Five years old

Sophia turned five today. I can't believe it!! She is growing up so quickly.

We celebrated her birthday with a party with a few of her best friends. Katlyn, Jason and Jennifer joined her at Chuck E Cheeses to celebrate. They all had a blast there.
We then did the traditional birthday morning cupcake and balloon in her room this morning. She now knows it is coming but seems to enjoy the tradition. She was a bit sleepy this morning but woke up quickly. We gave her the gift we bought for her 5th birthday while we were in China. This year she got a backpack. We want her to always remember her beginnings. We want her to know that China will always be a part of her. That her birth parents will always be a part of her. These are some of the things that make her special. We honor her roots and hope that we can instill that in her.Because I taught that night we also let her open her gifts in her room. I took her out to Chinese food for lunch and Steve played with her and her new toys that evening.

Our baby is growing up!!

Halloween

Last year Sophia changed her mind about what she wanted to be for Halloween around ten times. This year she decided early she wanted to be a Banana Witch and never looked back. She created the concept herself. A banana witch is a banana with a witches hat. A banana witch steals bananas. She had a broom to go with her costume but decided she could not handle that, her treat bag and knock on doors at the same time.

We went to the zoo for their trick or treat festivities on Saturday and then trick or treating in the neighborhood on Sunday night. She got loads of candy and had a blast. We love watching her enjoy life so much.

October update

October has flown by. We had lots to do to keep us busy. We went to visit Katie and watch her perform in the marching band. We saw a football game in the afternoon and then a band competition in the evening. It was great to spend some time with Nick and Katie. Sophia misses them so much.

We went to the duck park. We gave them a few small pieces of bread. One goose decided he wanted more and got out of the water and started to chase us. Yikes.

We went pumpkin picking. Sophia took her time and picked out the "best" pumpkins.

We did a family re-enacting event. Something I thought I would never do. I know how much this means to Steve and how happy re-enacting is making him so we joined him for one night. It actually was fun. I would have been happier if I didn't have to dress in the funny clothes but other than that it was just like camping. It was fun being outside. I sat around the fire and knitted for a while. Steve cooked for us and did all the hard work of getting our tent up and stuff.

Sophia went fishing with BaBa one Sunday morning. They did not catch anything. Sophia probably scared all the fish away splashing in the water. She had so much water in her boots!!!

BaBa took Sophia to get her hair cut one night while I was teaching. She looks so cute. She told me she almost cried when she looked in the mirror. I asked, "why?" She said, "Because I looked so cute." How is that for confident!

Before .....

and after....

Visit to Connecticut

I try to get up to Connecticut every three months or so to visit Mom. I know how much this means to her. I want Sophia to know her and understand the influence she has had on my life. Sophia loves these visits to Grandma's. After all, Grandma always has presents for her, we go out to eat and get to visit family.

This time we didn't spend too much time with her cousins Hollie and Stephanie since they were in Florida for the week. We did help Grandma take care of their dog, Jessie. We got to spend a morning with Auntie Linda, Chuck and Stephanie and Hollie before we headed home.

We had a rainy couple of days there. We went to Chuck E Cheeses one day to stay dry.

We also visited my cousins, Tommy and Lisa. I haven't seen them in years. It was nice to see them again. Tommy has been diagnosed with ALS. It is sad to see how quickly this has affected his body. He has an eight year old daughter and Lisa has a twelve year old son so Sophia had fun playing while we caught up.

Sophia and I met Damien and Melissa at the green for the Annual Apple Festival. Sophia had a blast. She rode all the rides and even was a magician's assistant. She is getting so big.

September update

September always brings back routine into our lives which typically means we have some time to breathe. I am not sure why this September was as busy as the summer months.

We started the month with a day at the State Fair with Katlyn. The kids had fun. We even watched some horse races and cheered on our favorite horses.

Sophia played a lot with Jennifer and Jason, our neighbors and two of her best friends. They will be moving back to Korea in November so they took advantage of all the wonderful weather and spent as much time as they could outside and when the weather was bad they played inside. Sophia is going to miss them.

