3 Words

This is Doug, Briana and me at the White Swan back in August. Doug and I waited a long time for our precious gift, but she was worth every minute of the wait!

Scenes From A Play Date

Wednesday, Briana and I headed over to Kathy and Chani's house, as well as Lisa S. and Maisie, to have a play date. The girls had a blast and pigged out on pizza for lunch. I was watching all the girls playing together that day and had one of those moments where I just couldn't believe that it was real. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself...

Here are a few pics!

Briana, Chani and Maisie. Briana said to Chani, "Hey, Maisie's back is turned. Let grab her cup!"

Miss Briana (compliments of Lisa S.)

Miss Maisie (compliments of Lisa S.)

Miss Chani (also swiped from Lisa S.)

Briana in deep thought...

Briana and Chani. Look familiar? Briana loves to feed all the newbies!

Maisie and Briana.

Maisie and Briana.

And this was Briana when we got home. Tuckered herself out!

19 Months Old

"Hi everybody. I am 19 months old today. Life is good..."

Weekend Recap

We had a beautiful weekend here in Georgia! And it is going to be 70 degrees today! We are going to get some nasty thunderstorms in here tomorrow though, so we are going to enjoy the weather today.

Here is a picture of Briana getting ready to go out to dinner this weekend (she is rockin' Maisie's former jeans - thanks Lisa!).

We met Georgia and Jeff for dinner on Saturday night to have a Longhorn Steakhouse celebration meal to celebrate their referral for this cutie pie...

They are leaving for China on March 12 to go get their daughter Zoe, and we couldn't be happier for them! We had a great dinner and you can just tell how excited the parents-to-be are. Good luck guys!

Then Sunday morning, my sweetie Doug let me sleep in and got Briana up for the day. When I came downstairs, she was fed and happy. Then she lounged in her plush chair. Can you tell it was a lazy Sunday?

Briana and Doug were playing a little "gimme 5" - well I guess it is actually "gimmie 10".

Later that morning, we headed to Toys R Us (to return something and to use a gift certificate) and it was Briana's first time there. Yep - the first Toys R Us experience. We entered the store and she was in heaven. Toys, toys, toys everywhere!!! Let's just say we bought a couple things.

And she had a great time on this little apple ride. Actually, she liked playing in it better when it was not moving...

Overall, it was a great weekend! Hope yours was too!

3 Words and 7 Months

A cool blogger version of "3 Words" (based on GMA segments that run on Saturdays) has been started by the lovely Ms. M! I will attempt to post three words every Sunday!

Here are the rules: Sum up your week in three little words.“You can sing it, you can say it, you can write it, you can draw it. It can be funny or sad or poignant as long as it’s honest.”

I spent a lot of time this week watching Briana sleep. She is so peaceful. Here are my three words...

And Briana has been in our lives for 7 months now...

Then...
Now...

Year 2005 Is Just About Done

It looks like the year 2005 is just about complete. I am talking LIDs...

People who are currently in or familiar with the China adoption program completely understand just how unbelievably long the wait has gotten to adopt non-special needs babies from China. But I do sometimes get the question, "So, you think you'll go back to China for a second one?" (Just happened to me at the dentist office.) This question mainly comes from people who don't know how the China adoption process works or from those that have heard the wait to adopt a baby from China has lengthened but don't really understand just HOW long the wait has become (because they are not entrenched in the process).

According to early rumors, it looks as if the last of the December 2005 dossiers will be matched in March 2008. Finally! I was a little curious and decided to look on the RQ website to see when the first LIDs of January 2005 were matched. Those LIDs were matched in July of 2005. That means it took 32 months (2.67 years) to match one year (the year 2005) of LIDs. Wow - that really blows my mind.

So how long will it take to match the years 2006 and 2007? It is any one's guess. Let's pray that it won't take as long as it did to match the year 2005. So, "BYE, BYE" year 2005 and here's to things speeding up for 2006 LIDers - hopefully. Fingers and toes crossed...

February 29

I have to post about this today. C'mon, it only comes around every 4 years. Happy Leap Day everybody...

BTW, I thoroughly enjoyed my mommy day off. It is amazing how quickly it went by though. :)

All By Myself

There hasn't been anything really earth shattering going on in my world this week, so I haven't had much to blog about.

Here is a little something blog worthy though...my mom offered to watch Briana the whole day tomorrow so I can have a day to be by MYSELF! I am dropping Bri off at her house early in the morning and picking her up at dinner time. She loves seeing my mom and will have a blast. I love Briana with all my heart and I will miss her dearly, but I am really looking forward to having a little time alone. So, what will I do tomorrow? Go back home and RELAX of course. I am taking advantage of this situation! Busy 18 month olds are tiring!!!

Trip To The GA Aquarium

Doug, Briana, my parents and I headed down to the Georgia Aquarium yesterday for a morning of fun. Briana had a fantastic time! She was in her stroller when we entered the aquarium, but the minute she saw where we were, she wanted out-out-out! (Thank goodness for that harness buddy.) She ran from exhibit to exhibit - wanting to see everything. I had not been through the whole aquarium myself, just a few parts when I was working at my former company and they had a kickoff there. This was another one of those "I can't wait to go to (insert place here) when my daughter is finally with me" moments that came true. Trip to the GA Aquarium - check. There's nothing like seeing the aquarium through a child's eyes. Awesome...

Pleasant Surprises

Yesterday I was reading Lisa's blog, and she talked about going to a party this past weekend at the "The Playroom". I have never been there and commented on her blog that if she ever went back there with Maisie to play, Briana and I would love to tag along. Well, she buzzed me in the afternoon and said "Let's meet up there tomorrow." A pleasant surprise! So, Lisa & Maisie and Briana & I met at The Playroom this morning and let me tell you, Briana had a blast.

The second pleasant surprise was who we ran into there. We ran into Angela and Laney, Heather and Lily, and Liz and Michelle. They were having a play date too! All the girls got to jump, run and bounce together.

Briana was on the run the minute she entered the room. With me being a SAHM, Briana and I are together all the time. I wondered if she might cling to me a little bit when we first arrived. Uh, nope. She was like "See ya, mom" and took off. She ran around like a mad woman for an hour and a half. I was kind of worried she would fall asleep on the ride home, possibly meaning no afternoon nap. But, I managed to keep her awake and she is currently taking a power nap. Good stuff...

Thanks so much Lisa for inviting us. Let's do it again soon!

Here are a few pics of the morning...