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.

May Fun

Sophia continues to amaze us everyday with the things she does and says. We celebrated Mother's Day and Anne's birthday with Grandma Beadle and Grandma Bev. It was a cool May day but that did not stop Katie and Sophia from swimming. The water was too cold for me to venture in. Nonetheless, it was a relaxing day spent by the pool with family.

Sophia and Anne did some gardening during the month of May. We started our vegetable garden in the backyard with some tomato, green pepper and cucumber plants. We also planted some rosemary, basil and strawberries. Sophia loves strawberries and is looking forward to getting to eat the berries. Sophia's gift for Mother's Day was a beautiful pot filled with sunflower plants. We planted them outside once they got a little bigger. Sophia loves to help out and garden work proved to be very messy and lots of fun. She loves helping water the plants.

May 1

May 1, 2008

Sophia is 2 1/2 years old today. It is hard to believe. She is growing up so quickly. She amazes me with some of the stuff she does and says.

She is enjoying gymnastics and decided it would be fun to tumble off our couch. She made a ramp with a couch cushion and then tumbled down it. She is quite the tumbler. She is also a very good dancer. She has been dancing around the house, wiggling her hips and spinning. She calls herself a ballerina.

She has been talking up a storm. She gets into bed a night and talks for up to thirty minutes. We think she is talking to her stuffed animals. Sometimes she just sings or counts. It is very cute to listen to her. If we go into her room to tell her to settle down she lays down quickly and pretends she is asleep.

She is silly. Lately she has been telling some of the Knock-Knock jokes her BaBa taught her. It usually goes something like this.
S- Knock Knock
Us- Whose there?
S- Banana
S- Orange Banana

The way it was told to her was
Baba- Knock Knock
S- Whose there?
Baba- Banana
S- Banana who?
Baba- Knock Knock
S- Whose there?
Baba- Banana
S- Banana who?
Baba- Knock, Knock
S- Whose there?
Baba- Orange
S- Orange who?
Baba- Orange you glad I didn't say banana

We are planning a trip to Connecticut later this month. Sophia and I will visit Grandma Barbara. Grandma Barb has been suffering from shingles and in a lot of pain. I know seeing Sophia will brighten her day.

More soon!!!

April Update

April seems to have come and gone without many changes.

Sophia is still excited about using the potty and wearing big girl "underwear."

Katie spent her April vacation with us so Sophia and her had lots of fun together. We went to Elioak Farm petting zoo with Katie and Katlyn at the end of the month.





















Grandma Bev spent a Friday with Sophia while I attended a conference. They cooked dessert together. Sophia always enjoys time with Grandma.

Boba is getting bigger but is still very rowdy. Hopefully he will grow out of the puppy phase soon!!

March Update

Where does the time go? Here it is May 1st and I am writing an update for March. I am not sure how I have fallen so far behind.

March was a pretty extraordinary month. We added another animal to our family. We got a new puppy, Boba, on March 14th. He was two months old at the time. He is a puggle, half pug / half beagle. He is FULL of energy. He is chewing everything he can get his mouth around. Sophia likes to take him on walks seeing she can hold his leash all herself but does not like it when he jumps on her or takes her food. It has been quite noisy in our house lately between Boba's barking and Sophia's screaming when the dog is bothering her. Kaegogi, our 5 year old Shiba Inu, seems to be enjoying the playmate but I do think it becomes a little too much at times. The cats don't seem to be bothered by the puppy but the cats stay upstairs most of the day so contact is very limited.




We had new neighbors move into the house next store. They have a five-year old girl, Jennifer, and a three-year old boy, Jason. Sophia loves playing with them. They have had several playdates and trips to the park together. We had an Easter Egg Hunt with them and one other neighborhood friend on Easter day. Sophia had a blast looking for eggs. It is so fun to watch her as she explores and discovers.
















We went to visit Sophia's friend, Katlyn, at the end of the month. Katlyn was wearing pull ups and Sophia decided that she does not want to wear diapers anymore. We are now using "underwear" which are pull ups. She is so excited about going on the potty. Katlyn got two M&Ms for successful trips to the potty. Sophia negotiated three jelly beans for her successful trips. It turns out to be a great motivator.

Happy New Year

Gung Hay Fat Choy!!!!

January update

Where does the time go? I can not believe February is almost here. Sophia continues to amaze me. She is getting so tall. Her face is changing again. She is getting dimples when she smiles. She is talking up a storm. She continues to entertain us with her singing and dancing. She tries to amuse us at dinner with her silly antics. Sometimes she pretends to be a dog and gets on the floor and barks until we give her a "treat."

She has been sleeping in her "big girl" bed for the past couple of weeks. She loves her Dora sheets. She has been very good about being in the bed. She has not crawled out at all. My baby is growing up!!!

Sophia has worn her "big girl" underwear for several hours at a time and stays dry. We will let her lead the way with some gentle encouraging on our part in February.

Sophia still loves gymnastics. She can tumble on her own. She loves to jump and does it all the time. She is a big helper around the house. She loves to feed the cats, carry in groceries, clean the floors and wipe the table. We hear "me do it" a thousand times a day. The other day she told me to stay in her room while she got on the potty all by herself. She is independent and confident.

I am attending training for four days out of state next week. This will be the first time I leave Sophia overnight since she was placed in my arms. Steve has traveled before for several weekends and once for a whole week and she survived! It is not like I am leaving her with strangers, she will be with her dad (baba) but it is still a huge, scary step for me. Yes, me... not Sophia. Sophia will probably handle this better than I do!

Christmas in Connecticut

This Christmas season went on forever! We went to Connecticut on January 18th to spend time with Grandma Barbara. We had a wonderful homecooked Italian dinner on Friday night. Sophia could not wait to open more presents... and she was not disappointed. Grandma Barbara found the perfect gifts for all of us. Sophia loved her doctor's kit and Dora pillow and blanket.

We visited Anne's Aunt Philly on Saturday. It was so great to see her. Growing up we saw our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins weekly. We used to spend Sundays together. I miss that time and wish that we lived closer so we could see each other more often.

Sunday we all headed to Linda's house. George and Tracey came down with the kids. Sophia and Katie had a blast playing with their cousins. Danielle and Katie are close in age and seem to have a lot in common. The girls all doted on Sophia. She kept up with all of them and giggled all day long. Linda cooked a fabulous dinner. We opened more gifts, yippee!!

We had a great weekend. I wish these visits could last longer. Time flies by.