The Antics of Two Little Ladybugs!

"Practice Makes Perfect" (or something like that!) I need to practice with blogging, so bear with me as I make entries to learn rather than for content. I am hoping the subject matter is cute, I mean good, enough to hold your interest until I get better at this!

You vacuum, Mommy - I'll wipe up!

I was holding Hannah while I ran the vacuum the other day and she kept telling me "Downnnnn!" (which sounds strangely similar to "Dogggggg" but the sign is different and that's how we can tell)(yes, she does add many syllables at this point) Anyway, I placed her on the floor by her favorite toys and honest, I only had 1/3 of the room left to do, but when I turned around, she had toddled over to the table, grabbed the tissues, unloaded most of them and then she began to wipe the furniture and herself and ended by wiping her nose (which did not need wiping). I have to say, I was in a complete fit of laughter by this point because it was so cute. I was reminded of Emily at the same exact age, who did something very similar with a roll of toilet paper - I still have that photo framed or I would have scanned it. Babies are babies - doesn't matter where they were born!

TAKING PICTURES
Hmm, cute toy...

Oh look, she has the camera!

And she is off!!

Coming in for the close up!

Now that Hannah is so mobile, the days of sitting for a nice picture are over! Once she realizes the camera is out--she is up, usually pushing Emily out of her way and she comes in for the kill! Emily thinks it is a riot.

THE HIPPO

After Emily's Kindergarten Interview the other day (could she really be old enough for Kindergarten?) she wanted to drop by Build-A-Bear. That would be fun...and it was. Emily "built" a hippo. When we got home, we were playing in the living room and then I went in to make dinner. Emily stayed so she could "mommy" the hippo and take good care of her. Hannah was with me, so when I heard the jumperoo, I was confused. I go into the living room and there is our kindergartener...hippo in the jumperoo (thank goodness, not Emily) and she is seeing how far she can catapult the hippo across the room (she did NOT learn that technique from her mommy!) Yes, I believe she is ready to tackle the world.

They told us she was spicy!

Look out Greta Garbo!

Can you see all these teeth? Yup, 8

Happy SUMMER!

"When I go down by the sandy shore/ I can think of nothing I want more/ Than to live by the booming blue sea/ As the seagulls flutter round about me / I can run about - when the tide is out/ With the wind and the sand and the sea all about/ And the seagulls are swirling and diving for fish/ Oh- to live by the sea is my only wish." Jacqueline Bouvier

Oh, how I love summer... I have ever since I was a child. I think of nights playing games like Ghosts in the Graveyard and Freedom. The whole neighborhood stayed out until dark. We rode our bikes and shared secrets, boys played with girls and we picked each other for teams. We laughed til lemonade spat out our noses and we drank from the hose, all sweaty and still smelling of chlorine from our days at the pool. We only went inside if we had to use the bathroom and our moms had to drag us home as the sun fell. Driving to the shore the other day, Rob and I observed, we never see much of that anymore...we shared stories of the things we did as kids and wished for our children some of the joys we have known in our life.

It was Father's Day, our first Father's Day with Hannah -- we prayed for this day and it was made more special by the knowledge that Rob, our ever loving homebody stretched many miles from his comfort zone to bring home our Hannah. The girls love the beach. Our big surprise was Miss Emily as she bounded down the sand (not a lick of hesitation and straight into the surf). She commented several times on what she has been missing with "NO BIG WATER!" the past four years! Truth be told, we love the beach. We were thrilled when Hannah plopped right down in the sand to play and then grabbed us pointing to the water, needless to say, not many pictures happened with both of us splashing about, little ones plastered to our side jumping and giggling. It was a wonderful day. I was glad Rob spent it his way...he's a great father all the time, but this year just seems a bit sweeter.

Happy summer everyone...

Beginning a Blog

"There is no friendship, no love, like that of a parent and a child." -- Henry Ward Beecher

Our adoption website will be closing in the next month or so, and due to so many requesting we update more frequently than once a month, I have decided to try my hand at blogging. I must admit, as a self-proclaimed techno-phobe, I can' t promise what the results will be, but at least this may help keep us connected to those far away from us.

Sharing our experiences as we have journeyed around the world and back again with our Mei Mei and daughter has been a blessing in every way. We have found that parenting two is more fun than parenting one and that Emily is a really good sister. We have found that our hearts are big enough and that our children, different as they may be, enchant us everyday. We do not suppose that people have time to hear every gritty detail of our lives, nor would our private selves feel comfortable sharing that, but hopefully, for those days when time is thin and miracles happen, this gives a forum to connect where otherwise there would be none. This allows people who care for us to leave comments, because as I type this at 12:15 AM, I am ultimately aware that this is the only time others have during their busy days, as well.