3 Words

I have two "3 Word" photos this week...

Yep, my baby girl is going to be two years old on Tuesday. I can't believe it. She is growing into such a little lady.

And this next picture was taken at my grandmother's home. My grandma has these funny glasses placed on a stuffed animal, and Briana decided to try them on.

I think she may be the next Harry Potter! What do you think?

Another Place To See Briana Day Video

A couple of you had some issues seeing the video on the gotcha day video website, so Doug uploaded it to Google Video last night. Here is the link - Briana Video. The quality isn't great, but you should definitely be able to see it (you may want to shrink your viewing screen so it doesn't look so pixelated). Of course you can still view the video on our website at http://www.gotchadayvideo.com/.

To those who left comments - thank you so much! You all were so unbelievably sweet! I feel very special! I worked really hard on it, so it was so nice to read that you enjoyed it.

Gotta run, I have a couple of busy days ahead. See you on three word Sunday.

One Year Ago Today...(With Video!)

...this little angel was placed in our arms.

We became a family that day. Thinking about it still takes my breath away.

Here is our happy family today.

And finally...the Briana Day video!

I hope this video brings back wonderful memories for those of you that already have your beautiful children home. And to those who are still waiting, I hope it will show you how magical the day will be when your children are finally placed in your arms. I know it is taking a really long time for all of you waiting, but it will happen and when it finally does happen - well, there really are no words. Let me just say that you have so much to look forward to, and I couldn't be happier for you.

Here is the link - gotchadayvideo.com. Doug set up the website for me - isn't he just awesome? You may have to download Quicktime if you don't already have it (you can download it from the website if you need to). You can choose your bandwidth: low, medium or high. High bandwidth will take forever and a day to buffer - medium bandwidth is your best bet. Click on "Click to learn our story". If it doesn't start automatically, click on the play button. Enjoy the 23 minute video (can't wait to hear what you all think)!

*I have had a couple people ask me how I put the video together - I used Doug's Mac (I-Movie). Poor Doug kept getting kicked off his computer as I worked on it!

Love This Pic

First, I want to say "Happy Birthday!" to my father - it is a very special birthday today! Love you!

My family got together on Saturday night to celebrate (I'll post pics soon), and before we headed out to dinner, Briana sat on my dad's lap and read a book. I snapped a few pictures and I love this one. It took some time for Briana to warm up to my dad after we got home from China, but as you can see, she is now "Grandpa's girl".

I just love this picture!

3 Words

Here are my three words. This is what I worked on most of this week. Actually, I have been working on Bri's Gotcha video for a while now, but this past week I have been tweaking it. When Briana took a nap and went to bed, I fine tuned it - music, transitions, etc. Unfortunately, I am a perfectionist. Every time I would watch it, I would find something else that I decided that I needed to change. I literally drive myself crazy with little details - to the point of ridiculous sometimes. So, it is done. That's it. No more tweaking. No more changes. It is finished - even if my little perfectionist self finds something else that I think should be tweaked. I think I am going to take a nap now...

China Bound - One Year Ago Today

One year ago today...Doug and I boarded a plane to China to bring our daughter home. It was one of the best (and scariest) days of my life. Definitely a day I will never forget.

And "The Journey to Briana" video is done! It will be "premiering" on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - our Briana Day anniversary. I think it turned out really well (if I do say so myself)! It is 23 minutes long. I don't know how I managed to narrow 17 days in China plus referral pictures into 23 minutes of video, but I did it somehow. Not an easy task. I really can't wait to share it with you all.

Finding Her Voice

Well, Miss Briana has definitely found her voice. She is talking all the time - some things she says clearly, other things not so much. I feel really bad sometimes when she is talking and I can't understand what she is saying, but I try hard to catch as much as I can. One of her favorite things to say now is "OH NO!" I guess I do say that a lot. I am always dropping things or bumping into things. I have to admit that I am a little klutzy.

Anyway, Briana is starting to sing a lot too. She makes up her own little songs. I managed to catch a couple on camera. You'll hear at the end of her piano solo, she says "stuck" - that is another word she loves to say. That's because she is always getting "stuck" in things somehow.

(And Briana and I went to story time today. Briana actually sat and listened to the librarian read the stories and watched the movie. I swear. Amy was a witness. I know that Angela probably won't believe it!)

3 Words

It has been a tough week. Briana is teething and got the sniffles on top of it. We have had a few "battle of the wills" this week. Briana gets moody when she is teething, and I really can't say I blame her. I am just ready for these teeth to be in - I am sure she is too.

And when Briana is teething, she becomes...

Bash 2008 Video

Here is the video for the GA Bloggy Bash 2008. Sea Star did an AMAZING job with it. You go girl! And thanks again to PM for inviting me and Bri.

And I have to thank all of the girls for the treats that were in Briana's goody bag. Oh my gosh - so amazing! Thank you, thank you!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Some Bullets

I have some random tidbits to talk about, so bullets are always good...

* See...Briana can sit and be very quiet when we are at home alone together. She likes to read and she is starting to play well by herself. It is when we leave the house that she becomes (as Amy V. stated yesterday) a "social butterfly." I like that. Sounds better than "crazed" and "overexcited".

* I love that Briana smiles when I ask her too now. She is so stinkin' cute. This is her on her way to story time yesterday.

* I finally bought some Play-Doh for Bri. She LOVES playing with it. Thanks for the suggestion Deb.

We had a great group at story time at the library yesterday. Angela did a great post on it. Here is a picture of me with Bri and Laney (pic compliments of Angela).

* And my friend Amy is on her way to China today to bring home her daughter Mary Lin. I want to wish her all the best of luck. Can't wait until you come home with your little one!

*Lastly, I am feverishly working on our China travel video. My eyes are blurring from all the pictures and video I am going through. I would love to have it ready in time for Briana's Gotcha Day Anniversary, but I am not sure if it will be done by then. I am trying to go through 17 days of travel footage, so I am thinking the video will be about 20 minutes or so. Not sure yet. So far, I am pretty proud of it. Can't wait to show you all...