We Had A Happy, Eventful Holiday Season!

We officially kicked off the holiday season with our annual Cone Family Christmas party in Liberty Hill, Georgia - just outside of Barnesville. This is my Pop Pop's side of the family. We had a great time as always. Our family is so large, we end up having this party every year in an historic community center there in Liberty Hill. A few of my cousins were not there this year, and we missed them. But it was a great party. Mama learned on this night that I definitely can hold my own playing with older boys. I ended up on the bottom of a tackle pile twice, and hopped right up without incident.


And here is a great shot of my brother, Xavier, who was able to attend the party with us.


Very little captioning is needed for this next round of photos, which hopefully capture the magic and wonder of a two year old on Christmas morning. But I'll give you an idea of what I was thinking in each shot. Here, I am just overwhelmed with what all is under the tree!

Wow Santa was GOOD to me!

This one is easy to get into.

PJ's!!!!!!

I like these PJs!!!

And another soft package.

I'm having fun!!!

"Princess" nightgowns and PJs were a direct request for Santa this year. I am very much into "princess" things right now.

See Grandma, Pop Pop and Doe? It's Cinderella!!!


Now for a BIG box. I wonder what is in here?

This one is tougher to get into!

This is looking like something that will be FUN!


It's a cash register with MONEY in it! Yaay!

Look at all this (play) money!!!


This will be so much fun to play with!!!

A baby doll. I love babies. This one is soft and easy to squeeze.

Here, you can see her too!

I'm opening some things from my stocking now. I think these are Disney panties.

And now another large box. What could this be?

It's another tough one to get into, but I can do it!

Rip, rip, rip.

OK, I'm in.

Wow, this is cool!

Yaay! I doctor's kit!

A stethoscope!

I like this kit!

What is this? A pager!

Do I talk into the pager like a phone?

Wow, it speaks to me and tells me I have a patient waiting on me.

I love playing with Grandma's real stethoscope, so this will be awesome for me to have my own!

Grandma, I need to take your blood pressure.

After all the gifts were opened, Mama and Baba told me Santa had left one more thing for me. And I closed my eyes, and they brought out THIS:

Want a hot dog Pop Pop?

I love my 50s Diner!

My very own oven!

There's a table side juke box, and I am about to make some coffee!

It bubbles just like it's boiling!

Now I'm getting creative and cutting up some "fruit" (Play Doh) on the booth side of the diner.

I'm going to make some more coffee.

My juke box is playing some cool tunes!

Let's see if the stuff in the oven is done.

Anyone need anything else?

OK, rewind to my visit to Santa. We did things a little different this year. Since I was terrified by the Santa at the mall last year, we decided to have a more relaxed visit with Santa at our church. Here I am listening to some music first.

What is that I hear?

Oh my!!!! It's Santa Claus!!!!!

Now we'll jingle some bells while Santa and his elves sing.

Santa looks so cute up there!

I was the first (as usual) to volunteer to sit on his lap. Obviously Mama and Baba made a good decision this year.

Santa is telling a few stories.

I'm enjoying sitting up here!

Awww. Santa gave me a gift - a cute candy cane!

Here is my collection of artwork from the season. I was very busy in school creating beautiful things that Mama and Baba eagerly displayed in the arched entrance to our sunroom.

And here is our collection of Christmas and Hanukkah cards we received from colleagues, friends and family members. Thank you all for remembering us!

We also had some really fun times after Christmas. My brother, Xavier, visited. We had a great time and Mama will post pictures of that later. Happy 2009 to everyone! This month includes my birthday (January 22). And then there's Chinese New Year too which will be coming up soon as we welcome in the year of the cow!!!

Happy Holidays!

This is how I feel about the holiday season:

So far, I have enjoyed putting up *my* Christmas tree, decorating it, and going to the Cone family Christmas party. Here I am posing with *my* tree.

This is an example of my really big holiday smile. I also can't wait to see Santa this weekend (even though I cried last year when I sat in his lap).

I decided to dance around the Christmas tree a bit. Dancing is one of my favorite things to do.

