10 Months Ago Today...

Briana came into our life and changed it for the better.

In China.

Today.

We are in Florida, but I couldn't let today go by without mentioning Briana being with us 10 months. Yep, she is wearing the same swim suit. It was too big for her in China, but it fits her perfectly now. She is almost 22 months and it is size 12 months. She is a little bean. She had her checkup at the doctor's office last week - she is 23.4 pounds and 33 1/4 inches tall. And as you can see, Briana is enjoying her baby pool in these pics. We took the pool out on Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the unofficial start of summer. When we get back from FL, we are going to start going to the neighborhood pool. Fun stuff!

The water is still a little cold!

Checking it out.

Look! It has a roof!

Let me water the plants with the pool water.

The Water Bottle

Last week, I dressed Briana in what I call her "Daisy Duke" outfit. So cute! My parents came over for lunch and my mom was drinking out of a tiny water bottle. Of course, Briana wanted to try it for herself. I have let her drink out of a regular cup before, but I always help her and she usually spills on herself. Sippy cups are still a necessity. But, we wanted to see what she would do with a water bottle. She did great! We all clapped when she took her few sips without spilling - and my dad was the loudest! So every time she took a sip, she looked to Grandpa for her cheering section.

Taking a sip...

Yay me!

Let's try again...

Ugh, took in a little too much that time.

One last time...


Look what I did!

It is so amazing how the little things she does makes me so happy!

3 Words

I have two "3 Words" pictures that sum up this week and I am posting them a day early. The first one is to acknowledge Memorial Day and America's heroes...

And I have been so emotional this week over the China devastation and the Chapman tragedy. I already know that life is so incredibly precious, but this week made me realize it even more so...

Here is the performance that George Michael did on "American Idol" the other night. It was really good. I just wanted to share it...

Back In Blogland

I am going to start slowly coming back from my little blog break. It actually felt good to take a little break. Often, when Briana is napping or goes down to sleep for the night, I find myself blogging. I have had so many other things to catch up on that I needed to step back a little to get those things done. And next weekend we are going to Florida for my cousin's wedding. (Briana's first flight since China - I am a little nervous.) Because I have had so much to do around the house and so many errands to run, Briana and I haven't had many play dates. We have been hanging around the house a whole lot. What has Briana been up to the last week or so? Well...

Sleeping...


Watching Sesame Street after breakfast in her jammies...

Trying on Mama's slippers...

Reaching doorknobs that she wasn't reaching before...

Trying on Mama's slippers again and actually walking in them...

Spending time on the back porch watching her new bubble machine (yep - the same one you have Randi!)...

Wearing a baseball cap backwards...

And resting upside down in the blow up tub that she is now too big for.

Hmmmm, that last picture makes me think we need to get out a little more! LOL!

I am going to try to catch up on reading blogs. I may not get a chance to comment, but I am reading - promise!

3 Words

There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for this little girl. She is my everything. I fall more and more in love with her every day...

And I have a funny story. The other night, Doug, Bri and I went to a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the meal, we all received a fortune cookie. I opened Briana's cookie, took out the fortune and crushed up the cookie for her. As she ate, I read her fortune to her - it said something along the lines of "try to be frugal" or something like that. She then grabbed for the little piece of paper because she wanted to read it for herself. I handed her the fortune and asked her what it said. She started to "read" aloud. She stated clear as a bell, "I love Mama", put the fortune down and started to eat again. Doug and I looked at each other with our mouths hanging open. We were so tickled and excited at the same time.

Gosh I love this girl!

Some Bullets and A Little Blog Break

I have a little of this and a little of that to talk about, so how about some bullets?

* I think Briana is going to be a piano player. Look at her fingers on the piano keys!

* I am praying for all of the victims of the China earthquake. I was watching the news this morning and tears were streaming down my face as I observed the devastation. I definitely left a part of my heart in China. My Dianjiang Yahoo group has said that Briana's orphanage is ok, but I know there are parts of Chongqing that have been hit hard. Such a terrible tragedy.

* I don't think Briana misses me or Doug when Grandma and Grandpa come to babysit. Look at all the fun she had the night we went out for our anniversary. She is all smiles...

* Briana is talking so much. She still mostly says one word phrases, but she has a large variety of them. Her favorite words are bubbles, flowers, ouch, wow, stuck, nun (one), hat, cat, hot, Dada and of course Mama. Whenever she sees steam, she yells, "Hot!", puckers her lips and blows. Her favorite multiple word phrases are "Where is it?", "All done" and "All gone" and "I Love You". Last night in the tub, she was pretending to read one of her bath books aloud. She was saying words that she knows and some baby gibberish in between. She also imitates lots of animals sounds - cows, dogs, cats and pigs. She is learning so much and she just amazes me every day.

* I have a couple of congratulations to give out. Georgia pals Stephanie and Jason brought home their son Miles from Ethiopia almost two weeks ago. He is sooo cute! I can't wait to meet him! And I also want to say congrats to Hedda and hubby! She blew me away with her awesome expectant mom news! Girl - I am soooo happy for you!

* And lastly, I am going to take a short bloggy break for about a week or so. I will be here for 3 Word Sunday, but I have a lot to do in the next couple of weeks, including working more on the Gizmos sites. Blogging is taking up a lot of my time, so I am going to step back, just for a short time to catch up on things and then I will be back. Promise!!

