For those of you who didn't know me then or those who have forgotten I thought I would add an entry from my journal on my babyjellybeans site from August 31, 2005...really brings back some memories! There was so much anticipation and worry. My friend Jenny (Mia's Mama) and I talked daily, sometimes hourly for a week and tried to determine when the call would come and if we would make the cut off. My stomach still kind of does flips when referrals are near : )

Any day now... August 31, 2005

So it looks like tomorrow could be the day!!! I really hope so because CHI doesn't email a photo so if we don't get the call until Friday we will have to wait over the long Labor Day weekend to see your sweet face. Sleep well little one..we are coming soon.

Well, we thought we had made our beautiful Chinese daughter totally turn against her native diet. She loves pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, etc... however, we did learn that she still will eat squid & seaweed salad if given the opportunity. Not really sure we are happy about that as it is our favorite and now we have to share. Oh, and she has started eating rice again. She had totally refused it for months ; )

Well finally football season has arrived!!! Since the pre season is our only night game we had to go. Annslee did great. She had a fun time tailgating and then a blast at the game. Hey, fireworks and loud music is her kind of party. She danced, ate, drank and waved to everyone! We left during the 4th quarter which is a lot later than we expected. Hopefully she will go to many more games this year. It is worth missing most of the game to watch her in her cheerleading outfit : )





I added two photos from her first Titans game last year (12/11/05) Wow, what a difference a few months makes. She is getting so big!

Well, our baby is 22 months old today. I really need to get started planning her 2nd birthday party! I can't believe she has been home with us for nine months now. Some days it seems like a lifetime and at other times I feel as if we were in China just yesterday. She is really doing great. She is getting so big and is so smart (I am a little biased of course). After much discussion with her daycare director she finally agreed to "try" Annslee in the 2 year old class. Apparently she missed the birthday cut off and would have to stay in the 1 year old class until January. Our biggest concern was that she is not yet really talking and so we wanted her around talkers. The daycare people thought she was fine staying in the 1 year old room. Hey, don't mess with a Mama and her baby...they finally decided that she would be in the 2 year old room on Mon,Wed & Fri and in the 1 year old room on Tues & Thurs. I thought that was a great compromise so we were set on that when we came home from vacation. Well, she went to the 2 year old room on Monday and when Dada picked her up Monday afternoon the daycare director said they were going to put her in the 2 year old room permanently. They all agreed she was ready (hadn't I been saying that all along?) Anyway, they said she was doing great with the "bigger" kids and that she was actually #1 in the class in potty training. Hey, your child has to be best at something...so ours is a good pooper : ) We are going big girl panty shoppping this weekend as she is dry through naps and her pullup isn't getting much action during the day. After talking to experienced parents taking the pullups off might be the final step to have her stay dry. We of course are asking her more than she is telling us about going potty but I know that is just part of the process. Of course we will talk to her teachers before we send her off to daycare sans pullups. I don't want them to be surprised by anything : O

C is for cookie...

Playing the Evan guitar

The Maggie Moo cow was fun to ride

Hanging out with Aunt Beth & Uncle Rich at the Winery

Baby, I can drive your car

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you,As you are to them”-Desmond Tutu


Here are all the beautiful cousins. It was great seeing them all together. I just wish we didn't all live in different cities (and states) so we could get together more often. You will notice from the photo that the kids were getting a little tired of the paparazzi who had been following them all week.

A great family photo...perfect of Annslee with her fingers in her mouth. I will be sad the day my baby stops doing that. It will mean she is growing up.

Here are some random shots from the days on the beach. As you can tell we didn't get much time sitting and reading like we did in years past. While we were waiting for Annslee people kept telling us "your life is really going to change" and change it has..all for the better! I wouldn't trade one minute playing in the ocean with her for hours of time reading on the beach.


I can't get out here fast enough each day!
Come on in wave...I dare ya



I will play in the sand for a minute then get more water for my cousins' sandcastle


Her newest trick..cutting her eyes at us ; )

Here are some more photos from the first day. You can see the big wave that got her. She was startled (and so were we) but soon recovered to keep on playing in the sand and water. At that point we were all wet and sandy so we didn't really care. It was the beginning of a week of fun in the sun and water. It really was amazing to see her witness the ocean for the first time. Her eyes would get really big as she stood there waiting for another wave to come in!
Daddy rescued me and maybe holding on to Mama will keep me on my feet!

I was looking at my journal from this time last year..here is what I wrote:

Your daddy's whole family is at the beach right now and for the first time we are not there. We really couldn't afford to take the time off since we have a very special trip in the fall! I really thought I would be depressed because I love the beach so much but I am kind of glad we aren't there. I just knew you would be with us in time to go this year and since you aren't I just think I would be thinking of you the whole time and wishing you were there to play in the waves with your cousins. But next year you will for sure be there!!!!

We missed her first smile, her first tooth and her first birthday..but we didn't miss the first time she saw the ocean!
Walking out on the pier with daddy...hey, what is all that water???
Not too sure about this...can you just keep carrying me?
Hey, this isn't so bad..it looks like a giant swimming pool...
Mama, can you believe all this water?

Daddy wrote my name in the sand..you will notice I am wet..a wave knocked me down!

We went to dinner our first night at the beach and didn't really plan on going to the ocean..as you can see we were not dressed for the water. However, our water girl had other plans so we ventured on down. At first she was not sure this was such a good idea but once she was used to the sand she ran for the ocean. Unfortunately we misjudged the size of the wave coming in and it knocked her flat on her back covering her in water from head to toe. After the initial shock wore off the loved it. The entire week has been like that. She constantly points to the ocean and we have had little playing in the sand time. She is all about the water and runs out into it every chance she gets.

We got together to celebrate Gabe and Shelby's birthdays. Annslee had a great time with her cousins and loved playing on the steps with Isaac. She made him walk her up and down them over and over. He was a good sport about it as it couldn't be that much fun for a 10 year old to do. She really enjoys being around older kids and so I know she will have fun next week at the beach. It was great getting the cousins together but as you can see a group photo is always a challenge.

Annslee's daycare was closed this week so GiGi made the trip up to stay with her. So each day while Mama and Dada were at work the girls were playing. They watched a lot of Barney, ate yummy snacks and went to the mall. At the mall they both rode the train..I wish I had a photo of that! GiGi said the lady let them go around, and around and around. Annslee also loved playing our "chasing" game with the three of us. One of us would say "I'm gonna get you" then she would always run to GiGi for protection. Then the we would say, "If I'd gotten you, I was gonna kiss you and tickle you" This provided a lot of entertainment for all of us. It was so nice for Annslee to get some one on one time with her GiGi. I grew up next door to my grandmother so I know how valuable this time is. I only wish we lived closer!!

It is fun to run into GiGi's arms when Mama and Dada are chasing me!
Am I in timeout?
GiGi..I know it is your favorite color but I can't use orange on every picture!