We Are Having A Great Gotcha Week!!!

In honor of the one-year anniversary of my "Gotcha Day" my Mama and Baba started celebrating this Saturday, which was the exact day last year when they began the trip to China to meet me. We had a great day on Saturday. We started it off with a delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant. I loved the "Seafood Charmaine" because I love scallops and anything spicy. And I especially loved the fresh mozzarella with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fresh basil and tomatoes. For a toddler, I have a very diverse palate! After dinner, I enjoyed a mango smoothie.

See how happy this mango smoothie makes me!

I love when I get to drink something with a straw like this. It sure beats a sippy cup, because if you pull the straw in and out, it makes a squeaking noise like my shoes.


Hold on - time for another sip.


Yep, I'm still happy. It's our Gotcha Week, my tummy is fully of Italian food, and I have a mango smoothie!



Hold on - time for another sip.



Mama likes that I am becoming more "playful." She said that each and every day, my personality comes through a little bit more.

We also went by to visit a place where Mama used to work. She wanted to visit some of her old friends and clients there. It's so pretty at that place! They have beautiful gardens and a fish pond. And their new marketing director (that was Mama's old job) gave me a balloon!!!!!!

Here I am looking at the fish pond. I don't want to get too close! Oh, and I mentioned that my shoes squeak. That is because they are supposed to! They are "squeaky shoes" from China. There are squeakers in the heels, and it makes me happy when I walk in them and hear them squeak! My dress is also from China.

We also went to the mall for awhile. Baba and I look SO excited don't we? Mama should know better than to interrupt our fun at the mall with a picture-taking session. :)

We also went to see our friend Greg at his putt-putt golf place called Groovy Golf (at the Georgia Square Mall in Athens - shameless plug for our friend Greg). He just moved to a much bigger location, and it looks GREAT!

And this is why it's really so groovy - it's a glow in the dark golf course! We LOVE it!

The other thing we did for our Gotcha Week celebration was to watch our video from China again. This time, I really understood it. I kept walking up to the TV saying "baby" - because that was ME on the screen. And I saw my Mama and Baba too. Mama said that I must have really liked and understood the video, because I kept coming up to both of them for kisses throughout the whole thing. They thought that was really sweet. We are all so happy that one year ago, we became a forever family. Now stay tuned, because this next weekend, we are going to a pumpkin patch for a hayride, a petting farm, and all sorts of things that I don't exactly understand. But I will tell you ALL about them soon.

And Finally, Our Gotcha Day Video From October 9, 2006

This was the day that we became a family of 3 in Chongqing, China. It's already October 9th in China, so we are just in time to celebrate our one-year anniversary of "Gotcha Day."

Introducing My Baby

A few months ago, Mama and Baba bought me a baby of my own. She is named Baby Yang. We picked that name, because Yang was my last name before I met my Mama and Baba. Mama somehow knew that I would fall in love with a baby that looked just like me. Mama looked all over to find one that was just right, and she did. Baby Yang has my black hair, my brown skin, and my beautiful almond-shaped brown eyes. She looks just like ME! And I love her very much. She sleeps with me at night, and she rides with me in the car, and she even sits on the kitchen counter while I eat at the table. She goes everywhere with me! Oh, and they bought me a red balloon that day, and it went everywhere with me too.

I love to give Baby Yang kisses just like Mama and Baba kiss me.

And if you come up to try and take Baby Yang from me, I will give you this very suspicious, secretive look and say "No. Mine. My baby."

Sometimes I get very creative in how I carry Baby Yang. In the following example, I'm holding her by her ankle. Sometimes I hold her upside down. Mama says that I need to change that when I start spending time around REAL babies.

And finally, Baba let ME take a picture of the two of us. Mama thinks I did a really good job!

Thank you Mama and Baba for Baby Yang. And for all Mamas out there who may want a baby like Baby Yang, she is made by Corolle. They have an entire line of baby dolls of different ethnicities and for all ages, including first baby dolls for infants.

Some People Hold A Place In Your Heart So Dear....

I was lucky enough to meet someone that my Mama and Baba have known for over two years now. Her name is Julia, and she has been such a special person in their lives, because she is the person who helped coordinate everything it took to bring ME home! My Mama called Julia one night - New Year's Eve back in 2004. Mama and Baba had just realized that they wanted ME to be their baby, and they called Julia to find out how to make that happen. Julia has been such a good friend to my Mama and Baba. She was there for them at a time when they were worried that they might not ever get to meet me at all. But Julia knew that they would, and she encouraged them every time my Mama called her wondering when I might be coming home. Julia was so excited to meet me for the first time. She said that I am the reason she does her job. So thank you Miss Julia for making us a very happy family. Mama and Baba will never forget the role you have played in their lives and mine. We love you!

August 25, 2006 - A Day Mama & Baba Will Never Forget!

