Santa

Sophia created a wish list (more like a wish book) for Santa this year. The items she consistently asks for are a "Pee Pee Dolly" (a doll that comes with a potty), a dinosaur and a donut shop. She had more things she cut out and put in the book but she only really asks for those three things. When we ask if that is all she said, "That's enough."

She did not want to sit on Santa's lap again this year. We waved to him a few times at the mall. This weekend we went to the train museum and Santa was making an appearance. There were no lines to visit with Santa so I sat down with Santa and talked to him. Sophia then joined me and told Santa that she wanted a "Pee Pee Dolly" and a dinosaur. Santa asked Sophia to leave some cookies for him and some carrots for his reindeer. We then took a train ride with Santa. He handed out candy canes. Sophia was thrilled.

Sophia loved the museum. We need to visit again when we can spend more time outside (it was COLD) She was hoping to see Thomas but he wasn't there. Maybe we will see him this Spring. She loved checking out all the trains and couldn't believe how big they were.

It is so nice to see the joy in Sophia's face. She truly appreciates the little things in life. She throws her arms around me and says, "Oh, thank you, Mama" when I straighten her room. Sophia and Baba had a special night on Thursday while I was out at a meeting. They ate dinner picnic style on the rug, went to the park, played cards, read and watched TV. She told Baba when he was putting her to bed, "This was the best night." She says it with such sweetness it could bring tears to your eyes.

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for. It has been a hard year for so many people. We are thankful to have jobs, even though we sometimes complain about going to work. We are thankful to have a house, even though it is a very tiny one. We are thankful for good health. We are thankful to have wonderful family, some close and others farther away than we would like.

We were able to spend a day with family that live close by, Grandma Beadle, Grandma Bev and Pop Pop. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and spent some time looking at videos of Nick when he was young.

Dance Recital

Sophia took a ballet class through the Rec Department. She loved the class. We take gymnastics every week which she LOVES but it is a parent-child class. I was a bit worried on the first day of ballet that she would want me to go in to class with her. We talked about me waiting outside the room and how she would go in all by herself. To my surprise she walked in without looking back. She was so proud of herself. She told her teacher that she could come in all by herself and that mommy was waiting outside. She is really growing up.

The ten week class ended with a small dance recital. Sophia was in the purple Angelina Ballerina class. On the way to the recital Sophia announced that she had to go potty NOW. We pulled over at a fast food restaurant and sure enough she had to go. We finally got to the school where the dance recital was taking place and she went in to sit with her class. After the first number she turns to me in the audience and says I have to pee. We run out. As soon as we left, they called her class to the stage. The entire class and audience waited for us to return. She joined her class on stage and danced a beautiful dance. She seemed to shine on stage. She remembered a lot of her dance and her favorite part was walking around in a circle holding hands with a friend and taking the bow.

We went out for her favorite food, Chinese, of course, after the recital. We hope to enroll her in another session this winter.

Three Years Old

We started birthday morning bright and early. Sophia woke up at 6:30AM and we kept our tradition of bringing her a balloon, a cupcake and her gift we bought her in China as she woke up. Sophia lit up when she saw us enter her room with the balloon and cupcake.

This year's gift from China was a jade bracelet. While she might not fully grasp the significance of this yet we hope that someday she see that we value her roots and honor her birth county and her birth parents.

After jumping, climbing and swinging at gymnastics we came home to a little party with our neighbors. The neighborhood children came over and joined in hitting a pinata to celebrate Sophia's birthday. Sophia was the one who ended up breaking it, with a little help from BaBa. She yelled, "I won! I won!" Everyone got tons of candy and goodies, just what we needed after Halloween!

After nap, Grandma Beadle, Grandma Bev and PopPop came over. We went out to our favorite Chinese restaurant. Sophia enjoyed her dumplings but could not wait to get home and open her "surprises." Sophia loved her Dora cake and blowing out the candles but really couldn't wait to finally get to open her gifts. She got a "school book" from Katie, a Clip-o table and set from Grandma Beadle, Grandma Bev and PopPop and a Dora bike from me and BaBa. She has wanted the Clip-o set from the first time she saw it on TV. She was so thrilled to get it, she couldn't wait to dig in and play. She tried riding her bike but was it was hard to do in the house. We will take it out tomorrow and let her really try it out.

It is hard to believe our baby girl is already three years old. She is growing up so fast. She is a chatterbox constantly singing and making up songs for everything. She loves to pretend. Often she pretends she is still a baby and I am the mommy. She says goo goo gaa gaa and pretends to fall as she attempts to walk. She also plays with her stuffed animals at night. She rescues them from different dilemmas such as falling into a waterfall. She loves creating different art projects and loves to cook. She is always a big help around the house. My favorite time of each day is the first thing in the morning and the end of the day when we cuddle. As old as Sophia gets she will always be my baby.

