Tuesday, August 14, 2007

August 14th, 2007




August 14th, 2007!!!! One year ago today we first took Sophia into our arms. So much has changed in the past year. She has grown so much. She has gotten so much taller and stronger. She has become such an independent child. She enjoys life to the fullest. Her referral documention said she had a ready smile and she most certainly does. She is such a happy child.


It is hard to remember life before Sophia. We do know it was not as bright and fun as life with her. Sophia loves to entertain us with her singing and dancing. She does silly things to make us laugh. She tells us very animated stories... and gives the best hugs and kisses.


We waited a long time to meet Sophia and bring her home. The wait seemed impossible at the time. We just wanted it all to move so much quicker. Now, in hindsight, we know that the timing was perfect. If we did not wait so long we would have never been matched with Sophia.


This year was filled with firsts, her first words, first steps, first birthday, first Halloween, first Christmas, first time playing in the snow, and so many others. While next year may not be filled with as many first time experiences we know that it will be filled with lots of love and laughter. Keep following this blog to see it all.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Celebrating One Year Together




It is hard to believe that we were in China one year ago today. We hadn't met Sophia yet but were sightseeing in Bejing. At this time last year all of our lives were about to be changed forever in just a few short days.




We celebrated the one year anniversary of Family Day (Gotcha Day) a little early seeing Steve works on Tuesday nights. We had a great dinner at PF Changs. Sophia loved the food. She sat in the regular chair (she hasn't liked sitting in high chairs for a couple of months now) and ate like it was going out of style. She even enjoyed some sorbet at Maggie Moo's after dinner.

We took a couple of pictures similiar to the ones we took in the hotel lobby when she was presented to us.

Sophia is growing so quickly. On Monday she was home with Steve and he noticed her about to have a BM... she gets this look on her face. He asked her if she wanted to go on the potty. He put her on the upstairs toilet and sure enough she had a BM. She was so proud of herself.

She has been getting dressed herself. She sometimes needs help making sure her legs go into the right pant leg but she is determined to do it all by herself. She says, "My turn." She has been into wearing hats lately. She puts them on and walks around the house. She looks so cute in them and gets quite a kick out of it if you tell her so.

She has been talking up a storm. She yells at the dog if she thinks Kaegogi is doing something she shouldn't be doing. She sings and dances around the house. She wakes up in the morning and "reads" the book in her crib. She also tries to sneak toys from the toy box in her crib. I have snuck in a caught her in the act. She reaches out and grabs the toy and then carefully manipulates it until she can get it up over the side of the crib. She has such an imagination. She feeds and rocks her dolls. She loves to clean, she washes the table down after she eats and helps throw things in the trash.

She knows what she wants to do. When we go out for a walk she tells me which way she thinks I should turn and lets me know if I turn in a way that is not to her liking. When she wants to watch TV she will turn it on and hand the remote to me. She decides which shoes she wants to wear (lately these have been the squeaky shoes we bought in China.) She asks to go to the potty but usually doesn't sit long enough for it to be a successful trip. We have started to read a book on the potty in attempts to get her to sit longer. Now she says, "Potty, please" gets a book and tells me to "read it." She likes washing her hands and playing in the water. I suspect this is the reason she asks to go to the potty so often.

She is an easy-going child. She sometimes asks why or whines when she doesn't get her way but once you give her a reason she usually sighs and says "O'tay."
Life with Sophia is always fun and silly. She makes being a mother so easy.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

"Family" Reunion












We hosted a reunion for the families that traveled to China together last August. All six families were able to attend. One family even flew in from Maine to attend this celebration.

We spent Friday night with two other families and had a blast. The girls are very close in age (about three weeks apart) and they played together so nicely. At one point Sophia and Katlyn sat down on the floor and started rolling a ball back and forth to each other. It was so cute. The girls also enjoyed jumping in the moon bounce Todd set up and swimming in the kiddie pool. It was a great night.

On Saturday we all headed to Steve's parent's pool. Everyone got there in the early afternoon and had a lot fun. The girls played in the pool (while the dads supervised) and all the moms sat around catching up! It so nice to see everyone. All the girls have grown so much. They have changed in so many ways in the last year. It is neat to see how they are all up and running, talking, singing, playing and loving their forever families. The girls took to each other right away. They seem to know they share a history, a special bond. I tell Sophia that these are her China sisters and I do hope they always stay in touch.

We tried to re-create the "red couch" picture taken last August. I think we had more luck then when many of the young ones weren't walking. It was hard to get everyone to sit, especially so late in the day and when they much preferred to be running and swimming. This picture doesn't capture the children at their best but it will be treasured. Trust me.... the girls were much happier before we corralled them for this photo.