you in my arms:

Mei-Ling, we knew that day would change our lives forever. We knew we would love you with all our hearts. And two years later, it's hard to believe that our love for you grows every single day. From the moment you were placed in our arms, you didn't cry. We have always said that it was like you had known us all along. And we felt the same way. From those first sweet moments with you at the Civil Affairs Office to your first bottle, your first bath, and then your first bedtime back in the hotel room, we were a perfect fit for one another. We are so grateful that our lives took this direction and that YOU are our little girl. There could not have been a better match made. And it is our pleasure to be your parents.

We also realize that on October 9, 2006, the dream of your birth parents was realized. They simply wanted you to have a better life than you would have had in rural China, most likely living at a level of poverty none of us in America could even fathom. We heard this sentiment echoed throughout our visit to China. In Beijing, older Chinese women would grab my hands and rub and pat them and sometimes even say "thank you" in broken English. When we asked our guide Mable what else they were saying, we found out they were tearfully thanking us for giving one of their daughters a life of freedom and choices and abundance that you never would have enjoyed in China. We have a lot to live up to - the hopes and dreams of your birth parents, and the hopes and dreams of every woman in China who has faced a life that did not include what you have now. It's our honor and privilege to work hard to live up to the collective dreams of those in China who know that a better life exists. We promise to always honor and celebrate your choices in life and to remember to thank God that we live in a country where we have those choices. We also promise to educate you about your birth culture as well, since that will always be a part of who you are.

We have watched you grow from a 16 pound 8-month-old to a toddler. We can't believe you will turn 3 in January. The old adage holds true: time does "fly" when you are having fun. Every day is an adventure with you as you learn, test your boundaries, gain confidence, and become more and more polished in your speech and coordination. You are developing a wicked sense of humor! We look forward this year to your Baptism, and then the holidays with your grandparents and Doe. And then you will turn 3 on January 22. We also look forward to the young lady you will become. We already have a preview of what you will be like, but knowing you, you have some surprises in store for us - good ones of course.

Once again, we thank God for the journey that led to you. We pray for peace, health and abundance for your birth family. We thank the orphanage workers who nurtured you for months, and Mable for being not just an "adoption guide" but truly a midwife and friend to us for our three weeks in China. Mable anticipated our needs without us even having to speak them. We thank the People's Republic of China for finding us to be a worthy home for you. We thank our families and our friends for all your love and support.

And Mei-Ling, we thank YOU just simply for being who you are. You are smart, witty, energetic, compassionate, interested in learning about everything, and of course sometimes you throw a temper tantrum - or two! We celebrate the fact that you already have a well-developed sense of self and that you will emphatically assert yourself when you feel you need to. We can't wait to see the woman you become.

Happy Gotcha Day to all of us, for we feel like the most blessed family in the world, and we know that in many ways, we are.