October Update

Well the Two's weren't so terrible but I am not sure about the Three's. Sophia has always been strong-willed but this month it has blossomed.

She had such a temper tantrum one Friday when I wanted to leave a McDonald's Playland that people knocked on the bathroom door asking me if everything was OK. No doubt the screams, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOO were alarming to folks on the other side of the door. We had had some trouble getting out of the house in the morning and when she decides she doesn't want to do something, it is hard to convince her to do otherwise.

We have tried a simple behavior chart and she gets a sticker for good decisions. She looks forward to getting these stickers in the morning and it made things much smoother. Thank goodness this was short lived. She has been much more agreeable recently.

We had lots of fun fall activities on our calendar this year. We went to Green Meadow Farm on a beautiful October day. Sophia was able to milk a cow and pet goats, pigs, horses, cows, llamas and ducks. We saw tiny piglets born just three days before. Sophia loves animals and enjoyed the day.

Anne went to a conference in Puerto Rico for four days. Sophia had some one on one time with BaBa. They had a blast. Sophia was so busy playing everytime I called that she didn't want to talk to me. Grandma Bev came over and spent Friday with Sophia. She took her to dance class and even got to watch her dance.

We also went to Boo at the Zoo again. Sophia loved the trick or treating and filling up her pumpkin with candy and other goodies. She also loved seeing all the animals. This year Sophia fed a giraffe. It was so cool. The giraffes were so gentle. Sophia let go of her leave as soon as the giraffe took the first bite but it was still fun. The Children's area in the Baltimore Zoo was open again. Sophia loved all the activities, she jumped on lily pads, walked over a bridge, walked like a bear, went through the otter and ground hog tunnels and slide down a great big slide. We walked for hours and Sophia enjoyed every minute of it.

We ended October with a small birthday party at daycare. Sophia picked out Dora plates, hats and treats for her friends. I created an art project making Dora and Boots face, on her request of course. It was a lot of fun. She was so excited squealing "i\It's my party, it's my party!"

And of course we had a blast on Halloween. Katie was here to go Trick or Treating with us. Sophia was a blue dinosaur. She was thrilled to be getting so much candy. Some of the houses in our development had tons of decorations, some of the scary. Sophia was so brave.

So another year over. Tomorrow Sophia turns three!!

September Update

September was another busy month. Katie headed back to New Jersey and Steve headed back to work after a wonderfully fun summer. Sophia continued to grow by leaps and bounds. She is getting so expressive. She loves telling stories and never ceases to ask why? She is curious and faces new experiences without hesitation.




Sophia started a ballet class in September. It is an Angelina Ballerina class. She is the youngest girl in her class of eight. She is so proud of herself when she walks into the door while leaving me out in the waiting room. The teacher closes the door so we don't distract the ballerina's. Sophia seems to enjoy the class. She also loves our little lunches after class.





We also took a trip to Connecticut to visit Grandma Barbara. It was amazing to see Sophia interact with Grandma this time. It seems like each time we visit Sophia is bonding a bit more. She loves Grandma's little presents. This time she got some great bubbles, beach toys, Dora dolls, clothes and a tent. When Grandma took a long time to get up the stairs Sophia went back a couple of times to check on her.






Sophia and I went to the beach almost every day. I am not sure why we didn't do this on other trips. Sophia had a blast digging in the sand and running in the water. We also took long walks and played on the playground there. It was a little cold but that didn't make it any less fun.

We spent a night at Aunt Linda's. Hollie had a birthday party which Uncle George, Gianna and Angela, as well as Hollie's friends attended. It was nice to see all the cousins play together. Sophia was spoiled by all her cousins. I don't think she ever got as much attention as she did on that day. Sophia, Grandma, Pat and I spent the night there. The next day we went raspberry picking. Sophia put more in her mouth than her bucket!

July/August Update

Where does the time go? It is now November 1st and I am just getting to documenting our wonderful summer.

The summer went by very quickly it seems. We had so much fun on our nightly walks to the park. Sophia is a social butterfly playing with other kids at the park. She squeals with delight, "There are my friends." She is outgoing and a leader. She attempts to lead games of tag but she doesn't quite get the concept of the game. She just likes to fun and say "You're it."

We took a trip to Maine for our second reunion with all the families who adopted their daughters with us. We affectionately call them Sophia's China Sisters. Jae and Mary were kind enough to have all six families at their house for the weekend. It was wonderful to spend so much time together. We went to the beach even though it was very cold. It did not phase most of the kids, I think all the girls went swimming. Katie loved the water. The girls had so much fun playing together and the parents enjoyed time together after all the kids were in bed. We are fortunate to have traveled with such wonderful families. I hope that we continue to stay close as the girls grow. We had so much fun this weekend that we are trying to plan a week at the beach next year.