We went to the zoo, had our last swim of the season at Grandma's and Pop Pop's house and visited Baba at a re-enacting event.

Sophia went to her friend, Elena's princess birthday party. She had a blast as you can see her here all partied out. Needless to say, we were busy but it was all fun.

August update

Wow!! August has come and gone very quickly. We had another busy month. Katie headed back to NJ early this summer to attend band camp and practice. We all miss her. She charged Sophia with watching her stuffed animals and Sophia is doing a great job checking on them every few days and ensuring they get enough "lovin" until Katie comes back.

We went to the County Fair where Sophia just jumped from ride to ride. She had a blast. She made new friends on almost every ride she went on. She is very daring and never seems to get tired out! We also went to a minor league baseball game seeing Sophia got a free ticket from her summer reading program. She thought the game was neat but really enjoyed the fireworks after the game a bit more. She wants to go back but only on fireworks night.


Sophia had fun playing with Baba at home this summer. Melissa gave her some of Damien's old trains and tracks to add to our set. Sophia and Baba were able to build a huge train track with it.


Sophia got into her make-up case this summer. Isn't she stunning?
Sophia has been talking about becoming five. She can't wait for fall for several reasons. She loves jumping in leaves, Halloween and, of course, her birthday. We walked by a party at the local park last weekend and they had ponies there and each kid got a ride. Guess what she wants to do on her birthday!!! Not sure how we are going to convince her to do something else. She also knows that the local horse center gives lessons starting at age five. She is anxious to go for a free trial lesson. We are hoping it ends there.

Steve had a couple of fun trips back in time for his French and Indian War re-enactments. He loves these weekends. Sophia and I are going to visit him this weekend. We are looking forward to that.

Gettysburg

We went to Gettysburg this summer for a couple of days. Katie had wanted to see it again seeing as she was about five the last time she went. Steve is up for anything history related and Sophia and I have never been. Steve planned a great trip for us.

We toured the museum and battlefields. The kids had a blast climbing on the rocks at Devil's Den and Little Round Top. We took a double-decker bus tour which Sophia loved. We went in some shops downtown.

As a little side trip, we went to the Land of Little Horses as something special for Sophia. It turned out to be a really interesting place with all sorts of animals and lots of very small horses. We all enjoyed it.

We stayed in a cabin at a campground. The campground had a swimming pool which was a little chilly but we made use of regardless of the temperature. We had a campfire at night complete with smores. It was really a great family weekend.

China Sisters reunion

All five families who traveled to China with us four years ago got together again this year. We stayed right outside Harper's Ferry, WV. It was amazing to see everyone. The girls have grown and matured so much over the past year. We even had an addition to the group this year. One family adopted a little boy in 2009. He had a blast with all the girls even though he was out numbered.

The weekend was very hot but that didn't slow down the girls. They all played so well together. We gave them some water balloons and wet sponges to stay cool. They picked raspberries at the retreat center.

The parents were able to sit back and chat while the kids all played. It is interesting to share stories. The bond the kids share is special. I know that the parents all feel connected in a special way after sharing of the amazing journey to China to bring our children home. It is also special to have the support we offer each other now that we are back.

We hope to do this every year. There is even talk about where we will go next year. Someone even brought up all going back to China together as part of a homeland tour together when the kids get a bit older. How cool would that be?

July 4 weekend

Nick and his girlfriend, Kim, came down for the July 4th weekend. It was so nice to have the entire family together. Nick has really matured over the past year. He is working full time in New York doing IT work. He has really found a wonderful person to share his time with. We really like Kim. She is easy to be around and a whole lot of fun. Sophia now has another special person in her life.

We went to the fireworks on July 3 as a family. It was a great show and Sophia was so brave. She covered her ears about 15 minutes before the show started and kept them covered the whole time but loved the fireworks. She especially liked the purple ones.

We went to Steve's mom's house on July 4th. It was a very hot day but the pool kept us cool. It was great to have us all together. We celebrated Grandma Beadle's birthday.