Words I Hoped I Wouldn't Hear...

...but I did. From Briana's teacher - "Mrs. (insert my last name here), you need to have a little talk with your daughter Briana before camp on Thursday. She was VERY active in class today." She said it as nice as possible, but oh good gravy. I knew it. I mean, we ARE talking about my Briana.

She looks innocent enough, right?

Briana went to Princess Dance Camp today. The class only lasted 1.5 hours - but I am pretty sure Briana's teacher was very happy when the clock struck noon today.

I tried really hard to prep Bri for it. I told her that she needed to listen to the teacher and do what she was told in class. Bri said lots of "Ok, mommy". But when Briana gets excited, all bets are off. And the minute she put on that princess dress this morning, her already normal excitable level rose about 12 more levels.

I can say Briana loved the camp. Bri loves to have fun. I watched Miss Bri for about 20 minutes through the upstairs window, and then Amy (Emily Grace's Mom) and I went across the street to a small coffee shop to chit chat. Of those 20 minutes I watched the class, Briana listened about half the time. Sigh. She got up a number of times when she should have been sitting down. The good news is that she didn't look for me when I left the building. Which is awesome because she starts preschool in about a month and I don't think she will cry when I leave her.

She started off pretty good as you can see...

But when Amy and I got back to the studio, I heard those dreaded words. I had a feeling that I would hear them. I just hoped I wouldn't. Now I completely agree that Briana should have listened better, but I did have to remind the teacher/owner that Briana isn't 3 years old yet (the class is for 3 to 4 year olds). She seemed to have forgotten that. And when I initially signed Briana up for the class, I warned the teacher/owner that Briana was active and not the best at listening to directions. (Bri has improved so much in the last six months, but she still has a ways to go.) The teacher/owner said to go ahead and sign her up anyway, so I did. Maybe next time I should stick a warning label on Briana's forehead.

My girl is the sweetest, most fun, most loving, sensitive child on the planet. But she is also the most excitable and hyper child at the same time.

I definitely figured out Briana's personality while I was in China. Briana was a BUSY girl. She didn't like being in the hotel rooms. She got so bored. She wanted to go, go, go. Doug and I being new parents wondered, "Are all kids this busy?" We found out that some are and some are not. Ours definitely IS.

I looked at Briana's foster care reports from China recently. Here are a few facts...

Briana's 5 month report - "Ai Juan does not like to stay home, so her foster mom takes her outside to meet her friends everyday. "
Briana's 8 month report - "When Ai Juan plays excited, she doesn't want to get in the car and head home."
Briana's 11 month report - "The foster mom said Juan was optimistic, active and not afraid of strangers. She is a very happy, naughty child."

Heh, sounds about right. Briana is definitely my little handful...

So after class, Amy and I took the girls out for lunch. Then when Briana and I got home, she and I had a long chat. I explained that she needs to listen better on Thursday or she will not be going back to camp next week. We have one more week after this one.

I don't think Briana was a bad girl at all in class at all. She did listen, just not enough. Let's see if my little pep talk works. Please let it work... Please let it work...

Doug's Company Picnic

Here is Miss B at Doug's company picnic last Friday. She had lots of compliments on her cool shades...

We had a lot of fun at the picnic. It was a great setup with free food and games. And the weather was actually very nice. Somehow we lucked out and the temps stayed in the mid 80's with a slight breeze. Amazing for mid-July in Hotlanta.

Here is our day in pictures. Let's start with Briana being a smart aleck as we get in the car.

Waiting impatiently for the elevator.

View of Daddy's office building from the picnic.

Bri got a little nervous about face painting...

So she got a black cat on her arm.

Here is Briana asking Daddy to win her something. And he did - a blow up guitar. Everyone needs one of those, right? ;)

Inflatables!!!!

Briana playing soccer by her own rules.

Trying to throw the giant ball into the giant hoop.

Briana doing the "I'll throw myself backward and pray Daddy can keep a hold of me." She is completely fearless. Doug really dislikes when she does this...

Where is my snow cone?

We went up to Daddy's office to take a breather after the picnic and Briana started munching on cotton candy. Can you say "sugar rush?"

View of the picnic from Daddy's office building.

Before I end this post, I also want to thank all of you that left such sweet comments on my last post. It was a post that really came from my heart. Thank you all for your kind words.

I'm Not Sure I Am Ready Yet...

...for Briana to grow up.

On July 5, 2009, Briana turned 2 years, 11 months old. She's one month shy of being 3 years old. I almost can't wrap my head around it. My baby became a toddler so quickly, and my toddler is now becoming a little girl. In the last several months, I can really see the change. She talks like a little girl. She walks like a little girl. She is becoming more independent. The diapers are gone. The baby gates are gone. Most of the baby toys are gone. Soon, the crib will be gone. She starts preschool in the fall. All of this growing is happening, but I'm not sure I am ready to let go of my baby girl.