I also like to get under the tree and look up into it, but for now I just decided to sit down. Mama and Baba said that they always enjoyed looking up into their trees too.

We decided to take our own photos this year for our Christmas cards. Here is our first attempt. Mama and Baba said that it's really difficult to set the timer, get the lighting right and then get me to look at the camera, be still, and smile all at the same time. This one was NOT our best shot.

This one also was not the one we selected for the card. I'm not sure what the look on my face was.

Take 3 - not the best one either.

Take 4 - I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but at least I was staying still.

And finally - we all have our eyes open, decent smiles, and I'm not moving.

I have really enjoyed *my* Christmas tree so far. This year, because of a certain cat who may or may not be named Bandit, we decided to get an artificial tree. We won't go into detail of what happens when Bandit eats REAL Christmas trees. It's NOT pretty. But I am somehow convinced that this tree *is* my Christmas present. Mama said that I am getting more from Santa on Christmas day. How cool is that?

This Sunday, we go to our church's annual Christmas dinner, and that's when I'll meet Santa. Then Grandma, Pop Pop and Doe are coming up to visit. I can't wait. And of course, I am excited about Santa visiting my house. He's been here twice already (or so my parents say), but this year I have a better understanding of what all this is about. Happy holidays everyone!

Introducing "Little Purple Cat"

Today in school, we learned about Native Americans and crafted some cute little construction paper headdresses. When it came time for us to choose Native American names, the teacher, Miss Kim, asked me what my favorite animal is. I said a cat! Then, because I was wearing purple, I became Little Purple Cat.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We Had A "Groovy" Weekend With Xavier

Last weekend, my brother Xavier came up to visit. And one of our favorite activities is to go play putt putt golf at our friend Greg's place, Groovy Golf here in Athens. Here are some pictures from our adventure - starting with Baba making his first putt.

And this is what it looks like when Mama isn't using the flash. The whole place is lit with black lights and there are lots of glow in the dark features!

And our friend Greg plays plenty of dance music from the 70s. I love to dance!

I'm still dancing while Baba putts.

In fact, I seem to like dancing more than playing putt putt.

Xavier was very happy to get a hole in one!

Baba looks on as Xavier putts.

And here I am posing with Baba.

This is what Groovy Golf looks like without the flash.

It's definitely very retro!

Here's the outside of Groovy Golf. It's inside the Georgia Square Mall in Athens.

And here are a few more shots of the grooviness.

And one final shot.....

We did have a really nice weekend that included of course Groovy Golf, some shopping, and our weekly trip to Siri Thai for some delicious food. Thanks for coming up to visit with us Xavier!

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November 4th Was A Wonderful Day For Us To Remember

On November 4, 2008, we completed the final step in my adoption process. It wasn't a necessary step but was one that ensures my relationship with Mama and Baba legally at the state level. It was called "domesticating" my adoption, and it will result in my having an American birth certificate, with my legal American name on it and with Mama's and Baba's names on it as my parents. Our court date was today, and the judge heard our case. Here I am with Baba outside the courthouse before the hearing.

And here I am with Mama.

Our attorney took a picture of us in front of the judge's private chambers, where our hearing took place.

Here's another shot of us outside his office.

And here we are going through the paperwork. It did not take long at all.

Here we are with the judge just following his signing of the decree.

After we left the courthouse, I wanted to go have my picture taken on one of the many artistic Bulldogs that are placed around Athens.

We went out for a delicious lunch after our hearing, and had a great time. Thanks to Miss Debra (our attorney) and the judge for being a part of the final step to domesticate my adoption!
What a special day November 4, 2008 has been.

Sweet Father-Daughter Moment Caught On Camera

Today, we had a very "lazy" day - hanging out around the house in our robes and PJs. And Baba decided to be the one to give me a pedicure this time. Of course Mama had to go get the camera and take a picture to capture the moment for posterity.

Look at that concentration! Now my toes are a beautiful, shiny and glittery burgundy color - perfect for Fall!