A Dream Mother's Day

I could not have asked for a better Mother's Day. Really, I couldn't. Doug was so good to me! He let me sleep in and brought me bagels for breakfast. He got me a spa gift certificate for a mani and pedi and some lotions. And from Briana (with help from daddy), I got a beautiful "Mom" necklace. We relaxed and played with Briana the whole morning and Briana went right down for her nap. My parents came over in the afternoon and they got me a beautiful necklace as well (a picture of a mom and a baby were on the charm) and a picture frame with a picture of me and Bri on one side and Briana's handprints on the other. My sister sent me lotions and a beautiful mother/daughter book. Of course, Briana, Doug and I showered Grandma with gifts too! Everything I received was so beautiful. Then in the evening, we all went to eat Japanese food and Briana really pigged out. So yummy! I sat in Briana's room before her bedtime and rocked her before she went to sleep. It was a Mother's Day that dreams are made of.

Here are a few pictures of the day! (My dad was there, but unfortunately all the pictures I got of him were of the back of his head! Bad me! But, I can tell you that Briana gave Grandpa three kisses in a row before he went home last night!)

Briana and Mommy kisses...

Me and my girl...

Goofing off!

Briana is my little hoot!

Legos of love...

My sweet Bri...

Three generations of ladies!

Kissing Briana's cheeks!

Briana is beginning to love hats!

Pushing daddy's head back is fun! (No idea where she got this from!)

Where is my dinner?

It was a perfect day! Hope you all had a wonderful day too!

My First Mother's Day & 3 Words (With Video)

Three perfect words - "First Mother's Day!" I have waited 7 years for my first Mother's Day as a mom and it is finally here. It doesn't seem real. It really doesn't. I was always the one waiting for my child on Mother's Day. Well, no more waiting. It is real, and it is wonderful. I am so excited about these three words, I am posting them Saturday afternoon!

I want to say "Happy Mother's Day" to all you moms and moms-to-be (including my mom and sister)! And an extra special "Happy Mother's Day" shout out to the first-time mamas out there!

I also want to let all my China adoption blog buddies that are still enduring this agonizing wait know that I understand how hard this day might be for you. And a special note to the first time moms-to-be enduring this wait...I know how sad Mother's Day can be not having a child in your arms when you so desperately want one. You know I have been there. It can be really tough. Just know that I am thinking of you.

Here is a picture montage of me and Briana - our first nine months together. I am one happy mama. She has brought me happiness that I never knew I could feel...

"America's Favorite Mom" Contest and Show - *UPDATED*

I read this blog today and found out that NBC is having a "America's Favorite Mom" contest and a prime time special that runs Sunday night. I also found out that NBC separated adoptive moms into a separate category in this contest. Well, they actually started out by calling the "adopting moms" category the "non-mom moms" category. I am so angry, this is the e-mail I sent to NBC...

"Subject: Mom Contest

To Whom It May Concern,

I am sure you have been bombarded with e-mails from offended mothers who have families created though adoption. Being an adoptive mother myself, I am going to voice my opinion on this as well. It was brought to my attention this evening that you included adoptive mothers under the “non-mothers” category (which has now been changed to “adopting mom”) of your contest. I adopted my daughter from China last year, and I cannot believe that NBC would actually state that an adoptive mother is a “non-mother”. I am absolutely appalled.

What I am really trying to figure out is why adoptive mothers are getting a separate category in this contest anyway? Why are we being separated from mothers who gave birth to their children? Are adoptive mothers not working moms, single moms and stay-at-home moms as well? And why is it that a biological child is called a person’s “own” child? My daughter is my “own” child and my “real” child although I did not give birth to her. I could not love her any more if I had given birth to her and she is my whole world. What your network should be teaching people is that a mother is a mother - no matter how a child came into her life - period.

I will not be voting in your contest or watching the primetime special. And after this, I won’t be watching the Today Show either.

I think you have some big time apologizing to do…"

So, that was my e-mail. Nothing will probably come of it, but I just had to speak my mind.

* UPDATE * Looks like Teleflora is the one who really goofed up with the category title - but NBC still allowed it so my opinion of them has not changed. Teleflora has apologized on their site now (and in my comments section actually). I still don't like the category being called "adopting moms" but under short notice and heavy fire, I guess it is the only word they could think of to describe all three candidates. If they want to have a category for moms that are mothers under extraordinary circumstances next year (for example a sibling raising her brothers and sisters), they could call it "extraordinary moms" or something like that.

This Week So Far

Briana and I went over to Randi and Jack's house on Tuesday morning for a play date - Kathy and Chani also joined us. Briana had a blast at Randi's and had so much fun with Jack and Chani. New flash...Briana's first crush is on Jack. He is an older man - four to be exact. You should have heard the giggles coming from Briana in his presence. It was hilarious! (She is not even two yet - should I be worried? LOL!)

Briana and Jack sharing a swing.


Briana and Jack on the teeter-totter.


Chani enjoying bubbles.


Briana and Chani having some fun.

And here is a picture of me and Doug on Saturday night about to go on our date! We went to a delicious fondue restaurant for dinner. We wanted to have a long meal so we could eat slow, taste every bite and enjoy some adult conversation. It was such a nice evening.


Here is a picture of my other baby. I still love taking pictures of her!

And my roses have exploded! I have four rose bushes in my backyard. I trimmed them all way back in the fall and this spring they are enormous! My biggest is a Chicago Peace. When the buds are little, they bloom in fushia pink, but when they are large, they are a peach color. Really weird! I also have a red bush, yellow bush and purple bush. I love my roses!



Hope everyone is having a good week so far!