We celebrated Forever Family Day on August 14th. This year we watch the video together of us becoming a family two years ago. Sophia loved watching the video of the first day we were a family. She loved hearing the stories about China. She thought the story about the day she pooped all over me was hysterical.

July 1

It was two years ago today that we first saw the referral information for Sophia LiHua Mae. I don't think I could ever forget the day Sandy placed the pictures of Sophia in mine, Steve's and Katie's hand and told us to open our eyes and see our daughter. That moment of seeing Sophia LiHua's face for the first time is forever etched in my mind. I took our yearly picture of Sophia holding her referral picture today. It will serve as a reminder of just how much she has grown over the year.

Today is also Grandma Beadle's birthday. Sophia's middle name of Mae is in honor of Grandma Beadle. We will be celebrating Grandma's birthday with her later this week.

June- A Busy Month

June was a very busy month for us. It was filled with lots of short trips and time with friends.

On June 6th & 7th, Sophia and I took a trip to Lancaster, PA to spend some time with my friend Lisa and her son, Jacob. Sophia and Jacob got along so wonderfully. Jacob is three years old and full of energy much like Sophia. They had a blast swimming together, playing on the playground and just hanging out in the room watching movies. It was so sweet to watch them playing together. We stayed at Willow Valley Resorts. It was so nice. The hotel is geared to young children with it's playgrounds, indoor and outdoor pools, farm and buffet dinners. We visited Strasberg Railroad and took a ride on the train. The steam engine scared Sophia but she seemed to enjoy the train ride. It was a wonderful trip. We hope to go back again soon.

On June 13, we went to visit Heather and Katlyn. They took us to the pool they belong to. Sophia and Katlyn had a blast playing in the water, especially the splash pool.

June 19th was a big day for Katie. She gradudated from elementary school. We drove up to New Jersey to attend the graduation. It was really nice. The kids sang songs. There was a powerpoint presentation with pictures of each child as a baby and then as a 6th grader. Katie had a dance to go to that night so we spent the night in the hotel. Sophia loved the fact that there was a swimming pool. This also gave Steve some time to hang out with Nick. We headed back to home with Katie the next day.

June 21 was another busy day. Sophia went to her weekly gymnastics class and then we spent the late afternoon and early evening at Heather and Todd's. Todd slaved over the hot grill while Heather worked her magic in the kitchen. Laura, Jim, Sarah and Ellie were there. The girls all played together. Katie was fantastic, as always. She kept all the girls busy, playing and laughing. The fact that Katie was on crutches did not seem to matter in the least bit. It did not stop her or the girls from having fun. It was nice to see everyone, hang out, chat and play some games. All the girls are getting so big.

To finish out the month we spent the weekend of June 27-29 in Williamburg, VA. Anne was presenting at the VRID conference on Saturday and we decided to make a mini- family vacation out of it. Steve, Katie and Sophia toured the historic town on Saturday. Anne joined them on Sunday. The weather was hot but we were thankful for the breeze and the pool at the hotel. Sophia and Katie enjoyed the weekend and the car ride back home. I never heard two kids laugh as much as they did on our drive back home.

Katie's Mishap

Katie and her friends went to the skateboard park over Memorial Day weekend. Katie attempted a half pipe just minutes after they arrived only to fall and break her ankle. Her ankle is broken in two places and the growth plate shifted. Needless to say the skate park trip turned into an all day hospital visit. She will need to have surgery on her ankle next week in NJ. Poor kid.

Visit to Connecticut

Sophia and I took a trip to visit Grandma Barbara for a long weekend in May. It was great to see my mother, sister, brother and neices. We spent one night at Linda's. Sophia, Stephanie and Hollie tried sleeping together but with all the giggling going on no one was going to fall asleep. On Saturday morning we went to dig for rocks and play on the playground at Nature's Art. The girls had so much fun together. Sophia loved playing make-believe with them. Sophia was often playing the baby role. It is nice to see all the girls get along so nicely.






On Sunday, George and Danielle made the trip up. Danielle entertained Sophia, Stephanie and Hollie while George, Linda and I did some work around the house. We all went out for a nice dinner before George had to head back home.









It is always great to go home to Connecticut. We managed to visit Aunt Philly and Aunt Rosemary on this trip. I really wished we lived closer. I grew up in a tight knit family and visited grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins every weekend. We don't get up to Connecticut as much as we would like. We always enjoy the time we do spend there and just wish we could do it more often.