One year ago today, my Mama and Baba got the call from Miss Julia (the adoption coordinator) letting them know that I was going to be their baby. And then later that night, they even had pictures of me! They showed me those pictures today, and I recognized myself! I have really changed since this time last year. They were all excited about coming to China and meeting me, but I was still in China not really knowing that I had parents coming to get me soon. I was only just turning 7 months old then (I'm a big girl 0f 19 months old now).

Mama and Baba have been a little bit emotional today, hugging me and telling me how happy they are that I am here with my forever family now! And I have loved every minute of it! We went and had Asian food at one of my favorite restaurants (did they tell you how much I love Thai coconut soup with super hot chili oil in it - I'm a true to form Chongqing spicy girl), and then we went to see Shrek 3, and then we did some shopping.

Anyhow, here I am with Baba holding those pictures of me that they first saw on August 25th last year. Happy Referral Anniversary Mama & Baba!!!! Wo a ni!

Mei-Ling Enjoys Big Brother Xavier's Visit

We were very lucky this weekend to have my big brother Xavier to come and visit. We had a great weekend, which included my first trip to the movie theatre (and I didn't make a peep the entire time except when people were laughing), my first trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and just some really good times with Xavier.

Here is a nice shot of us in downtown Madison, Georgia, after eating lunch on our trip to take Xavier back home.

How we both ended up posing with that very same facial expression, Mama and Baba will never know! But isn't it CUTE???


I was, of course, overwhelmed by the sights and sounds at Chuck E. Cheese! I especially enjoyed this particular ride.

Oh, wow. This thing moves!!!! Hold on, Chuck E. - we are going for a ride! It's a good thing I'm strapped in.

Mama is never too far away at any given time!


After a very busy weekend, I took some time to relax and enjoy some dinner. And some animal crackers.

This is how happy animal crackers make me. In fact, if you see me in person, ask me to do the "cookie dance." It's quite a show!

Ahhhhh. Life is good. I had a nice weekend with my Mama, Baba, and big brother. And then I end up getting some yogurt and animal crackers to wrap up the day on Sunday. It doesn't get any better than this!

Mama & Baba Celebrate Their Anniversary...With ME!!!

My Mama and Baba celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary and decided to take me on little getaway so we could all enjoy ourselves. We spent the weekend at a wonderful hotel called the Renaissance Waverly and did all kinds of fun things. The first fun thing we did was visit the Georgia Aquarium.

This is how I looked for most of the visit. There were some really big fish, whales and sharks there along with other creatures like penguins and sea otters.

Baba and I are encountering some sting rays. I wasn't really big enough to reach down in there and pet them, but they were interesting to watch. Mama and Baba also realized that it is so much fun to watch ME that they completely forget to take pictures. At least they took a few!

We decided to spend some time back at the hotel enjoying their pool. But for awhile, I decided just to hang out here on the chaise and check things out from afar.

I had not been in a pool this big since we were in Chongqing. It was a little scary at first, but then it got really fun! Baba taught me how to kick and then how to use my arms. I am almost swimming!

Hi Mommy! I see you sitting there in the jacuzzi taking pictures!

See, I'm almost doing it all by myself!

I really am having a good time. We need one of these at home!

OK, now we are ready for some dinner in just a few minutes. Mama and Baba are excited about this new Tuscan restaurant here in the hotel. But we'll just hang out for a little while right here. I love my Baba!

OK, we are seated, and I'm hungry!

No matter where I go, there is still nothing as good as Cheerios. Well, I know my Mommy replaced my Cheerios with Cascadian Farms organic cereal, but I love those too, so I won't let on that I know she made the switch. ;) Now, where's my entree? The chef is making me a Mei-Ling-sized lasagne!!!!!

Mommy had a great time on our trip. She is especially happy after eating Italian food and some dessert called Tiramisu. I didn't get to taste any of that because of something called Kahlua.

We are back out in the lobby just chilling a bit before heading upstairs.

If you are ever looking for a FUN game to play, try this one. I always do things like flapping my arms, moving my feet and just shimmying and moving all around when people are trying to take my picture. See, I moved so much, my arm has almost vanished into thin air!

Well, that's it for our weekend pictures. We had a great time. On Sunday, we ate at the best jazz brunch, and Mama went on a mission to find at least SOMETHING off the buffet that I would not eat. She was unsuccessful. I had everything from cheese blintzes to crab legs and so many blueberries that (uh oh - Mama said that one is too gross to post here).

One thing that Mama and Baba did just for me was buying me a baby doll that looks JUST like me. Her name is Baby Yang (pronounced YAHng). She is beautiful, and she has the last name that I had before Mama and Baba and I were united in China. We'll get some pictures of me and Baby Yang after we get back home. Until then, zai jian (good bye)!