I waited six years for her to arrive. I love watching her grow and at the same time, I wish it wasn't happening so fast. Over these last two years, I have soaked in every little thing Briana has done. Everything she has experienced. Everything she has learned. I've tried to capture as much of her as I could in pictures and video and in words on this blog. I did it because I knew that she wasn't going to stay a baby forever.

I want to remember everything.

Tonight, when Doug and I were doing our bedtime routine with Bri, she turned to us and said, "Mommy, rock me?" And I told her "Absolutely, I will rock you." And I did. I love that she still has a part of her that still wants to be my baby.

This is the baby I met in China...

Sometimes I can't believe that Briana was actually this little...





This is my little girl now...



As Briana grows, she will start to have questions about her past. She will begin to realize her life story is very different than most of her peers. Right now, she is just enjoying life. Footloose and fancy free. She still doesn't understand yet how she came to be with us. When that time comes, I hope I can provide her with some answers, some comfort, some reassurance and lots of love. And I hope I can help her handle her realizations and grief. I want her to know that Doug and I will ALWAYS be her mommy and daddy. I am trying to prepare myself for what lies ahead.

So, I will take each day one at a time. Enjoy every second I still have my little girl with me. And I will watch her each day blossom into a beautiful, young lady.

But deep down, a little piece of me will always miss the baby girl that I met and fell in love with in China.

Get A Load Of This Fireworks View

This is the view we had of these fireworks! Once the fireworks were over, we just walked back inside the house. Pretty sweet, huh?! :)




A few of the awesome fireworks!



And here are a few pictures of my adorable Briana!



Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!

Blueberry Pickin' - No Blueberries But Still Fun!

Well, blueberry picking was a bust this year. :( Bri and I were ready to pick blueberries with Kathy and Chani & Amy and Emily Grace at Blueberry Hill on Friday morning, but when we arrived, we found that all of the trees were already picked over. Boo! I was so sad because we had such a good time picking last year. We found out that the patch had opened a week earlier than last year. I think it may have been because of all the rain we have had. Not sure. All I know is that the only blueberries left on the trees were green. I let Briana get in the field for a few minutes just to feel like she picked something - even if they were green. She seemed happy enough. We still managed to salvage the day though! We all headed back to Kathy's house for a pizza play date. The girls had a great time and pizza can save any day, right?

Here are a few pics for you to enjoy...

Briana and Emily Grace all ready to pick blueberries. :(

Chani was ready too...

The girls waiting for their pizza. Briana loves her friends!

Awww, holding hands. Isn't that sweet?

This pizza is GOOD!

A little fun in the sand.

Fun on the playset.

See, all was not lost. The girls had a ton of fun!

Happy Fourth Of July

Happy Birthday United States Of America!!!!

Bows, Friends and Rubber Duckies

Hi blogland! Well, Bri and I are still filling our summer days with activities - both inside and outside the house. Last week was absolutely sweltering in Georgia. It was so hot last week that I didn't even take Briana to the pool. It was in the high nineties every single day. Briana and I went to Jump Its (an indoor inflatable playground) with some friends on Thursday to try to keep cool. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bigger kids visiting Jump Its right now due to school being out, and for the most part, big kids don't look out for little kids on the inflatables. After a little while of being there, Briana told me that there were "too many big kids" at Jump Its. Don't think we will be going there for open jump again until school starts.

Friday, I prepared my house for a small get together that I had for some girlfriends on Saturday night. I hosted a "bow party" for my friend Kathy. You can see above that Briana is showing off her new hair clip. Kathy makes and sells BEAUTIFUL custom bows. Please visit her website - www.bows4sale.blogspot.com. See what I ended up with after the party (including the green bow holder)?

I went a little crazy didn't I? :) Briana really loves all her new bows though!

And as the ladies did a little shopping at my house Saturday night, Doug and Briana went to eat dinner out with David and Emily Grace. You can see below that the girls came back to my house hopped up a little bit on Steak N Shake hamburgers and milkshakes. :)

Yesterday, Bri and I headed back to story time and met a group of friends. We had a big group that included Amy B, Mary and Garrett, Liene and Eriks and Amy and Emily Grace. I only managed to take a few pics of Briana and Emily Grace.


Yesterday afternoon, Briana and I were actually able to hang out on the screened in porch. There was a nice breeze outside. She "cooked" me lunch...

This morning, Briana called me into her bathroom. She had her rubber duckies arranged like this on the sink. She said that the two duckies were dancing and the pink duck was singing into the microphone. She is such a smarty pants!!!

Hope you are all having a great week so far. Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends!